Sell Books and get PAID doing Author School Visits: How to find schools that host authors, how to plan and what to charge

by Kim Norman

Getting paid WHILE you promote your children’s book? What sorcery is this? No magic, of course. Many writers consider author visits to be an essential tool in the business of writing for children. Once you’ve figured out how to write a children’s book, it’s time to figure out how to do an author visit. This book offers in-depth information on how children’s writers and illustrators market their books by doing paid author school visits. It answers such questions • How do I set up an author visit? • How much should I charge? • How do I find schools that host authors? • Do I need a contract? • How do I arrange an advance book sale? • How do I hold a book signing? • How do I promote myself as a children’s book author who visits schools? • Do I need a brochure? • What should I put on my author website? • Who arranges the visit? • Are self-published authors hired to do author visits? (Good news! Yes!) • What kind of equipment and technology do I need? • What goes into an author presentation? • Do I need different programs for different ages? • How long should the programs be? • How do I know what to say? • How do I say it? • Do I need insurance? If so, where do I buy it? Whether you self-publish your children’s book or are traditionally published, marketing the book is still on your to-do list. Imagine being able to supplement your children’s book income by visiting schools, doing author visits! It’s the best of both you’re being paid to promote and sell your books! All while having fun, motivating students to love reading and inspiring young writers to follow their dreams. Aside from practical insider information and action steps, the book shares the joys, pains, hilarity and strategy of author visits through interviews of more than a dozen authors who have visited countless schools over the years. Children’s book author Kim Norman has built a successful speaking career, visiting schools around the US and Skyping with students as far away as Hong Kong and South Korea. In this in-depth, how-to book, she entertainingly shares mistakes she has made, the secrets she has learned, and the joys of sharing her books with hundreds of thousands of children over the past dozen years.

274 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 3, 2018

About the author

Kim Norman is the author of more than a dozen children’s books published by Sterling, Scholastic and two Penguin imprints. Titles include Ten on the Sled, (Sterling) which spent weeks on Barnes and Noble’s Top Ten bestseller list and has been released in Korean and German editions as well as appearing in Scholastic Book Fairs in schools around North America. I Know a Wee Piggy, was reviewed in the New York Times, and is listed on the Texas “2x2 Reading List,” as well being offered by Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Kim has a long history of theater & musical performing, which she enjoys including in her school visits and presentations. Songs and videos on her website, kimnormanbooks.com

Reviews

[Sherry Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sell Books and Get Paid Doing Author Visits is an excellent resource for authors wishing to visit schools and interact directly with the kids who read their books. It systematically covers everything from creating presentations to writing contracts and keeping it all organized. Author, Kim Norman, shares tips she has learned from her years of experience doing author visits. Authors getting started will learn about things like factoring in "wiggle time" for each grade level's presentation, what to include in contracts, and what to send to schools that are interested in presentations. There's also a section on what to charge. This of course varies by author and depends on experience, but it's interesting to see how Ms. Norman's fees evolved through the years. Seasoned authors might also pick up a few good tips.

It's all presented in an easy-to-understand format, with bold subheadings and action steps at the end of each chapter. Ms. Normans' sense of humor is apparent throughout the book, which makes it an enjoyable read. Highly recommended for children's authors. -Sherry Ellis, Author of Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China

[Cathey Nickell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and found it full of so much information. I'm an author who has already done some 50 elementary school author visits, but even so, I still found many useful tips and pieces of helpful advice. Purchased it for my Kindle, which was helpful as I was able to highlight the "new" things that I didn't already know, and then I emailed myself my highlighted notes/passages. So now I have a great reference packet of specific topics I want to refer back to. Just a great book and I'm so grateful for Kim Norman's generosity in publishing it. She covers everything you need to know whether you are traditionally-published or self-published.

[Deborah Gatchel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great info

I've read through this book one time to get an overview of the information. I'm about ready to start again to take notes and do the assignments.

The author uses a very conversational style which makes the material easy to digest. The first couple chapters seemed disorganized but by chapter three or four she worked into them more followable road map.

Several of the links in the book were broken.

The book was published in 2018. I wonder how the information about virtual visits has changed since 2020. It would be great to see an update to that chapter.

If you are interested in visiting schools as an author, this book is a good investment.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun and informative book. I love the chatty, conversational writing style. Norman provides lots of nuts and bolts for the newbie along with excellent advice for presenters with some experience. I would recommend this as a gift to any children's author interested in learning more about school author visits.

[C. Selbherr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very helpful. I was booked to do my first author visit at the end of last year, so I bought this book to get some helpful tips and it did not disappoint! It was easy to read and had lots of useful information.
If you are planning an author visit then I recommend this book!
5 Stars *****

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Guide for School Visits

This is a great book. Glad Kim pulled this advice together in book form and put it out in the world! Her experiences should help others be better prepared! Very accessible and practical information here!

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great guide to school visits! In addition to being informative, Kim's casual tone was engaging and made what could have been a boring subject actually quite exciting. I'm still a newbie at this, so I kept a document absolutely packed with notes. Thanks, Kim!

[Wande Daniel-Ayoade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential book for all new authors

As a new author, I had a lot of questions about doing school visits. This book answered all of them and some I didn’t even think to ask. This will be a resource I return to over and over.

[Reshmi Sujesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a children's author, I was looking for such a book and I'm glad I found this one. Loved the way Kim has structured the book. There are very good insights right from preparing the contract, to planning the author visits. Loved it!

[Jarm Boccio · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Comprehensive Guide

You will come away with all you need for a school visit. Although this was written a few years ago, most of the tips apply today. A perfect place to begin your author visit’s journey!

[Jeanne Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great info with lots of hard-won insights and personal experiences. I'm grateful Kim shares so much!

[Auri Blest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Resource

So much great information, especially for someone who has never done an author visit. Now, I've got work to do.

[Velma Bagby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource. Creative suggestions I hadn’t considered.

[Eric VanTuyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Awesome book!

Kim covers everything you need know about visting schools as an author. I enjoyed the Q's and A's at the end.. I would recommend this book to every author ,new or established.