Category Archives: business

This refers to contracts, fees, funding, data collection, data organization, forms, correspondence, expenses, travel, lodging, scheduling, correspondence with host, selling books

5 Things to Do While Schools Are Sleeping

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20150509_191953Here’s what you can do now while kids out of school and teachers are recharging their creative batteries this summer:

1. Business cards & bookmarks: Is it time for a redesign? A reorder? You can get some great deals through online printers such as GotPrint.com, Overnightprint.com and Vistaprint.com, to name a few.

2. Brochures & Websites: Is the information updated? Complete? Ask your critique group members to review your school visit page or print brochure. Better still, find a principal, teacher or parent give you feedback on it to see if you’ve made it clear how your presentation will benefit their students and tie into the curriculum.

3. Rates: Review your school visit rates. Do you need to change them for the coming year? If you’re unsure or you’re just starting out, compare with other published authors in your geographic region. A good place to start is with local PAL members of SCBWI.

4. Email updates: Enter your contacts from the past year into a database. This may include hosts of schools you visited or conference and workshop attendees. Be sure to note where you met them so that when you send them an announcement,  they know you’ve already established a relationship with them.

5. Reminders: Compose a note now to send in August reminding contacts of your availability to do school visits in 2015-2016. For schools you’ve just visited, ask them to refer you to another school. For contacts you made at events, plant the seed that you’re available in the coming year to inspire their students.

BONUS TIP
If you haven’t visited a school in 5 years, it’s time reestablish a relationship with them. Tell them what’s new. Suggest you return to meet their new batch of students.

If you do these five simple tasks (six, if you count the Bonus task!), you’ll be in great shape when the school year revs up again in August!

A Simple Card

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Card - Holiday Cheer Reindeer with border2I don’t know about you, but I get a thrill when my mailbox includes “real” mail with hand-addressed envelopes and pretty stamps, not just catalogues and advertising (which go immediately in my recycle bin.)

Teachers, librarians and booksellers are no different.  A simple card that says “thanks” for what they do gives their day a boost.  And it shows you’ve gone the extra step to acknowledge their efforts to connect kids with good books.

I know that the holidays are fast approaching and you have much to do for your personal circle of friends and family. But before schools dismiss for winter vacation around December 19, why not take a moment and thank school visit hosts and booksellers from this past year for inviting you to their schools and stores. Send a holiday card. And if you miss them in December, a “Happy New Year” card when they return to school would be a nice surprise.  Your simple “gift” of thanks in your own handwriting will mean a lot to them.

Connecting Author Visits with Picture Book Month: Advice from Dianne de Las Casas

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PBMLOGO-COLOR_WEBRES If you haven’t ridden the wave of Picture Book Month activities this year, it’s never too early to start planning for next year.  My friend and founder of this celebration, Dianne de Las Casas, author, storyteller, and children’s book advocate extraordinaire, gives terrific advice on just how to do this!

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Picture Book Month is an international literacy initiative that celebrates the print picture book during the month of November every year. Now in its third year, through the power of the Internet and social media, Picture Book Month has grown exponentially each year with partners such as SCBWI, the Children’s Book Council, the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, and many more. Every day in November, the website features an essay about the importance of picture books written by a prominent author, illustrator, or mover and shaker in the children’s book industry. All over the world, schools, libraries, and bookstores are celebrating Picture Book Month with author visits, Skype author visits, Google hangouts, YouTube and Vimeo videos, blog posts, Twitter chats, and big picture book displays. In addition, students are reading thousands upon thousands of picture books. A school in Hungary last year read over 6,000 picture books during Picture Book Month! Here’s how you can tap into the movement and connect with Picture Book Month.

  • 1.     Become a Picture Book Month Ambassador. Become a Picture Book Month Ambassador and place the Ambassador badge on your website, with a link HOUSE-NewPictureBookMonth.com. There is no cost and it shows your support. Educators, librarians, the home school community, booksellers, bloggers, literacy organizations, and parents are celebrating Picture Book Month in November. Becoming a Picture Book Month Ambassador demonstrates that you believe in the power of print picture books and support picture books as a building block of literacy. You can register to celebrate Picture Book Month (it’s never too late) and even get listed as an author on the website.

