Picture Book Author Events Online
Since the beginning of March, a week before lockdown, I've been working with Author Jonathan Emmett to create and run a project called Picture Book Author Events Online.
It's a one-stop-shop to bring together and showcase a huge range of free book resources, together with story time and draw-along videos from some of the best loved picture book creators.
Here's how the project came about and why myself and Jonathan have given up weeks of our time to help make it a success.
Creating Storytime Videos for Children at Home
On the 13th March, I read a tweet by author Sarah Crossan saying she was planning to do some live Instagram posts to encourage young people to get writing and to chat about books during self-isolation.
I thought this was a great idea and decided to post some videos of my own based on my picture books
Call to Action
Later that day, I put out a call to other authors and illustrators to see if anyone wanted to join me as I felt this was something I could do to help families who were stuck at home with young children.
Authors Holly Webb and Gill Lewis got back to me straight away and by the end of the following day I’d had messages of support from Steve Antony, Fred Blunt, Jonathan Emmett and Sarah MacIntyre.
Sarah alerted me to the hashtag #FreeBookResources that she and some other creatives were using to enable families and teachers to find downloadables and printables easily by searching on social media.
Hit the Ground Running
Free Book Resources for Children and Families at Home
At the same time, I also set up another web page with links to free downloadable book resources for children to access from home. This includes both resources created in response to school closures, and those that predate the outbreak.
Visit the Picture Book Author Event Free Book Resources
Following discussions on the best ways to broadcast live and building on his experiences with another project, Jonathan Emmett suggested we set up a Facebook Page that contributors could broadcast from, where we could also re-post videos shared on other platforms.
Facebook Page for Videos and Broadcasts
The very next day, 16 March, the Picture Book Author Events Online Facebook page went live. Jonathan was the first to broadcast from this new platform. We subsequently decided to focus the scope of the project on traditionally published picture books, in order to limit the quickly growing administration time needed for the project and ensure the quality of the material being shared
We now have over 1,000 followers on our Facebook Page and have broadcast and reposted over 250 new videos, all created since 16 March.
Visit the What's On Page
The picture book creators shared on the page include : Steve Antony, Catherine Barr, Rob Buddulph, Cerrie Burne, Nathan Bryon, Jill Calder, Jane Clarke, Coo Clayton, Benji Davies, Nicola Davies, Helen Docherty, Elys Dolan, Julia Donaldson, Malachy Doyle, Jonny Duddle, Jonathan Emmett, Charlie Farley, Jane Clarke, Jim Field, Kes Gray, Caryl Hart, Chris Haughton, Timothy Knapman, Steven Lenton, Ben Mantle, James Mayhew, David Melling, Lydia Monks, Sarah McIntyre, Susannah Lloyd, Tom McLaughlin, Guy Parker-Rees, Tom Percival, Jane Porter, Kjartan Poskitt, Joshua Siegal, Zeb Soanes, Robert Starling, Kristina Stephenson, Linda Strachan, Ed Vere, Chris White, Gill White, Mo Willems.
Visit the Picture Book Author Events Online Facebook Page
Look! We Have a Logo!
Two days later, Chris Haughton, who had also started broadcasting his wonderful draw-along storytimes, kindly agreed to create us a logo. Chris’s first video, Shh! We Have a Plan, posted on his own social media and re-posted on Picture Book Author Events Online, had over 2,000 views.
Up and Running in Time for School Closures
By the time schools actually closed on 20 March, the project, some great content and our administration systems were already up and running.
Book Trust and Sunday Times Listings
Our resources are listed by BookTrust and were featured in an article by Nicolette Jones for The Times: Your favourite children’s authors online for free
Advice for Authors, Illustrators, Teachers and Librarians
As well as creating a one-stop-shop for content, Jonathan and I also provide guidance for authors, illustrators, teachers and librarians wishing to create story videos. This includes information from how to set up your studio, to licensing and copyright permissions. Most publishers have relaxed licensing to allow content to be published online for a limited time period and are, indeed working with us to actively promote our material.
