Ronica Stromberg

Why Authors Charge for School Visits November 3, 2011

Sometimes people ask me why authors charge for school visits. They may hold the common misconception that publishers pay authors to speak at schools. Some alternatively believe that the publicity generated from school visits somehow financially compensates authors. The truth is authors who speak at schools usually either charge a fee or suffer a loss.

Authors have expenses such as transportation, hotel stays, meals, day care for their own children while they’re gone, and time spent preparing, traveling, and speaking on-site. That time spent on school visits is time that could have been spent writing and, perhaps, generating sales.

Books sold at schools seldom amount to enough to pay for an author’s expenses because authors receive only a fraction of cover prices. One bounced check or stolen book can wipe out the profit from numerous books. Any books donated to the library or classroom come out of the author’s own pocket.

School visits aren’t free. Authors see this, and those seeking to establish or maintain a writing career charge for their professional services.