2.     Offer School and Library Visits During Picture Book Month. Many schools and libraries celebrate Picture Book Month with author visits. If you are an author of picture books, November is a great time for you! Send out postcards, advertise in your email newsletter, and post to your social media sites that you are available for author visits during Picture Book Month. Check with your local libraries and schools to find out what they are doing to celebrate. Perhaps you could be part of their kick-off or finale.

  • LittleReadHen3.     Offer Skype Author Visits During Picture Book Month. Librarians like John Schumacher from Brook Forest Elementary School in Illinois and Teachers like Colby Sharp, who is a Nerdy Book Club Blogger, love doing Skype visits with authors during Picture Book Month. When schools and libraries don’t have the funds for an in-person author visit, they often turn to Skype author visits as a viable solution. They love nothing more than to connect their readers with the writers of their favorite books. A Skype Author Visit is a great way to link your picture books with schools and libraries during Picture Book Month.

4.     Check Out the New Picture Book Month Teacher’s Guide. Marcie Colleen, Picture Book Month’s Educational Consultant, has created an incredible 16 page Picture Book Month Teachers Guide. The guide correlates picture books to the U.S. Common Core and learning standards. Educators have less time to spend on content that falls outside of their assigned curriculum. Our Teacher’s Guide demonstrates, with research and data, that picture books are a valuable part of a student’s education. You can use our study guide as a springboard to create your own and illustrate how your picture books tie in to the curriculum and the Common Core.

  • 5.     Connect with the Picture Book Month Community. One of the great ways Dianne - Storyteller - Rita Crayonto receive invitations to schools, libraries, and conferences is to become involved in social media. Picture Book Month has a thriving Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest community. Our Twitter handle is @PictureBkMonth and our hashtag is #PictureBookMonth. Join the conversation, post your favorite picture books in response to our daily theme, and even connect with other authors and illustrators. Many of our Picture Book Month champions are on Facebook and Twitter. Read the daily essays on the Picture Book Month website and be sure to comment. Each comment is entered into our drawing for a chance to win autographed books from our Picture Book Month Champions.

Picture Book Month is all about promoting literacy by celebrating print picture books, the authors and illustrators who create them, and the readers who love them. Join us! November is Picture Book Month. Read * Share * Celebrate!

DiannedeLasCasasinherlibrary1920X1920Dianne de Las Casas is an award-winning author, storyteller, and founder of Picture Book Month. Her performances, dubbed “revved-up storytelling” are full of energetic audience participation. The author of 22 books and the 2013 recipient of the Ann Martin Book Mark award, her picture book titles include The Cajun Cornbread Boy, There’s a Dragon in the Library, The House That Witchy Built, The Little “Read” Hen, and The House That Santa Built. Visit her website at diannedelascasas.com. Visit Picture Book Month at PictureBookMonth.com.

4 Ways to Make Librarians Love Your School Visit: Advice from Toni Buzzeo

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BUZZEO_TerrificConnectionsCoverToni Buzzeo, award-winning author, librarian and educator, has been giving great advice to authors and illustrators even long before the publication of her book, Terrific Connections with Authors, Illustrators and Storytellers: Real Space and Virtual Links, co-authored with Jane Kurtz, in 1999. Read on to find out her expert suggestions for making terrific school visit connections with librarians.

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I come to the topic of school visits wearing two stylish, but completely different, hats. As a children’s author, I have visited hundreds of schools across this country and around the world. And as a school librarian, I played host at Longfellow Elementary School in Portland, Maine to at least two authors every year for eleven years. As a result, I’ve gained a deep understanding of what it takes, as an author, to wow a librarian host. And I’d like to share my ideas with you.

