Follow The Money

By Author: Tracy carter
Total Articles: 101
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While money seems to be a universally accepted way of showing respect, it actually can create all kinds of complications. Even though J. K. Rowling is now richer than the Queen of England, most writers still have to keep their day jobs. A statistic we once heard—that may be out of date now—was that only 300 people in the United States manage to earn their living by writing just what they want. Most creative writers are supported by their spouses or by taking on jobs as teachers, ghost writers, editors, writers of advertising copy, etc. For many writers, their extra job is Cartier Replica public speaking. What they get paid is a basic part of the family's budget.

Every speaking event is different and every bookstore and every publisher has its idiosyncratic and loosely followed policies about defining a "book tour," which they will pay for, and a "speaking engagement," which they won't pay for, unless it is at a "significant" event. No matter who is paying, it would be smart before inviting authors to visit to get answers for ...
... such questions as the following. And because you will probably be working with public funds of some kind, the answers are not likely to be what your common sense tells you they should be:
Can money be advanced to the speaker?
Can airfare and airplane tickets be paid directly by the sponsor?
Is it reasonable to ask the speaker to stay in someone's home, rather than a hotel?
Is a flat fee being paid, or is it a speaker's fee plus expenses
If the expenses are extra, what can be included First class airfare Alcohol with meals A rental car
What kind of receipts need to be provided?
How soon after (or during) the event can the check be ready?

Probably the most important thing to do is to find out if there are other organizations such as reading councils, English teacher associations, libraries, independent bookstores, or other young adult literature enthusiasts who will split the expenses with you. Not only can networks of friends in the young adult literature community be an advantage when pooling resources, they are also likely to let you know when they are considering bringing an author in and need more potential appearances and funding.

The cost of bringing in authors over the last couple of years has ranged from gratis (we always host everyone for a nice lunch or dinner and make sure to have gifts and thank you cards for them) to $5,000 a day plus expenses. As a general rule, top authors charge between $2,500 and $3,000 a day plus expenses, although some have nobly refused to raise their prices to keep up with inflation. Midlevel authors usually charge between $1,500 and $2,000. Expenses have ranged from paying for the cheapest coach airfare to paying for nonstop, first class airfare, as well as lodging and miscellaneous expenses. Such expenses can add up because they will probably include either transportation to and from the airport in the author's home city or the costs of long term parking at the airport. Some authors want a rental car and special meals. Most authors are not particular about where they stay, but some may want a certain level of accommodation with such specified amenities as 24hour room service and a workout facility.

We highly recommend bringing in as many free local authors as you can, rather than waiting for them to become famous. Years ago, Stephenie Meyer, whose Twilight series threatens to Eclipse Harry Potter, came to our ASU Adolescent Literature course for free and gave a wonderful presentation to our Cartier Replica Watches students, including an interview that we published in the International Reading Association's Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. As Stephenie became a bigger and bigger star, our relationship continued, and in May 2007 she asked us if we would help put on her Eclipse Prom at ASU in a big gymnasium that "could pass for the Forks High School gym in Eclipse." This event, chaperoned by our faculty and students, was a grand success, bringing in 1,000 guests from all over the world.

Stephenie's success and the heavy writing responsibilities that go along with such success have made her unavailable for invited author visits, but inspired by this experience, we are currently inviting all our local authors on the cusp of greatness, such as Janette Rallison, Robin Brande, Jon S. Lewis (who has probably already "cusped"), Lisa McMann, and Virginia Loh, so that we get in on the ground floor with them.