As promised, here’s my bulleted(!) list of tips and tricks for planning a good BEA experience:

• Share a room. Our hotel was pricey, but among 4 people was just over $100 for two nights (that’s total, not each night). Not only are costs reduced, but everyone was good at communicating what we were bringing in order to avoid over packing.
• Map and price your hotel rooms well in advance. We pulled out the lower priced hotels early on when we were talking of attending BEA, and then we mapped the distance. We decided a little extra money (to the tune of probably $20 more or so per night) was worth walking less.
• For bloggers: REGISTER AS PRESS. We found out too late that bloggers are considered press at BEA, and we paid the $95 librarian registration fee. Rather than miss out on the press room perks, we chose to reregister and were still out $95. That would have almost covered the cost of our hotel.
• Bring business cards! All of us had those handy. Abby was smart and included her Twitter name, which I may go back and add on my future cards. Always have your blog name if you have one and if you have any corresponding images, that helps, too. I passed out more business cards at BEA than I ever did at a library conference.
• Be chill. I cannot stress enough that you shouldn’t have a set plan for the exhibits or autographs. We went in with things we knew we wanted to do and things we’d like to do. It was nice to be relaxed and just go with the flow — we didn’t hit everything and we hit some surprises (like the Rick Riordan audiobook signing).
• For things you’re really interested in, get in line early. If you’re at a book expo, it’s not like waiting in line for 30-45 minutes will be boring. You can read.
• Do NOT believe everything you read prior to attending. We all read a few articles about the galleys to be at BEA, and guess what? Not all of them were there. The articles were misleading and disappointing.
• When the crowds get crazy, go to lesser trafficked areas. When we were overwhelmed in areas, we went to the back of the exhibit hall, where we got the opportunity to talk with publicists from Bloomsbury and Egmont for a long time — totally worth it. Sure, we may have missed out on some of the “hot” galleys, but guess what? You can request them from the publishers later. Making the contacts and hearing about the publicist’s favorite titles is worth it.
• Speak up! I asked at Little, Brown when they’d have certain titles out. She gave me exact times and places. Then, she told me I could always email them, too, if I couldn’t get it. If I didn’t ask, I wouldn’t have known, right?
• Speak up, part two! When you see someone you recognize, talk to them. It was cool talking with authors who were signing, but it was just as cool to bump into them on the floor. Same with bloggers who you chat with all the time.
• Eat and do it smartly. If you’re traveling on a tight budget, scope out your options. A diet coke at the convention center set me back $4 each time. The diet coke from the gas station cost much less. We found one of the vendor carts in the pavilion, while expensive, was a less expensive option and we ate all of our meals there, except for the one at Burgers & Cupcakes.
• This is the most important thing you will hear: FIND THE SHIPPING ROOM. The shipping room was in the basement of the convention center and a total haven from the madness in the expo hall. You can pick up a box or two, write your name on it, and deposit all of your books any time the exhibit hall is open. It is cool down there, and people will NOT steal your stuff. When you fill a box, you can mail it right there, as well. Likewise, you can use the coat check area to store a rolling bag, if you want to. That costs $3 a day, but it is worth it. Kim fit all of her books into carry on baggage this way.
• This is the second most important thing you will hear: there are bathrooms in the basement that never have lines. Don’t waste your time in line in the expo hall. Take the stairs down two flights for a line-free time.
• Plan to spend about $1000. I know I spent a bit less than that, but that’s because I managed to get my airfare for $150 round trip. Food, lodging, shipping costs, and the unexpected expenses will add up.
• Don’t take a cab from the airport to your hotel. Take super shuttle. At $13 each way, it is a steal. Caveat: when you plan on being picked up to go back to the airport, give yourself 4 to 4.5 hours prior to your flight’s departure. I scheduled my shuttle for three hours before my flight, and he was 35 minutes late. Not a big deal, except that he had four more stops to make and traffic was a nightmare. I got to the airport an hour and a half before my take off, and security at La Guardia was not quick.
• Pack lightly and bring something nice. We ended up going to a dinner our first night and were glad we could dress up a little bit.
• If you are a librarian, attend the LJ dinner on the Tuesday night prior to BEA. Free food, free entertainment, and free books. Just, you know, have snacks in your room for eating.
• Be nice. If people have been waiting in line, don’t cut. I nicely told more than one person to get to the back of the line when they tried to jump, and this was when *I* wasn’t the first person. You will likely still get your book and meet your authors. Playing nice makes it an enjoyable experience for all.

