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Going to BEA is an exhilarating experience for any bookworm. The Jatvis Center floors are lined with huge booths, publishing houses are handing out advanced copies of books, people are networking and trying to make notable connections, and fans are lining up in hopes of getting to meet their favorite authors.

As an intern, my duties included handing out and marketing books to passersby, conducting authors’ signings, publicizing Beaufort and generally being available to make sure the booth was running smoothly. Meeting the authors was undoubtedly one of my favorite aspects. They were all incredibly kind and enthusiastic about getting their books out there. I quickly learned that that authors are just as excited to meet their fans as the fans are to meet them.

During my “off hours”, I was set loose to freely run around the convention center. I spent this time trying to snag as many free books as I could, and stuffing them into the tote bags that were readily made available to us. I tried to talk to as many people as I could and get insight into the industry. Book people tend to be more introverted, so I was pleasantly surprised by how amiable and talkative everyone was. I was also able to meet and speak with a variety of authors, most notably Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin, two of my favorite YouTubers. Seeing them in person nearly brought me to tears, and I left our interaction shaking as I clutched my signed copy of their upcoming book.

Allison Raskin and Gaby Dunn, just moments before I hyperventilated in front of them.

At the end of the first day, I walked back to my apartment with sore feet and a tired back from lugging a tote bag full of books around all day, and already eager to get back the next morning. I couldn’t have asked for a more exciting beginning to my internship at Beaufort, and I can only hope that this won’t be my last BEA. It was a book lover’s dream.

Until next time,

J.K. Beauling

Me, being a little too excited for BEA.

BookCon is not perfect, but I believe that at its core it is still a great place to go if you want to share your love of reading with others.

Walking into the convention this year, I already knew that it would be distinctly different from the BookCon I attended two years ago. For a start, it seemed that there would be a near record-breaking amount of people attending the book lovers convention. From the influx of fan posts on the BookCon app, I saw that people were lined up for hours in an enormous queue just to get onto the main floor right at 10 a.m. I also knew that it would be different, however, because of all of the restrictions that were placed on book signings and book giveaways. These restrictions led many fans–a lot of whom were experiencing BookCon for the first time–to leave the convention feeling slighted by exhibiters and by the convention as a whole.

One thing that I was particularly surprised by was the need to get separate tickets two weeks prior to the convention in order to get a book signed by most authors in the autographing area. Because of my hectic schedule prior to moving to New York City this summer, I had no clue that we needed tickets for signings until after they had already sold out. Though the signings were free, many people were unable to see their favorite author because of this attempt to minimize lines. I also saw many first time BookCon goers complaining that there were not nearly as many free books as they were “promised.” Though there’s much more to BookCon than free books, I did notice that publishers were selling books much more than they were giving out free ones.

With all the negatives aside, BookCon was still an event that brought thousands of book lovers together to share their love of reading. One of my favorite parts of BookCon is–strangely enough—standing and/or sitting in line for a long time waiting for an in-booth galley drop or signing and suddenly making friends with all of the people around you. Through our shared distain for standing in line and shared love for books, we can forge temporary bonds that may even turn into long-lasting online friendships.

I also attended two panels this BookCon–one featuring four female young adult authors and one featuring the three “booktubers” that make up the online book club Booksplosion. It was so refreshing to see a panel with four female authors, all of whom shared a love of fantasy/sci-fi writing. At the panel, entitled “Magic and Power,” the authors discussed not only the topics in the title, but also the concepts of world building–both creating entirely new worlds and describing the real world in a way that readers from all different backgrounds can understand it. They also discussed their process in making complex main characters who–like real people–have both positive and negative attributes. I think that panels will always be a great part of BookCon because they allow consumers to interact with the members of the publishing community that they admire.

Stacy, Intern for Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press. This is a shared blog post for Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press.

Hello, readers! For my time at Beaufort, I have chosen the nom-de-plume of J.K. Beauling because: A. Harry Potter shaped me as a writer and a dreamer, and B. most of the good pseudonyms were already taken. I am a Texas-native, a writing, literature, and publishing major at Emerson College, a pretty standard millennial, and now, a Beaufort Books intern and budding New Yorker.