1. Be clear, be prompt, be honest, and be gracious in your communications. Every school visit begins with a conversation, either in person, by phone, or through e-mail or snail mail. Whether the librarian is the one to reach out to you, or you are the first to establish contact, the impression you make in your first and ongoing communications will set the tone of the visit. Be clear about your needs. Hedging in order to land a visit and then suffering under unsuitable arrangements or honoraria will not serve your interests well and may ultimately alienate your host. Always respond promptly and honestly about arrangements as you plan. And above all, be gracious even when you feel put off by something that is suggested. It well may be that what appears to be a verbal or written mis-step was unintended. Leave room to discover this and smooth the waters.

2. Know and understand developmental ages and stages. Librarians, and all educatorsBUZZEO-JustLikeMyPapacover in the schools you visit, will appreciate your thorough understanding of the variety of developmental ages and stages within the groups of students that you meet. While some hosts may ask you to address a combined group of kindergarteners and fourth graders, or eighth graders and seniors, this is the perfect time to be clear and gracious. Explain that each of your presentations is designed with specific developmental learning stages in mind, making it necessary to avoid the combination of such disparate grades. It is essential that you do create presentations that are suitable for each age/grade range in the school, changing not only your content but also your method of delivery to suit the developmental needs and understanding of each group.

3. Understand and design presentations to respond to local curriculum. Your first reaction to this advice may be, “But I’m not a teacher!” Actually, that isn’t true. When you are in a school, you are temporarily in the position of an educator. Because every school hour is BUZZEO-StayCloseToMamaCover-Largeprecious in this age of standards-driven education, and because in all but five states (see map),  those standards are national (entitled the Common Core State Standards), it is easier now, than ever before, to become comfortable with the standards that govern educational goals and incorporate them into your presentations. Start here  and then solicit help from teachers you know to refine your presentations.

4. Learn and practice appropriate “behavior management” techniques. If you have taught school or led Scouts or other youth groups, you already have experience in guiding children or teens to appropriate behaviors. If not, however, learning intervention techniques will benefit you by making you comfortable in dealing with students and make you a valuable visitor, readily handling disruptive students and situations yourself and moving quickly back to your presentation. Seek out avenues for learning successful interventions such as observing veteran teachers and librarians, discussing options with educator friends, and reading articles online or in educational journals.

 BUZZEO-ToniHeadShotTrimmedAbout Toni Buzzeo: Working both from her colonial farmhouse in Buxton, Maine and her sunny winter nest in Sarasota, Florida, New York Times bestselling children’s author Toni Buzzeo has published 19 picture books so far, including the 2013 Caldecott Honor winning One Cool Friend. She also wears the hat of a seasoned educator. A former college and high school English teacher, Toni then became a practicing Library Media Specialist and was named the 1999 Maine Library Media Specialist of the Year. In that hat, she writes many professional books and articles, Common Core curriculum based on children’s literature, as well as teaching and promotional guides for children’s books. Learn more at www.tonibuzzeo.com

5 Things I’ve Learned About School Visits: Advice from Laura Purdie Salas

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In this series, expert school visit presenters share what they’ve learned from experiences in the trenches. Thanks to Laura Purdie Salas for the following contribution.  

Salas_leaf_thumbnail1.      The school owns you for the day. Do all your negotiating ahead of time. Make sure the schedule is do-able, that you have your necessary bathroom breaks, etc. Then, once you show up, just go with it. If the school asks whether you want to eat lunch on your own or with teachers, offer to eat with teachers (or students)—whatever they will get the most out of. If the numbers/venue aren’t quite as described, oh well. They have brought you there, and all you can do is give them everything you’ve got for the day(s). The kids deserve that.

2.      Keep your sense of humor. Things will go wrong. Wildly wrong. I’ve had principals change the schedule, fire drills send me into the ladies’ room with a bunch of 4th-grade girls, slides that all appeared green because of a cable mishap, a first grader throw up, a blizzard close down a school, and much more. I learned a great lesson at a Rob Thomas concert when his tech stuff failed. He just laughed, talked with the audience, and tried to give us his best, even in less-than-best circumstances. Laughing beats crying. Save that for the car ride home.

