Wednesday, May 28, 2014

BEA Recap Day 1

Travel Woes

So, I made it through Day #1 of my very first BEA!!!  It was looking a little touch and go there for a while, since my flight was delayed by about 2 hours (and some flights from Chicago to NYC were cancelled).  I was just praying that I would make it here at all!  

My poor roommate (Jennifer from Live to Read, Read to Live) flew all the way in from Ireland and got here at 2:00 PM, but couldn't check in because she didn't have a credit card.  So I spent the day yesterday scrambling around, calling places, trying to get someone to help me figure out a way to get the poor girl checked in!  Luckily she had a book and didn't mind reading in the lobby while we got it all sorted out.  (Which we did finally.)  I didn't get in until after midnight and I did NOT want her to have to wait until then to check in!  Luckily, it all worked out. Oh, except then we found out that we only had one bed - even though I had called the front desk and confirmed the we would have two.  By that time, we were just happy she didn't have to sleep in the lobby, but it was all a bit crazy. "Hi, nice to meet you in person (in the middle of the night). Now let's share a bed."  Luckily we're both laid back people!


BEA Bloggers Conference
(And the Big Controversy)

So, on to today.  Today was the BEA Bloggers Conference.  I attended four sessions - the first two were great, and the second two were so-so.  The last session actually created a lot of controversy, but I'll tell you about that in a moment ...

Session 1 - Design 101
I got some really good design tips here, some of which I will probably incorporate into my blog (especially simplifying my sidebars).  My blog really doesn't mesh well with the current trend of "simple and uncluttered," but I don't know that I'll change it up too much.  Even though my header is a bit busy, I love it.  One thing I definitely DID get from this session is that I definitely want to migrate over to Wordpress. I've been wanting to do it for a while, but have been too nervous to actually take the plunge because I didn't want to lose my design, etc.  Ashley over at Nose Graze was one of the presenters and lots of people highly recommended her to help with a move to Wordpress, so I'll probably use her services (unless I can manage it all by my lonesome, but I'm not counting on that).

Session 2 - Software 101 
This was a very fun session, mostly due to the humorous bloggers on the panel - especially Sarah over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.  This session further convinced me that I should move over to Wordpress so that I can make use of awesome plug-ins like Jetpack and Co-scheduler.  It also made me think a bit more about my use of social media (or lack thereo) and how I can do better.

Session 3 - Blogging and the Law
This session wasn't super exciting, but I kind of didn't expect it to be.  I don't worry too much about someone plagiarizing me (though maybe I should) and I already know not to use images that aren't meant to be free and the other copyright info seemed only mildly applicable to me (though there were some interesting facts given that I hadn't really thought about before - such as the fact that we're not liable for comments made on our blog, etc).  The most interesting part of the session was hearing author Allison Leotta's personal story of how her book was stolen and republished under a different name by an "author" who just changed the main character to a man (turning it into a gay character) and a few other minor details.  Otherwise it was her book - word for word.  Wow! He did book signings and everything. Her publisher got everything shut down, and Leotta chose not to sue - which was refreshing to hear in this world of litigation. I really liked Leotta personally and would love to read one of her books now.

Session 4 - The Publishing Process - How Bloggers Have Changed the Game
Okay,this is the session you've all been hearing about.  The big controversy.  The description for this session was written very poorly and was terribly misleading because it wasn't really about bloggers at all, but about YouTube vlogging.  Apparently, Alexandra Bracken worked with a very popular YouTube vlogger who really helped spread the word about The Darkest Minds.  That, in itself is great, but some statements were made alluding to how much better vlogging is than blogging because it reaches so many more people, and the atmosphere in the room started to get a little chilly.  I don't think the panel intended to make it sound like vlogging was amazing and blogging was unimportant, but it did start to kind of veer that way. Honestly, I think if the description had correctly stated that this session was going to specifically be about vlogging rather than blogging, I don't think it would have been so bad, but the focus was a big surprise to everyone except the panel.  And, in a room full of mostly bloggers (not vloggers) the statements that made it sound like vlogging was superior were met with increasing hostility - quite a few people actually walked out.

I actually felt really bad for Alexandra Bracken - I spoke to her afterward for a while and she seemed genuinely distressed that mixed messages were sent. She came prepared to talk about her experiences with vlogging because that's how the session was pitched to her and she never wanted to imply that vlogging was better (for the record, most of the statements that came off that way were from the vlogger herself, who I think really just wanted to share how awesome she thinks vlogging is and made the misstep of making comparisons between it and blogging that made blogging seem like the inferior choice).  Anyway, I just have to throw in a little defense for Alexandra Bracken because I talked to her a bit and she seemed genuinely very nice and hated the thought that her panel had upset people. (In fact, I just found out that Bracken addressed this today HERE.) 


Me and Alexandra Bracken


Books I Got

I was really surprised by how many books I already got today (and I didn't take all of the ones that were offered!)  Alexandra Bracken signed The Darkest Minds for me and Romina Russel signed Zodiac. Can't wait to start reading!


