Book Sales, Autographs, & Visit Tips

Tips for a Successful Visit

For a great visit, the best thing you can do is to hype it up beforehand! Students will be much more excited and engaged if they are familiar with my books. Read a book with them before my visit, talk about my different books, and have them think about questions they might want to ask. Give them enough time to bring home book sale information to their parents so that they can have the exciting experience of receiving their very own signed book on the day of my visit!

Book Sales & Autographs — Local Bookstore Option

Many schools will opt to order books through a local bookstore. This is a great option to support your local business and to have access to my entire book catalog for sale.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Reach out to your local bookstore at least two months before my visit. They will help guide you through the process.
  2. Print out book flyers and order forms. You will distribute these to teachers, so students can take it home to their parents. Usually, you will want to distribute these 4-5 weeks before my visit. Often, the bookstore will provide an order form for you, or I am happy to provide them with one as needed.
  3. According to your bookstore’s timeline, orders should be placed in advance so that the bookstore can have the books available to me to sign on the day of my visit.

On the day of my visit, we will set aside time for me to sign all the books! TIP: It is helpful to have the recipient’s name written on a post-it note affixed to each book so I can quickly personalize them.

Book Sales & Autographs — Working with Publishers

It is also possible to work directly with my publishers so that students, teachers, and staff can purchase my books directly from my publishers at a special 40% school discount! You can pass along that discount to parents or charge more and use the book sale as a fundraiser. Since I have several publishers, you may want to choose one publisher to work with (e.g. Scholastic or Candlewick). During my visit, I will sign and personalize all the books.

Here’s how it works:

  1. First, I will put you in touch with my publisher’s school sales representative. They will provide you with an up-to-date list of what books are currently in stock, and guide you through the process.
  2. Print out book flyers and order forms. (I can provide these for you based on the books you plan to sell, or provide you with a template to customize.) 4 to 5 weeks before my visit, you will distribute the forms to teachers, so students can take it home to their parents.
  3. Everyone will return their forms with checks made out to your school or PTO. You will use these order forms to determine how many books to order from the publisher. Please place your order 3-4 weeks prior to my visit.

If you have any questions about any of the above, please feel free to contact me!