What to Bring to a Book Con? 💖⚙️📚
Behind-the-scenes of my Romance Con prep and a request for help 📚
Hello!
I hope you’re having a wonderful week! I’ve been balancing my time between the end of summer activities for my boys, lots of writing, and prepping for Romance Con. I can’t believe Romance Con is just over two weeks away! My books for my table have started arriving (my cats are loving the extra boxes 😂) and I’ve been working on bracelets for the convention (more on that later.) With that, I thought it’d be fun to answer a question I get a lot: what do I bring to a book convention?
Romance Con is my first book con, but not my first convention. Long before I started publishing my books, I went to lots of cons, including C2E2, Planet Comic Con, and San Diego Comic Con. Those turned out to be valuable experiences when I started attending book expos, library events, and steampunk conventions as an author. With that said, I combined my knowledge of cons with some research on conventions solely focused on books to create this list:
Comfortable shoes
One thing about conventions that surprises new attendees is how much time you spend walking and waiting in line! Comfortable shoes (and taking breaks as needed) can make all the difference. This is one rule I take seriously (the rest are more like guidelines.)
When I was 20, I fractured my foot between taekwondo and hapkido practices. My injury didn’t heal correctly because I was a bad patient. (I put off going to the doctor, then I took my boot off early because my city was flooding and I didn’t want to be turned away from helping with sandbagging.) Because of this, I’m careful about the shoes I wear. I found a cute but sturdy pair of black boots that I wear to most of my events now.
Tote bag or backpack
Always check the rules of the convention, but having your own bag is an excellent idea. I have plastic bags at my table for my readers, but not every author has them, especially for those who fly into an event (it’s one more piece of luggage to pack.)
Copy of the schedule + plan ahead
While many conventions have the schedule posted online or on signs, I’ve found it handy to have a physical copy of the schedule on hand and circle the panels and signings I want to attend. I double check close to the event for last-minute changes.
Books and swag to sign
You can bring your own copies of books to sign at a lot of events (always check the guidelines first, though.) If you bring hardcovers with you, don’t forget to take off the dust jacket and leave that at home to prevent damage.
If you have limited room in your luggage, you can ask authors about signed bookplates to put in your books at home. Another idea I saw in the Romance Con Attendees group is to bring something for authors to sign (like an old-fashioned library card) and display in your office at home.
Notebook or note-taking app
You will likely get all kinds of book recommendations at a book con. Having a way to keep track of the books and take notes at panels can be helpful.
Snacks
I keep granola bars, water, and iced coffee with me at events to prevent hangry Kelsey from making an appearance. 😂
Cosplay and Masquerade Outfits
This can be as simple or elaborate as you feel comfortable with. Romance Con has a masquerade ball on Saturday night. I have a life-long obsession with Sailor Moon and Phantom of the Opera, so I’ll take any excuse to wear a beautiful gown with my boots!
If you’re on a budget, check local thrift stores and garage sales for old Halloween costumes or outfits that can be altered. If you have a little more room in your budget, check out theatrical shops (I love the Des Moines Theatrical Shop) and Etsy. At steampunk and other conventions, vendors can also help! (For more about steampunk cons and why you should go, check out this post.)
Portable phone charger
This is completely optional, but I like having one with me just in case.
Bracelets and stickers to trade!
This one is new for me! Several attendees of Romance Con are planning on bringing friendship bracelets and stickers to trade at the event. I’ve had fun starting in on my own bracelets to keep at my table:
So far I have:
📚 Mood Reader
📚 Read Like Belle
📚 Slow Burn
📚 In My HEA Era
📚 Romance Con
📚 Cinnamon Roll
What else would you want on a bracelet? I struggle with wanting to use too many letters (if I had more time, I’d stack bracelets for longer phrases and quotes.)
If you’re in the Midwest area, come see me at Romance Con September 6th-7th at the Baird Center in Milwaukee, WI! I’ll have copies of Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast, a limited number of copies of Monsters and Machines, bracelets to trade, and other bookish goodies! For more info and tickets, click here.
As always, you can check the Events page of my website to see where I’m heading next.
Have you ever attended a book con? What are your event must-haves?
Happy reading!
Kelsey
Love this! It's going to be my first con as an author as well and am so excited.