BEA 2013 Recap

I know BEA has been a hot topic over these past few weeks months and now there is an explosion of recap posts across the blogosphere as we all return home and get back into the swing of things. Those of us who were in attendance this year are probably clinging to anything that will remind us of those very magical few days, and those of you who weren’t are probably just wishing we’d all shut up already. But even knowing it might be overkill, I’d still like to provide mine and Ashley’s thoughts on the experience, both as new bloggers, and first time BEA-ers. I am only going to do one post and I will try to refrain from writing a small novel.

Before BEA - 

The decision to go to BEA was pretty easy for us. Ashley had already heard about the event when we started blogging and it was one of her bookish goals to attend this year. And considering I live in NJ and we could just commute into the city each day, it was a pretty affordable thing for us to do, in comparison to many.

But I can honestly say that I barely had any grasp on what BEA even was and what the decision to go actually meant. And despite the countless posts about preparing for BEA and the generous advice provided to us by others, we still kind of had no idea what we were doing or what we were in for.

We purchased tickets to the Bloggers Conference without realizing that this was a separate event from BEA that you did not need to actually attend (which we did not actually end up attending). And that’s as far as purchasing tickets went for us. We had no clue about the other events that would be going on at the same time (breakfasts, lunches, parties, signings etc.). Seriously, I still have no idea how one learns of these things, and whether or not you have to be invited, purchase a ticket, or if they are open to all. We'll tackle this next year. 

We did very little planning for that first day, and most of it was useless. We both skimmed the list of authors who would be autographing and had an idea of who we wanted to see, but I didn’t even have the foresight to print that list out (which comes in handy when your phone battery is quickly draining) and neither of us thought to identify the booth number by Publisher ('Penguin' is a lot easier to find than 'F1537'), especially when you don't think to grab a map (derp!). The greatest effort we made was to take note of the books we were interested in that were on the book list and we even went so far as the list the author next to each book. But this was also pointless because besides the list being flawed, when you don't know the publisher or when they are dropping/signing, what good is a list of books that 'might be around somewhere in this infinite space'. Yeah...

At BEA - 

Before BEA I had never been to a signing, met an author, spoken to a publisher, or met any other bloggers. I had only ever been given one ARC and that was because I won it. I couldn’t wrap my head around the likes of BEA because it sounded too good to be true. It seemed impossible that I’d come home with a ton of free books, let alone ARCs of some of my most anticipated reads that still wouldn’t be out for MONTHS. I never imagined I’d meet some of my favorite authors or how easy it might be to speak with Publishers (fortunately Ashley had the foresight to make us business cards). And I never expected I’d get to meet and hang out with so many other AWESOME bloggers. 

But ladies and gentleman, the rumors are true...

We showed up that first day two hours early. For some reason, I thought the event started at 8 and not 9 but that gave us a really good position in line and so we purposefully showed up 2 hours early the next day and were FIRST in line. Chyeah. Anyway, it was pretty obvious we were newbies on that first day and the people around us in line took pity on us and gave us some tips/advice on how to survive. We were gifted a map, and that was when Ashley and I decided we needed to divide and conquer. 

Ashley and I in line on Day 1

Poor Ashley pretty much ran around the booths all day while I hopped from one signing line to the next. Our goal was to try and get at least one copy of each book we wanted because we could always share between us. At most drops, the books are just left out and it is pretty easy to grab a copy for a friend. But at signings, it's nearly impossible to get a second copy unless someone holds the line and you cut in (basically, a physical person needs to be present). Ashley and I didn't do this because we weren't sure if this was frowned upon or not but from what I've been able to tell it is actually pretty common. We might try this tactic next year.

Anyway, on Day 1 when the doors open and I literally beelined for Kendare Blake's autographing table. I was honestly the first one there. The staff that directs the line traffic hadn't even showed up yet. I almost left thinking I did something wrong or had time to check out some booths but fortunately I stayed put. About 5 minutes later the line went from about just me, to like 100+ people.

Meeting the wonderful Kendare Blake (my first author encounter!)

