Put your books into the hands of as many classroom teachers, literacy teachers, and/or librarians as you can before your visit.  Get  school staff excited, so they can talk up your visit.  

Have printable teacher resources on your website, or send them to the school. 

If allowed, send book order forms in advance, so you can sign ahead of time and distribute autographed copies  during your visit.  Have additional forms to send home after your visit for others who realized how much they would love a copy of your book, too! 

Consider the age of your audience and plan interactive activities to keep students involved and excited. 

• Choose students to act out parts of your story.
• Hand out paper and pencils and (with the help of your illustrator) give them a step-by-step tutorial on how to draw your main character. 
• ​Teach students that catchy, repetitive phrase from your story they can chant every time it appears in your book as you read it. They’ll keep chanting for weeks! 

​Brainstorm
Outline a 15-30 minute program of age-appropriate presentations and interactive activities you could offer.  Build on your strengths as a writer or artist, and always be mindful of the development needs of your young audience. (After you make contact, teachers and librarians are eager to help you customize your presentation to align with their Common Core goals.)
 
Connect
E-mail e-mail query letters to your leads, referencing mutual contact.  Suggest visit scenarios from your program outline and include links to book previews and author sites on social media that showcase your accomplishments and professional background.  

Keep track of who you contact.  It's easy to forget.

To fee or not to fee
The debate continues: place monetary value on authors’ time OR offer cost-free programs to budget-strapped schools to  promote literacy.  

I don’t charge for my visits.  

Instead, I ask teachers and staff to follow me on social media and/or subscribe to my newsletter. 

Many Kid Lit authors realize a fine income by selling book on site during their visit. Check school policy about this practice, but whatever you do, make it easy for teachers and parents.

4.  KID CONTROL

It’s a given: kids don’t sit still, but you know that, right?  You'll win the over with your amazing presence and pressie.

• Connect right away

​​Use personal experiences to make unique connections:
 
I love fourth grade because I was in fourth grade when I wrote my first story.
​
This tale is about a child who is in first grade….just like you!

• Channel wiggles and giggles

Short bursts of activities keep kids hooked: the younger the child, the more bursts you need.

For instance, younger kids can interact with the story by moving appropriately to passages you read.

When reading about driving a car, I demonstrate by moving my hands around an imaginary wheel, and asking kids to stay seated and follow my moves until I tell them to stop.

When in doubt, ask an educator. I was apprehensive about a roleplaying activity, but after  asking for feedback, we settled on a ‘controlled’ role play.

​I played a main character from my book, and teachers selected children to come up and interact with me as that character.  It was a huge hit with the kids and a joy for me.
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• Manage behaviors

It’s great to see kids excited and having fun.  Most are angels, but a few will test you.  

After 20+ year’s experience working with children, I'm comfortable managing inappropriate behaviors as soon as they pop up.  My best tactic is the No-Nonsense Eyeball that sends a non-verbal message about the need to straighten up n*o*w.  

Another trick is to establish behavioral expectations by reinforcing kids who participate appropriately:

I love the way you’re sitting.

You're listening politely.  Will you be my helper?
​
Thanks for raising your hand.
What a brilliant answer!

If you're unsure about behaviors, teachers or librarians will step in.  (Yep, I still ask staff to stay in the room with me.) 

5.  CLOSE
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• Say Thanks 

​Make time to thank students and staff.  Energy and enthusiasm is highest at the close, so this is the perfect time to let them know you welcome return visits.

• Don’t Forget  Giveaways

I was so excited after one visit, I  neglected my leave-behinds until teachers kindly reminded me.

• Add Your Call to Action

​An author visit is a chance to build relationships, and this is the time to encourage students and staff to join your tribe.  

Encourage kids, with the help of an adult, to send you drawings, story ideas, photos of them reading your book, etc., or ask their parents to subscribe to your newsletter.  They know how to stay in touch because your contact information is on your giveaways, right?

6.  FOLLOW UP
​​

​Almost done!

Demonstrating appreciation goes a long way to augment your professionalism and raise your visibility.

• Send thank-you notes

Write a note to your contacts and school staff, and add any testimonials you receive to your author website or social media.
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• Consider a video highlight

I include a video of visit highlights using approved photos (See step 4).  You’ll find free software to make the vids, like native i-Movie for OS/Moviemaker for Windows, cloud-based Animoto, or any of a ton of mobile apps like, Ripl and Shadow Puppet. 

Once again, include your call to action and social media links in the vid's outro.