You can find our guidance here
Showcasing Authors’ and Illustrators’ Work
All but the most famous authors and illustrators rely on their own efforts to promote their books to readers. Those of us lucky enough to have publicists engaged by our publishers do get some help around the launch of a book, but this is generally for a limited time only. So platforms like Picture Book Author Events Online can be a great way for us to showcase our work and highlight all the extra resources we create for our readers.
Loss of Income due to School Closures and Event Cancellations
Many children’s authors and illustrators rely on events with schools, libraries and festivals to supplement the income they get from book sales.
For books created as a partnership between an author and illustrator, each contributor typically receives just 5% on a hardcover and 3.75% of the selling price on a paperback. Royalties are paid in two parts. The first is an up-front advance of a few thousand pounds. If a book does well enough to cover this initial advance, contributors may then receive additional payments depending on volume of sales. This works out around 30p a copy for a book that sells at full price, down to less than a penny for books selling at a high discount.
But as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, this second stream of income has vanished overnight. With schools closed and festivals cancelled for at least 6 months, many of us will lose thousands of pounds in cancelled bookings, lack of future bookings and the associated loss of direct book sales these events generate. I personally expect to lose at least £7,000 from my income this year.
Virtual Author Visits
I am now starting to take bookings for Virtual Author Visits from schools, book shops and libraries via FacebookLive, Skype and Zoom. I've already run a trial with a volunteer school and have put together some guidance on setting up tech and safeguarding children accessing these resources from home.
If you would like to discuss a Virtual Author Visit, please GET IN TOUCH
Showcasing Authors and Illustrators
Picture Book Author Events Online is helping to showcase of the kinds of stories and activities authors and illustrators have to offer, and could become a central point of contact for educators looking to book their favourite creatives for virtual events.
All the resources on Picture Book Author Events Online are, and will remain COMPLETELY FREE, because the authors and illustrators involved understand the importance of stories and want to support those caring for children at home.
It's a one-stop-shop to bring together and showcase a huge range of free book resources, together with story time and draw-along videos from some of the best loved picture book creators.
Here's how the project came about and why myself and Jonathan have given up weeks of our time to help make it a success.
Creating Storytime Videos for Children at Home
On the 13th March, I read a tweet by author Sarah Crossan saying she was planning to do some live Instagram posts to encourage young people to get writing and to chat about books during self-isolation.
I thought this was a great idea and decided to post some videos of my own based on my picture books
Call to Action
Later that day, I put out a call to other authors and illustrators to see if anyone wanted to join me as I felt this was something I could do to help families who were stuck at home with young children.
Authors Holly Webb and Gill Lewis got back to me straight away and by the end of the following day I’d had messages of support from Steve Antony, Fred Blunt, Jonathan Emmett and Sarah MacIntyre.
Sarah alerted me to the hashtag #FreeBookResources that she and some other creatives were using to enable families and teachers to find downloadables and printables easily by searching on social media.
Hit the Ground Running
By 15th March, Holly Webb had broadcast our very first video and I’d created a web page that listed timings of live broadcasts that our little group was planning to do. I was sending out dozens of tweets and retweets to help highlight the resources that authors and illustrators were making available.
At the same time, I also set up another web page with links to free downloadable book resources for children to access from home. This includes both resources created in response to school closures, and those that predate the outbreak.
Visit the Picture Book Author Event Free Book Resources
Following discussions on the best ways to broadcast live and building on his experiences with another project, Jonathan Emmett suggested we set up a Facebook Page that contributors could broadcast from, where we could also re-post videos shared on other platforms.
The very next day, 16 March, the Picture Book Author Events Online Facebook page went live. Jonathan was the first to broadcast from this new platform. We subsequently decided to focus the scope of the project on traditionally published picture books, in order to limit the quickly growing administration time needed for the project and ensure the quality of the material being shared
We now have over 1,000 followers on our Facebook Page and have broadcast and reposted over 250 new videos, all created since 16 March.