I think that’s about all I have. BEA is a great experience, and I really look forward to going back next year with a better sense of what I’m doing.

If you attended BEA this year or in years past, what are your tips and tricks?

Stay tuned for Kim’s highlights and tips coming up soon!

So, Thursday was our last day at BEA, and since Jen was heading to a breakfast at 8 am, we all chose to get up and head to the expo center early. And…so did the rest of BEA. Despite getting there earlier than Wednesday, we were further back in line to get in. But alas, it wouldn’t matter.

We split up and did a few rounds of the expo hall, and Kim and I were ONCE AGAIN lucky enough to score a bag of Little Brown goodies. This time, it was their fall line of middle grade novels, including Jenny Han’s MG debut (she’s the writer of The Summer I Turned Pretty and Shug, so this should be a very different style).

But then we decided it was time to line up for what was one of my favorite moments at BEA: meeting Clinton Kelly of What Not to Wear. Due to some luck and some planning, we managed to get in line and be only about 7 or 8 people back from the front. And he is as cool and fun as you’d imagine he is.

I was a little disappointed he wasn’t signing books, but the reality was meeting him was what mattered. Of course I was dressed to the nines, as you can see beside, and I took the time to properly accessorize (ahem, with my Texas tote bag).

Here’s where you can get mad at Kim and me. We had seen people wandering the exhibit hall with Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel, a prequel to her Mortal Instruments trilogy. We’d heard it was a ticketed book give away, so we thought we were out of luck. But while I sat in line for Clinton Kelly, Kim wandered over to the S&S booth, wherein the publicist handed her the last two copies — one for her and one for me. No line cutting, no tickets, no cut-throat action. Talk about luck and a fun surprise!

We checked our watches and decided to head over to the autographing area to score a copy of Adam Rex’s Fat Vampire. This was another slow line, and as we were leaving (in a hurry for the next signing), I saw Alea. It was too bad we were in a hurry because it was a bummer I didn’t get to talk to her more — she’s one of my all-time favorite bloggers and people to Tweet with. Alas, we were en route to Daniel Erenhaft’s autographing session for Friend is Not a Verb — an actual hard copy.

Using my suave skills again, I asked nicely if I could get a second copy for work. And not only did I get one, but Mr. Erenhaft hilariously signed the book something to the effect “To ‘A Second Copy for Work’ – Daniel Erenhaft.” Very funny. That line went super fast, and then we were off to a big signing: Laurie Halse Anderson’s Forge.

We were no where near the front of the line, but we were in no hurry. The theme of our Thursday was to be relaxed and just hit up things we were REALLY interested in. We waited patiently, and when it was our turn, I told LHA I like to tweet with her . . . and when she asked my Twitter name, she knew who I was. Talk about THE COOLEST THING IN THE WORLD. Oh, and she posted a video of her signing on her blog, and you can check out Kim and I’s awesome place in line from approximately 1:55 – 2:03. We were quite excited about something, it looks like.

We grabbed lunch post-LHA — chicken strips and fries at a reasonable price of something like $9 — and immediately made our way to Brilliance Audio’s booth for none other than Rick Riordan, who was signing the audio version of his latest, The Red Pyramid. And when you get there over an hour early, you get to be second and third in line. Totally rad, I tell you.

By then, our BEA experience was coming to a close. Kim and I split up. She went to Lee Child’s signing, and I did one last round on the floor where I picked up Michelle Zink’s sequel to Prophecy of the Sisters, titled Guardian of the Gate, as well as a sound track to the books. Very cool!

