SCHOOL VISITS
A collection of ideas from PicBookArts members
Regarding school visits...I love them. It really gives me a chance to see the real reaction to my work. I've always illustrated books authored by others but find that in this type of environment it's the drawing and painting the children ( and adults ) want to see. I aleays tell the school to notify parents that I am visiting and welcome them to the presentation as well. I leave behind bookmarks, a natural for what I do, which I make by photocopying an original design made especially for the bookmark but relating to one of my books ie. Tonka truck or some underwater creature. I autograph these personally when the children bring the books they purchase to be signed so no one feels left out. I've had great response to this. I usually charge $500 for half day (2 presentations) and $800 for a full day (4 presentations). I've learned not to underprice the service I provide the hard way and I've heard of authors and illustrators who get much more than this along with extras like travel money,(which I do ask for when travelling out of the tri-state region) and special lunches. Overall it is a great experience to be out of the studio for the day and treated like the celebrities of days past.Steven
I have been successful at holding students' and parents' attention by involving them every step of the way. I never TELL them something without first asking for their thoughts on how it comes about. You have to limit the amount of answers you take because of time constraints but it works. The younger the students the more quickly they become bored "just sitting there". Props work wonders! They love to see things. I always show works in progress... the "sloppy copy" I call it and they relate to that kind of thing really well. Be animated and walk around...save ALL questions until the end or everyone will want their turn at asking a question and it's usually something like this..."My Mom writes books."
Good Luck,
Steven
I love school visits. They also provide a great supplement to your income. Since most of my books are published by educational publishers, the teachers really welcome me, many already familiar with my books. When I first started doing the visits I charged $250 half day (8-12noon) and $500 full day. Then the schools would typically cram in every student in the school and I would end up giving huge presentations in the gym in addition to hands-on workshops. Now a half day would consist of 4 hands-on workshops or 2 hands-on workshops and an assembly, and I charge $500 plus expenses if I travel out of a certain region. If they love you like an author/illustrator I know, they'll invite you for multiple day presentations, cause the issue is, most schools want every student exposed to you in some way. Lately, I've been doing teacher development workshops for art teachers and other teachers to show how the art and books cross the curriculum.
Adjoa
Jane Yolen, when schools questioned her fee--back when she DID school visits--used to say, "That's two bake sales and a car wash." It also helps sometimes to point out that the school can order your books at a discount and use the profit to help pay your fee.
I also heard about a guy, who set his fee at some exorbitant rate. But then he'd say, "But I've never been to Tennessee... Tell you what, if you'll pay all my expenses, I'll do it." He didn't collect any money, but was treated with real appreciation instead of like a "freebie".
Anna
<< Wouldn't the school provide an overhead? >>
Yes, I just meant there will only be the overhead projector to deal with, not the slide projector, too. Plus, you don't have to cart around the carousel.
<< Do the lights have to be dim during that part?>>
Overhead projectors usually are bright enough without the room having to be darkened. Not true for slide projectors, the darker the better. Some schools don't have a room that can be darkened, which is another reason I've dumped my slide show.Loreen
<< I always felt mortified to ask anything for going to schools... my thinking being... "well, that's like taking away that new slide projector they were going to get... or I guess they won't be able to
afford to paint that hallway now"... I mean schools seem so hard up for basic necessities. >>They never use their slide projectors, anyway! Just kidding. If things are that tight, schools don't spend money on frivolous things like speakers. And remember, the principal is getting paid. The teachers are getting paid. The aides are getting paid. The custodians are getting paid. Why shouldn't the author/artist get paid? You're worth it! I agree that some schools are hard up for funds, but what often happens in their case is some outside agency like the Miami Book Fair is funding the visit. Incidentally, the MB Fair pays everybody the same amount: $1,000 a day for two presentations. (They've hired me twice... YAY!)
If a school can't afford an author visit, I feel that it's a "frill" anyway, and nobody will miss it. But many schools have plenty of money. One school told me, "we figured out we could spend $1.50 per kid and have an ice cream social, or we could spend 75¢ per kid and have you."
