THE HONORARIUM QUESTION #4: School/Library Appearances & Bookstores

Okay, let's admit it, not every bookstore signing makes you feel like a rock star. Weak turnout can happen for a variety of reasons and you've all heard the stories so I'm not going to enumerate them here. BUT school and library appearances can be a BIG HELP in making bookstore appearances more successful.

If you've got a bookstore signing lined up, on your own or with help from your publisher, offer to visit nearby schools and libraries so that, when you arrive at the bookstore in the evening, you've built buzz amongst area readers and educators. When you're at the schools, tell them about something special that'll be happening at the bookstore (give-away, secret, food) to give them incentive to come back for more.

HOW do you get school gigs near a local bookstore? Check with the bookstore to see if they have relationships with local schools (clear with your publicity department first, if applicable). Be aware that if your book signing has been planned and funded by your publisher, it's generally considered proper etiquette to comp stops at nearby schools. If you are coordinating bookstore visits on your own (and paying on your own dime) it's a bit of a different story but, since you'll be in town anyway, I'd advise a reduced, flat fee without travel or expense charges.

In general, when you've got to travel to an appearance, it's great to try to maximize the marketing value of all that time and trouble. I know authors who aggressively pursue school visits to coincide with book signings, and authors who always ask host schools if they know another school that might be interested in a second day (especially if the visit requires notable travel). As with all marketing, it's best to keep your publisher in the loop and to be sensitive to your own limits in terms of how much marketing you can manage (or stomach) and still be doing your best writing.

I hope these honorarium posts have been helpful. Now I'm back to my own ms :)

Back-to-Business Monday: THE HONORARIUM QUESTION Part 3 - Promotions & Incentives

While connecting with potential readers (as well as with educators, librarians and others in the book community who are interested in you and your work) is an important benefit of the author or illustrator appearance, it is optimal to have your marketing efforts also get the most number of books into the hands of readers.  Here are a few ideas for moving copies.

• Consider appearing for a discounted fee (or even just travel/hotel expenses) if there is a bulk book purchase.  This can be beneficial for newer and even more accomplished authors to show their support for such programs as a community book distribution or a One School-One Book event.
• Ask your publisher if they offer a pricing discount to schools/libraries hosting their authors. If so, make sure that this discount information is provided to all hosts to encourage book purchases.  If you have a reading guide, link to a really good newspaper interview you've done, or other read-the-book enticements, make sure to provide this information to hosts along with book order details when you confirm an appearance.
• Create a special appearance benefit for groups having read your book.  For example, if you're going to speak at a school, offer to have a special session with members of their book group if they've read your book.  Or, offer a special talk tied to particular curriculum areas and with special "author secrets revealed" material for appearances at which all students will have read your book and are ready for a special, in-depth workshop.

Beyond the fact that selling books is good for your career, the more members of your audience have copies of your book, the more engaged they are likely to be in your visit.  There's just something cool about having a copy of a book written by someone you have seen or even met!  Obviously, the more books there are to sign, the more fun and energized signings will be as well.  Which brings me to the topic for next Monday: School Appearances and Bookstore Signings.

I'll finish her by noting that, as always, these suggestions should be considered merely starting points to get you thinking about the how and why of promoting your book.  Have you had a particularly successful author appearance, gotten a great appearance marketing tip from a website or writer colleague, or thought of another author appearance idea to share?  Please leave a comment so we can all learn from each other!

Back-to-Business Monday: THE HONORARIUM QUESTION PART II

First, a quick note: SEPTEMBER 12-18, 2010, is NATIONAL ARTS IN EDUCATION WEEK.   Arts education embraces disciplines from dance, drama, and design to music, media and literature. Does your novel feature an artistic element?  Might be worth visiting the NEA website to learn more.

Now, on to the question of DISCOUNTING honorarium fees.  In general, I think consistency is very important in setting prices for appearances.  That, said, there are certain situations in which a lower honorarium fee or other accommodation may be warranted.

WHEN...

• It's local.  A lower fee (or waiver of travel/expense costs) can be offered to local or in-state schools and libraries as this is your "home turf" and requires less time on your part.  Some authors even consider offering single-presentations or part-day visits
• You have a new book out.  To launch a new book into the world and maximize appearances without seeming cheap, consider offering a lower-priced, new-title focused program for a brief, specific duration around your pub date.
• You're willing to go virtual.  To promote your book, consider Skype visits, online chats or other virtual type appearances which you can offer at a lower price.

HOW...do you present your fees to schools and libraries?  With budgets tighter than ever, it always helps to be flexible. So, whatever you decide to quote, you might finish with a phrase like "please let me know how this works with your budget" so that you leave the door open for them to give you feedback versus just never replying if the number seems too high to them. This is also gives you the opportunity to discuss their needs and suggest some of your lower-priced options if available.

