TODD TUELL

Why do authors charge for classroom visits?

Plain and simple, we are professionals and this is our profession. Other than celebrity authors and the biggest names in books, few authors can make a living from the advances and royalties of writing alone.  We are professionals, and our time, energy and effort is part of an author’s career and helps provide a portion of a writer’s income.

Do you have some suggestions on how to help with the costs of an author visit?

There are many creative ways to raise money to bring me and other authors into your classroom. – bake sale,

1.  Apply for grants from local and national organizations. AMBER BROWN - SCBWI

2.  Request funding from your PTO/PTA.

3.  Partner with the author.

How can I partner with you, the author, to reduce the cost of your author visit?

There are several ways to make my author visit more affordable.

1. Sell copies of Ninja, Ninja, Never Stop! to your students.  This can help with the cost of the author in two ways.

First, when ordering directly from the publisher, you receive a significant discount, often 50% off. Additionally, you pay no shipping.  You can then set your own rate when you sell books to the students somewhere between your costs and the suggested retail price. *Note: payments to the publisher for these purchases do not go to the author.

For example, if you pre-purchase 20 books at the discount price of $7.50, and then sell them for $10, you’ve generated $50 of revenue to use toward the speaker fee, while providing the books to children at a rate below what they will find at online retailers.

For every 5 books purchased in advance, I will reduce my speaker fee by $25. For 20 books, that’s another $100 knocked off the speaker fee.

2. Join with other classrooms.  When a school schedules programs for multiple classrooms, the speaker fee goes down. Additionally, the opportunity for preselling books rises.  See the fee schedule.

3. Sign up for my Sister School Program.  This program helps give classrooms who could not otherwise afford an author visit to have the same opportunities as classrooms who can.

4. Referrals

How do I sell your books?

It’s easy. Follow these simple steps.

Step 1: Send order forms that I customize for you home with students 3-4 weeks in advance of the program.

Step 2: Hang a provided poster in your classroom to generate excitement for the event.

Step 3: Collect orders and money from students two weeks before the event.

Step 4: Order your books from Abrams Books. Forward receipt to me. I’ll generate your discounted speaking invoice.

Step 5: The books arrive at your school for me to sign during the event.

What is your Sister School Program?

This program pairs a more affluent school with a Title 1 school to help with the costs of an author visit.  This program encourages kids to be part of bringing educational equity to other kids. When students raise money towards books or speaker fees, I match those contributions with a reduction in my speaker fee. Classrooms have access to an online space to share video of their ninja event, the students’ haiku, and create a bit of a pen-pal relationship.  More details are coming, but if you are interested, please contact me to discuss.