Hello!

I’m T. L. McBeth, author, illustrator, public speaker, and professional cheese enjoyer. Today I wanted to talk a little about one of my favorite aspects of my job – school visits! So here is everything you need to know about inviting an author or illustrator to your school!

Inviting an author or illustrator to your school kills a lot of birds with a lot of stones, pardon my bird-murdering metaphor. First off, it is a great way to inspire readers of all ages. I have also found that school visits can excite reluctant readers, by showing the process of bookmaking; it makes books more fun and accessible. Not to mention that it provides students with an opportunity to meet their favorite writers and artists. School visits are a fun and engaging way to bring books to life and help students develop a lifelong love of art and literature.

If you're a teacher, librarian, school administrator, or just a very meddlesome parent and you are looking to invite an author or illustrator to your school, you may be wondering where to begin – but fear not! I am here to share my very professional expertise!

Find the Author / Illustrator for you!

The first step may seem obvious, but you will need to choose an author or illustrator who will be a good fit for your students. Consider the age and interests of your students, as well as the themes or topics covered in your curriculum that you may want to highlight.

Many authors & illustrators list their school visit details and/or contact information on their website. When you have a few authors in mind, reach out via email. I would recommend reaching out to one at a time, so start with your top pick! Don’t forget to include as many details as possible: a date or date range, your location, the number of presentations you’d like them to do, and the age range of your students. The more information you can provide upfront, the easier it will be for the author/illustrator to provide you with their availability and a quote for the presentation fee and any travel expenses.

How much will it cost?

The million dollar question! Well, more like the few hundred, or few thousand dollar question. Before contacting any authors or illustrators, it’s important to have a budget or even just a vague idea of what your school would be willing to pay. You should also keep in mind if you are making the author travel a long distance, you may be required to pay for flights and hotel accommodations as well.

As you can probably already guess, the cost of a school visit will vary dramatically between different authors and illustrators. This will depend on a multitude of factors. How famous or “in demand” is the author or illustrator? How far will they have to travel? How long is the visit? And the list goes on! In my experience, one day of school visits including 3 or 4 presentations, could be $1,500 on the low end and up to $5,000. But don’t be scared off by these numbers; most authors and illustrators fall on the lower end of that scale.

For context, I offer both virtual and in person presentation rates that are pretty low on the scale mentioned above, and are dramatically reduced for schools in the state of Indiana.
(Contact me to set up a school visit, *cough cough* 😉)

What if I can’t afford that?!

If cost is a concern, you might check to see if a local or in-state author is available – folks from your area may offer a discount on their presentation fee or a waiver on travel fees. Not to mention it’s always exciting for kids to meet an author who lives nearby!

It is also worth mentioning that most authors and illustrators offer very affordable virtual visits. They can be interactive and engaging just like in person visits and are usually a little on the shorter side.

Authors and illustrators need to be paid fairly, but for some it’s not all about the money. In some cases they are willing to make a deal. I know some authors even visit for free if a school buys a certain number of books for its students. Some authors are willing to split school visits between multiple nearby schools to offset presentation costs. For example, usually a school would have an author do three or four presentations in a school day, to smaller groups of students. Maybe four schools in an area could chip in and each school could get one presentation to a larger group of students. (Please note: This is not an excuse to low ball or underpay creative people, if you can afford to pay you should not try to haggle or guilt someone into a reduced rate. Some artists have firm prices and that needs to be respected.)

There are also grants and community funds that might be able to help! If you are dead set on making an author visit and cost is really an issue, there is usually a creative solution to reach your goal. Have a bake sale, wash some cars, blackmail a local political figure, don’t be afraid to get creative!

Plan the Visit!

So, you’ve got approval; you’ve got the budget, and found your author or illustrator! Yay!
Now it’s time to agree on the basics - a date / time, payment amount, presentations details, featured books, and possibly things like travel arrangements or any special needs the author may have. Basically, this early stage is for making each party’s expectations of each other very clear. The author or illustrator may ask you to sign a contract to confirm your commitment or put up a percentage of payment at this time.

Now it’s time for the fun stuff: ordering books! I know from first hand experience that a signed and personalized book can be the highlight of the whole visit for a student. Usually, schools will work with a local bookstore to give students the opportunity to purchase the author’s books in advance. If this is not an option, you can contact the publisher directly. Order forms need to be sent to students and re-collected far in advance to make sure all the books arrive before the author does. I recommend getting the book order in at least a month or two before the visit if possible. That way the author can choose to either sign books at the event, or the books can be sent to the author in advance to sign/personalize.

Next, you need to get the kids excited! I know this may seem obvious, but this is a very important last step for a great school visit! Announce the visit to students and parents well in advance. Read the author or illustrator’s books during time at the library, use the books in the classroom, and find fun and creative ways to tie them to the curriculum. Seeing the books used as well as having the opportunity to purchase books greatly increases a students enjoyment of a school visit. I mean, it would be pretty strange if a random author who the kids were never introduced to just showed up one day!

Also, be sure to ask in advance about what the author or illustrator may need for their presentation. This might include things like a projector setup, a big drawing pad & marker, and a microphone. They might also want students to bring paper & a pencil for live drawing with the illustrator. Below is the list I usually send to each school before my visits.

Tech requirements:

Each school will need to have a projector, projector screen and a connected computer set up and ready when I arrive. I will stand near the computer when I give the presentation to cycle through the slides, so please keep that in mind as well.
The computer should be able to run an up-to-date version of PowerPoint and have access to the Internet.
Ideally, the computer should have a standard USB port for my thumbdrive, but I am able to send the presentation via Airdrop or an email link if there is no USB port on the presentation computer.
The room where the presentation will take place should have the ability to be completely or partially darkened so that students can see the projector screen. If possible, please avoid sunny rooms with no light controls or shades. The presentation is much more engaging when kids can see the visuals!
Other requirements:

Please provide large sharpie markers and a large oversized pad of paper on an easel that everyone can see. I love to do live drawings during the presentation that your school, classroom, or library can keep!
Finally, please have students arrive with a blank piece of paper and a pen or pencil, as they will be doing some drawing activities during the presentation.
Optional requirements:

A microphone.
A remote for the power presentation.

T.L. Bonus Tip! - Have a backup plan! Technology fails, have an extra computer ready, a plan if the microphone goes out or if the school loses power all together! Basically, triple check the set-up on the day and be ready for something to go wrong… It may not, but if it does, be ready!

On the day it can be helpful to have a printed schedule for the author when they arrive, with time blocked out for each presentation, Q&A, book signing and breaks (don’t forget to feed them!). It is also very helpful to have a teacher or librarian who can act as a guide throughout the day and keep things moving on schedule. Now sit back and relax and enjoy the visit, you’ve planed, set it up, made it happen, and now it’s here! It can be a little stressful leading up to a visit, but when you see how much the kids are enjoying themselves, I know it will be worth it. You may even learn a thing or two about the author or illustrator during their presentation!

Final thoughts!

Inviting a children’s book author or illustrator to your school might seem like a daunting task (and it is), but I hope the above tips are helpful in giving you an idea of what the process looks like and makes your first school visit easy and fun! Getting to meet a real-life person who makes books is an incredibly memorable experience for students and can foster a lifelong love of reading and creativity. And a good school visit will leave students (and administrators!) excited for the next one!

If you have any questions or just want to hire me to visit your school, feel free to reach out!

And don’t for get to follow me on social media! Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and GIPHY!
Buy my books at your local bookstore or shop online at Bookshop.org!