When asked about my favorite genre of books, I used to panic and scramble to come up with the most impressive answer I could without sounding too disingenuous (I’ve learned that people usually know you’re lying when you claim Ernest Hemingway is your favorite author). Lately, however, I’ve been answering more simply and honestly with: young adult. While I wouldn’t go as far as saying that I prefer YA over every other genre, it’s the one I frequently find myself passionately defending, and the genre I hope to work with throughout my career in the publishing industry.

I’ve found that embracing YA, especially as an adult, is usually frowned upon. It’s one of those things that you’re allowed to enjoy as long as you do it under the guise of a guilty pleasure, like double cheeseburgers or Katy Perry songs. By trivializing YA literature, we are belittling our youth and implying that art that is designed for teenagers is inherently inferior.

As an adult, or as someone in the “in-between” phase, I’ve learned how to see past adversity. I’m aware of my strengths and weaknesses, and I have a general idea of what I’m doing with my life (don’t quote me on that, though). As a teenager, however, feelings of perpetual sadness and discomfort in my own skin were loud disruptions to my previously blissful childhood. I walked my high school’s hallways feeling like an anomaly among my contemporaries, although I later learned that they felt just as confused as I did. The complexities that we develop in our teenage years are the most difficult to comprehend, and stories about these universal struggles can serve as survival guides as we develop our own coping mechanisms.

Harry Potter helped refine my imagination, and taught me the art of escapism through literature. The Hunger Games gave me Katniss, who continues to inspire me as a strong female role model (it should also be noted that YA has more female protagonists than any other genre—how much longer are we going to keep minimizing teenage girls and glorifying dead white male authors?). The Perks of Being a Wallflower helped me understand depression, and John Green’s novels gave a sense of purpose within the monotony of my suburban teenage years.

As I get older and stumble into my 20s, I feel a growing sense of nostalgia upon reading YA novels. They don’t feel quite as familiar as they did just a few years ago, but they remind me of the days when time seemed endless. So, while I acknowledge that reading Hemingway is important, I encourage all readers to go ahead and indulge in vampire romance fiction, or any other book that has been deemed lesser by default of their intended audience. Literature can be consumed for intellectual growth, but it can also be a companion amidst hardship. Growing up is hard and uncomfortable, and books can help make the journey a little less lonely.

Until next time,

J.K. Beauling

Me at 15 during my first trip to New York. This outfit was planned weeks in advance, and I begged my mom to take pictures of me all day.

This is a shared blog post for Spencer Hill Press and Beaufort Books.

When I was eight years old I decided I was going to be an author. A dream that is pretty standard and not unusual within the Publishing Industry. However, fast track to college, and, being a person of mostly realistic goals, I opted for Global Marketing as a major. At the end of the day, I could still work in publishing and (let’s dream) one day even write something myself. 

While looking at the industry, and searching for possible internships, I noticed that small publishing presses have been popping up particularly in the United States. Many journalists are even calling this their “golden age,” however, as a college Junior who has had to write more than one paper on ROI (Return On Investment) I wondered: How can they afford to stay in business?  The answer to my query presented itself on yet another very long paper I had to write for school; “Evaluating Social Media Initiatives in the Publishing Industry.”  After a lot of research and opened tabs on my browser, I found that Social Media enables a lot of self-published authors and very small, independent presses to run without a Marketing or Publicity department which saves them enough money to stay afloat and focus on the actual work.Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter allows promotion of work with little to no cost, and Instagram and Tumblr even have communities ready to devour whatever new information publishers can give fans about upcoming books written by their favorite authors.

However, most authors do not know how to take full advantage of these tools, and often end up asking their publishers for help. Other authors, the really smart authors, create a brand for themselves based on their work, and end up being desired by publishers based on their Social Media fame (Fifty Shades of Grey anyone?).

At the end of the day, while we were all looking at eBooks and dreading the change that these devices would sweep us up with, we forgot to look at Social Media. Now that the future with eReaders is less uncertain, everyone can focus more on the marketing side of things, and realize that even if it saves money and it looks like a relatively easy tool to use, it takes time, and it takes effort. Scheduling tweets on Hootsuite, or even Facebook posts, for a whole week in a day, can be mentally exhausting. Instagram is even worse, because there are certain emoji’s or filters you can only access if you use the application on your phone. Now with “Insta Stories” it’s even harder since you have to upload them as they are happening. On top of it all, the fear of “what if they don’t like what I post?”

