It costs how much?

OK - let's be blunt. Unless you are J.K. Rowling or Lois Lowery, your books don't exactly pay the bills. And that is fine, that isn't why we write. But it would be nice to make a bit of income from the hours spent sweeping the cobwebs out of our imaginations and shaping them into something other than half the dream I remember from last night. One way this used to be possible was with author visits to schools and libraries. This however, due to the economy, is no longer possible for many districts. PTA's, once the champions of enrichment programs, are needed to help fund textbooks and school supplies. And thank goodness for the dedicated parents, grandparents and teachers who continue to keep these organizations running. So much for the problem - on to some ideas that may help.

I belong to a professional organization called the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. It is considered THE professional organization for children's writers in the U.S. This month's issue had a great article by author Alexis O'Neill who lives in California - where schools are in very dire straits. Her article focused on finding funding through partnerships between schools/libraries and local community organizations, ie Rotary, Lions,etc. It also refers to places where the local Target/Walmart stores entered into partnership with schools to help fund enrichment programs. I don't think this should happen just for authors, this needs to happen for artists, musicians, dancers, poets, sculptors, actors, storytellers, etc. With the arts being cut in many schools, alternative ways need to be developed to insure some continued exposure to the arts for our children.

If you would like more information regarding the ideas in the afore mentioned article, please email me and I will send it to you. We all need to be creative about money these days. Funding enrichment for our children can happen if we all work together. I am currently exploring alternative time/pricing structures for my visits which would allow a single teacher to bring me in for a class as well as continuing the traditional all day visit to a school. If you have ideas or suggestions regarding this subject, please email them to me.

One last thought - I had two visits last year which were birthday gifts funded by individuals for their child's classroom. What better gift than a time of inspiration and sharing with a real live artist, author, musician, etc.