The first visit I did in 1984 paid $400 a day, and I now get $800, plus expenses, for up to three presentations (I will not do more because I run out of steam... it's a one-woman show, after all). My publisher thinks I should charge more. Am I worth it? Maybe or maybe not, but most schools seem to be happy with it and many have long-running programs for years and years to bring in authors-illustrators. There must be a reason, and it usually is a staff that knows how to make the most of a book-oriented visit and who prepare the kids for months in advance. Incidentally, I recently cut my school visits down to four per year because while I like to visit schools to see what's happening, I was getting burned out on it after doing too many. It's tiring, and your work is just sitting at home not getting done. However, any good-sized conference that asks me, I'll go to, and they don't pay, usually.
Loreen
I've recently been updating my presentation. It used to be part slides and part drawing on the overhead, but the equipment often gets in the way and is cumbersome. So, I've converted all the slides to printed overheads and added several on digital illustration. Now, I only need an overhead projector to do my presentations. I can print overheads with my Epson 3000... the quality is clear enough (though not as crisp as a slide). You can also get transparencies printed on color copiers at Kinko's or similar places.
I show pictures of myself as a kid and early drawing and writing samples. There are scans of the steps in making a book (scribbles, character sketches, research stuff, book plan, dummy page, final art in progress) and a photo of my studio, and digitizing tablet/pen. Then I draw a couple of characters onto blank transparencies, then take ideas from the group and draw a new character. If time permits, we start on story ideas for the new character. The school can make photocopies of the character, so each kid gets a souvenir of the day even if they don't get a book. (I "autograph" the drawing.) I take questions at various points, depending on the situation.
Haven't tried starting a storyboard, but sounds like a good idea. The only problem with getting ideas from the group is that they tend to start talking amongst themselves and it gets noisy. I always insist on having a microphone for a large group.
For teachers/parents, I have taken photos over the years of projects kids have made based on my books. So, I show the projects, usually four or five for each book, just to give them ideas for further activities inspired by reading a book.
Loreen
Here are a few possible suggestions for school visits-
Bring slides of the book if applicable.
Bring props.
Talk about your own experiences in school.
Talk about their writing/ reading experiences.
Talk about the background behind the story.
Have kids act out ideas from the story.
Ask how the story might have changed if a character had made another decision.
Relate the values of the story to the classroom.
Speak loud and clear, do what you can to engage the students.
Dress in a costume that relates to the story.
Ask the teachers to read (or maybe not) your story to the students ahead of time to familiarize them about you.
Have 8 1/2x11 or 11x17 posters put up in the school with your pic. and the book's cover so the kids will recognize you when you come.
Max
Another BIG HIT for school visits: If you can sketch likenesses, have the teacher POSE for a quick sketch portrait. Once the kids see you draw first hand, they'll be in the PALM of your hand! (And they'll be very disappointed you can't teach them to draw RIGHT THEN) <:O)~~~~
Kathy
Hi!
With great interest I read the mail about school visits. I think it depends a lot of the age on the children we are visiting. In the recent years I very often was invited to libraries and schools to talk about the development of a certain book of mine. I had the experience that the 8-to 10 year-old girls and boys paid the most attention. When I am there I am showing color slides. The lecture or slide show is always framed by a vivid question and answer game about that what the children are just watching at the screen.
The slide show demonstrates a book that deals with animal friendship (fiction) and (the show) is a mixture of the illustrations I made and photos of real cats which where in my studio when I created the artworks.
Up to now this mixture kept the children watching and listening for nearly one hour. Afterwards we go together to a place where they can grab one of my books and have a look at all the stories and pictures. After one and a half hours I leave the school/library and all are happy: the children learnt something about the long and sometimes hard work that is necessary to finish a book and I am happy that they are happy and --- got good money for that short time!
In average it is about 400 DeutschMark that means appr. 220 US$. That is also a fine by-job for a children's book illustrator.
Organized are these school visits mainly by central library associations and take place in schools because there are more possibilities to have many children together and at last there is a better chance to darken the room for the slide show.
Pieter
Little ones love to design characters. I had the teacher call on them -as all hands were up (and I don't know the names), wildly waving -and I drew it. We had a check list: Where it lived; what it ate; how many eyes -describe; ears -describe; legs -describe. I learned quickly to limit numbers to 5 extremeties or less; etc. If time, they can direct the coloring, too.
