Connect with Authors Through Skype
One site that quickly gained popularity this year is the Skype an Author, a Wetpaint site, billed at the key to Virtual Author Visits in Your Library or Classroom. Set up by Sarah Chauncey of the Grandview Elementary School Library in Rockland County, NY schools and author Mona Kirby, it is getting attention from many sources, including the School Library Journal.
The site allows authors to set up pages describing their books and how they might do a Skype visit. Skype is the online audio/video free phone service; a Skype visits allows an author to see students and students to see the author.
Authors are asked to do one of two types of Skype visits:
- No Charge – Meet the Author Visit – 10 to 15 minutes
- In-Depth Visit – 30-60 Minutes – Charge to be determined by author
Why Should you Want to Skype?
(See what Catherine Balkin said in yesterday’s post. )
Set Up Your Page
I recently updated the Darcy Pattison page on the Skype an Author site.
Here are some tips:
Set up your Webcam
One final thing you’ll want to do before going live with the Skype an Author site is to test out your Skype/Webcam set up. I discovered, for example, that the lighting in my office is great for doing work on the computer, but awful for doubling as a video studio. Here is one videos to get you started on simple lighting. Look for other tutorials.