As authors, part of our goal is to sell books, and as children’s book authors, selling books through school tours is a wonderful way to do this, though it can have its challenges.

Some schools, for various reasons, will not sell books. Period. Some reasons are that it’s not fair to kids whose parents can’t buy them or just don’t know how to run a sale.

So how do authors make it easy for schools to sell their books? Because as we know, we feel that an autographed copy that a child receives inspires them to be a reader and helps them grow.

Some schools may feel that it is a hassle, so it is up to the authors to remove that hassle. As an author, as well as a freelance publisher, I’ve designed a custom order form to make it easy, which any author can do, whether they self-publish or publish through a publisher.

I instruct the organizer, who is usually a parent, teacher, or librarian, that the book order form must be sent home two weeks prior to my visit. They are in charge of collecting the money and the order forms. Three or four days before my visit I call or email to see how the book sales are going to get an idea of ​​how many books I should have with me on the day of my visit. This also helps if a large quantity is pre-sold that I can write my personal message inside each book before my actual visit, which helps save time.

After my presentation, I take care of the signing of sold books. I place the order slip with each corresponding sold book to make it easier for the organizer to distribute it. I always carry 100 books of each of my titles in the back of my car. If a school sells more than 100 copies of my books, they know ahead of time from my information that I share with them that it will be sent directly to the school and the nameplates will be sent within 5-10 days.

Some schools may want to host an actual book signing with kids lining up to get their copy personally signed by you. This is a wonderful way to connect with the kids during that autograph session. But if this isn’t possible, or selling books two weeks before your visit is something the school is against doing, encourage consideration of having your books in the library, as well as a copy or set in each classroom.

Many times, especially due to tough economic times, I don’t anticipate many books even with the help and enthusiasm of the school and the organizer. So, to encourage more book sales, I ask if the school is willing to send out another ad after my visit and I will pay to ship the books to the school. Very often I have been pleasantly surprised with many more orders.

If you don’t keep an inventory of your books, you can still make it easy for the organizer to help sell your books. When you submit your contract, you can submit a list of booksellers in your area. Provide them with your book title, ISBN, price, and a brief synopsis. If they choose this route, offer them a copy of your book order form so they can customize it to their needs to collect orders this way.

Books can also be ordered through the publisher that offers schools the best discount. All you will need to do is provide the organizer with your editor’s name, phone or email to make it easier for them to contact the editor.

So the key is to be proactive in helping make the organizer’s job as easy as possible to help sell your books. By doing so, your books will have a great opportunity to become a permanent part of the library and the life of a young child.

For a sample book order form, please email a request to [email protected]

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