Night on the Town

Since I've never been to NYC, I was excited to see Times Square.  My roommate and I had dinner at a fun place called Ellen's Stardust Diner where all the servers are trying to make it on Broadway and they sing for you!  So much fun!

Well, I need to head to bed now, so I'll be awake tomorrow.  Feel free to ask any questions about the sessions in the comments or add your input if you were there!

20 comments:

  1. I heard about the controversy through twitter this morning. It was a terrible experience for bloggers who attended the panel. I know the vlogger, she is very nice and popular, I like her spirit :) But I think It wasn't accurate for her to cover the panel and made comparisson since she doesn't know anything about blogging. It was felt like blogging isn't important. I have a small blog and don't give much impact, I felt like I wasn't important when I heard about it. But when I thought about it thoroughly, I blog because I love books, I don't intend it for selling books.
    I like watching booktube video and discover some new titles and see the finish edition of a book, but I don't watch their reviews which each video will spend more than 5 minutes to watch while I need to collect some reviews as comparison before buying a book. I like reading reviews from bloggers and GR, I like how bloggers point out each important aspect. Beside, most booktubers are more reluctant to give bad reviews while bloggers are more honest about their opinions :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not really into vlogs and I don't typically watch them, so I can't comment on them all that decisively. But, I definitely think that there's a niche for both blogging and vlogging - I really think that the vlogger just didn't think out everything she said as well as she should have. It's a shame, but sometimes it happens. She's young. She'll learn. :-)

      Delete
  2. Sounds like a wonderful BEA so far. I'm only there on Saturday this year--basically to attend/support the #WeNeedDiverseBooks panel. If the vlogger sesson you attended was at all correct about the wider reach of vlogging I may have to give it a try! Thanks so much for your excellent review of Starcursed, and have a great rest of BEA!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Nandini! Wish I would have made it to the #WeNeedDiverseBooks panel - definitely a cause I stand behind!

      Delete
  3. Sorry to hear about your flight delays, but you're at BEA and I'm not, so I don't feel too bad for you. ;) Thanks for summing up the highlights of the sessions you attended. I'm totally jealous, have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like your blog design. I think you shouldn't care what's popular and just go with something that shows your personality.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I think I'm going to pretty much leave it. No one was saying that you should switch to what's popular, it was just mentioned that the sleek look is currently in and I realized that my blog doesn't match with that trend at all. Oh well, I love my design too, so I don't think I'll change it anytime soon.

      Delete
  5. Great photo and nice swag so far!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nicee haul for you first day! And love the recap. I've never been to BEA so I love recaps.& I like your blog design. It seems very cozy somehow. I'm considering movie TSC to Wordpress too, but so far we're lazy (or extremely busy students) so I don't think we'll be doing it anytime soon. I'm curious to see how the process goes though!

    I actually have never watched BookTube (I'm not a video person) so I never knew how much of a big deal it is. The panel, from what I heard, sounds disappointing, but I hold nothing against Alexandra Bracken.

    Thanks for the recap!

    -P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I've never really been a BookTube watcher either, but I know it's popular. The panel was a bit disappointing just because it wasn't what I was expecting. I wouldn't have gone to a session on vlogging. Oh well.

      Delete
  7. Since I can't go to BEA, the next best thing is hearing about it. It's too bad that some people think vlogging is better than blogging. To me, they are two different mediums and so don't think it's fair to compare them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly. There's a place for both of them. I don't think anyone was trying to say that they weren't both good, but it kind of came off that way.

      Delete
  8. Thanks for sharing your experiences so far at BEA! I have to say that I admire Allison Leotta for not suing that guy who stole her book. That takes some serious strength. Writing a book is hard. It takes time and dedication, with a hint of emotional distress ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. This is one case where I actually wouldn't have blamed someone for suing, but it was kind of refreshing that she didn't. I can't imagine how crazy it must have felt to realize that someone stole her work!

      Delete
  9. I think your sidebars could be simplified/cleaned up, but otherwise you have a nice design going here. :) It may not be super "clean and simplistic", but it doesn't HAVE to be. This shows your personality. :)

    Thanks for attending the design 101 panel! I do feel bad for Alexandra Bracken because I think she's a very, very nice person. But that panel was kind of a nightmare just because it was a room full of bloggers who were being told that there's something out there that's "more influential" than blogging (booktubing). I'm floored that there could have been such a huge lack of communication. I purposely didn't attend the vlogging panel because I have no interest in it, so when I went into the "how bloggers changed the game" panel, I was very surprised to see it was about vlogging O_O

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks - I agree about the design. It's kind of fun and whimsical and I think I like that better than simple - at least for now. Maybe someday I'll change. :-)

      Totally agree with you about the panel - I wouldn't have attended it if I had realized it was about vlogging either and I think it was very poorly planned. Someone really should have realized the disconnect. The whole situation was pretty uncomfortable for everyone I think.

      Delete
  10. Great post, oh how I wish I would have been there. I've been hearing so often about Wordpress but still shy away from it… not sure why. I know Ashley's blog and she always give excellent tips.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow! What a day! BEA looks like so much fun!

    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

    ReplyDelete