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Tips for Kid Lit Author School Visits- Part 4: Tips for Giveaways on a Shoestring Budget PART 1: The A to Zs of Classroom Visits PART 2: 10 Kid Lit Pros Share Their Secrets PART 3: Five Tips for Taking Better Photos of Kids in the Classroom PART 4: Tips for Giveaways on a Shoestring Budget from 8 KidLit Pros Have you ever had an amazing opportunity unexpectedly come your way? And you have very little time to get ready for it? That was my situation a few weeks ago. I needed something fast and inexpensive to give away for school visits that popped up in two states over three consecutive days. Graphic designers came up with beautiful, two-sided color bookmarks. However, those bookmarks required so many cuts per page ($2.00 per cut for eight cuts on a single sheet). A big box copy center quoted $350 for 200 bookmarks. Yikes. I was frantic to find a Plan B. So, I created quadrants of illustrations from my book in both PowerPoint and Word. Alas, the 1/4-inch white border all the way around the perimeters looked tacky. On to Plan C (hoping I wouldn’t go through the entire alphabet). Super stressing. My school visits were hours away, and I couldn’t come up with an affordable giveaway. Girlfriend Linda to the rescue! She prints family albums all the time and recommended making 4x6 color prints of my book illustrations. Bingo! I pulled up one of Irene Jahn’s watercolors, used my Macbook's photo editing to insert a book title and website url, and I was in business. Only $.09 per copy for 150+ imprints at my local big box retailer. Way more affordable and ready in a heartbeat.  4x6 photo cards from a 1-hour Photo save the day Photo cards were a huge hit, but I still wanted to find affordable bookmarks. KidLit colleagues to the rescue! Below are suggestions from seven Kid Lit pros for finding inexpensive school visit giveaways. Many favor 2"x6" bookmakers in full-color, double-sided, and pre-cut. But you'll find other idea to make your marketing budget do the happy dance. I. bookmarks and rack cards K. Lamb Author: The Dani P. Mystery Series Overnight Prints http://www.overnightprints.com/bookmarks “They are super cheap… always offering discounts.”
Carmela Dutra Author, Illustrator:Lorenzo the Bear Series Vista Prints: http://www.vistaprint.com “No joke; it was a great deal!’
 Affordable, smart-looking bookmarks and rack cards Neighbor Girl's Mom Marketing Advisor: Stanley and Katrina Series NextDayFlyers http://www.nextdayflyers.com/ “[Bookmarks] are thick, glossy and look better than many that we've seen in the libraries.”
Beyond Bookmarks |
CAT MICHAELSThe writing journey is a long one. And with all that social media and technology in the mix, it's easy to feel overloaded. To make it easier, I share angst-saving tips found along my way. I'm still learning, so please join me. Let's travel this writing journey and learn together. 
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