Anastasia Suen
Author of over 100 Books
www.asuen.com
Author, teacher, and consultant Anastasia Suen is the author of 115 books and 5 book blogs. A former Kindergarten, 1st, 5th, and 6th grade teacher, she consults for several children's book publishers and teaches writing at Southern Methodist University and online.
Aday: Hello Anastasia. I’m thrilled to be interviewing someone as knowledgeable as you. Let’s see what gems you can share with us about school visits.
Anastasia: Thank you for this opportunity to visit your blog!
Aday: I recently took your course on school author visits. What do you find to be a common misconception about/mistake made with regard to school visits?
Anastasia: The most common misconception is that authors are rich! Program planners think I can come to their school free of charge because I'm making so much money from my books. Why is this so? It's because most of the public thinks that authors are paid in full for each book. They are shocked to learn that authors are only paid 3-10% of the book's cover price. I play a game of "hot and cold" to help students guess how much money I make as the author of a $16 hardcover picture book. When someone finally says 80 cents, the students are always very surprised. (Sometimes they gasp!) But its true, 5% of $16.00 is 80 cents.
Aday: What is the key to keeping the students attention during a presentation?
Anastasia: Engaging the students is key. I try to think at their level and to talk about what they will find interesting. What works for kindergarten does NOT work for second grade, or seventh! I also invite the students to participate. We chant together, we move our hands. I ask questions and for volunteers to help me. If we are working on the program together, they stay "with" me, and pay attention.
Aday: How do you get repeat invitations to schools?
Anastasia: If you see all of the students in a school on one day, they probably won't invite you back until ALL of those students have "graduated!" For an elementary school, that's 6 or 7 years away. The way to build business is to give a dynamic program and build a great reputation. That leads to NEW invitations at other schools in the area. Word-of-mouth is what sells school visits.
Aday: What’s the leading contributor toward having low school visit opportunities?
Anastasia: You'll build good word-of-mouth by understanding your audience. What schools want is to have you come and give their students something of value. They already teach reading and writing. What you offer is an opportunity to show that reading and writing matter. If your program is just about how great you are, word will get around and the invitations will stop coming.
Aday: Other than the number of books an author has published what affects the amount an author may charge for school visits?
Anastasia: Your books are one factor in your fee, but so is your connection with the audience. How dynamic are you? How well-known are you? What is the demand in your area?
Aday: How can an author market themselves for school visits when they have no published books and only a few stories or articles published?
Anastasia: It depends on what type of program you're offering. A storyteller doesn't need to have book published and neither does an artist. If you want to help students learn what you know, offer programs that share your unique knowledge.
Aday: Why should someone take your course? What can it do for them that they could not learn from a little research?
Anastasia: I've been teaching in the schools since 1977, so I know what works (and what doesn't!) My goal is to help you prepare a program - minute by minute - that you can use in schools. In fact, that's the homework for the first day of the workshop! After that, I'll show you how to decide on your school visit prices, create a mailing list of local schools, design a postcard, and create a system for your school visit book signings. As you complete each lesson, I'll give you feedback to help you create a special school visits program. (Yes, it's a "critique" workshop for your school visits!)
Aday: I recently took Anastasia’s course on author school visits and learned a great deal. It was well worth the money, and I’ll make it back with one visit. I feel confident and justified about advertising my visits for a fee. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in building a school visit element to their writing/illustrating career!
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