Flag Abuse

BookExpo America (BEA)

This advice is for self-published authors, independent authors, and possibly traditionally published authors who seek to hire assistance in the marketing and promotion of their books.

Do not pay to have your book "promoted" at BookExpo America (BEA). It is not worth the money, not even a little. I say this having attended BEA for seven years straight, as part of a traditional publishing house team.

Why?

BEA does not favor indie title promotion. It is a New York industry event where traditional publishing insiders talk to other traditional publishing insiders. Yes, there are librarians and booksellers, but I can guarantee you they're not paying attention to the places where your book is "promoted."
Nobody is going to notice your book there. Your book is likely to be "promoted" with many other books, with no way of attracting attention even if someone did pause for a second within 50 feet of your book. Imagine setting a copy of your book down in the world's largest book fair, and expecting someone to not only notice it, but be entranced by it so much they can ignore 10,000 other things happening at the same time.
If you—the author—are not present to advocate for it, your book doesn't stand a chance. Services that offer to promote your book at BEA will not be hand-selling or promoting your book in a meaningful way. But they will be happy to cash your check and say that your book had a "presence" at BEA. If you want to satisfy your ego, go ahead. But it's not going to lead to sales.

If you're now wondering: What exactly is BEA, then read my previous posts:

My 2007 overview of what BEA is all about—a guest post at Identity Theory
3 Reasons Why You Should Never Pitch at BEA

I challenge anyone in the comments to provide evidence that a self-published book gained traction at BEA because the author paid a fee to secure placement (and the author was not present).