Book Con 2019 – Day 2

I can’t believe it’s over!  Book Con 2019 was an amazing experience.  I loved every minute of it (including the terrible back and shoulder pain I am now in from carrying so many ARCs!)

How Day 2 Differed from Day 1

• The ARC drops – some of the publishing houses dropped different books from one day to the next.  Others used the same core drops (Epic Reads for example, had the same 5 books that they dropped 4 or 5 times between the two days).
• Far fewer people.  There were definitely still tons of people, but the day 2 crowd was much smaller.
• Sales and end of day giveaways.  Everyone was trying to give away everything they had left by the end of the day.  It’s totally worth it to stay until the last-minute.  You never know what someone might find hidden in a box or behind a table that they don’t want to haul back to their office.

More Things I Learned

• Talk to everyone!  I can’t stress that enough.  I received several books and ARCs just by having a quick conversation with the person manning the table.  There’s no shame in expressing your interest in particular books or in inquiring about them.  Ask, ask, ask.  Tell the publishing group why you wanted this book.  You never know, they might “find” an extra somewhere hidden away for you.
• Medical assistance is ok but it could definitely use some improvements.  My mom came with me to Book Con and she walks with a cane.  While I was able to get her chairs for lines and when she needed a rest, I had to do it all myself.  Staff is not very helpful in assisting anyone with medical needs.  Hopefully, next year we will see some improvements on that front because I plan on bringing my mom along again (and unless she magically gets a new back, legs, and feet, she’s still going to be using that cane).
• Have a buddy!  This is an optional suggestion of course, but I highly recommend going to Book Con with someone.  It’s great if you have a friend or relative who likes books as much as you do, but it’s actually even better to go with someone who doesn’t.  My mom was able to wait in one line while I was in another and she gave me all the books she collected.  If you can go with a partner who is basically just there to assist you, that’s all the better.

Final Thoughts

I would go back to Book Con next year and every year that I can.  It was a great experience and I met so many amazing people.  I loved it so much and I can’t wait to go to more events like this in the future.  I learned a ton about the industry and how this type of event works and that really helped me to narrow down what future events I’d want to try to attend.