Have your children ever had a writer in school?

[UnquietDad]

Did your child find it worthwhile?
if they did - please tell the head/G&T person over and over and bang on about how much they got out of it.

I think I may have talked about this last year, before I did it. Very successfully became part of a small team last year, doing Writing In Schools sessions with Y5. The kids loved it and did some great writing.

The school paid out of its G&T budget although we didn't exclusively always work with G&T. The Children's & Young People's Directorate of the LA helped us out with admin and getting schools involved. This year, they have not, so it's been up to us to contact the schools we want to work with, including those we have worked with before. I'm currently feeling like a double-glazing salesman and it's all going down like a cup of cold vomit.

I emailed 4 schools and have been making follow-up phone calls this week.

School A's G&T person wasn't there but I left my number and asked for a call back.

School B said straight away that they couldn't afford it. But budget comes in April so they will let me know if there is a change. Rrrright...

School C responded as if I were speaking in Serbo-Croat and their secretary seemed to display excessive dimness, not having any recollection at all of my email. I have sent the info again.

School D's secretary was a dragon - very short with me and said "if it came through I would have sent it to the relevant person." She VERY grudgingly acceded to my request for the head to get back to me.

What is it with these people??!

Michael Rosen does a lot of this kind of thing, as does Michael Morpurgo. Dd2's school had Francesca Simon, of Horrid Henry fame.

Oohh, I'm picking up even more clues as to who barbarian might be! Did you do "princess" themed events about one of your books last year, barbarian?

Barbarian -- I'd always assumed writers were paid for the visit, until I saw just how many books were being flogged at the Michael Morpurgo visit. Kids were there buying several at a time, being handed £20 notes by their parents.

Mind you, as a parent, if I encountered Francesca Simon at one of these events I'd be forced to doorstep her and ask if there was no way she could have made HH a teensy bit less annoying to read aloud.

That's a helpful definition barbarian (am also wondering who you are and dismayed at how you've been treated by some schools).
I do wonder whether all writers take the same trouble with their school book signings, though (not from personal experience, Jeremy Strong and Nicholas Allen were both fab apparently and spent ages).
Am also goggling at who Blu's local author might be...

Francesca Simon = thankfully never darkened our doors. Loathe HH

Not sure DD's school have had a writer in. I know DD's class haven't.

It's a great idea and I can see how it could really fire up children's imainations.

DD's school did have a local artist in last year and he worked with all the year groups, resulting in a little art competitio with some mini prizes. The children really enjoyed this.

UQD am thankfully able to scratch a living without doing princess themed anything!

Once my dh's first book's published next summer he probably wouldn't mind at all. It's just that his books are more adult orientated fantasy (as in dragons not nurses outfits!)

No idea if the artist charged or how much however.

When I had speakers, etc in and people from industry to work with pupils when I was teaching it was often free.

I knwo that isn't feasible here, but may be way some schools are hoping it is.

barbarian - oh well, I'll keep guessing!

frogs - was a publicist/ publisher's rep there doing all the organising or was the author dealing with all the cash-handling? Because very little of a book's cover price goes to a writer. Standard royalty on paperbacks is 7.5%, or 8% if you have a wily agent. On hardbacks it's 10% - some contracts have escalators built in too.

barbarian, I assume you do write childrens fiction then?

Or Fairy!

Or Animal Ark!

Marina, I think the way your schools (and Roisin's) treat writers is not typical and that is why you are here taking an interest in a writers point of view. I know other writers who have had similar and much worse experiences (unchecked racism for instance).

Michael Morpurgo probably does do things for no fee- it may be part of the children's laurete package. Or it may be that he really does not need to charge.

Barbarian - yes, I have advocated paying wtiters throughout the thread!
Have assumed the promo / book signing sessions are voluntary and arranged by writer /publisher if the writer doesn't get paid.

My organisation works in schools with certain projects - it is in our contract that teaching staff must be present at all times, party because of the repsonsibility, ppartly because part of the whole point of having visiting specialists is that the teachers know what is gping on and can incorporate it, build on it - or at least acknowledge thier children's contribution! There are some disreputable outfits that offer activities as an alternative to supply teachers.

It's funny - we can't get funding thrugh the LEA because they quote the enormous 'devolved' and specific initiative funds that schools have for bringing in outside arts activities. But the schools can never seem to be able to actually spend this money on arts activities.....

We have authors in regularly - both in senior and junior school, and the boys benefit lots, and really enjoy it, BUT, I'm in the same sector as marina

I think that second paragraph says it all Blu. Do you think the schools are being forced, off-record, to spend it on fripperies like bog roll and pencils

Yes UQD I think many people think writers pocket the price of a book.

If at some miraculous school event I sold 100 copies of latest hard back (price 10.99) I would get 6% on the first 5,000, 8% thereafter, less 10% of total profit to agent.
Which is £59.35. Always assuming you have already earned out your advance.

In reality that is far too many expensive books to expect sell to the average school. I do not sell in schools because I would rather give a couple of copies to the library but I have sold at librarian events- they mostly go for the pbs and 100 would be a very good day.

Actually I encourage children to use their libraries - (5p a loan to authors from PLR) which is comparible to the amount they will make on a pb book sold at high discount eg through a school book club.

Good grief at your PLR take being little more than what you'd get from a book club pbk (am librarian but not in children's sector)

Yes well the maths is easy;
Latest pb (£5.99) sold through bookclub at 4.5% royalty to author =26.96p less 10% to agent =24p which is between 4 and 5 library loans.
PLR has will pay council tax and water rates for this year, book sales won't!

Will know stop moaning and get on with writing more of the damn things.
The letters I get from children are sometimes so wonderful I would do it for nothing.

UQD, yes, the publisher's dogsbody was there handling the filthy lucre while the author signed copies. Presumably the publisher's skivvy also gets paid a pittance, and the only person laughing all the way to the hedge fund is the MD of the publishing company.

All publishing skivvies get paid a pittance, so they tell us. But I bet they are on considerably more than the average author's advance... and are paid monthly as well, and not on whether their work is "right for the current lists"!

hulababy - as I know where you are! Get your G&T person, if school has one, to find out about WISS (Writers In Sheffield Schools).

Do not waste your pity on publisher's skivvies, they are all exRoedean or the like and will only stick the job for 18 months after which they will bugger off round the world for two years getting the atmosphere. Following which (heavily subsidised by Daddy) jaunt, they will settle down in Bristol (which they count as country) or Abingdon (which they count as North) and reproduce in the form of Tanquin, Dolly, etc. And five years later they will write to me and on the tenuous claim that we worked together once demand a free author visit for dcs lovely primary where the kids will be thrilled and school lunch on the house (provided I sit with the kids and do signings throughout).

Dd is home from school sick and on the sofa with a bucket so I have plenty of time to be nasty today.

They have a facebook group moaning about how little they are paid... the phrase "don't know they're born" sprang to my mind!

We should start a rival one UQD