Equipment – and Backup Plans A, B and C!

Overhead transparencies are flexible, portable -- and now so outdated!

I’m in transition from using transparencies on an overhead projector to using PowerPoint on a data projector. I’ve always loved the flexibility of using transparencies. With them, I can change sequencing in a blink of an eye to suit the needs of any audience without scrolling through endless screens. So, my author visit hosts smile about my quaint request for overhead and do their best to dig one out and dust it off for me.

But I was really thrown last spring when the librarian couldn’t scare up an overhead projector in the school district (yes, not just the school, but the whole district!) I did happen to have my show on a flashdrive, but they couldn’t get the computer to “talk” to it. Then they offered me a document camera and invited me to put my transparencies under it. The problem was that the shiny surfaces of my images reflected back and washed out the colors. So finally, I put my “real” books under the camera as the kids were filing in, and the assembly began. (Good thing I always arrive 45 minutes early to test equipment!) It was a bit awkward, but the experience gave me the kick in the pants I needed to move to new technology.

So here’s my new Backup Plan:
Plan A: I carry my own skinny Casio data projector and tiny Acer netbook with me with my PowerPoint show loaded and ready to go.
Plan B: I tuck a backup of my PowerPoint in my bag on a flashdrive.
Plan C: I bring along a few transparencies (and of course my books) to pull out if all else fails.

The yellow notebook shows you how compact my Acer netbook and Casio data projector are. Everything fits into a backpack.

But really, if all else really does fail (and it rarely does), I have my voice. I’m a storyteller. And I think we can make it through just fine!

Finding Funding for School Visits

In the past couple of years, many schools’ traditional sources of funding (parent organizations, booster clubs, etc.) have been called upon to support basic needs — copier machines, supplies, and sometimes even staffing. Finding funds for author visits, field trips, and assemblies can be challenging. Yet even when resources seem all tapped-out, there are pockets of money to be had simply by asking. Take a look at this video tip and pass it along to potential hosts. (Click here for the link I mention in the video.)

Keeping Track of School Visit Inquiries

It's easy to find all materials related to each school visit in this one-stop binder. Everything slides easily into page protectors.

Whenever anyone contacts me for an appearance, I capture as much information as possible up front, whether they book me or not. I keep records on computer and ancillary materials (booking form, contract, program, maps, etc.) in a 3-ring binder set up with tabs for each month. (I’m sure that tech savvy folks could find a way to do this all electronically, but I still like the “backup” of a real notebook!)

First, I file their email inquiry on my computer in a folder called, “Appearances.” Within Appearances, I have a folder for each year. So, let’s say Jane Little from the Sunshine Elementary School in Taos, New Mexico contacted me by email, this is how I would file her note:

Appearances

2010

NM – Taos – Sunshine Elem – Jane Little

Go to "Resources" for a pdf of this sample booking form.

Next, if we carry on a correspondence, I paste all of her emails into this file so that I have our running correspondence in one spot. If we talk about a specific date, I then record pertinent information on my paper booking form and place it in a page protector in my 3-ring notebook behind the month of the requested appearance.

In front of each month, I have a calendar page. On it, I pencil in all of my appearances. This gives me a clean, one-stop look at what’s ahead for me.

When it’s time for the visit, I take all the pages for that school along with me from my notebook. (This has saved scads of space and manila file folders in my real-life filing cabinets!)

Some schools may take two or three years before they bring me in, but I stay in touch with them in the meantime. When I transfer data onto a spreadsheet, I can easily see which schools might be ready for a “revisit” a few years after my initial visit.

Stamps & Stationery

Fudge reviews my thank you notes before I pop them in the mail.

I do my best to send a handwritten thank you note to my school visit, bookstore, library or festival host after an appearance. Why? The hosts have expended time and other resources to have me appear. My gratitude has always been appreciated, forging a closer connection between us. And there’s nothing more personal (and surprising) in today’s electronic world than to receive real, live snail mail.