Visit the What's On Page
The picture book creators shared on the page include : Steve Antony, Catherine Barr, Rob Buddulph, Cerrie Burne, Nathan Bryon, Jill Calder, Jane Clarke, Coo Clayton, Benji Davies, Nicola Davies, Helen Docherty, Elys Dolan, Julia Donaldson, Malachy Doyle, Jonny Duddle, Jonathan Emmett, Charlie Farley, Jane Clarke, Jim Field, Kes Gray, Caryl Hart, Chris Haughton, Timothy Knapman, Steven Lenton, Ben Mantle, James Mayhew, David Melling, Lydia Monks, Sarah McIntyre, Susannah Lloyd, Tom McLaughlin, Guy Parker-Rees, Tom Percival, Jane Porter, Kjartan Poskitt, Joshua Siegal, Zeb Soanes, Robert Starling, Kristina Stephenson, Linda Strachan, Ed Vere, Chris White, Gill White, Mo Willems.
Visit the Picture Book Author Events Online Facebook Page
Look! We Have a Logo!
Two days later, Chris Haughton, who had also started broadcasting his wonderful draw-along storytimes, kindly agreed to create us a logo. Chris’s first video, Shh! We Have a Plan, posted on his own social media and re-posted on Picture Book Author Events Online, had over 2,000 views.
Up and Running in Time for School Closures
By the time schools actually closed on 20 March, the project, some great content and our administration systems were already up and running.
Book Trust and Sunday Times Listings
Our resources are listed by BookTrust and were featured in an article by Nicolette Jones for The Times: Your favourite children’s authors online for free
As well as creating a one-stop-shop for content, Jonathan and I also provide guidance for authors, illustrators, teachers and librarians wishing to create story videos. This includes information from how to set up your studio, to licensing and copyright permissions. Most publishers have relaxed licensing to allow content to be published online for a limited time period and are, indeed working with us to actively promote our material.
You can find our guidance here
All but the most famous authors and illustrators rely on their own efforts to promote their books to readers. Those of us lucky enough to have publicists engaged by our publishers do get some help around the launch of a book, but this is generally for a limited time only. So platforms like Picture Book Author Events Online can be a great way for us to showcase our work and highlight all the extra resources we create for our readers.
Loss of Income due to School Closures and Event Cancellations
Many children’s authors and illustrators rely on events with schools, libraries and festivals to supplement the income they get from book sales.
For books created as a partnership between an author and illustrator, each contributor typically receives just 5% on a hardcover and 3.75% of the selling price on a paperback. Royalties are paid in two parts. The first is an up-front advance of a few thousand pounds. If a book does well enough to cover this initial advance, contributors may then receive additional payments depending on volume of sales. This works out around 30p a copy for a book that sells at full price, down to less than a penny for books selling at a high discount.
But as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, this second stream of income has vanished overnight. With schools closed and festivals cancelled for at least 6 months, many of us will lose thousands of pounds in cancelled bookings, lack of future bookings and the associated loss of direct book sales these events generate. I personally expect to lose at least £7,000 from my income this year.
I am now starting to take bookings for Virtual Author Visits from schools, book shops and libraries via FacebookLive, Skype and Zoom. I've already run a trial with a volunteer school and have put together some guidance on setting up tech and safeguarding children accessing these resources from home.
If you would like to discuss a Virtual Author Visit, please GET IN TOUCH
Showcasing Authors and Illustrators
Picture Book Author Events Online is helping to showcase of the kinds of stories and activities authors and illustrators have to offer, and could become a central point of contact for educators looking to book their favourite creatives for virtual events.
All the resources on Picture Book Author Events Online are, and will remain COMPLETELY FREE, because the authors and illustrators involved understand the importance of stories and want to support those caring for children at home.