Diana
I do a visit each week to kind. and 1st graders. I have a blast! Try being as gestural and interactive with your talk as much as possible. They adore questions...but look out, you will get answers! But if you want to make those kids year, draw for them or draw with them. You will give them something you cannot put a price tag on! Hope it's crazy and fun!
rich
I once attended an event that Janet Stevens was doing for grade school kids and she did this same thing. She was doing 3 or 4 of these presentations that day for different schools that came as their field trip to Crown Center in K.C. Janet carried a big roll of brown kraft paper for the drawings and used chunky pastels. She had the kids help decide what to dress him in...like what shoes he should have on, clothing, etc. The kids loved this and really got into it. She then left the signed drawing for the school to keep. What a treasure! I enjoyed the presentation as much as the kids. I like attending these presentations from different illustrators just to get ideasfor future use.
Phyllis H.
Elvira Woodruff came to my daughter's school and I went to see her. She spoke for about an hour to the third, fouth and fifth graders. The fifth graders were actually reading her book on Ellis Island so they were familiar with her. But to liven things up in the beginning of her talk she had some of the teachers and students come up and act out a children's story that she read. I don't remember if it was from one of her books or not, but they were really funny. Plus she had some props and things for them to wear. Then she went into her slide presentation and talk. It was very entertaining.
Cathy
When visiting Pre-K through 1st Grade I limit the time I spend telling and devote more time showing. I show them a "simple" book, like a counting book, I've illustrated, so it's easy to follow and the story is not complicated. I have them tell me what kind of character to create that goes along with the story...silly, scary, etc. and spend most of the time drawing this for them. While you're drawing and have their attention, is the time for more simple explanations and questions. Thirty minutes max. is all you'll get out of these little ones...use it wisely Grasshopper.
Steven
A slide show of your work is always effective in a large group. Plus, if you are comfortable drawing in front of an audience, kids love to see an artist work. I usually do cartoon versions of the characters in my books and then leave the drawings for the school. I just do a quick marker drawing and I stand to one side so that they can all see what I'm drawing. The faster the better.
Have fun.
Anna-Maria
I explain to the group that I'm going to draw an amazingly fantastical creature, but they are going to tell me what qualities, etc this creature will have. Then a short talk about colors, textures, shapes, feelings,etc. in order to stimulate a wide variety of responses. Next we do a brain storm process where the kids suggest ideas - slimy, 6 legs, fairy wings, long purple hair, etc.,etc. In a few minutes we have a sheet full of suggestions, which I proceed to draw, while explaining the process I'm using to develop the character. This can be completed by having the kids think up a name (possibly a made-up word using a mixture of several suggestions).
This may also be used in a workshop where kids, individually, in pairs, whatever, go through the above stages and develop their own special character, with the illustrator (and teacher) overseeing/facilitating the process. This has been successful, especially if teacher's continue the process by getting the student's to write a story using their character, or join with others to collectively write a short tale using several characters/creatures, after the illustrator has gone. These wonderful stories and images can often find their way into your mailbox, along with some great letters from kids. Very rewarding all round!
Trevor ;-)
I agree with Anna-Maria, kids absolutely love watching someone create an image - quick and bold. We are visual people so I don't believe it's adequate to talk about our work, we have to show it - slides, overhead projectors,- or better still do it.
I find that talking kids through the process while drawing works well; I start with pencil rough (graphite stick), block in colors with colored pastel (chalk pastels - messey but easy to use), outline, highlights/details in about 20-25 mins.
With smaller groups I encourage participation by having the students suggest body parts, etc. in order for me to generate their own special character/monster/creature/whatever. The drawing is left with the class at the end of the session - kids seem to love it
If the group is really big and those at the rear are unable to see a demo. slides of a book you have illustrated that you read to the group or an overview of your work is successful in my experience. Some schools have video projectors which could be useful.
The most important thing if you're not used to presenting is to relax and enjoy the experience - kids are generally very forgiving and very enthusiastic.
Go for it!
Trevor
Just be clear that the drawings are for the school.If you give one away to a kid you could very easily start a feeding frenzy-I speak from experience! they're like that about autograghs,too,which I certainly don't mind giving them but its harder for the teachers to get them back in line if they think they're missing something all the other kids got.
You'll find that a half-hour is very little time.If you're doing slides,I would call the school,make sure they have a working slide projector and screen ready for you(don't ever take anything for granted-give humans a chance to screw up and they will)do about 15 mins. of slides at most,and 10-15 mins.of Q and A-it gives the kids a sense of contact w/ you which is what they want.You can incorporate the drawing into the Q and A time,or save it for the last 5 or 10 mins.It is like magic,after all.Have fun.
