Recap: BEA Bloggers Conference 2012

I attended the BEA Blogger Conference in New York City on June 4, 2012, the day before Book Expo America began. I was able to be on Wi-Fi during most of BBC so I was able to tweet from some parts of the event, and later posted a short BBC in Pictures post, unfortunately my iPhone barely worked in the Javits the rest of the week.

BBC started with a networking breakfast, where sets of 3-4 authors took turns at different tables in 15 minute intervals, and basically pitched their books and answered questions. I’m not sure about other tables but I think ours averaged at 10 minutes each… Our table met with Jenny Han (Burn for Burn), Sonia Manzano (The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano, and also from Sesame Street!), and Tricia Rayburn (Merits of Mischief: Bad Apple). They were all open and friendly, and I enjoyed hearing about their books.

The opening keynote speaker was Jennifer Weiner. She was engaging and funny, and discussed her issues with the New York Times and being labeled as a mommy blogger vs. a blogger. Here are a couple of quotes from her keynote, that I shared via Twitter that day:

“Tweet like your mother’s not online.”

“There’s always room to talk up the things you love, rather than talk down the things you hate.”

– Jennifer Weiner

The morning session was called Blogging Today: What You Need to Know and What’s Next which was a panel moderated by Zoë Triska, Associate Books Editor, Huffington Post. The panel included: Erica Barmash, Senior Marketing Manager, Harper Perennial and Harper paperbacks; Patrick Brown, Community Manager, Goodreads; Jen Lancaster, author/blogger at jennsylvania.com; and Candace Levy, editor, blogging at Beth Fish Reads. I really enjoyed this panel… I don’t have any notes from it, but it was interesting (I know, so helpful) and it was great seeing the face behind Goodreads events – Patrick Brown.

Next was a networking luncheon that was set up the same way as breakfast. I tried to sit at the few tables that were assigned YA authors and failed, so I ended up at a culinary table, which was great because I got to hang out with Danny, Pushy, and Heather from Bewitched Bookworms, and Melissa from I Swim for Oceans! I’ve been a fan of their blogs since I started my own, so I was happy to be able to chat with them. We met authors Sheryl Berk (Recipe for Trouble), Kelsey Banfield (Naptime Chef), and Heather Baird (SprinkleBakes: Dessert Recipes to Inspire Your Inner Artist). They were all really nice! Recipe for Trouble is children’s fiction, and was written jointly between Berk and her daughter, it sounds really cute and fun.

The afternoon consisted of 2 break out sessions. I chose to attend Critical Reviews: Fine Tuning Your Craft for the first session. It was moderated by Barbara Hoffert, Editor, Prepub Alert, Library Journal, and the panel included: Mark Fowler, Attorney and Blogger, Rights of Writers; Janice Harayda, Blogger, One Minute Book Reviews; and Florinda Vasquez, Blogger, The 3 R’s Blog.

I liked this summary statement that was said by either Barbara or Janice (sorry, can’t remember): “Be bold, be critical, be careful.” Here are some notes I took from the session:

• Legal liability (Mark Fowler):
  • Libel – a false statement of fact that could defame a person or product.
  • Your opinion is protected, if it’s an opinion statement
  • don’t mix opinion with facts
  • don’t infer false facts
• Tips for writing a critical review and staying away from libel (Janice Harayda):
  • Put positive things first in a review.
  • If you didn’t like the book, word calmly, angry words get you closer to crossing the line.
  • Keep the focus on the book, not the author. Don’t make it personal.

I chose Demystifying the Blogger/Publisher Relationship for the second break-out session, which was moderated by Derek Stordahl, Global Publishing Expert and blogger. The panel included: Jenn Lawrence, Blogger, jennsbookshelves.com; Lucille Rettino, Vice President, Director of Marketing, Simon and Schuster; and Lindsey Rudnickas from NetGalley. This was my favorite panel of the day. Derek was a great moderator, and though I didn’t really learn anything new, I enjoyed the discussion. Here are some of my notes:

• Blogging advice from Jenn Lawrence:
  • Be true to yourself and do what you love
  • Don’t be afraid to tell publishers what you want to do, and what you don’t want to do
• From Lucille, S&S Marketing:
  • Simon & Schuster eARCs are now on Edelweiss, and a few are now on NetGalley!
  • Tell publishers you accept ebooks (it saves the publisher money)
  • Publishers also want to know how many page views per month, how many comments your blog has, in addition to your subscriber/follower stats
• From Lindsay, NetGalley:
  • The digital solution has opened doors for bloggers and publishers, it’s made it easier for readers to read more
  • Include in your NG public profile your stats, and what you can offer the publisher

The closing remarks were given by Jenny Lawson, “The Bloggess” (thebloggess.com), and author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. She was hilarious, charming, and engaging, a great speaker. My favorite quote:

“Bloggers are more important than big media (though they are wonderful)” – Jenny Lawson, the “Bloggess”

I thought the keynote speakers, and parts of the panels were interesting… but for me, most of the information was basic blogging 101 material. I was disappointed that there wasn’t time to chat/mingle with authors of my blog’s genre (YA). And though all the authors I met were very friendly, I did feel like it was more about them promoting their books than networking. I am happy to have had the opportunity to meet the bloggers at my tables, but there was very little time to network with others. It was awesome meeting new-to-me bloggers, and finally meeting peeps that I know online, in person… but for most, there was only time for quick hello and a handshake or hug.

The bottom line: Overall, I’m glad that I attended BBC this year, but I left feeling disappointed. I originally hadn’t planned to go, but then was afraid I’d miss out so I registered very late. Now that I know what it’s all about, will I pay to attend next year? No. Maybe. Probably not. We’ll see.

Here are my pictures from the BEA Bloggers Conference: