Last week I had the chance to attend BookExpo America with the She Writes Press authors and Brooke, our fearless publisher. It was my first experience at any kind of big event like this, and I walked away . . . well, I walked away exhausted. But there were more significant takeaways than tired feet and general fatigue. Now that I’ve had some time to digest and reflect, I’m not totally sure what the direct benefit of these conferences really is. There were four things I thought were really positive:
These are all good things, but I don’t know if I need BEA to get them. SWP authors could get together in another way without paying the fees to BEA and being confined to a small cubicle space in a big conference center. As a writer I’m not sure I learned much from it, although I didn’t get to attend many of the lectures and presentations because of my time spent in the booth. What I’m really wondering is what you all thought. Did you attend BEA? What were you hoping to get out of it? Did you get that, or something else? If it was your first time, would you go back?
Cait Levin is a Project Editor at She Writes Press. You can read more of her blog (when she stops watching so much Dawson’s Creek and actually writes more of a blog) here.
I did not attend, but have enjoyed listening to the great networking that occurred between the She Writes authors. I would love to be able to meet everyone in the future, either at the next BEA or some other venue. I have to say I was stunned to learn that you and Brooke had never met in person before this event! Amazing!
Take a look at my report for SW on BEA 2012 here: Oink: A Report from BookExpo America. I promoted my book, and also felt nurtured as a writer. Most important, I met Olivia the Pig.
Thanks Cait and Brooke and everyone who represented SWP at BEA! And thanks for posting this -- makes me feel included in all that's going on, even though I'm on the other side of the globe! :)
Great points, Cait. I agree. I'm so glad you were there. Our book LOOKED amazing, and our authors rocked it. But yeah, they could have done that anywhere.
I agree with much of Cait's analysis, which is why I hadn't been to BookExpo for a few years. This year I went partly to meet everyone from SWP! That said, I do think there are other things we can get out of Book Expo. I attend a few very interesting workshops--one on women's leadership, another on industry trends in audio books. I also have a friend--very successful nonfiction author--who was told by her agent to go to see what is selling. That might not motivate most of our authors, who are guided by an inner urge more often than publishing trends, but I still think it's useful to know what the trends are, especially for our publishing and publicity teams. Worth the admission fee? Maybe not, but there are lots of ways to make the most of BEA.
I've loved the She Writes Press tour- a way for us to come together in one place, to network, and to talk to others about our hybrid model. I think we should do a lot more SWP tours!
Like the idea of SheWrite authors getting together in a less expensive forum.
Well said!