Hudson
For kindergartners all the way through to adults - try to bringstuff that shows your creative process and the publishing process. Bringdummies, etc. I have a big piece of paper that I put thumb nail sketchesand lots of preliminary stuff on. It's a mess but it shows kids what Igo through to create.
For any kind of presentation I'm making, I pick one or two people thatseem to be "in" to what I'm doing and make eye contact with them.Don't worry about everybody it can be too distracting.
For 1st graders and kindergartners - if you can throw in a little song,rhyme with motions, paper folding stories, tell and draw story (likepeople have already suggested.) I like using funny props - hats, stuffedanimals, etc. Tying stuff on your shoes, like books, bugs, whatever getskids to talk to you and the teachers, too.
Sixth grade and up is hard for me because I can't use the gimmicks thatI rely on to loosen me up. Really talking philosophically about what youdo and sharing from the heart seems to be working for sixth and up. I canuse cool quotes. (At least that's the best I can come up with.)Debbie
"Reprinted from a note to an artist friend"
OOoo, do I have lots of advice for you. (Re school visits.) You do not have to use ANY of it, but skim through and see if any sounds right for you.
Re selling books -- you don't want to do this YOURSELF unless you want to go through all the trouble of declaring profits on your taxes, handling state income tax, etc. Hardly worth it. The ideal way to do it is have the SCHOOL (usually in the form of its PTA) handle the selling, and you presign the books ordered before you come for the visit.
I'm happy to share my school guidelines. Just e-mail me at AliceMcLerran@compuserve.com, giving a snailmail address. They include my solutions for handling problems such as what to do about the kids who come up with scraps of paper, wanting autographs. (There isn't time, you can't say yes to some and then no to others, yet you hate to hurt kids' feelings. There is a way out!)
My standard School Packet explains to the coordinator of my visit how to do everything. You might want to design your own packet. You'd probably be able to make it less wordy, and also you may want to structure your time less intensively than I.
I know of no other visiting author or artist willing to do back-to-back sessions (4 presentations is usually max), but I value the interactive small-group sponteneity. What you will do will undoubtedly involve more graphic demonstration of how you work (slides or on-the-spot sketches) and may work very nicely in the auditorium. If there is no auditorium, see ifyou can be set up with any equipment you'll need in the library. Moving from classroom to classroom doesn't work. Moving the kids in and out takes less time than having YOU pack up and move around, and anyway if you did every classroom separately you'd have sessions even shorter than the ones I have. Most schools have multiple classes at the same level, and you can't pack more than one class in a room and expect full attention.
What is ESSENTIAL is that the teachers read your books ahead, before you come. This serves three purposes: (1) no one will expect YOU to read them aloud (why should you do what anyone can do?) and you can use the precious contact time for things ONLY you can offer the kids, (2) the kids will be more excited about meeting you (why should they be interested in you if they don't know what you can do?) and (3) they'll be familiar with the books, and lean on their parents to buy them when the school sends the order blank home.
I think one of the things you have to offer the kids (and their teachers!) is an inside view of how illustrating works -- of how an artist works together with the author communicate what is being offered, of the pluses and minuses of having contact with the author, of how it feels having others look over your shoulder as you create, of the kinds of problems you face and can solve, and the challenge of making the most of an illustration opportunity.
A part of the value of visits like these is that they can inspire kids to do creative things of their own. By emphasizing illustration as a fun way of telling a story, a set of interesting challenges -- rather than as something only for those who are artistically gifted -- you can encourage kids to be the illustrators for their own stories. Even if they aren't the best artists in the class, they have an inside track the kind of illustrations that would help tell THEIR stories. One thing I have in what I think of as my "bag of tricks" is a collection of home-published books. They can see how even at age 4 my grandson Kenny could make a book for me with a page involving a graphic idea SO clever that it surprises. The book my son made for me when he was in the 2nd grade with detailed pictures of the cat we both loved -- with the corners of its page worn away by being read. A color xerox of the book I made at age 15 as a birthday present for my brother Don -- the ONLY thing he still has from when he turned 9. The TINY book my son made when he was 11, a mini-cartoon-strip with one picture per page. I'm lucky to have this collection to share. Things like these make the point that people DO love the books kids can make. If you still have things you did as a child, even better. It's encouraging to see that even professional artists start out as children doing imperfect things -- that practice DOES pay off.