So yes, Social Media is an amazing tool, and yes, it is changing the Publishing Industry (drastically, in my opinion) and the way we sell our work, and ourselves. Yes, it IS free! Free of monetary cost, but don’t be fooled: it will consume your time, and exhaust you too. To publishers, authors and all my lovely fellow interns: take Social Media with ease, and care. Even though it looks like something easy, simple and fast, each post should be given the same attention to detail as any manuscripts you write, edit or read. It is a great tool that has to be used responsibly, with a lot of care, and lot of patience.

Happy posting!

-A Marketing Intern

Shared Blog Post with Spencer Hill Press and Beaufort Books

Adaptation has become a taboo word that incites anger in many people, especially book lovers who find their favorite books being adapted to the screen. When we see a book being adapted to the screen, we scoff and insist that the book is always better than the movie. It appears that nowadays we see more and more movies being made which were adapted from a book.  Original screenplays seem to be a rarity. While interning at Beaufort Books I even sometimes overhear talks of some books being optioned for a film. There are usually clauses in a contract when signing a book about things like adaptations. It makes me wonder if the film industry is scared of original screenplays. It also makes me think that they are lazy because they will just pick a book and use that story. They like the security of this pre-sold audience.

Then I think of some wildly original films that were adapted from books. Some of these adaptations only use the bare bones of the books story and the screenwriter/director interoperates it in a new creative ways. Like Stephen King’s The Shinning which Stanley Kubrick adapted to the screen in the 1980’s.  Or even Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (Apocalypse Now).  

I am torn. When I see yet another favorite book of mine be adapted, by people like James Franco who keeps adapting Faulkner for some reason, I get unreasonably angry. Then some of my favorite movies whether I’ve even known it or not have been adaptations from books. Should I hate adaptations or love them? I am an advocate for original screenplays because there are original stories out there worth telling.  And at the same time I enjoy when I see a screenwriter/director put their own twist on a story that has already been told in book form. We shouldn’t condemn adaptations. When it comes to adaptations and storytelling in general, we should be a proponent of originality and creativity.  I feel those are the two main reasons why people roll their eyes at adaptations because a lot of them don’t have those two important tenets.

-Matt, intern Beaufort Books

Have you ever wondered how Hemingway advertised his work? Or maybe, Austen? What about Garcia Marquez?

We all know the typical stories: How a publisher read Harry Potter and politely declined (they will never live that down), the classic feud between C. S Lewis and Tolkien on starting a book with a street lamp, and more recent Roxane Gay pulling her book from Simon & Schuster because of their deal with an author she strongly disagrees with.

However, once the book deal is done, once the book is sent to the printer, or ready to be digitally put out on the market… What then?

People don’t just walk into a bookstore anymore, look at the “New Releases” section and go “huh okay, I’ll give it a shot.” At least, not all of us.

Consumers (aka us, the self-depicted “book worms”) have started to rely more and more on outside opinions of books and authors. Some books don’t even have the synopsis on the back anymore, but a bunch of quotes from important book critics saying how much they enjoyed the work. I personally follow more than ten Twitter accounts which constantly bombard me with book recommendations – but at the end of the day, I only stare at the cute cover as my way of deciding if it will go into my book-shopping list. Some printed versions of books have the name of the author bigger than the  actual title, because loyal customers are more likely to purchase a book from an author they know and love. THAT is how much more we actually care about other than the actual content while we browse for new books to read.

Obviously I am not saying that the content does not matter. That is ridiculous, the actual story makes all the difference, but who has time to sit at The Strand and read the first three chapters of every book that catches your eye before buying it?

So, here we are again; how do we advertise the author’s work in a quick, and efficient manner?

As a Marketing student I have a lot of business jargon that I could throw your way, but, as a Marketing Student, I know that will not hold your attention for long. What I will say instead is: Bookstagrammers.

These people are the celebrities of the book-lovers’ world. Just like there are YouTubers who review games, movies, make-up, puppies; just like there are Tumblr blogs dedicated to showing pictures of clothes, jewelry, and more puppies… There are book-bloggers.

