Make it an Amazing Day!

Remember: an author visit can be a powerful reinforcement of your literacy curriculum, as well as something that encourages hard work and persistence. 

My goal is to give your school the very best presentations I can give.  I hope the below will be useful in our making the day the very best it can be!

Please note:  I am now requesting that schools NOT have presentations take place in classrooms.  Read why here.

Useful Things to do Before the Visit

•  Make sure students are familiar with the author’s work.  This is the single most important preparation. Read one or more recommended books before the visit. If students have read an author’s work, they are more excited about meeting the person behind the book, and will be more receptive to the author’s messages—which reinforce teachers’ goals.

•  Discuss the book(s) on an age-appropriate level, and what an author or illustrator does. It doesn't have to be elaborate or involved—just a few simple questions to get students thinking.  Ask things like: how long do you think it takes to make a book? Do you think it requires practice, or does an adult author make a book quickly? Why do you think the author chose to tell the story the way he/she did?

•  Additional things schools can do to prepare for a visit:

• Create book-themed art or projects to encourage cross-curricular thinking

• Contacting local newspapers to cover the visit. This makes the community aware of the great things you're bringing in to enrich your students' lives.

• Offer the author's books for sale (See "Book Sales" below)

• Arrange for a school newspaper to interview the visiting author

• The Day of the Visit

•  Arrange the presentations to take place in one location in the school.  (Why?  Click here).

•  Make sure classes know when they’re scheduled to attend the presentations.  In order for the author to stay on schedule, classes need to be settled into the presentation space by their scheduled time. Five or ten minutes’ delay in getting classes settled may mean the author cannot cover all of the discussion points she/he planned, or may forfeit a Q & A opportunity afterwards.  

•  Ask teachers to participate in the presentations, if possible.
Teachers are over-scheduled and stressed, but teacher participation and modeling of behavior can make all the difference in the level of success of an author visit.  If the students' teacher is engaged in the presentation, students understand that this is something that is worthy of their attention, and they understand that there may be discussion about the program afterwards.

Book Sales

I don't require book sales, and I don't try to sell to your students.  But I'm always happy to sign books when schools offer book sales to students.  There are some positives to holding book sales:

• Students love having a signed book from an author they've met, and I believe it helps cement their love of reading.

• My publishers offer discounts on books sold in conjunction with an author visit, and book sales can be used to subsidize the visit itself.

How to sell books:

1)  Decide who will sell books—the PTO, a parent volunteer, or a local independent bookseller.

2)  Send home a pre-order sheet at least a month before the visit (sample send-home sheet here).  This leaves plenty of time for students to return sheets with payment, and have books arrive at the school before the visit.

3)  Order books well in advance, to guarantee that books will arrive by the day of the visit!

4)  Helpful tip:  Order extra copies of books.  Over the years, I've found that teachers and visiting parents want to purchase books after they've heard the author speak, and it's almost guaranteed that one or two tearful students will show up on the day of the visit with their pre-order slips and payment.  Any leftover books can usually be returned to the publisher.