I won’t bore you with the travel exploits, but needless to say, Thursday was probably my favorite of the two days. It was much more relaxed and the floors of the exhibit hall seemed less crazed. It was nice to be able to pick up publisher catalogs without being mobbed, and it was very nice to meet some well-known authors.

Although I’ve read about a lot of people feeling there was drama and disappointment at BEA, I never once felt that way. In fact, I went in with a goal of picking up fun, exciting titles, but I didn’t have a set plan in motion. To me, getting worked up wasn’t worth the stress, and having the opportunity to just take it all in was what made it such a fun experience. Clearly, luck was on our side, too.

I shipped back over $100 worth of items, which are due to arrive this week. And for that, I send my huge thank you again to those wonderful New York City librarians who told us about the shipping room. My oh my, if I had to carry all of that back, I’d be a sad girl still in New York maybe building a mode of transportation/teleportation out of books (uhm, no way I’d be driving in that place!).

Stay tuned for Kim and I’s “tips and tricks” post later in the week for those of you planning your 2011 trips. You bet we’ll be there again — and this time, we’ll be seasoned pros. Also, I’ll probably still be reading the books I picked up this year then.

As the ribbons were cut, we were ready to dive in. Our first stop was Penguin in search of a handful of really exciting titles, including Scrumble, the sequel to Ingrid Law’s Savvy. We got that, along with a few other forthcoming titles like The Replacement by Brianna Yavanoff. The people at Penguin, despite being overwhelmed, were happy to answer our questions about when they’d be putting out other titles. Don’t worry; we made it back a couple more times to pick up titles like Ally Condie’s Matched and Catherine Fisher’s Sapphique.

I won’t tell you everything we picked up because there was a heck of a lot on that first day. To describe it as a mad rush would be an understatement. It was unbelievable the hoards of people and just how tight it got in some areas (particularly near Little Brown, where Kimberly and I were lucky enough to score a BAG of forthcoming fall titles, including new titles by Gail Giles and Sarah Ockler. Oh, and Wendy Mass’s The Candymakers which just screams mashup of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Gollywhopper Games to me — a good thing!).

My favorite publisher to visit, though, was Bloomsbury. The publicist there was eager to sell all of their forthcoming titles. She sought out one I was really interested in (whose title escapes me as I recap, of course). Egmont was a close second, as their publicist was also great at selling their forthcoming titles. I’m still unsure how to pronounce their name, too — EDGEmont or EGGmont?

Everyone in our group slowly dispersed, going to the individual signings we were interested in. I reconnected with Kim at the Harlequin Teen signing, where I picked up some forthcoming titles and met their authors. The set up was pretty much unorganized, but, we got in and out of there quickly and hit up lunch (I think that was a pretzel for me). We did a bit more wandering around thereafter, acquiring titles that included The Mockingbirds from Little Brown (which sounds like a fantastic readalike to The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks but on a more serious scale) and Lauren Oliver’s 2011 title Delirium.

When 2:30 came around, it was time to hit up the first author signing of the day: Simone Elkeles. She was signing three times at BEA, but this was the only one where she’d be signing her forthcoming sequel to Leaving Paradise. And boy, was she a sweet author! I’m pretty adverse to picking up 2 copies of books, but because I knew Janssen would LOVE this one, I asked if she’d sign two. And without hesitation, she said yes and immediately asked me to spell Janssen’s name for her. I thanked her a million times and she told me to show up to her other signing (which, I did not, due to a few other events, sadly!).

Since we got through that line super quickly, we met up again with Abby and Jen at the Zombies vs. Unicorns signing with Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier. It was a longer and slower line, but it was totally worth it — when I got up there, Justine signed first and asked what team I was on. Being undecided, I said I needed to read the book to make a fair and accurate vote. She LOVED my answer, and I scored both a team unicorn and team zombie button. We’d later discover that Scott Westerfeld had also signed this ARC. Totally fun, and the book sounds like a real hoot.