I must admit I follow A LOT of them. I don’t share the same political ideologies as some of them, or the same religious beliefs, but I do share my love for reading and pretty pictures of tea and books. These people promote books for free. Yep, free advertising. Publishers, self-published authors, candle shops, mug-makers and anything or everything related with literature in any way, send them “care-packages” with samples of their merchandise (could be a cute mug with a inspirational quote, could be a little collection of tea bags, and books on books on books…) and these social media stars unravel the package in front of the camera to show their eager followers (me) all the goodies that they got. Yes, for free.

Based on the Instagram stories shared by these users, and their many unraveling of book-packages, lot of people buy the merchandise. It is actually extremely useful for the consumers, I have found that some of the people don’t review the things truthfully but in reality a lot of this Bookstagrammers are teenagers who express their honest opinion of the gifts they receive.

It is more fun than reading a critic’s version of it (sorry to my made up mental image of an old, bald, white man smoking a pipe in a dark room with a billion and one copies of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea) and I still get the information I need. Easy, efficient, fast, and, best of all for my short attention span: catchy.

It’s a Marketing dream.

– F.L.L, Intern.

Well. Life happened. Grades fell, assignments were overdue, and exams appeared despite my efforts to ignore them. Not to mention fabulous new movie premiers and my newly discovered love of podcasts.  Plus let’s not even discuss the events of November 8th and the subsequent emotional roller-coaster.

All of that is to say that I am extremely behind in my word count.  I believe (yes I don’t even know for sure, that’s how long it has been since I’ve even looked at it) that my word count is around 6,000. I haven’t looked at what it should be but as we’re over half way through the month, I’m assuming it should be at least 25,000.  At this point, if I get into the double digits I’ll be happy.

I’m sure I’m not alone out here in Loserville, or I should say Tryerville.  Because we haven’t lost yet and as many inspirational quotes have told me, you can’t fail as long as you had the courage to try.  I’m sticking with that mentality and no matter where I am on December 1st, I’ll be happy with what I have and that I started writing again after taking a very long hiatus.

-Madeline, intern Beaufort Books

Week 1. And I’m already behind.  But that’s OK!  There’s two ways of looking at this situation.  The first way is that I should be at 5000 words and I’m just under 3000. Or! My goal has changed from 1667 words a day to 1683.  Which in my opinion is a much better way to look at it.

The beginning has been hard but getting over the word goal that first day at least, was a major confidence boost. Especially since I haven’t written in so long, seeing that I could do it, gave me a renewed sense that I actually could pull this thing off if I put in the time and effort.  Clearly I wasn’t able to keep up this trend, but I’m blaming that on a lingering illness and on school assignments that suddenly appear without warning the day that they’re due.

That was the first revelation of the start of NaNoWriMo.  The second was the acceptance that this is a draft.  It truly is the worst my writing will ever be, and trying to get it right is a waste of time.  I made myself promise that I wouldn’t touch the backspace button.  If I wanted to change a word or sentence, I would leave it be and just start over. Fixing, even just that small amount, is for later. It’s for after all the writing is done and the ideas and themes are down on paper.  The writing itself is no where near what I would expect to find in a book, or even on a blog post.  It is a stream of conscience, a relaying of plot and feeling.  Unless it miraculously just naturally comes to mind there is very little structure or vocabulary. I know it’s horrible but the encouraging thing is that I can start to see through the bare bones and see the true possibility.

Staring in the middle of the week was truly a challenge but I think it’s better to start out in a rough place and succeed, rather than get discouraged when things suddenly become too busy.  That being said, the weekend in almost here and I’m devoting it to playing catch up.  I’m going home, away from school and roommates, to my big comfy bed and quiet house.  And also to my mother, who, gracious woman that she is, will feed me breakfast and make me tea.

Despite my on-the-low-side word count, I feel the first days of NaNo have been a success for me and I am encouraged to continue.  We’ll see if this still holds true next week!

-Madeline, intern

It’s finally November, which means we are days away from the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! For those of us who grew up reading the Harry Potter books and watching the movies when they were first released, we never thought we’d be able to revisit the Wizarding World unless we went to the theme park or the studio tour, reread the books, or watch the movies. But 2016 has given muggles the chance receive new stories by meeting Harry as an adult and father and a brand new story that will enlighten some things that were mentioned in passing in Harry Potter.