My friend April Halprin Wayland shared this tip with me for streamlining the process. April addresses and stamps an envelope before she heads out to her appearance. After the appearance, she writes a note and pops it right into a mailbox. She says she writes the thank-you notes in her car before she leaves the site while the day is still fresh in her memory. She says, “I don’t want homework!”

While I do address envelopes in advance like April, I tend to write the notes when I get back home in case I decide to enclose a photo memory of our day together.

Do any of you do this? Do you use your own stationery or use commercially produced notes (I go wild for paper and designs!)

Setting Fees, Getting Gigs and Delivering the Goods

If you’re at the summer SCBWI Conference at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, CA on Sunday, August 1, come on over to my workshop from 10:45 – 11:45 a.m. (room TBA). Our topic is School Visits; Setting Fees, Getting Gigs and Delivering the Goods. I’ll be sharing lots of resources and looking forward to lively discussion among P.A.L. colleagues.

Making Your Presentation Irresistible

To “make” more time for academics, many school districts across the country have chopped recess and axed assemblies. To make sure that you don’t fall victim to the “Dulling of American Students,” make your author visit program irresistible to administrators. When you describe your assemblies, show administrators how your presentation links directly to the curriculum and educational standards. If you’re willing (and able) to do large group assemblies, this also makes your program more attractive to schools who want to be totally democratic and reach all children.

TIP: Revisit Schools Every 5 Years!

Even though I had visited this school before, books sales were amazing, thanks to an enthusiastic librarian and principal!

Four principals surprised me this year by inviting me back to do assemblies for all their kids. “But I’ve already visited your school,” I said, thinking they might be having a memory lapse. “Yes,” they said, “but we have a whole new crop of kids here now.”

And that’s when the lightbulb went off over my head. Of course! Kids graduate. The new kids hadn’t heard me yet, and I had had a new book published in the meantime.

So here’s my TIP: be sure to keep addresses for all your school visit contacts. Every five years, send a postcard or letter reminding the school of what a great time you had when you visited, and name the year. Tell them what’s new with you, and that you’d love to come back to meet their newest learners.

When Do Schools Look for Authors?

Most schools’ parent groups (PTA, PTO, PTSO, etc.) change officers in late spring. Many work on assembly schedules in the summer. But also consider this: when I was cruising around Google AdWords recently, I discovered that greatest number of hits on the keywords “school visit,” “author visit,” “school author visits” and “author visits to schools,” were in the following months: September, October, November, March and April.

Author Visit Packets

When a school books me for a visit, I send them an Author Visit Packet. While some of authors have hosts download PDFs posted on their websites, I send a 2-pocket folder filled with materials. So why bother? Schools invest money to have me visit. An advance packet is part of the package. And I can’t tell you how many hosts have mentioned how helpful this packet has been to them as they prepare kids and staff for my visit.

I include three types of materials: 1) items to post on bulletin boards, 2) background information on my published works and 3) business information, including an invoice and information on scheduling and room set-up.

Items for Bulletin Boards: headshot, brochure, postcards, book covers, and news clips.

Background Information: For each book, I send a pamphlet called “Because You Asked,” which answers kids’ questions on the book; a Teacher Idea Sheet filled with activities in major curriculum areas; a list of related books; a master for an autographed bookmark, and a hands-on art activity. I also include a complete list of all my published works – books, magazines, and newspapers.

Business Information: Sample book order form; scheduling suggestions; a diagram of how the room should be set up; a list of equipment needed (including a parking space and lunch!); the invoice; and a signed W-9 Form for taxes.

As a former teacher and a conference organizer, I appreciate the convenience of having materials I can hold in my hand and use right away.

How about you? How do you feel about Author Visit Packets?

Welcome to School Visit Experts!

I love doing school visits!

After years of writing a column for the SCBWI Bulletin called, “The Truth About School Visits,” I decided it was time to start this blog. We all know that children’s authors & illustrators are called on by schools and libraries to inspire and motivate kids to read, write and draw. But for creative types who are used to working on their own, doing public presentations and school assemblies can be daunting! This site is meant to connect you with school visit experts (yes, not just me but others, too, who visit tons of schools) who can offer good advice about programs as well as the business side of doing assemblies and workshops.