Authors in Schools with Tubby & Coo's
An Author Visit is when an author comes to a school and speaks to a portion of its student body, usually on the topic of reading, writing, or the content of a book they’ve written. It’s a memorable and rewarding experience and furthers the goal of getting kids to read. Plus, hosting authors helps schools receive grants, as you’re promoting literacy. And it’s free to the school to host a visit through Tubby & Coo’s! Setting this up on your own could incur author fees in the thousands of dollars because publishers foot the bill on their expenses and typically pass those costs onto the school.
Typically, an author will visit two schools per day – one in the morning and one in the afternoon. An author may require certain AV, will want to speak with specific grades, and will sometimes need a particular audience size. All of this information will be provided for you before you decide if you’d like to host them.
School Requirements
- To read and sign the Author School Visit Contract before committing to hosting an author at your school. Each author you host requires a new contract to be signed, as we update the contract frequently.
- By committing to host an author, the school agrees to purchase a minimum of 25 copies of the book being promoted. The minimum for Title I schools is 10 copies. Schools usually hit this number very easily, and frequently exceed it. We have a list of ways the school can help promote the visit to encourage book sales (see bulleted list below). If the school doesn’t reach the minimum, and we don’t hear from the school within two weeks of the visit, Tubby & Coo’s will charge the school using the newest book from the author in order to reach the minimum. If the school wants to purchase copies to give away to students (versus selling copies to students), that is completely fine as long as the minimum is met.
- To handle all the money that comes in from the students if selling books. The school collects all of the money, and Tubby & Coo’s will send a single invoice after the author visit to the school.
More Information
If you decide to schedule an Author Visit through Tubby & Coo’s, additional information will be sent to you via e-mail, including suggestions on how to promote the visit.
After Scheduling
As soon as the event has been confirmed, Tubby & Coo’s will e-mail you an official confirmation, which will ask you a few logistical questions. Following that, you’ll receive a “next steps” e-mail that will include an Order Form/Flyer specific to your school. Tubby & Coo’s will order the books for you to sell at your school (or give away if you choose) and will let you know when the books come in so you can pick them up at the store.
Order Form/Flyer
An Order Form/Flyer is a flyer letting students and their families know about the event, the author, and their book, and it gives students/parents the opportunity to buy the author’s book(s) in advance of the event so students can have it signed by the author (either at the event or beforehand, depending on the author’s schedule.) This form is a requirement of the publisher, as they’re sending the author to the school free of charge. The Order Form/Flyer is specially designed to be a poster/flyer to help advertise and promote the Author Visit, in addition to serve as an actual order form. It’s also designed for use before and after the event. A benefit of students pre-ordering the book before the Author Visit is that the author will be able to sign the book! If students decide not to pre-order the book, they will get the opportunity to do so after the event. Just keep in mind that students who order after the event will not be able to get their book signed.
Preparing for a Visit
It is the responsibility of the school to promote the event and to distribute the Order Form/Flyer.
Provide the info to Tubby & Coo’s so we can prepare the Order Form/Flyer.
- Once the Order Form/Flyer has been distributed, the school collects the forms and money.
- About two weeks before the author visit and for about one week afterwards, the school should have books available for sale. The school will indicate to Tubby & Coo’s a quantity to be ordered about 4 weeks before the event, then Tubby & Coo’s will order the books and have them ready to be picked up by a school representative at our store about two weeks before the visit. Tubby & Coo’s will also be sure to put a deadline on the Order Form/Flyer for parents to order books to have them in time for the event.
Tubby & Coo’s will note the titles and quantities ordered and received, and if there are books left over at the end of the time frame (about one week after the Author Visit), the school will return those books to Tubby & Coo’s. We will tally what sold, and a single invoice will be sent to the school for payment for books sold. The school will receive one invoice for all pre-order sales, on-site sales, day-of sales and post sales.
Request an Author Today
Fill out the form to the right to request an author visit to your school. Please ensure you have checked the requested date to determine that school is in session and that there are no event or testing conflicts that day.