Hey there you beautiful people you! If you’ve been following Read. Sleep. Repeat. for a while you may remember me mentioning this post way back in May after I came back from BEA 2014. If you’re new to this party sit down relax and trust me when I say this is going to be fun! I’m going to try and keep from overwhelming you guys by breaking this into many post over the next few months. Each tip will have a dedicated post (the month is beside the tip) and with that post a lot more detail and hopefully some useful tips.
BEA, officially known as Book Expo America, is the 2nd largest book convention in the WORLD! It’s a convention dedicated to folks like you and I who love books and are more than willing to spend hours in line to have said books signed by awesome authors. The convention is 3 days long and in New York (though 2016’s will be in Chicago according to the website) and to be frank it’s the single most amazing event I’ve ever been to. Even though you initially want to go for all the books and cool authors you’ll more than likely walk away even more excited by all the lovely bloggers you got to meet. But enough of the mushy! On to my tips and trips for BEA 2015!!!
Tip #1: {Dedicated post coming December 2014}
The buddy system is your friend. I had the pleasure of rooming with Nikki of There Were Books Involved… for BEA14 and we shall repeat that for BEA15! Having a roommate that you like and can trust is key for many reasons. The first, and most obvious, is cost. Splitting your hotel fare with someone else can be the only thing that makes BEA feasible. Not only this but there are other events that you’re going to want to attend and having this friend can seriously make those event 1,000x’s more exciting and enjoyable.
Tip #2: {Dedicated post coming January 2015}
PLAN YOUR HEART OUT! This tip actually has many sub levels but they all come back to this main tip. PLAN. PLAN. PLAN! Plan your flights, your hotel, your outfits, backup outfits, signings, drops, meals, events! PLAN it in such a way you feel like there is no room for error. I started “planning” for BEA14 in March 2013. MARCH 2013! I didn’t have every detail ironed out but I knew where I wanted to stay, how long I would be able to stay, and a general idea of how the drops and signings would work. I had a budget and a goal and I wrote all this out, made excel sheets and memorized it all.
Tip #3: {Dedicated post coming February 2015}
Accept defeat. Remember step #2? All that planning and handwork you’re going to do? LET IT GO! It was awesome to have a plan and know what I wanted but at the end of the day if you’re stressing on making sure every single detail is fulfilled you won’t enjoy the convention. So yes, have your lodging, hotel, shipping (USPS? FedEx? UPS?), shoes and roommate figured out but remember that any 100% plans you think you have for the actual floor are not guaranteed.
Tip #4: {Dedicated post coming March 2015}
These are your people! I know how awkward and horrible it is to just go up to someone and start talking but for once in your life you are literally SURROUNDED by people who will stand and talk bookish with you for HOURS! Take advantage of that! Get to know some of your twitter friends and followers. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone is nice or welcoming (no finger-pointing just fact) but for each one of those bitchy folks there are 30 more super sweet and welcoming people.
Tip #5: {Dedicated post coming April 2015}
It’s ok to imitate Santa. Make a list, check it 37 times and make sure you have what’s important to you crossed off. Are you freaked out about your business cards being perfect? Put it on the list. Don’t know if you should get a BEA approve hotel? Put it on the list and compare it to other places nearby. Worried you won’t be able to find a roommate? Put it on the list and approach people you already are friends with. My point is make list of the things that you’re worried about, things you have no reason to worry about and everything in between. Time will fly by and all this planning, hoping and work will be crammed into 3 days. Try and make it count.
So stay tuned for the dedicated post coming soon and as always submit questions below! I’m no veteran but I’d love to help you!
