Tidbits on Meeting Your Favorite TBF Author

Oh my gosh! Only 5 days until TBF!

I’m SO excited for TBF! What about you guys?!

At TBF, our authors are the celebrities so it’s perfectly normal to be star-stuck when you come face-to-face with the authors. When I first started coming to TBF, I was extremely nervous about meeting my favorite authors. After being an attendee at TBF for six years and being an author assistant volunteer for four years, I slowly got used to being around them and talking to them. Trust me; there are still some moments when I get tongue-tied around them. So in this blog post I will share with you some tidbits on what to do when you meet an author.

 

1. Be yourself 

This is golden. Authors really enjoy interacting with their fans so be yourself.

 

2. It’s okay to fangirl/fanboy in the presence of an author 

My definition of fangirling/fanboying consists of these sentences:

• “Oh my gosh! Hi [Insert Author’s name]! I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you!”
•  “I love books! I love the characters! I LOVE YOU!”
• “You’re my favorite author! Oh my gosh! Hi!”
• “Hi! May I please worship the ground you walk on because YOU’RE AMAZING?!”

Yep, I have done this on several accounts. I think authors love it when they meet fans who are just as excited to meet them as they are. They love to know how much you love their books because they pour their heart and soul into them.

 

3. It’s okay to address them by their first names

You don’t have to address them by “Mister” or “Miss” but you can if you want. I usually address them by their first names. You may have noticed looking at our TBF author line up that there is A.S. King and G. Neri. Do I say “Hey A.S.!” or “Hey G!”? Here’s a little tidbit: A.S. King’s name is Amy and G. Neri’s name is Greg. I do not recommend addressing an author by a nickname that you came up with. However there is one exception (that I know) to this rule. TBF author, Heather Brewer, calls herself “Auntie Heather” (and her fans are called minions). I’m sure it’s okay if you call her “Auntie Heather” since she calls herself that.

 

4. Be polite

It is NEVER okay to tell any author that you hated their book or hated the ending to a book. It’s not nice and it’s just rude. Plus, if an author does get that sort of comment, the chances of them coming back to TBF are slim to none. They might tell their authors friends that the fans they encountered at this book festival in Rochester NY are not very nice and then those author friends will not want to come. We don’t want that! We love every author that comes to TBF and we want TBF to continue for the many years to come!

 

5. Have fun!

If you ask authors who write for both adult and teen audiences, they probably will say that they love interacting more with teens than adults. Terry Trueman told me that he loves teen readers because they are fun, friendly and interesting. I’m sure if you ask authors things outside of the book world, they would respond positively.

 

 

Are you guys excited to meet our 30 fantastic authors?! I certainly am!

 

Share who you’re most looking forward to meeting at TBF using the hashtag #ROCTBF2015!

Miranda