Talking BookCon With Dana Square! (SBPT Stop, #1)

Welcome to The Summer Blogger Promo Tour, an event created by us ladies at The Book Bratz, whose blog you're on right now! This is a weekly tour stop where we'll be highlighting different bloggers and their fantastic book blogs all summer long. You can read more about the tour by clicking here!

Welcome to the very first day and tour stop of the Summer Blogger Promo Tour! We're absolutely thrilled for the tour to finally kick off, because you're all in for a summer of discovering new blogs every single week!

This week, we're going to introduce you guys to a good friend of ours, Dana and her blog, Dana Square! We actually ran into Dana and some of her friends at BookCon 2014, so we decided that she was going to do a guest post on her BookCon experience, what she liked and what she would've changed, and also how different it was from Power Reader Day, which BEA had held in the past. When we asked Dana, this is what she had to say about it all:

"Book Con was a crazy and overwhelming experience that differed greatly from Power Reader Day. I did make a blog post and vlog about my experience, as did the Book Bratz. (You can check out Dana's BookCon blog post by clicking here or watch her vlog by clicking here!)

What I liked about the event: Book Con had a large amount of big names there. Everyone from Tina Fey to John Green was there; the guest list included authors, actors, and TV personalities. There were also plenty of book signings and panels throughout the day. Compared to Power Reader Day, this was a drastic improvement. 

What I disliked about the event: I think all of my complaints about the event stem from there being way too many people. Book Con was a smaller sectioned off area of the BEA show floor. There were about 10,000 Book Con ticket holders in a third of the main floor of the Javits Center. (mind you, the Javits is also where NYC Comic Con is held, which also draws a massive crowd. Reedpop, the owners/organizers of Book Con also run NYC Comic Con, so it baffles me that they run such a huge annual event, but were unable to count how many tickets they sold.) The area was too small and people were very rude in pushing for anything they could get for free. I am very short, so it gave me so much anxiety trying to push my way through walkways. Also, there weren’t enough books to go around. Signings ran out of books and there were not many books being given away on the show floor. Some publishers only took credit cards, which made it difficult for the majority of people to buy books because it was an event catered towards teens, who don’t normally have credit cards. Book Con was very misleading in the FAQ, also. I had emailed them about whether or not you had to buy books and they gave very vague answers. I have no problem buying the book, but it is embarrassing getting on a line expecting it to be free and then asked to pay. Also, this event was definitely geared toward a YA audience, which is great for YA readers, but there were also a lot of adults who wanted adult books. I don’t think they catered to all audiences very well.

Who I met: I think all of the negatives of BookCon were made better because of who I met there. The day was filled with crazy coincidences. I had been talking to Amber of The Book Bratz all of the past week and then met you girls in line [for Jennifer Armentrout], which was amazing! I met Jennifer L. Armentrout TWICE, which was a dream come true. She is a huge inspiration to me as a writer. I can't recommend her enough and she is by far my favorite author. Also, I got to meet Michelle Madow, author of The Secret Diamond Sisters, which is a great book. Then we met Danielle Paige, the author of Dorothy Must Die which I need to read, but she was so sweet and my friend Brielle and I ran into her at the bathroom and we did a hair check for her before her panel! I MET MARGOT WOOD FROM EPICREADS!!! Margot has my dream job. She is just amazing and hysterical. We also met Lindsey in line and she was really nice and loves the same books as us.

Power Reader Day: I went to Power Reader Day last year with my older brother. The first 1,000 people received a bag of books from Macmillan and we got there at 8:45 am. It was overwhelming at the time, but a lot less in comparison. There weren’t as many signings or panels that day. I even left at 1pm. I was waiting on a Harlequin signing, but they ran out of books thirty minutes in. The people working at the booth gave out totes and books they had left over to those who didn’t get a signed book. Scholastic was also an amazing booth and I ended up with several of their ARCs. I went to three signings in the autographing lines and the waits were only about 30 mins each. I got Reboot by Amy Tintera signed, Summer Girls by Bennet Madison signed, and Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton signed. I went home with 20 books and so did my brother. It was a fun day." -Dana, Blogger at Dana Square

BookCon was an experience for all, maybe an experience that needed some more work, but we all have better hopes for it in the future. Aside from talking BookCon with Dana, we also had a couple of blogger and book related questions that we were dying to ask!

The Book Bratz: In your opinion, what is the best thing about being a book blogger?

Dana: I would say that the best things about being a book blogger are the opportunities I've had because of it. Blogging has allowed me to find like-minded people whom enjoy many of the same things as I-- it's fantastic. Hosting blog tours and interviewing authors definitely rank high on the list of best things about blogging. Blogging has even inspired my career path, and I currently have a digital internship with Patchwork-Press.

The Book Bratz: What's a book that you're dying to review, but haven't yet?

Dana: Of the books that I have read (but have not reviewed yet), that would be White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout or Real by Katy Evans. For books that I have not read, I am excited to read and review The One by Keira Cass and Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas.

The Book Bratz: What's one of your favorite blogs to follow?

Dana: Choosing just one is very hard. Obviously, I have been loving your blog and the other participants' blogs, but besides those; I would say I have followed Once Upon A Twilight for the longest time. I definitely love their mix of YA and NA reviews. My favorite book vlog are the YAWordNerds; they post everyday about reading and writing. My favorite publisher-run blog has got to be EpicReads.

The Book Bratz: Why did you start blogging?

Dana: Dana Square started in 2011 and originally was called The Pop Culture Fanatic. My brother was going to start a fashion blog, but instead I ended up starting a blog. At first, my posts ranged from beauty to movies to books. In my sophomore year of high school, I began book blogging after finding Brodie Ashton’s blog (who is the author of Everneath). She participated in the YA Scavenger hunt, which is an amazing event, and since then I have devoted my blog to books. Everneath, Divergent, and Delirium were the books that got me back into reading as much as a high school student.

We want to thank Dana a million times over for her awesome guest post and interview answers and also for a great kickoff to the Summer Blogger Promo Tour! You can learn more about herself and her blog through her blog, her Twitter, or her YouTube channel!

See you all back here next Sunday when we tell you all about Andrew and his blog, Endlesslyreading!

Also, click here to see our full Summer Blogger Promo Tour schedule!