Appearances & Scheduling

Please keep in mind that Tammy’s schedule often starts filling up over a year in advance. If you’re interested in having her at your event, please plan accordingly, as she probably will not be available if you inquire less than six months before the date. The only exception to this is local, short-term or single day appearances.

General Questions

Appearances & Scheduling Guidelines

General Questions

What kinds of appearances will you make?

Tammy makes appearances at schools, bookstores, libraries, conventions, and conferences whenever possible. She tries to schedule as many events that she can manage with her book writing schedule, and enjoys every opportunity to meet and visit with fans—of all ages! During events, she’ll speak with the audience, take questions, and sign books. If you’d like Tammy to sign something, you must bring it to a scheduled event and follow the signing guidelines.

 

Will you be making any appearances at [location]?

If you’d like to know where Tammy’s planning to visit next, be sure to check her scheduled events!  All appearances are posted as soon as they’re confirmed. Unfortunately, if a particular convention or location isn’t listed on Tammy’s events page, then it means she isn’t scheduled to appear there.

 

Your schedule says you’ll be in my city/state/area for an event. Could you make an extra appearance at my school/business/event?

If Tammy’s traveling out of state—especially for a book tour—the events were likely planned months in advance, which means her travel plans were also made months before the event. The closer we are to an event, the more likely it is that flights, hotel rooms, and (when necessary) rental cars are already booked, and travel from Point A to Point B to Point C is so tightly coordinated that there isn’t any room for detours.

Sometimes, there’s hardly any time to even stop, take a few deep breaths, and rest!

There are a lot of moving parts involved in a book tour or out-of-state event, which is why last-minute appearances can’t be accommodated. If you’re interested in scheduling Tammy for an appearance in your area, your best bet is to review all of the guidelines on this page and inquire as early as possible.

 

Will You Ever Visit/Why Do You Never Visit…?

Regarding why Tammy goes to certain locations and not others, that is very closely related to appearances and invitations. There are certain conventions she goes back to almost every year, thanks to attachments to the location, the con-runners, or due to previous agreements. These conventions include Conbust, at Smith College; Confluence, in Pittsburgh (coinciding with an appearance in Greensburg); Chessiecon, in Timonium (previously Darkovercon); and others as possible.

If you know of an organization interested in hosting Tammy, the best thing to do is reach out via her appearances email. Please be aware of the honorarium requirements listed here.

Please note: while she loves getting out to visit readers, she’s learned over the years that it’s nigh impossible for her to work on the road. As a result, she only accepts engagements of at least two days of work, in order to fly to a location. If the location of the engagement is within a reasonable driving distance from her home, single-day engagements are fine.

Tammy does not attend birthday parties, weddings, or other personal events—though she wishes you the best of luck with yours!

 

Can you waive your honorarium for my event?

Tammy does not do pro-bono appearances, particularly if they involve a great deal of travel; e.g., appearances outside upstate New York. Further travel restrictions arise from her writing schedule. Tammy does very little travel during the months before project due dates, and even less if she has multiple projects due in a particular window. Tammy already receives far more invitations to events each year than she can accept, and as a result, gives priority to venues who either offer compensation or agree to arrange travel and accommodations.

Though Tammy is a long-standing bestseller, there seems to be a misconception regarding how much money that position entails. Not only would travel expenses quickly add up without compensation, but also, Tammy can’t work on her books while on the road. Her honorarium helps to ensure she’s compensated for the time she would have otherwise spent working.

 

Will you do e-visits/online video chats?

Yes, Tammy can make e-visits via Skype or other video chat programs! These visits have their own set of guidelines for scheduling. Unfortunately, Tammy can only do official, scheduled e-visits; much as she’d like to, she can’t chat with fans one-on-one, simply because it’s unfeasible with her writing and traveling schedule!

 

Appearances & Scheduling Guidelines

How do I schedule an appearance?

You’re already on the first step: reading this FAQ! Please read all of the guidelines listed on this page.

Next, check Tammy’s schedule to get an idea of her availability. If it looks like she’ll be free on the dates of your event, go ahead and send an email to the appearances account (not the fan mail account) to begin making arrangements!

 

How much do you charge for appearances?

Please contact the appearances account via email for details regarding her honorarium for signings, conventions, and educational events.

What are some general guidelines for appearances?

  • Length of visit: Engagements requiring air travel must be scheduled for a minimum of two (2) days of paid work (see fee requirements). If the location of the engagement is within a reasonable driving distance from Tammy’s home, single-day engagements are fine.
  • Air Travel: For trips necessitating air travel, Tammy also requires two (2) First, Business, or Upgraded Economy class tickets, so that she may bring an assistant. Unfortunately, because of health issues, she can no longer fly Coach.
  • Scheduling of events: When scheduling multiple events in a day, please allow for a minimum of two (2) hours between events. This will allow Tammy time to speak to members of the audience, or have conversations with people during book signings. She also requires enough time to eat and rest.
  • Familiarity with Tammy’s books: While Tammy doesn’t require that students be acquainted with her work before she speaks to them, she does prefer it, as this can make a difference in terms of how fun and rewarding the event is for both the audience and Tammy! She also asks for schools to have students read her webpage biography and list of published work before a visit.
  • Audience size: Tammy has no limits on audience size and can accommodate groups based on what’s convenient for the people organizing the event. However, when visiting schools, her preference is to speak to single classes, when possible.
  • Pictures & video: Tammy has no problem with photography, video, or audio recordings being taken during her appearances, and you don’t need to get her permission ahead of time to do any of these things.
  • Signings & autographs: Tammy is happy to sign books and provide autographs at her appearances. Please see the book signing guidelines for more information.

For Tammy’s full appearance rider, or to discuss a visit, please email the appearances account.

 

What are the guidelines for book signings?

  • Please include a Post-it note on the book’s title page with the name of the person Tammy is signing it for.
  • Unfortunately, due to Tammy’s health, we must request a limit on lengthier messages. At this time, Tammy can put a personalized message in up to one (1) book per reader. However, she will still sign her name in the rest of your books.
  • If you have a lot of books for Tammy to sign, and there are a lot of people waiting, she can only sign up to four (4) at a time, and then must ask you to go through the line again. This way, everybody has a chance to get their books signed.
  • If you’re bringing books for family/friends, she will include personalized messages in their books, too, and it will not count against your own personalized message.

Please note that because Tammy likes to take some time to speak with every fan individually, and because personalized messages may take some time to write, signing events can run late, despite her best efforts.

Tammy does not take requests to sign books, cards, mementos, or anything else outside of official, scheduled events. Please do not email her with requests to sign something for you.

 

What are your rates/guidelines for e-visits?

Thanks to the prep time involved and the fact that Tammy does online appearances at the cost of writing time, the set price for online appearances is $700 for the first hour, $400 for every additional hour thereafter, due upon signature of a standard contract.

Schools receive a discounted rate of $200 for the first hour, $75 for every additional hour thereafter.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss an e-visit, please email the appearances account.