Fantastic Beasts focuses on magizoologist, Newt Scamander, who also wrote Harry’s text book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Newt comes to New York City in the 1920’s with a suitcase full of magical creatures. This case contains a magically expanded landscape for the creatures to live in. Newt befriends a No-Maj (American term for muggle), Jacob, although Jacob accidentally misplaces Newt’s case and some of the fantastic beasts escape. Now Newt must rescue the creatures, with help from Jacob and two witches Queenie and Porpentina, before harm comes to the creatures or New York.

Meanwhile, Percival Graves – Auror and Director of Magical Security – is investigating Newt when the creatures, a No-Maj anti-witchcraft group is trying to reveal the witchcraft and wizardry happening in New York, and there are connections in the city to Gellert Grindlewald’s activities in Europe. Remember, Grindlewald was the big villain in the Wizarding World before Voldemort…and Dumbledore’s ex-boyfriend.

I cannot wait for this movie! To be able to see what the Wizarding World was like in the 1920’s and in America is, well, fantastic! And to meet a niffler. He’s my new favorite.

J.K. Rowling said this is the story she always wanted to explore. She also recently revealed there will be 5 movies in this series, which means we’ll be exploring Newt’s adventure for awhile. And I’m fine with that! The Harry Potter books were a salvation for me growing up, and as a writer I worship J.K. and her brilliant characters, the world she built, and her ability to teach us about love, humanity, and death.

It’s wonderful to know that, for those us who grew up during the Harry Potter phenomenon, don’t have to completely grow up. We can still relive our childhood through the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series.

– Peggy Ann, intern Beaufort Books

You may be looking at my title thinking, “what is this word, is that even English?” In answer, yes and no.  NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month (see what they did there?) and is a non-profit organization that promotes creativity and the arts.  Their main event takes place during the month of November, although they have other, smaller, events like Camp NaNoWriMo in the summer, and more.  During November, their event, which the organization is named after, is more of a challenge.  A fun, yet maddening challenge, that pushes writers to create a 50,000 words draft of their novel.

Ever heard someone say “one day, I’m going to write a novel?”  This challenge is a direct response to that age old statement, which let’s admit, people rarely following through with.  The founders of NaNo felt that this was a travesty and that these writers were denying their true potential.  They want writers to know that they can do it! They have the power and the ability, if they only sit down and actually do it.  Let me repeat that for the people in the back SIT DOWN AND ACTUALLY DO IT.  Just write. Write anything.  Let it flow from within you.

All joking aside, putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) is really important.  It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, that’s for proofreading and editing down the road.  The key is to have something to edit.

Alright, I think I’ve made my point, you get it, write, write, write.  On to the scary logistics; 50,000 words.  Did you gasp? Raise your eyebrows? Make an incredulous expression?  Well I understand, it’s a lot.  A. Lot.  But that’s the fun of it! If it was easy, it wouldn’t be a challenge right? It has been done successfully by tens of thousands every year.  There are tons of tips and tricks to getting that winning word count.

The daily goal, which is really just 50k divided evenly over 30 days, is 1667 words.  The real challenge is keeping this up through Thanksgiving.  With travel, spending time with loved ones, and of course gorging yourself on turkey and other delicious holiday specials, it really cuts into your writing time.

I, a senior college student and intern at Beaufort Books, have competed 4 times and won twice.  Unfortunately, one year I got sick around the holidays and was down for the count which is yet another threat looming over your keyboard.  Winning and losing doesn’t matter, and the people over at NaNo are very clear that the goal is to end up with a workable manuscript, even a half finished one is better than none at all.  Fifty thousand words, they want you to know, is an arbitrary number, and they have compared it to the average word counts of popular novels.

Adults, students, authors, and more all around the global compete in this challenge to support writing and novelization as a whole.  Through the NaNo website you are able to choose the region where you live so that you can get updates about events in your area, and even see the progress that people around you are making.  NaNo doesn’t have to a solo adventure.  Each region has liaisons, people who organize events like meet-ups and write-ins, where groups of NaNo-ers pile into a Panera or library, and write in comfortable companionship.  The website also has forums where there are all sorts of topics up for discussion, from tips and strategies, to coffee and tea, and wacky plot twists and dares, tons of fun things to keep you and your novel going.

For more information check them out on their website, where if you are so inclined, you can join me and many others as we write ‘til we drop next month!

-Madeline, intern Beaufort Books

This post is shared between Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press and can be found on their various blogs.