When we finished the signing, it was time to run back to Little, Brown for the unveiling of a big title: Beautiful Darkness, the sequel to Beautiful Creatures. People here were unbelievable. I will go into more details in our final post of BEA tips and tricks, but needless to say, it was a mob scene. We got our book without a problem and tried to get out quickly because….we were on to a signing of Kody Keplinger’s debut The DUFF.

So here’s where one of the coolest moments of BEA happened. As we’re waiting in the line — which was moving kind of slow — I see someone who looks familiar. I check the badge and it is Melissa Walker. I got her attention to say hi, and she checked my badge and knew who I was too. Uhm, talk about fangirl moment. Almost embarrassingly so. I’d like you to know we talked about arm pit sweat. And how excited we were to read The DUFF. Can you imagine being 18 and being a signing author at BEA?

Since that pretty much made my life complete, Kim and I chose to head out for the day. While Abby and Jen were heading to Kid Lit Drink Night, and our plans to head to Books of Wonder for their author event were dropped, we thought we’d head to the hotel and get a drink at the hotel bar.

Except the bar was outside, and it was 95 degrees out.

Plan b? Burgers & Cupcakes, a delightfully cute restaurant near our hotel. Besides being pretty good and having incredible cupcakes, it was reasonably priced. Then we went to the hotel and admired our books. For hours.

Imagine a world full of book sellers, publishers, printers, librarians, authors and bloggers, as well as a whole lot of free books. That, my friends, is BEA.

I flew out to New York on Tuesday, bright and early in the morning. I was getting into La Guardia about 11, but because my plane was delayed in Milwaukee, it was more like 12. My goal was to read on the plane — The Cardturner by Louis Sacher — and I did a bit of that then and a little bit of reading while waiting the arrival of Abby (the) Librarian and Jen of Nerd Girl Blogging. Partner-in-crime Kim, from here at STACKED, would be flying into JFK and meeting us at the hotel.

We decided to stay at the Wyndham Garden on 36th, between 8th and 9th avenue. It was really darn close to the convention center, at about half a mile. For those of you planning for next year already, it was a fantastic hotel at a very reasonable price ($189 a night).

After we recombobulated post-flight, we headed off to the AAP/LJ Librarians dinner, which offered some terrible food. While that was nothing worth bragging about, we got the opportunity to meet three New York Librarians and seasoned BEA vets who told us all of the dirty BEA secrets. Let me just say: they SAVED us so much time and money. That alone was worth the dinner.

But, ah, what would a dinner be without some guest speakers? We were serenaded with stories from Cory Doctorow (blogger at boingboing.net author of the fabulous Little Brother and new For the Win) and about the importance of books and libraries and librarians (seriously, this man is an incredible advocate for readers), Rachel Vincent (of the Soul Screamers series reviewed here and pictured at left), Jane Green (who I spent half the dinner thinking I knew her name to realize she is the writer of Jemima J, which I loved when I read the summer after my freshman year in college), Anne Fortier (of the forthcoming and highly buzzed title Juliet — she was a riot!), and Ann Brashares (of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants fame). Each talked about the value and importance of libraries and reading, and it was just a very nice affair…despite the terrible food (it was free, at least). At the end of the dinner, we walked away with copies of all of their latest books.

We hopped a cab back to our hotel and spent the evening just relaxing. We were all tired from very early mornings and long days of travel. And let me just say this: these were some of the most wonderful people to spend time with. We never were without conversation.

That picture on the top there is what greeted us on our first official day of BEA attendance on Wednesday. The exhibit halls opened at 9, and we were all raring to go by 8 a.m. Yes, this is the line at just a few minutes after 8 a.m. to get inside. While waiting, we pulled out a list of books we were hoping to find or ask about and mapped out the places we’d hit first. Number one on our list? Penguin.

Then the clock clicked 9 a.m., the ribbon was cut and boy, were we in for a surprise with just how many people were in the hall, and how it really was a mass frenzy.