To end my crazy event season, I volunteered at Big Apple Author Event this past Saturday. It was here in New York City and hosted by Southern Belle Book Blog.

This book signing was very different than a lot of the others I’ve ever been too. I’ll be honest, I was a bit skeptical on the format. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s start from the beginning. I do have to apologize for not having a lot of pictures but I was really busy manning the monitors so I missed a lot.

First and foremost, there were over 60 Indie authors present. And this signing was all about them. So, what does that mean? No models were allowed. What?! That’s shocking! But you know what it worked beautifully and really the models were not missed.

Secondly, there were two signing sessions. The morning which ran from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. And the second one from 3:30 to 6:30 pm. In essence, it was like two book signings in one day. The room did get completely cleared for that hour and a half to allow authors time to rest and get some lunch.

Third, if you want to do the signing all day, you do need tickets for both sessions. When you check in for the first round, you obtain a wrist band. When that session is over, as I previously mentioned, the room is completely cleared for lunch. After lunch, you had to check-in once again, and obtain a different wristband. Even if you bought tickets for both sessions, you still need to check-in for the second session and obtain the new band.

Forth, and this is the part were I was beyond skeptical about, there were authors that were ticketed. Which meant, for the authors with high demand, you needed to head to their table and get a numbered wristband. That wrist band was your place in line. So you didn’t need to physically wait in LONG lines. Once you had your author band, you were free to roam and visit other authors until your number in line was up. Denise Sprung compared it to a fast pass to Disney. And that’s exactly what it was! I truly thought this was going to be a massive disaster. But it wasn’t. Not at all. It worked flawlessly. And everyone, and I mean everyone, left happy as a clam. Because they were able to meet their authors. And that was the whole point of the event.

My job as a volunteer, was to keep those screens updated with the author numbers. It was chaotic at the begging of both sessions. Everything was just moving SO fast. And I felt I couldn’t keep up, but I couldn’t fail my fellow bookie nerds. So I was working my fingers at the speed of light. I hope I did you proud and kept you informed.

I do have to commend the authors and thank them. They really did an amazing job talking to everyone. Signing every book. Taking all the selifes. Some even stayed well past the set time to make sure they reached everyone. I know I ran to Vi Keeland at 7pm to get my book signed and she did!

I also need to send a massive THANK YOU to everyone at Southern Belle Book Blog. Even with the all my inital doubts, they pulled off an amazing signing. And I was honored to have helped in the process.

There were things I kept hearing as bookies were leaving:

• They were happy.
• They kept saying how organized it was.
• How kind everyone was.
• And how they too were weary but they loved the wristband idea.

So if anyone had any doubts, we are here to tell you, have no fear. It works and everyone left in high spirits.

Now it’s time for some swag! Again, I did’t have the chance to get much but this is what I did get:

One of my favorite things that I was able to pick up, were a couple of Book Beau‘s. My favorite kind of businesses are the ones where their creator finds a product that they need and they make it. And that’s exactly how Book Beau was formed. Founder Benita Botello’s books were getting beat up in transit. And she found a way to protect them. They are available in three different sizes, and in a ton of different designs.

After a month of nonstop movement, I feel happy and accomplished. But my body also feels exhausted and dehydrated. I was so tired, I actually sat on the floor of Port Authority Terminal to wait for my bus. I will never, ever, do this again. Ever. It was disgusting. I just truly didn’t care.

I can not wait for another Southern Belle Book Blog signing. They rock and I truly felt part of the team. Now I am going to sleep for a week.