Charge a fee. It doesn't have to be enormous, but do NOT do freebies. Once you are more sure of what you are doing, charge a SIGNIFICANT fee. You can make exceptions in case of deserving schools, but there are reasons for charging. First, your time and your expertise are things of value, and schools shouldn't be expected to take them for granted. Second, if you offer yourself as a gift they'll assume you are just coming to sell your books, not realizing that you'd almost certainly earn more money per hour doing housekeeping that you will from the profit for the quantities of books sold at such visits. Third, they won't USE what you offer unless they have paid for it. They won't read the stories ahead, they won't do projects tied in with what you say after you leave. I used to think it was rationalization when psychiatrists said that patients who don't pay a hefty fee don't work in therapy, but alas, the parallel seems to be true when it comes to schools. Fourth, for people like you and me to do stuff like this for free undercuts those artist and authors who MUST depend on school fees to survive. Very few in our field can support themselves on royalties alone. Most either have spouses footing a share of the bills, hold down "day jobs," or work the school circuit.
Alice McLerran
One way to approach school book sales is to have the school order books directly from the publisher, which it can usually do at a deep discount (40% with my publisher) - which is a big sell to the school. The school is usually charged for shipping and handling fees; the cost would vary depending on your publisher and geographic location. If the school doesn't sell all the books, it can return them to the publisher, so it's not left holding the bag.
Also, there may well be a local bookstore that would like to handle this sort of thing for you. Of course, they wouldn't be able to pass on a 40% discount to the school, but maybe 10 or 20%. I have a bookstore in my area that handles everything, including pre-order forms sent to schools (to pass on to the parents) to determine the number of books to be ordered. It's a win-win
situation. I sold 85 books at a school last week - certainly more than I've ever sold at a bookstore signing!Susan
Reading your own story is very different when its coming from the person who wrote it - kids get that. I stumbled on to the magic of that when I noticed how quiet everyone got anytime I told them a bit of the story as I did a slide talk. Now I usually narrate the story, occasionally reading the good dialogue parts(acting out the characters, of course). This is really good for k-2 or 3. With 4th graders and up you can talk more about the process, underlying messages, writing/illustrating as career path, etc. I've been doing school visits for about 12 years, have about 20 lined up for this spring. As librarians/teachers have gotten to know me the invitations have increased to becoming a reasonable supplementary source of income. Its always fun to connect with our audience, not to mention the gratification of contributing some creative stimulation to the next generation(s).
Hudson
To show the students the process of a book being published/produced I had jumbo size signs (to be held by a child) that had a title of a person written on it; such as "Illustrator", "Editor", Art Director", "Writer" - even "Fed Ex Person". There were about 10 signs total - and as I explained the process - from the writer's first ms. all the way down to the customer/child who gets the finished book into their hands - I'd have a child come up and hold up the sign in front of the class, representing that title. The students enjoyed seeing their friends get up and participate, and it gave them a brief overview of who is involved in every book that gets published.
Priscilla
I made up a multiple choice sheet for each 3rd-6th grader. They created their own character from it and could add other options. It was questions like: How many ears, what color, what does it eat, where does it live, etc. They all sat in circles in the classroom and each got to tell about their character. This could be done in small groups too. I used the sheet myself with the kdgtn and first graders and drew as they told me the answers. The teacher called on them to make sure each got a turn. You only have to have a # limit on how many of anything. Then, we got to name it.
Diana
I was observing a workshop that a children's book illustrator friend of mine held in at a local community centre. One thing he did with the kids, that I
thought was really neat, was show them the drawings that didn't make it into the book. He would hold up each illustration and ask the kids what they
thought was wrong about the drawing. Why did they think the Art Director and Editor said no to it. They were really sharp kids. They found all kinds of problems and most often then not, the exact ones that made the editor ask for changes. Then he asks the kids to draw a character based on their middle name and the name of their street.Chris
I have a secret signal (moose horns) that I practice with the kids. When I make moose horns, everybody has to be quiet and make moose horns too. We practice making noise and then doing the signal just as quickly as possible. I warn them to watch out, 'cause I might just do the secret signal at any time during my talk. It sounds silly, but it works like a charm, and the kids love it. And then I don't have to say things like "okay, let's be quiet" or whatever. I wouldn't do it with 5th or 6th graders in the crowd,
though.Andrea