3.      If a third party arranges the visit, make sure you get a contact name, email address and phone number for someone actually at the school. And touch base before your visit. I recently appeared for a visit several hours from home, arranged by the local library through a state grant. The school had no idea I was coming. Let me repeat that. No. Idea. If I had contacted the school directly, even though the library wanted to handle all the details, this could have been avoided. (The principal was flexible, the kids and teachers were surprised, and the day went surprisingly well!)

Salas_bookspeak_thumbnail4.      Send posters and free books once the contract is signed. I had some mini-posters printed with a bunch of my book covers and an announcement that “Laura Purdie Salas is coming to school on ________!” On the back of the posters are tips to help the adults prepare for my visit. I send 3-4 posters plus 2-3 of my trade hardcover books in advance. The cost to me is well worth the extra excitement the materials generate.

5.      Kids want to connect with you. That’s the most important part of your visit. Yes, design your presentation to support teachers, to correlate to standards, to share content. But then, focus on talking and sharing with kids and listening to them. Make eye contact. Be vulnerable. Be real. That’s how you reach those kids and give them a visit that they will always remember.

Salas_vert_200_2013 Laura Purdie Salas is the author of more than 100 books for kids and teens, including BOOKSPEAK! POEMS ABOUT BOOKS, STAMPEDE! POEMS TO CELEBRATE THE WILD SIDE OF SCHOOL, and A LEAF CAN BE…. She loves to introduce kids to poetry and help them find poems they can relate to, no matter what their age, mood, and personality. She has also written numerous nonfiction books. See more about Laura and her work at www.laurasalas.com.

7 Ways to Make Indie Booksellers Love You

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by Catherine Linka

Title&CandyHearts

As the children’s and YA book buyer for Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse in La Ca?ada, California, Catherine Linka as had countless experiences with authors and school visits. But many authors are clueless about etiquette. Take a look at the tips she shares and ee how you might improve your approach.

1. Be absolutely clear from the first conversation with a bookseller if you need to charge for a school visit. It is fine with us if this is how you make your living, but do not expect us to get the business for you. We will, however, be happy to supply books after you have made the deal. If you can afford to do free school visits, it will be a treat for us to call our customers and set those up.

2. Tell us what size of group you prefer to work with well in advance. It’s OK if you like to meet with 20-40 kids. You don’t need to see a huge group to please the bookseller.

3. Help us sell you into the school. Send us jpegs of you and your book. Forward us a short bio, and ask your publicist to send us a couple ARCs to give to teachers. Give us a summary of what you will do during your visit or suggest pre-visit activities for the teachers. Booksellers are busy, and we appreciate authors who make our lives easier. 

4. If you need audio-visual equipment–give us 3-4 days notice to contact the school and get those arrangements in place. And tell us what type of hardware or software you’re bringing.

5. Be professional. Avoid off color language or controversial statements that can embarrass the school and endanger the relationship that the bookseller has with it. Booksellers work very hard to build relationships with schools and libraries, and we need authors to understand that if we take them to a school–  their behavior reflects on us.

6. Give us a cell phone number so if you are late, we can reach you.

7. Do a good deed. There are some small schools in my area that are dear to my heart, because they serve kids who have emotional or learning differences or who are in the foster care system. Visiting these schools won’t sell a lot of books, but I will be a Heather Brewer fan until the day I die after watching her speak about growing up as an outcast to a group of kids who I know struggle with social relationships.

CatherineLinkaCatherine Linka is the children’s and YA book buyer for the Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse in La Ca?ada, California. An MFA grad of the Vermont College of Fine Arts, Catherine’s debut novel, A GIRL CALLED FEARLESS will be published by St. Martin’s  in spring 2014.

 

2 Economical Bookplate Solutions

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 The other day, my friend Barbara Elizabeth Walsh wrote to me for advice: 

This is a classic bookplate design, originally developed for Antioch Bookplates, but now owned by Bookplate Ink

This is a classic bookplate design, originally developed for Antioch Bookplates, but now owned by Bookplate Ink

“I’m on the road looking for author bookplates. One school didn’t get their book delivery and I promised I would send inscribed bookplates to them as soon as I retuned home. Do you have any suggestions?”

