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SKITTISH ABOUT SCHOOL VISITS

I have a confession.
I'm skittish about school visits.
I've always been on the shy side and school visits require authors to be outgoing and entertaining.

While I think there should be a lot of give and take within a visit, the author needs be a performer in some way. No one wants to listen to a boring book presentation. This means authors have to do everything they can to make their school visits fun, informative, infused with energy and engaging. I try to include all those ingredients in my school visits. That calls for hours of preparation. Be it creating a power point, hand-outs, props, or designing activities that will take the students experience beyond our time together. And those hours preparing take away from precious writing time and energy.

Still, I'll continue to do school visits. My teaching background ends up being extremely helpful. And I honestly enjoy visiting schools once I'm in the moment. I love talking with kids and answering their questions. There's really nothing more fulfilling than connecting with kids who connect with you and your books.

But here's a second confession.
I LOVE virtual visits!
A school presentation can usually be adapted into a short Skype visit.
I can meet with students from across the country and the world, sharing my books with those I'd otherwise never have a chance to meet.
I can arrange the visits at my own convenience.
I can keep them to about 20 minutes because I don't charge for them.
I can do as many or as few as I choose.
I don't have to add in travel time, or lug around my materials because I do the visits from the comfort of my own home.

I've signed up to do multiple Skype visits on February 1, 2018 for World Read Aloud Day. If you're a published author this might be something you'd like to do too. Even if you're skittish about visits :-).

Visit http://www.litworld.org/register to learn more and sign up. Read More 
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