How to survive a convention

On Monday I posted about my time at Book Expo America, which is basically a book-shaped heaven. It’s a convention of sorts, great for networking, getting books that aren’t even on shelves yet, and schmoozing with your favorite authors.

It’s also the first con I’ve ever been to. And, well, I learned some things.

1. Pack light. You don’t need your whole wardrobe and everything in your desk drawer. You can over-prepare, and maybe that’ll come in handy once in a while, but just think of how much walking you’ll be doing. When I was in NYC, I had to walk from the bus station to the convention center with my overnight bag, and it was HEAVY. And it’s not like the two places were right next to each other. I had to do the same thing on the way home too, only I had MORE stuff. That’s another thing – you’ll always get swag, so make sure you pack light enough that you won’t regret getting all the free stuff at the con.
2. Dress comfortably. I’m talking from your shirt to your pants to your shoes. Us girls have trouble with our wardrobe on a daily basis. We want to look cute, but we also want to be comfortable. You’re going to be on your feet all day. If you can, pack something nice that you know you’ll be comfy in too. And if those two worlds don’t collide in your closet, err on the side of comfy. Trust me, when you’re running on little sleep, sweating from 90 degree whether, and limping because of blisters, you’re not going to look attractive no matter how well you dressed.
3. Have back up battery power for your phone. Let’s face it, we all pretty much live off of our phones. If you have a smartphone, you can do just about do everything from it, including blogging, tweeting, Facebook, email, texting — the list goes on. And while you’re at the con, you’re going to be doing all of that. I got a handy backup battery charger that is small, sleek, and powerful. It allows me 2-3 charges on my phone per charge of the device. It was a life saver at BEA, especially since I ended up live tweeting the Children’s Book Breakfast for Hypable.
4. Do, see, and get as much as you can. I don’t know about you guys, but cons are going to be a once-in-a-while thing for me. Who knows if I’ll ever make it to BEA again, let alone SDCC (can you say EXPENSIVE?). So, I’m going to take advantage of the opportunity. I grabbed everything that caught my attention at BEA, and we stayed out late exploring the city, even when we were all dead tired. But who knows when I’m going to make it again? Sleep is a wonderful thing, and I recommend getting as much as you can, but don’t sacrifice life experience for something as mundane as a little bit of rest!
5. Accept that the con is totally going to kick your butt. I’m not even joking. I was sore for days after BEA. My arms and shoulders hurt, my ankles, my bones. I was in pain and I was tired and I was way behind on everything, but it was worth it. If you accept the fact that you’re not going to make it out of the con unscathed, you’ll be much happier. Just go with the flow, and stick with the motto no pain, no gain.

If you could pass along ONE piece of advice to someone about to attend a con, what would it be?

10 things I did while in New York City

I was in New York City this past weekend when I went to Book Expo America, and I had tons of fun walking around the city and visiting places I had never been before. Here’s what I did:

1. I walked until I couldn’t feel my feet. Seriously, I was pretty much numb from the waist down. We walked everywhere, and many times it was with pretty heavy bags. You could say I got my exercise on those days.
2. I visited Times Square. I’d never seen it before, except in pictures, so I was glad we made it there! Our hotel was pretty close to it, so it wasn’t too far of a walk. Lots of posters and video screens. It was cool!
3. I saw giant tubes of M&Ms, more chocolate than I could ever want, and more superhero merch than I could ever have hoped existed. The M&M and Hershey store, the Disney store, and a comic book store. You can’t really get much better than that. I didn’t buy anything, but boy was I tempted.
4. I saw Arthur Darvill on the street. No, but really. I SAW ARTHUR DARVILL ON THE STREET. He played Rory on Doctor Who, and he’s in NYC right now because he’s got a broadway show at the moment. He was just crossing the street casually — I mean, I walked right by him — and it took me a moment to realize who it was. Not that I would’ve said anything if I’d had my wits about me because, you know… *flails*
5. I went to Madame Tussaud’s. Aside from BEA, this was seriously the best thing I did while in NYC. The most exciting part of Tussaud’s? They had the Spice Girls there! My best friend and I were freaking out so much you would have thought they were the REAL Spice Girls.
6. I saw ‘a’ Naked Cowboy (but not THE Naked Cowboy)…and the Naked Cowgirl. The Naked Cowboy was from afar. The Naked Cowgirl was not. The Naked Cowboy was kind of young and good looking. The Naked Cowgirl was not. *scratches eyes out*
7. I did not get lost. Not even once. If you knew me well, you would know how incredible this is. My sense of direction is pretty bad. Granted, I was never alone, so that was a huge part of it, but even with three of us, I was glad we never got turned around that badly.
8. I spent way more money on food than anything else. Which is sad, but oh-so-worth it. We ate at Planet Hollywood, which was fun, and hit a couple of small places for things like salad. I had a really great Greek salad at BEA too!
9. I did not get mugged, kidnapped, or hit by a car. Again, this is incredible. Not that I was expecting to get mugged or kidnapped, but I felt sure a car would’ve gotten impatient with me. But it didn’t. I had a great time, and never felt worried. 🙂
10. I felt totally comfortable in the city and would love to go back. I was hesitant to go to NYC because I am so not a city person, and crowds make me very nervous. But I had a great time, and NYC was much calmer and more comfortable than I thought it would be. I’m really glad I went, and I feel much better about making my way back sometime in the near future!

What are your favorite things about NYC, or any other big city you might live by?

10 things I did while at Book Expo America

I was at Book Expo America (BEA) from May 30 – June 1, and I had a BLAST. Here are 10 exciting things I got to do while I was there.

My haul: 22 books!!

1. I got free books. Yes, it’s like heaven. Everywhere you turn there are books, and they’re all FREE. Better yet? Most of them aren’t even released yet, so you get to read them before the rest of the world does. In a lot of cases I wasn’t familiar with the books or authors, but there were definitely some I got meet and talk to that I really admire, and that was awesome!
2. I got to represent Hypable. I was there as a member of the press, which is all new and exciting and shiny for me. I got to talk up the website, hand out business cards, and explain what we were all about. The authors I got to talk to were interested in learning more and working with us, which is always great to hear! Better yet, some of them already knew of us, which is kind of mind blowing!
3. I got to attend the Children’s Book Breakfast. It featured Octavia Spencer as the host, with Mary Pope Osbourne, Rick Riordan, and Veronica Roth as the guest speakers. I was there mostly for Riordan, but the other three were absolutely phenomenal. And Mary Pope Osbourne may have made me cry.
4. I got to see Rick Riordan in the flesh. Yes, this completely deserves its own point on top of #3. I have such a great admiration for Riordan, and I love his books so much. Even though I haven’t belonged to the middle grade category for about a decade, it’s a testament to his abilities that I’m so in love with his series. He was a seriously hilarious speaker, and even though I didn’t get a chance to meet him or get a book signed, I’m grateful I at least got to hear his speech.
5. I got to meet and talk to a bunch of authors. Some of them I knew, some of them I didn’t. Everyone was incredibly polite and kind and excited to be there. Not a single person gave off the vibe that they weren’t grateful that people lined up to get their books signed. Many of them asked how I was, where I was from, what I did, etc., and it was great to carry on a conversation with someone who didn’t have to give you the time of day but genuinely wanted to speak to you anyway.


Me and Juliana!

6. I got to meet some of my internet friends. I got to see one Hypable staff member for the second time, and I got to hang out with two others for the first time — including the person I’m going to Comic Con with. I also got to say hi to Chuck Wendig, whose blog I follow regularly, and I got to meet the awesomely awesome Juilana Haygert, who has been one of my blogging buddies for quite some time.
7. I got to experience a convention for the very first time. This was my test-run for San Diego Comic Con, which promises to be a hundred times more terrifying and a hundred times more awesome. As far as conventions go, I definitely learned a few good things while I was there, and I’ll be keeping those notes in the back of my mind for future adventures.
8. I got to talk to new people. It’s funny how you can bond with the people around you when you’re standing in line for a half an hour waiting for the same book. I met and talked with so many people with similar interests to me. Unfortunately, I don’t know any of their names, but they were all extremely kind and interesting, and it was a nice way to pass the time when everything was moving agonizingly slow.
9. I got to give my best friend an amazing birthday present. I was going to give her Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead, because she loves the Vampire Academy series by the same author. (Yes, that’s the book I’ve been reading for the last week or so. I wanted to squeeze it in before I gave it to her. I’m a terrible person.) I was walking along the floor at BEA when I happened to stumble upon a line for that very same book — which was being signed by the author! I immediately jumped in and got her a SIGNED copy instead. She was ecstatic, to say the least. I also got to pick up a couple of books for other friends that I knew they wanted, which was an awesome feeling. Everyone was really excited. 🙂
10. I got to be inspired. There is nothing like going to a book convention where authors are treated like rock stars to inspire you to keep writing. Maybe one day I’ll be on the other side of the table at BEA, with people lining up for my book. Can you even imagine that?? Right now it seems pretty fanciful, but BEA showed me that people love books and that there’s always room for one more author in world.

Have you ever been to BEA? Or any sort of book convention? What sort of experiences have you had?

Are you going to BEA? I am!

Hi, friends!

I’m just popping in to let you know that I’ll be at Book Expo America Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, AND I’M SO EXCITED.

What’s BEA? It’s a convention just for BOOKS. People give away copies, ARCs, do signings, etc. It’s going to be awesome, and it’s held in NYC, so that means I’ll be running around trying to see as much as I can while I’m there.

I already know of a couple people going to BEA, but will any of you others be there?

I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures for those of you that can’t make it!!

Wish me fun! 😀