 

It’s disappointing – to you and to readers — when schools or bookstores run out of your books during your appearance. Being able to autograph and personalize a book can mean the difference between a sale and no sale. So here’s a solution. Tell the host that for any book sold after your visit, you will mail autographed, personalized bookplates. After the event, have the host email the names she / he wants written on the bookplates.

 Also known as ex libris (“from the library of”), bookplates are decorative stickers that are placed in the inside cover of books to identify ownership. But classic commercial bookplates are expensive (about $.50 and up per plate) and usually don’t have enough room for an author to sign, let alone inscribe a student’s name.

I tried to find commercial designs like these with enough room for me to write a message. They were sold in packages of 10 – 12, and the costs added up quickly.

I tried to find commercial designs like these with enough room for me to write a message. They were sold in packages of 10 – 12, and the costs added up quickly.


There are other products that you can use for bookplates —

Commercial name tags: School supply stores usually have decorative name tags with enough surface area for writing. You can choose a design that complements the theme of your book.

In a school supply store, I found name badges with fun colors. The writing space was a bit cramped – 2.5” x 2.25”, but they worked – and were economical at 100 for $5.00.

In a school supply store, I found name badges with fun colors. The writing space was a bit cramped – 2.5” x 2.25”, but they worked – and were economical at 100 for $5.00.

 

Shipping labels: Office supply stores have an abundance of blank white shipping labels to choose from. Select a size (from 2” x 4” to 4 up to 3 1/3” x 4” is best) and make your own design. These can be printed up at home at your convenience. They have room enough for an inscription, autograph and date. 

Bookplate - My designs

I made my own “themed” template for Loud Emily (top) and The Recess Queen (4” x 3.25”). I use a smaller label (2” x 4”) when I donate a book to a school.

I made my own “themed” template for Loud Emily (top) and The Recess Queen (4” x 3.25”). I use a smaller label (2” x 4”) when I donate a book to a school.

Barbara Walsh decided to buy white labels and personalize them.

Bookplate - BWalsh1 Here’s what Barbara Elizabeth Walsh’s bookplate design for The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans (Calkins Creek)

 Here are two of Barbara Elizabeth Walsh’s bookplate designs for The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans (Calkins Creek). I think the results look great.

Happy bookplate designing – and autographing!

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For more about Barbara’s book, explore this blog post the David C. Barrow Elementary Media Center in Athens, Georgia.

 For more about Antioch Bookplate Company.

For more about Bookplate Ink.

Is Munching Lunch in Your Contract?

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Lunchbox2Does your stomach growl after a doing a couple of high-energy assemblies? In my letter of agreement, I ask the school to provide lunch for me on the day of my visit. Sometimes, hosts will pick up lunch for me at a local restaurant (i.e. Panera, Subway) and bring it back to the school. Other times, the PTA or the staff decide to do a Pot Luck and the bounty is endless. Once I even had a principal whose school was in a remote area pack a lunch for the both of us (it was yummy!). 

Because I ask for schedule approval before it’s posted for the staff, I know how much time I’ll have to eat (usually 40-60 minutes). I don’t like to go off-campus at lunch for fear I won’t get back in time for the afternoon sessions.

I like eating in the teachers’ room with the staff, especially when I’m there for both rotations – primary teachers and intermediate teachers. This gives me a chance to answer questions they may have after my assemblies and to solidify a connection with them. After all, they are the ones who will be reading and recommending my books not to just this year’s classes, but hopefully to classes into eternity.

Occasionally, a school will want me to have lunch with selected kids as a reward to them. While I appreciate their wanting to do this for the kids, I do feel more like a host than a participant and end up having to keep the conversational ball rolling. Kids who are wildly expressive in class can often be shy when having lunch in the library instead of the multipurpose room.

