Brooke Reviews

YA Book Blog

  • Bloglovin
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About
    • Blog Series
  • Writing
  • Review Archive
  • Review Policy
  • Contact

Brooke’s first-time BEA prep

May 22, 2015 by brooke 5 Comments

first-time-bea-prep-image

I am SO excited to be attending BookExpo America this year. I’ve been looking forward to it for months, but now that it’s here, I don’t know what to do with myself.

I’ve been purposefully procrastinating because it’s so overwhelming, and therefore do not feel quite as prepared as I could be. But these past few days, I’ve really buckled down and done some research. I’d love to share with you what I’ve learned. I hope it’s interesting and helpful, especially for those of you who are also first-timers.

Registration

So I registered about a month ago for the BEA Bloggers Conference, which includes the 3-day BEA pass. (It’s also cheaper!) I checked and double-checked this, because the pricing chart was rather confusing and I wanted to be sure I was choosing the correct badge.

*I actually contacted Shae @ Shae Has Left the Room to ask her a few questions about registration, and she was super sweet and helpful. She also pointed me in the direction of the Press Pass, which is free. I submitted my info but was not approved for this pass. It was worth a shot! Thanks, Shae 🙂

Quick note: I’ve turned this into a family trip to NYC, so travel/lodging was taken care of. I did not go through the process of booking my own flights or searching for a roommate.

Tips & Tricks

Since registering, I’ve been Googling “BEA tips and tricks” and also searching through the archives of trusted blogger friends.

Many bloggers who’ve attended in the past put together fantastic pre- and post-BEA blog series chronicling their planning process and sharing their experiences. I’ve listed the links to these informative blogs below. (And what’s great is that many of these blogs point to other blogs with BEA posts and that’s how I’ve found them all! Yay for bloggers promoting other bloggers!)

Shae’s 6-part BEA Tips blog series
Octavia’s So You Want To Go To BEA? blog series
Jon’s What No One Tells You About BEA (And You Should Know…)
Liza’s Tips for BEA
Nose Graze’s How to Own the Hell Out of BookExpo America
Nose Graze’s BookExpo America Tips – Things I’m Glad I Did & Things I Learned

Through one of the sites listed above, I also discovered the Goodreads BookExpo America discussion. I submitted a question to the 2015 Signing Info thread and received a lengthy reply shortly thereafter.

What I’ve Learned

  • Wear comfortable shoes!
  • Bring a phone charger! (Apparently the Javits Center has terrible WiFi and drains your battery.)
  • Bring snacks! (When do I ever NOT bring snacks?)
  • Know the difference between ticketed and non-ticketed author signings!
  • Utilize the ‘shipping’ area or bring a suitcase so you’re not carrying loads of books all day long!
  • Create a color-coded schedule! (No, seriously. Almost every ‘BEA prep’ post I’ve read recommends this.)

I’ve explored nearly every inch of the official BEA site, and I’ve also played around a bit with the online BEA show planner. Now, I’m creating a spreadsheet (my color-coded schedule) and researching the ARCs I’ll want to look out for at the event.

Check out the Publisher’s Weekly list of ‘Can’t-Miss Kids’ Galleys.’

Networking

Besides all the books (ARCs! ARCs! signed copies!), I’m really looking forward to meeting/networking with other bloggers. I think it’s going to be really cool to meet some of my online friends in person, and to have the chance to tell them how much I appreciate their work. I’ve even ordered business cards, which I’m pretty stoked about.

Clearly I am not an expert on all-things BEA. But I’m a pretty good finder-of-online-information, so if you have any questions, I’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

ALSO, let me know if you’ll be there! We can stand in lines together and chat!

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Blog Posts

Hi! I'm Brooke, and I'm an author. I love writing; I always have, and I love anything that has to do with words and poems and reading. I also like to sing, act, swim, and laugh (a lot.) Read More…

Comments

  1. Ashley says

    May 22, 2015 at 5:32 am

    It sounds like you’ve prepared yourself for BEA very well! Nice job! 😀 Hopefully I’ll see you around the conference. 🙂
    Ashley recently posted…How to Search Through a Blog That Doesn’t Have a Search BoxMy Profile

    Reply
    • brooke says

      May 22, 2015 at 6:28 am

      Thanks so much, Ashley! Loved your BEA prep posts – I’ve been following your blog for a while now and I always appreciate your super helpful content. I’m really looking forward to your panels at the Blogger’s Conference. I’d love to meet in person! 🙂

      Reply
      • Ashley says

        May 22, 2015 at 6:45 am

        If you attend one of my panels, definitely come up at the end and introduce yourself! 🙂
        Ashley recently posted…How to Search Through a Blog That Doesn’t Have a Search BoxMy Profile

        Reply
  2. Brenda says

    May 25, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    Have a wonderful time, it sounds like your well prepared!
    Brenda recently posted…MG Fantasy/Fairytale Retelling: Flunked by Jen CalonitaMy Profile

    Reply
    • brooke says

      May 25, 2015 at 2:55 pm

      Thanks Brenda! I’m so excited. 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

I'm Brooke Harrison - I'm a 20-yr-old writer and voracious reader. Welcome to my YA book blog!
Read More…

Follow Via Email

Follow Via Bloglovin

Favorite Posts

  • Recommended Read: Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
  • Week 6 – Snippet – Multimedia
  • Introducing my sister, former book-hater
  • Lessons learned from the Tallahassee Writer's Conference

Categories

  • Author Interviews
  • Blog Posts
  • Book Reviews
  • My Poetry
  • Videos

Archives

February 2021
M T W T F S S
« May    
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728

Copyright © 2021 · Delightful theme by Restored 316 · Built on the Genesis Framework

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.