Tags
authors, BEA, Book Con, Book Expo America, illustrator tips, Justin Cronin, Laini Taylor, middle grade, Naomi Novik, Pierce Brown, Sarah J. Maas, Victoria Aveyard, writing tips, YA, young adult
Did you know there is an entire convention dedicated to books? Book Con is the public part of Book Expo of America, or BEA. Professional authors, publishers, book sellers, book buyers, etc. come together to share must-read books, delve into upcoming market trends, and build relationships with other literary professionals. There are panels with authors from all genres and a showroom full of major, indie, and niche publishers who sell or give away their books. (FREE BOOKS!) I went for the first time this year and came home with some amazing advice and insights from bestselling authors, including Naomi Novik, Pierce Brown, and Sarah J. Maas. And I’ll share them with you below! (My paraphrased versions unless specifically quoted.)
How do you get 150,000 dedicated book buyers to consider your book? How do you get 50 authors and/or illustrators together to sell their work to those 150,000 eager buyers? The answer is the Los Angeles SCBWI booth at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. 
Do the words “comic book convention” sound scary to you? Overwhelming? Completely irrelevant to you as a children’s book author or illustrator? Think again. Even if your work isn’t “in genre,” you can still learn a lot. If you want to know what kids are into right now, or your creative juices need a boost, there’s no better place to go than a Con.
Kite Tales 