Ashley and I got pretty lucky that first day. Even though we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off, and had NO IDEA what we were doing, we managed to get pretty much all of the books we had wanted. Ashley had a knack for being in the right place at the right time since most of my scream-texts for her to get her butt to so-and-so publisher for so-and-so drop never actually went through. 

We came home that day exhausted but elated. Since we considered our first day a success, we planned to take the same approach for Day 2. It was easier to plan for Day 2, knowing what to expect from Day 1. And I'm glad we had that experience because the Day 2 schedule was much trickier. Most of the signings and drops we wanted to go to were at the same times so we really had to prioritize. 

Ashley and I in line on Day 2

Day 2 went pretty much the same as Day 1 - we ate in line, barely stopped to pee, ran around like crazy book addicts, and had an amazing time. We didn't get all the books that piqued our interest (you can only be in so many places at once) but we got the important ones and count ourselves incredibly fortunate. 

So, I kind of spent the entire two days in a daze. I kept looking in my bag at my pretty books as if I expected them to disappear. Whenever Ashley and I caught up with each other we'd oogle and squeal over what the other was able to pick up since we last saw each other. And the books just keep coming and coming. I remember sitting in line and just thinking 'This is the happiest day of my life' (both days). 

And what better way to end Day 2 than with the Bloggers Picnic. Ashley and I managed to meet some of our blogger friends while running around both days but at the Picnic we really got the chance to unwind and spend some quality time together. It was beyond amazing to meet so many people that shared the same interests as you. For a recap on this event, check out Alexa's post here.

Ok, so Ashley and I didn't go to Day 3, which is probably our only regret. We got the impression that things died down on Day 3 and that it wasn't necessary to go. This might be true, but seeing the books and authors that were present only on Day 3 makes us we wish we were there. Unfortunately, Ashley had pre-planned to leave for vacation so we couldn't just go back on our initial thoughts of not attending. We won't make this mistake again next year!

After BEA - 

Guys, Ashley and I have Post-BEA-Depression (PBEAD). It was seriously the most amazing two days EVER and we already can't wait for next year (we will DEFINITELY be there). We miss hanging out with everyone we met and hope to meet the people we missed this year, next year! 

And these are some of the things we learned to help us be better prepared for years to come:

• Divide and Conquer. Don't spend your time in the same place unless you have to/want to. 
• You can't be in multiple places at once so help each other out. The more the merrier.
• Print out the list of signings and make sure you know who writes what. I personally don't recognize author names as well as I recognize book titles and almost missed quite a few signings because of it. 
• Make a sweep of the Publishers of interest early and pick up their Flyer advertising signings and drops. That way you can get an idea of where you need to be and when.
• Get in line early. Most lines start forming as early as an hour before the scheduled signing and it helps to be early in line so that you can move on to the next thing quickly.
• Don't be afraid to ask, publishers are friendly! There were a couple books Ashley and I had really wanted but missed so we asked the Publishers if they had any left. Some did! And everyone was super friendly. 
• Bring spare phone battery/charger! Even trying not to use our phones, Ashley and I found ourselves needing to recharge. 
• Bring food and water! Not only is everything really expensive there, but you might not want to leave the line to go searching for food or drink. 
• Bring a suitcase for books! It cost $3 to check a bag and trust me, you will want to transfer your books to that bag, if not throughout the day, then at the end of the day. And don't be afraid to bring a big one. I brought a carry-on size to try and be discreet. This wasn't necessary. 
• Get business cards! You will want to give these to bloggers/publishers/authors etc.
• Umm... somehow find out about all the other events going on.. and attend them.

The Books - 

I know everyone wants to see the books we got, so here they are. Ashley and I did manage to get a copy of most books for each of ourselves so there is quite a bit of overlap. For the books we only got one of, we divided amongst ourselves depending on which of us wanted to read the book more/might like it better. We tend to like the same stuff, but have noticed that when it comes to favorite genres, we have our own preferences. I really like Fantasy, Contemporary, and Historical Fiction, whereas, Ashley really likes Dystopian, Sci Fi and Paranormal. This is kind of what we used to split up the books for who would read them first but really they are both of our books that we will be passing back and forth.

my BEA books

Ashley's BEA books

Ok guys, so that is all we have to share. We hope to see everyone in NYC next year!