visiting, speaking & teaching
I teach writing and bookmaking to both children and adults at Young Author/Young Artist Conferences in Minnesota and at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. I am a frequent visiting author in schools and a speaker at libraries, reading associations, and book groups.
Fees
School Visits: $800 per day (maximum of 4 sessions and 1-hour book signing) in Twin Cities metro; $1000 day outside the metro. Plus travel, lodging, and meals when applicable. Young Author Events: $250-$350/day, plus supplies and mileage when applicable. Keynote Talks and Educator Workshops: $300-$500. Please contact me via email.
5 Simple steps for a successful visit
STEP 1
At Least Six Months Before The Visit
-Contact me, Gwenyth Swain, via email.
-Seek funding approval. (For out-state Minnesota and out-of-state visits, include lodging, transportation costs, and a per diem cost for meals.)
-Discuss the number of presentations, group sizes, locations for presentations, costs, and technology needs. Put together a preliminary schedule of visits, outlining number of presentations, locations, and number of students attending each presentation, so that we can talk over any potential problems. My presentations generally last about 45 minutes, and I usually offer no more than 4 presentations per day, plus a one-hour book-signing.
-Gather input from your school media specialists, reading specialists, and classroom teachers on what particular points (such as brainstorming, the revision process, or the parts of a book) they’d like me to touch on during presentations.
-Mail or e-mail me specific school information, such as the name of the main contact persons, contact phone numbers, and directions to your school.
-After we’ve agreed on all the details, send me two copies of a contract, one to sign and keep, one to sign and return to you.
-Order copies of my books to share with media specialists and classroom teachers, giving them the chance to work in read-aloud time before my visit.
STEP 2
Three Months Before The Visit
-Contact me with your finalized schedule, outlining number of presentations, locations, and number of students attending each presentation.
-Please let me know if your teachers want any ideas on ways to use my books in the classroom. For certain titles, I can send them a page or two of ideas.
-For general author information that you may wish to use in announcements regarding the visit, please look over my website, or contact me directly.
-Decide how you and your school will handle book orders and sales. Please note: Unless a book is out-of-print, I don’t have any inventory to sell directly to your school. And because I want to be present to students as an author, not as a bookseller, I do not handle sales at school events.
Book Order Options:
-You may wish to order books from the Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, MN. The numbers there are (651) 224-8320 and 1 (888) 224-8320.
-Alternately, you may wish to order directly from my publishers, listed on the BOOKS page of my website. Publishers typically offer a substantial discount to schools ordering 10 or more copies for an author appearance. Generally, orders from the publisher must be prepaid by check or credit card, but you can return unsold (undamaged) books. The cost of the unsold books will then be reimbursed. You will be charged for shipping costs, but the publisher’s discount generally means that your school will make a small amount of money from book sales. ***Whatever source you choose, it’s best to order books at least eight weeks before a visit.***
-I recommend that you have students pre-order books. You can always order a few extra for day-of-visit sales.
-Ask me for a sample book order form to customize for your school. This form should be sent home early enough to allow for ordering and shipping the books.
-When the order forms are returned with checks, make sure the book order forms (which may contain instructions from parents about autographing) are available to me at the signing session on the day of my visit.
STEP 3
Three Weeks Before The Visit
-Ask for volunteer help and student help to prepare for the author visit at your school. I’ve been humbled and wonderfully surprised by the artistry and creativity of author day displays, hallway decorations, and posters.
-Be sure parents know about the visit by giving teachers specific information they can include in a weekly newsletter or other communication with parents and families.
STEP 4
The Week Before The Visit
-Contact me to let me know of any last-minute developments, changes in schedule, and odds and ends. For example, if I’m driving to your school, is there anything I should know about parking?
-Talk to the technology person at your school to let him or her know what will be needed for the upcoming visit. Confirm that the technology person will be available to assist with set-up on the day of the visit.
STEP 5
The Day of The Visit
-I’ll be looking forward to meeting a school representative at the door or the main office on my arrival. Then we’ll need to check out the set-up for the first presentation and meet with the technology person.
-Let me know if someone will be introducing me before each presentation.
-If you’ve scheduled a book-signing at the end of the day, please have someone present to take care of day-of-visit sales and to match pre-order forms with the correct books. Then be sure I’ve got a copy of the book order form—with any instructions from parents on how to autograph books—when necessary.
WOW! It seems like a lot of steps, a lot of details, but each one is important—and they all add up to a great school visit. THANKS in advance for all your help in making the day go well and for taking the time to introduce your students to books, to the joy of reading, and to a real-live author!