IF...you really want to get exposure for your first (or a new) book and/or experience with presentations, you may want to discount for some period of time.  Just remember there's a notable cost to you in terms of time (aka foregone writing or work time), preparation, travel, and logistics (babysitter for kids, sub for your classroom, etc.), so think it through carefully.  Do the math to make sure you're not actually incurring costs to do appearances.

All of these honorarium posts are meant to help you give thoughtful, thorough consideration to what it means to charge for appearances, just like you do to other elements of your marketing plans.  Taking the time to do this in advance makes answering questions along the way much easier.

NEXT WEEK: Promotions & Incentives

Back-to-Business Monday: THE AUTHOR VISIT HONORARIUM QUESTION

As often happens around August through October, I've seen an uptick in author appearance requests. It's back-to-school time! Perhaps this is why a lot of authors have recently been asking me about setting and changing fees, particularly in light of the tough economic situation and the resulting financial difficulties for schools and libraries.  About a month ago, I began drafting a lengthy blog post about setting appearance fees to post this month.  But recently, I realized two things: (1) my posts are getting rather long and (2) I've got a September 20th revision deadline PLUS a slew of new freelance jobs. So, this month, all four Back-to-Business Mondays are going to be installments of THE HONORARIUM QUESTION. Hopefully, they'll be quick and useful!

THE HONORARIUM QUESTION #1: Coming up with a base number

First, please note that these numbers are are neither prescriptive nor absolute. They are based on both my experiences working for publishers and myriad conversations with individual authors and illustrators.  Setting your appearance fee involves many consideration and is, ultimately, a very individual decision and there are certainly folks whose numbers fall outside the ranges I'll note.  That said, in my opinion, a reasonable honorarium range for first-time and single-title authors and illustrators is between $500 and $1,000/day. Authors/Illustrators with greater numbers of in-print books, and titles with wide ranges of reading levels can consider going higher, say $1,200-$2,500/day. It is customary to quote appearance fees as a per-day honorarium PLUS travel and lodging expenses.

Select the range in which you fall, above, then consider:

• Number of books in print (and availability of paperback versus hardcover titles - this can affect the number of books sold at a given appearance as hardcovers are more expensive)
• Age range to whom you speak (Consider that authors of YA are often speaking directly to their book-buying readership while picture book creators write for young kids but their books are often purchased by adults)
• Number (and variety or types) of presentations you are willing to give for your daily fee

Once you've got a rough sense of what you will charge, give consideration to the following and adjust your fee if you feel this is warranted:

• What is the economic situation for your local area and school district (especially important if you have good relationships with local schools and appear fairly often locally)?
• Do you want to maximize appearance opportunities to publicize your book (lower fee) OR are speaking engagements a critical revenue-generator for you (higher, profit-margin-required fee)?
• Do you have a new book coming out this year or are there other time-sensitive factors that make your appearances (a) more in-demand or (b) more important for you?
• Are you an experienced speaker (perhaps a former teacher) and/or do you offer presentations with curriculum ties or other academic supports that add value to your appearances?

Hopefully, these considerations will provide a fairly easy formula for coming up with a number with which you can be comfortable. Next Monday: Discounting - When, How, If?

The Business of Children's Books: Setting Your Fees for School & Library Appearances

I know that I've been discussing reading guides however, this very morning I had two authors emailed me asking how much they should charge for their school and library appearances. So, since I took some care providing answers, I thought I'd post a few highlights from my replies to them here.

SHOULD I CHARGE A FEE?
Almost all authors do charge for school and library visits, generally in the form of a daily honorarium plus travel and expenses (I recommend stipulating something like "up to 3 (or 4) presentations per day"). EXCEPTIONS: (1) If the publisher is paying for your travel and hotel for a book tour or other promotional event, standard protocol is to waive fees for any schools you visit in conjunction with a publisher-funded trip. (2) If you have reached out to a school or library (instead of them contacting you) because you will be in their area, it is typical to charge a reduced, flat fee and no travel expenses.

WHO DECIDES & HOW MUCH?
Authors set their own fees. The typical range is about $500-$1,000 for newer authors to $2,500 for established authors (some high-profile authors charge more). Though it's no guarantee, charging a fee tends to make the host (school/library) invest more in preparing for your visit--kids are more likely to have read the book, learned about you, prepared questions--making for a more successful event and better promotion for you. However, the more expensive you are, the more often you'll price yourself out of school budgets, so it's kind of a balancing act. It's useful to decide WHY you're doing school visits. Are they fun? Do you want to do a lot? Do you want to make school appearances an income source? Or just find an audience for your book? Do some research by visiting websites of authors publishing in your genre and/or whom you feel are at a similar stage in their career, to see what they charge and what they offer--and be sure to look at their event calendars, if provided, to get a sense of whether their program is yielding the type of appearance volume you would like to develop. TIPS: (1) Consider offering writing workshops or other more tailored programs to justify your fees. (2) Consider offering a discounted fee for local appearances or multiple-day appearances--people always like a "deal"!

Back to setting up appearances for folks, now. Let me know if you've got any questions!