I give a short presentation before the students ask me questions from a list provided by the teacher. They range from “What training do you need?” to “How much do you earn?”

I pretend that I’ve never heard any of the questions before and do my best to answer at an age-appropriate level. (Meaning, I don’t answer “Not enough” to the question about earnings.)

I always enjoy the back and forth with students, but I really do it just for the thank you notes. I love the handmade cards that arrive in a big manilla envelope a few weeks later — even those that say, “Now I know that I never want to be a writer!”

At least I helped a student get clarity, right?

Author school visits done right

Now, thanks to author Kim Norman, I’ll do a much better job the next time I’m invited to present at a middle school.

I’ve just finished reading Norman’s new 262-page book, Sell Books and Get Paid Doing Author School Visits.

Let me cut right to the most essential information you need about this book: I love it.

It’s detailed, specific, and comprehensive. I particularly like the homework assignments — “action steps” — at the end of each chapter. They will help you start getting organized so you can make things happen.

All of your school visit questions answered in one place

If you have a question about doing author school visits, it’s covered in this book.

• What should you charge? There’s a whole chapter on that.
• Should you waive your fee if you can sell books? The answer is in there.
• What do you need to include in your contract? You’ll find that in the book.
• How do you handle waving hands in the middle of your presentation? Got it covered.
• Do schools expect a PowerPoint presentation? That’s covered, too.

Unfortunately, the table of contents (visible in the “look inside” feature on Amazon), doesn’t do the book justice. I wish Norman had included her subheads in the chapter list so you could get more of a feel for what’s covered.

You’ll have to take my word for it that the book covers just about everything you need to know on this topic.

Advice from the experts

Norman is a successful, traditionally published children’s book author who’s an old pro at doing school visits.

She’s written 20 children’s books published by Sterling, Scholastic/Orchard, Penguin/Random House, and forthcoming from Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Macmillan Publishers) and Candlewick. She has spoken to hundreds of thousands of students around the U.S.

Not surprisingly, then, the book is based on her experience.

For a book like this, many times authors will weave their colleagues’ experiences into the manuscript, often within the text or as anecdotal sidebars. Norman handled this a little differently by including an “Advice from the Experts” chapter at the end. Their voices help round out one author’s perspective.

My rating: five stars

If your fiction or nonfiction book targets youngsters in grades K through 12 and you want to speak to them in school settings, I highly recommend Sell Books and Get Paid Doing Author School Visits.

This isn’t a high-level overview that offers the what and why but not the how.

You get very specific “how” information, whether it relates to handling expenses while traveling to your event or why you always want to clean up your laptop’s “desktop” before using it for presentations.

Any writer interested in doing author school visits — novice or  veteran — will appreciate the wisdom and experience packed into this book.

Are you doing school visits already? What’s your best tip for other authors? 

Author school visit tips

By Leonardo Ramirez

The kids that come to your reading or talk (I prefer to think of it as “hanging out” with them) are always wide-eyed and eager to have someone from the outside come in and change things up a little. They come from all walks of life and from different households, but for the 50 minutes or so that they are your audience, they are truly yours and there for one thing only . . .

. . . to have fun.

If you haven’t visited your local school as an author and given a talk, you’re missing out.  Yes, you are missing out.

I’ve been asked a few times by authors who are just venturing out after the release of their first book if I have any advice as to how to conduct an author school visit. These are by far my absolute favorite type of events to do because quite frankly, adults can be harder to entertain than kids (at least for me). Don’t get me wrong, I love meeting folks in general, but let’s face it: Adults have much higher expectations.

Here’s what I tell those first-timers who contact me for advice:

1. Don’t be afraid to be silly. When was the last time you had a gut-wrenching belly laugh? You know, the kind that brings a tear to your eye! Kids love a good laugh and so should we as adults. For a reading I did for Dr. Seuss’ birthday, I wore a Seuss hat and we posed for pictures making goofy faces.  I read Mo Willem’s Leonardo the Terrible Monster, and in the part of the book that called for it, I pretended to quietly sneak up on the class and speak softly. When it came time to scare the tuna salad out of the little boy, I gave it all I had. The class roared in laughter and I had a blast.
2. Be yourself. They’ve got your number. Kids are by nature intuitive and can spot a phony a mile away, while hardships that accumulate in our lifetimes can sometimes skew our perceptions as adults. As a side note we really should be ourselves in any setting, be it an author event or talking a stroll.  I’m simply stressing that we should not try to be someone we’re not when we’re around kids.
3. Remember, it’s not about you. Try to focus on the reason you’re there – the kids. You’re not there to sell books or gain publicity, even though the latter can sometimes be a natural result. Folks can always gauge motive, and we as authors should keep ours pure. We’re there for them. Ask yourself if you would still go if it meant you were not allowed to mention your book. I’m not saying that you should not take your book. That would be silly, but if you can honestly answer “yes,” then your heart is in the right place. Take your book, read it with glee, and remember who you’re there for.
4. Be open. You might actually learn something. Yes, it’s true that you’re there to share with them (and yes, you are in charge), but you can also learn a little something about how you deal with different personalities.  Teachers know that when it comes to getting a student to learn something, every child is different and has a different learning style. What might work for one child (scaring the tuna salad out of them) might not work for another.
5. When we give, our problems move farther and farther away. You might be having a tough time until you come across a child who could be suffering a worse fate. You might not know what the problem is, but you can more than likely (if you look closely enough) see the pain in their eyes. Giving of ourselves somehow helps us remember to be grateful for what we have and can help a wounded child – at least for a moment. That brings me to my last point . . . .
6. Show them that you care. To me, this is paramount. Don’t simply pretend that you do because kids know. When a child asks you a question, look him in the eye and speak to him as if he is the only child in the room. Be real. Be genuine. It goes without saying that kids may get rowdy from time to time and that there will be a time where order will have to be called, but keep in mind that you’re only there for a short time and as an author, you can leave a lasting mark on a child you might never see again. For some kids, this might be the only seal of approval they get outside of their awesome teacher.

Reading to kids has always made a lasting mark on me, but only when I’m able to be open, honest, and most of all, fun. Enjoy the reading just as much as they do.

What’s your best school visit tip for authors?