The Ultimate Guide to Book Conventions

So it's convention season, and you want to go to your favorite book convention (see also: book con). There's one problem: you have no idea how book conventions work. Say you've never been to one, or maybe you've never been to this particular book con, or at this particular location. You're absolutely lost-- but don't worry, I've got you covered! (No pun intended.) (Actually, wait, I take it back, pun intended.)

Here are some helpful tips for before, during, and after the convention to help you on your journey through the wonderful world of book cons!

Before you go:

Look at a map of the convention center.

By John Willy (editor and publisher of journal) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

No, I don't just mean that you should see where the convention center is, and how to get there-- though that is important too. I mean you should look at the layout of the convention center beforehand and get familiar with the layout. If possible, use a version provided by the convention center that shows where the sections or booths are, and perhaps where shuttle entrance/exits are, where the first aid is, and where the food court is. Try to get a sense of where things are in the convention center. You don't have to remember what's on the first floor and what's on the fourth, but having a basic knowledge of where the elevators are, where the booths are, and where you can go to get some mid-convention food is going to come in handy later on.

Decide what authors you would like to see at the convention.

By Roland Tanglao [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Once you get to the convention, odds are that you're going to be so distracted by all the people throwing free books at you that you'll have a hard time finding any authors you've heard of. Sometime before the convention-- or even at the beginning of your day at the convention if you're feeling lucky-- come up with a list of authors you would be excited to see on Convention Day(s). In advance, it would be good to check if those authors have said anything about being a part of the con. To find the most information, look at each author's social media, especially their Twitter, as they'll often tweet about panels or signings that they're doing at a convention. If you find out that one of the authors on your list is going to be at the con, do your best to find out where and when, and make a note of it! Then when the convention rolls around, you'll be able to plan out where you want to go, who you want to see, and when.

Make a publisher plan.

Pavel Hrdlička, Wikipedia [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Maybe your favorite author is published by Tor, or by HarperCollins, or by Penguin. A lot of the publishers at a book con will have plenty of giveaways... On the first day, in the morning. That's not to say that they run out of stuff to hand out right away--that's almost never the case--but the giveaways for the popular authors often are given out first. So if you want to catch that limited edition poster that you heard from a friend Blink was giving out, you might want to make a note to head there early in your day. That said, there are always a lot of giveaways, even towards the end, so make plenty of space in your convention schedule just for walking around and getting free stuff! Speaking of schedules...

Check the convention schedule, and make your own.

Photo credit: stevepb [CC0]

The host of the convention will likely have up a website that provides maps of the event, publishers attending the event, tentative booth numbers, etc.  That website should also include a schedule full of panels, signings, talks, and so much more-- and that schedule is going to be one of your biggest helps in planning out what you want to do. That is, if you're interested in what events the con has to offer. If not, you can skip to the second part of this step, which is really important, so don't skip it! But if you are interested in the panels and other literary happenings, then make sure to read through the schedule and make a note of anything you find interesting or want to go to. It's really important to do that now, so that when you're in the convention and you're looking for the next thing to do, you don't realize that you just missed the panel you really wanted to attend, or that if you'd left two minutes ago, you could have made it to the author signing on the other side of the convention center.

That said, it's a really good idea to make a schedule for the convention. The schedule should have opening and closing times for the convention, the restaurants, and any other hospitalities the convention offers; include these so that you don't realize you need something a moment too late. Your schedule should also have any events you want to attend, and the time you're thinking about leaving the convention by. Make sure to put everything you might possibly want to do on the schedule, because if you get to the convention and realize you would have loved to attend an event that you had previously decided not to put on the schedule after all... You'll be a little angry with yourself. And no one wants that. Don't forget also to include meal breaks, and possible places to eat, either in the convention or outside of it.

Pack your bag(s).

While it's a great idea to bring a bag with snacks, water, your schedule, your passes, all the essentials... It's also important to bring plenty, plenty of bags. Lightweight bags are great, and in the beginning you can keep them all inside one bag. Make sure you think about how heavy those bags will be when filled with books, and think about how you will have to carry them while they're filled with books-- How many book-filled bags can a book lover carry at a book convention bustling with books? Keep in mind also that book cons can be crowded, and so waddling around with a fifty-book diameter is not a great idea. All that said, though, you will need lots of bags. Plenty of bags. As many lightweight bags as you can bring-- preferably with handles you can easily grab and hang on to. You don't have to use all the bags, and you probably shouldn't use all the bags, but trust me, you would rather have too many bags than not enough.

Plan your trip.

If you're coming from out of town, or even if you have to drive downtown to go to a convention, it's a good idea to plan ahead when you'll be leaving if you want to get there on time. That way, you avoid time trouble as much as possible. This step is especially important if there are other people going with you to the con; make sure you have everyone picked up before it would normally be time to leave. That way you have plenty of time to get there, and don't have to worry about that one friend who always takes her sweet time leaving the house. Also make sure to plan for the ride back-- who will be driving? Who's getting dropped off first? Those things can also be decided during or after the con, but in your exhausted post-convention state, I doubt you'll want to be deciding drop-off order.

Get a good night's rest.

The night before a con, you need your sleep. Conventions are draining enough as it is on a full night's sleep; do you really want to risk it with a mere few hours?

During the convention:

Set a meeting place.

This should be the first thing you do at the convention, besides gawking at the sheer number of people. This is really important in a large group, where it's harder to contact everyone to ask where they all are, but it's just as important in a small group, or even with just two people. If cell reception cuts out and your group gets separated, you'll want a meeting place. It's good to pick somewhere easily visible and accessible, and one with easily distinguishable surroundings; you don't want anyone to get the meeting place column confused for another similar column across the convention center. Some convention centers have meeting places already set up around the building; those are usually good meeting places to start with.

Check the Twitters of authors you want to see.

If you weren't able to figure out if an author you like is at the convention, or if you know they're somewhere there but have no clue where, their Twitter is the best place to go. Oftentimes, authors will post what booth they're at (number included), so you can find them more easily. Sometimes you can run into authors you thought there was no chance of seeing at all, simply because you checked their social media. Other special times you can run into authors you thought you'd never see, simply because you stumbled on their booth before anyone else did. You just have to wander! Speaking of...

Don't be afraid to wander.

Being prepared for a convention doesn't mean you have to start at one end and walk the grid until you reach the other end; nor does it necessarily mean that you hit the places you want to see in the order you want to see them, though those are both commendable strategies. Half of the fun of a convention is just walking around, meeting people, and exploring through genres you never considered reading, or sections you never knew existed ("They have a cover art exhibit here?!"). You'll find that if you take the time between scheduled events to simply wander the con and keep an eye out for stuff that interests you, you'll find some pretty unique and interesting things.

Talk to other convention-goers.

I don't recommend this one if you're as socially awkward as I am, but if you're standing in line for an author signing and you hear someone in front of you telling their friend about a giveaway for a book you really like, ask them about it! That way, when you get done with the signing, you can go get some free stuff. Win-win. (And yes, I know, talking to strangers is scary, but knowing that you missed out on some awesome stuff because you didn't speak up is even scarier!)

Pick up as many freebies as you can.

This one goes without saying, but I do have a few words of caution: watch your space. Sure, if you paid attention to the first few tips, you have plenty of bags for your books, but how many of those book-filled bags can you realistically carry? There's a point when you have to consider whether or not you have the space for something, and whether or not you will later receive something better that you will have to turn down because of the space you're filling. It's a hard decision to make (and it doesn't get any easier, trust me), but once the bags start filling up, you have to start making those hard decisions.



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