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Order Your Visiting Author’s Work

There are two important reasons to order books by the author or illustrator scheduled to visit your school:

  1. Distribute them to the students who will attend the author event and ensure that they read them before the presentation.
  2. Offer books for sale to off-set costs of bringing the author to your school.

Save 40% on Books Ordered from Scholastic
Once you have confirmed an author or illustrator visit, Scholastic offers a 40% discount on books by your scheduled speaker. Choose the ordering option that’s most convenient:

  • Online from The Teacher Store at Scholastic.com. Enter coupon code AUTHOR at checkout to save 40% on the author’s books.
  • By phone, call 1-800-SCHOLASTIC (1-800-724-6527). Choose option #3 (instructional and supplemental materials). Tell your customer service representative that the order is for an author/illustrator visit on ___ date to receive your discount.
  • Via your sales representative. If you are currently working directly with a Scholastic sales representative, you may place your discounted order thorough this contact.

Please be sure to order books well in advance of the visit. Books that will be used by students should arrive at least one to two months before the event. For books you will be selling, allow enough time to ensure delivery one week prior to the visit.

Choosing Books to Order
To select which titles you want students to study and which ones you want to offer for sale, review all of the author’s work. Make sure you have a complete list of your author's or illustrator's books. The author may have titles available from other publishers as well as new Scholastic titles that are not yet listed on Scholastic.com. Check with your local library and Children's Books in Print to ensure you have a complete list of works.

Your author or illustrator is the best resource when planning your book order. Not only will they be able to inform you of titles from other publishers, but they can also indicate which books they will mention in their talk and which books tend to sell better at events.

Planning the Number of Books to Order
Every school is different, so Scholastic can’t provide an estimate of the number of books your school will need. However, the following are two methods of handling book orders; choose the option that works best for your school:

Pre-ordering
Some schools choose to have students’ parents pre-order books that they want to buy for their own home libraries.
Advantages: This will provide a fairly accurate count of how many and which books you should order for your book sale.
Possible Disadvantages:  1) Books can go out of stock or change in price without notice.  You might have to ask for more money to cover increased prices or refund money on titles no longer available. 2) Many students realize that they want to purchase books only after they have met the author. You may not have any books for these students.

Estimating Numbers
Other schools predict their needs based on previous book sales in their school or in their community (from previous author visits or Book Fairs). 
Advantages:  This eliminates the problems of varying prices and inventory that might be associated with pre-ordering. 
Possible Disadvantages:  1) You may sell out of a favorite title or order too many copies of less popular titles.  2) You will need to pay return postage on unsold books.

Ordering from Scholastic is risk-free. We will accept returns on any unsold books, and credit your account. Simply return them to:
Scholastic Inc.
Attn: Book Returns
3030 Robinson Road
Jefferson City, MO 65111
Please enclose:
1) A copy of your invoice
2) A letter explaining how many copies of each title you sold, and how many of each you are returning, and a calculation of the balance owed.
3) A check for the total cost of books you sold (if you have not pre-paid for your books), taking into account your 40% discount.

You are responsible for all postage or freight costs on return shipments.