If you’re an author who needs a bit of quiet at lunchtime to recharge for the next leg of your day, be sure to spell that out in your agreement. You can’t blame the school for wanting as much face-time with you as possible, but they will respect your request for quiet moments if they know about it ahead of time.

Happy munching!

A Better Offer?

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So here’s the deal. You get a call from some group to speak at their event. You say yes. There might be 30 people there, the host says. We’re so excited you can come. You pen it on your calendar and forget about it. The date is a long way off.

And then you get another call, maybe a month or less before the Booked Event. Speaking at the New Event is such a great opportunity! But wait. It’s on the same day as the Booked Event. Rats. The New Event will give you a bigger audience, or more money, or better exposure. What should you do?

The simple answer? Honor your first commitment.  

Most organizations will begin promoting their event months ahead of time on websites and in print materials. People will have signed up for the event with the promise that you will be there. If you pull out, it can have a significant impact on that organization financially as well as reputation-wise. People may not trust future line-ups if they feel that speakers may pull out at the last minute. And your own reputation will take a hit, too. 

Okay –  so what’s the more complicated answer? Talk with your host. 

If the New Event is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (and not just a better offer), you might talk with your First Host to see if rescheduling would pose a problem. Or you might suggest a replacement speaker (one that you are in contact with). But the bottom line? The decision should be the host’s.

Here’s something I’ve learned through the years. When someone calls me and I say, “Sorry, but I’m already booked for that date,” it does not diminish my reputation. It sends the message, “Call me earlier next time.” And it tells the late-caller that I honor my commitments. This inspires trust. 

Last year, a fabulous organization asked me to speak at a fundraising luncheon. I would be the only children’s book author in a line-up of three authors. Over 250 book-buying women with children and grandchildren would be there. I had to decline. I already had a smaller commitment for that date. “But do keep me in mind for next year,” I said. They did. I’ll be speaking for them in 2014. And that’s just one story of many. 

Of course, there are other events in life that may conflict with your Booked Event – illness, the birth of a baby (your own, that is) – but bailing on your commitment  for a better offer is really not honorable.

Janet Wong Shares “5 Things I’ve Learned About Doing School Visits”

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1. Make an effort to keep expenses low. Recently I had the choice of driving, flying, or taking a train to a university conference where I was a speaker. Knowing that the conference was on a tight budget, I chose to drive, which saved at least $250 for the university. They reimbursed me in the loveliest way: with a carload of gardenias to take back home. (These were procured by a librarian’s husband, who works in the nursery business; schools, use your community connections!)

 2. Engage the specialists. I love it when the art teacher happens to be crazy about “junk art” and uses THE DUMPSTER DIVER, or the P.E. teacher does yoga and is happy to read the poems in TWIST: Yoga Poems. If you have books that might appeal to certain specialists, let them know!

 3. Involve the public library. I’m happy when I can help solidify great relationships between schools and their local libraries. I remember one school visit where about a hundred kids followed me from their school to the local library for a continuation of a writing workshop. 

 4. Reach out to teachers, librarians, and parent coordinators at places you visited in the past. A significant number of my school visits are “repeat business”–usually 5 or 6 years after my first visit, once the kids I met during my first visit have graduated. Many of those repeat visits came about because I sent a “hello email” reconnecting and letting my school contacts know about my new books. 

 5. Let yourself improvise, experiment, and have fun. While I admire authors who have a super-smooth presentation, some of my best moments have been the result of improvising, letting myself riff on a topic and come up with a new observation or example. If I can keep my presentations fresh for myself, they’ll be fresher for my student-audiences, too.

 

 

Janet Wong  is the author of more than two dozen books for children and teens. She has been honored with the Claremont Stone Center Recognition of Merit, the IRA Celebrate Literacy Award, and her appointment to the NCTE Commission on Literature, the NCTE poetry award committee, and the IRA Notable Books for a Global Society committee. A frequent speaker at schools, libraries, and conferences, Wong has performed at the White House and has been featured on CNN, Fine Living’s Radical Sabbatical, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.