BEA research and LINKY!

As many of you know I am a bit of a researcher. Okay, maybe more than a bit and I love to plan ahead so I decided to post my finds about BEA in May. It is my first year so of course I want to have everything planned out as much as possible so that I have some idea of what to expect. So here is a compilation of everything that I have found around the blogosphere! Feel free to add anything you would like in the comment! You can add other advice, link to your own posts, link to parties and get-togethers or anything you would like! Please when you read add your name to the linky if you will be at BEA!

The Do’s and Don’ts of BEA:

1. Post your (up-to-date) picture before BEA while letting everyone know you are attending so that they might recognize you.

This is me, I don’t bite and love talking with just about anyone who loves literature of any kind (Yes, the chair makes me look small but I am 5'8" so I swear it is just a REALLY big chair):

And I will be walking around with my best blogger buddy Keri from the wonderful Quill Café http://quillcafe.blogspot.com

2. The most popular tip: Wear good (sensible) shoes. Your feet will hurt no matter what but at least they will hurt less. (as http://www.readingwithtequila.com/ says in her post “nothing says comfort like limping in hooker boots”)

3. Another extremely popular: Don’t be shy.

(You will miss out on meeting a lot of wonderful people if you don’t talk with the people around you. We all love books or we wouldn’t be there so books are probably a great ice breaker. If you are naturally very shy, don’t worry about it and go ahead of try anyhow, most of us are normally shy outside of talking to other book lovers.)

4. Everyone worries about what they should wear and almost everyone will tell you something a little bit different. Personally after reading over 20 posts I have decided that it doesn’t matter as long as you are presentable and comfortable. You can wear anything from jeans and a tee to a suit. Most of us concentrate more on a person’s mind and not their clothes but remember that if you have anything else you are doing any specific day you will also want it to be suitable for that. For instance, if you are planning on meeting with business individuals one day then go ahead and wear a suit or if you are planning on a night on the town maybe something that can double as an outfit for after BEA if you can’t make it back to where you are staying before an event.

5. You don’t have to be famous to fit in. As said above, we all love books.

6. Business cards! Easiest explanation is would you rather have to write down your info 500 times in three days or just hand someone a piece of paper. There are going to be a lot of people you might connect with and you won't want to miss a chance at a new friendship or connection in the industry.

7. You don’t have to take the taxi everywhere or your bank account will suffer, there are buses, the subway and a lot of areas within walking distance. So if you are worried about the money then just get a subway pass and it can normally at least get you close to anywhere you want to go. Walking it free from there. (Plus, it is like an adventure, you never know what you might see along the way!)

8. Food: Make time for food, eat said food, don’t fall over because of forgetting food and remember you are going to be on your feet for hours you will need the energy and not want the tummy ache while in a line you want to get to the front of. Eat a big breakfast, take snacks with you, do whatever you have to do but make sure you are fed because you will need the energy. (This includes water, you don’t want to get dehydrated or your head will be pounding while you talk to everyone and you could run the risk of fainting.)

9. Remember to be professional when speaking, this doesn’t mean not to have fun conversation that is not work related, it means don’t cuss openly because most people won’t appreciate it in a business setting, don’t down talk others, and generally it just means be polite while still having fun.

10. There are tons of things after 5pm when you have time to wonder the town that you can do for free or for a price. Really depends on what you want. So don’t be afraid to take the tourist route and look up things you want to get to see while in New York. There is central park, the statue of liberty, the empire state building and so much more! Don’t be afraid to explore!

11. Most people actually don’t know this one but there are a lot of meet ups after BEA for all three days and if you are a book blogger then also for BBC. Scour the net or talk to the people you meet!

12. Don’t be offended if someone doesn’t know your name or recognize you even though they read your blog. Remember, we will be meeting tons of people in the span of three days and while we will probably recognize blogs when we see them normally we don’t stare at profile images so as long as you give us a business card we will probably go home and be like “Oh, ya! I love this blog.” But without our laptops in hand to type out each address it will probably take some time to sink in.

13. For book bloggers who are going don’t forget that there is BBC this year! Yep, that is right, the Book Blogger Convention. Please sign up because it is going to be a blast! I will be one of the authors for the author speed dating! So far the plans sound amazing!

14. If you went to BEA two years ago and not last year or this year WARNING: Book blogger do not get in free anymore. Both last year and this year you have had to pay. While I wasn’t there last year or the year before I have heard a lot in comments on the posts I read. No, we don’t get in free so you DO want to register ahead of time. If you register for BBC too then it will cost less so you should check it out: If you need help with registration here is the link of instructions for how to register for the BBC and it includes the price of BEA. http://bookbloggerconvention.com/2010/12/2011-book-blogger-convention-registration-is-open/

15. If you are a twitter fan then you can check out the ever growing #BEA11 (or #Bookexpo) hashtag and get a head start on who is coming!

16. I know a lot of you will be hoping that your favorite author will be there and they might but you should also know that with the way that author tours work and showcasing in the publishing industry, some authors go to one event and not others and vice versa. I know a number of authors I hope will be there but you never really know unless they are included in one of the booths, signings, etc.

17. Rolling luggage. I work out quite a bit though you might not know it to look at me and even with yoga, walking, martial arts and Jullian Michaels workouts I still don’t want to be hauling around all the books I know I am going to want to grab. I think my arms would just about fall off by day two. Thus, the wonderful rolling luggage that you can check into baggage check for what I have heard is 3$ but I would make sure to have more for incase the price goes up. You never know. Do not take this rolling luggage onto the exhibit floor though, you can check back to your luggage every once in a while and drop off your books but you don’t want to trip everyone while walking around.

18. If you want to go to a specific author signing that you will need a ticket or pass for, get the ticket or pass the first day if possible. It will save you time and you will know that you can make it.

19. Try not to take more copies or ARCs than what you actually need, remember that all of us will be wanting ARCs and the second copy you take, if only for yourself is probably going to be taken from someone else. If you ask and someone say yes then if you feel you need it go for it but please try to be considerate.

20. Don’t cut in line.

21. Go to the author breakfast, you don’t actually HAVE to order anything and you never know who you might meet. There is a different price for the different seats this year.

22. The most popular traveling suggestion outside of BEA for where you should go as a book lover is a bookstore called The Strand. Keri recently moved to New York so checked it out and says it is totally worth it and a book lovers dream! (Lenore has a great list of places around New York City worth visiting: http://presentinglenore.blogspot.com/2010/02/prepare-for-bea-2010.html ) 

23. Sharing a hotel room can really help with the cost of the trip, staying with a friend or family member also works.

24. Early bird gets the worm!
 
25. If you get over stacked with books there is a shipping room! You can ship them home without even needing to find a post office!

26. Breath mints. Please. You will be talking all day so don’t let your breath offend anyone!

27. For more information on what authors will be there or what novels to expect you can use this link: http://searchitfindit.bookexpoamerica.com/

28.  While in town you should check out the Teen Author Carnival!
http://teenauthorcarnival.blogspot.com/p/tac-11.html

29. Add you Link so we can get to know you!(It can be a link to anything from a blog to a Twitter or Facebook!)