This is the third in a series of discussions that I’m planning based on my experiences at RT 2015 (you can check out my posts on faith in blogging and diversity by clicking the links!). These are thoughts that were inspired by specific panels, or by books from RT, or just by random passing things that happened there. I love that events like this help me to think critically about books, blogging and the publishing world in general!
Today, I just felt like posting something light and fun, so I thought I’d talk about how meeting an author and having a personal encounter with them makes you need to read their books!
First off, when you go to a conference like RT, there are SO many authors there. Tons of authors, some that you know and some that you don’t. There are a few different reactions to meeting an author at RT:
I have no idea who you are.
This one can be a little embarrassing, but for the most part, authors are gracious. I mean, we can’t all know all the authors, right?
I think I recognize your name.
This one can almost be worse than the first one because you feel like you should know this author, but you can’t quite place them. In this case, you usually just try to act cool and ignore the fact that you don’t actually know who this author is.
I definitely know you, but I haven’t read any of your books.
This one isn’t so bad. We can’t have read every book in the world, right? And if it’s an author you’ve heard great things about, you can still say that. It still makes for very pleasant conversation.
I’ve read your book, but I didn’t really like it.
Yeah, that pretty much sums up that one.
I LOVE your books!!!
This one can be almost as embarrassing as not knowing an author at all because you’re trying so hard not to make a fool out of yourself, but inside you’re screaming, “I’m standing right next to … (insert favorite author name here)!!!”
But no matter what the status of the author, I found that getting to know an author, either through panels, or just standing behind them in a line somewhere and chatting, makes me totally want to read their books. I realized how much these events really work for promoting authors. I suddenly found myself tempted to read genres I never would have picked up before. (When was the last time you saw a historical romance on this blog? Um, never. But Erin Knightley is such a fun and nice person – I just need to give her books a try!)
Here are just a few of the authors I now NEED to read because I met them and loved them:
Gena Showalter – I already mentioned her in my post on faith. But, she was just overall an amazingly funny and sweet person at every panel. Why haven’t I read her White Rabbit Chronicles yet? This WILL happen very soon!
Kresley Cole – I actually have read the first two book in The Arcana Chronicles, but meeting her just solidified my love for her. She and Gena Showalter were absolutely hilarious and adorable together too!
Sara Raasch – I stood in front of her in line for coffee and chatted for a little bit. She’s one of those authors that I’ve heard SO many amazing things about and I NEED to read Snow Like Ashes, like yesterday. I picked up the digital copy at the Harper party and then also bought a copy at the Great Book Fair – haven’t decided yet if that one will be a giveaway. (Incidentally, she was standing next to another author I’ve never heard of, which left me feeling slightly awkward at the end because I realized I’d just gushed about all of the amazing things I’d heard about Sara and hadn’t said anything to her friend. Um, oops!)
Kiera Cass – Again, I’ve read her books, but meeting her made me want to read The Heir NOW! (I bought a copy at the Great Book Fair, so I can!)
Jay Crownover – This is an NA author that everyone raves about, but I hadn’t rushed out to buy her books before. She seems really awesome in person, and I’m now convinced! Picked up Asa at RT, so I’ll have to read that series.
Sophie Jordan – Loved her in the panels I saw her in, and I know her books get rave reviews. I need to read Uninvited soon (and her NA books too)!
Kate Brauning – Sat and chatted with her for a long time on the last day of the conference and now I WILL be reading How We Fall.
Erica Cameron – I literally sat and talked with her (and others who came and went) for five hours on the last day of the conference. How could I not read her books now? In fact, I’m heading over to Amazon to buy Sing, Sweet Nightingale NOW!!
Oh, and then there was one author who I met who was so sweet, and then she heard that I was already scheduled to review her book, and she just seemed so excited! I read her book almost immediately upon getting back, and thought it was good, but didn’t LOVE it (it was A Taylor Made Life, in case you’re interested). And I almost felt guilty for not raving about it after meeting her – so I guess there’s a flip side to this whole meeting authors thing too. Has this ever happened to anyone else?
Still, overall, meeting authors is an AMAZING thing and it makes me want to read ALL THE BOOKS!
Meeting an author totally makes me want to go out and read their books. As long as it wasn’t a bad meeting. Like, if the author was rude or snobby or otherwise made for a bad experience, then I’m less likely to want to read their books.
What’s unfortunate is when I meet an author, purposely buy one of their books, and then end up hating the book. Dad met a local author a month or two ago, had a really good experience, and gave me the guys business card. It was a first YA fantasy book, and it sounded SO GOOD! And then I read it. And hated it. I was so glad I hadn’t met the author myself so I didn’t have to let him know I hated the book, even though I reviewed it. That would have been hugely awkward for me!
Luckily, so far that’s been the only time I’ve met an author and didn’t love the book! *knocks on wood* A few books have been less than 4-stars for me, but I still LIKED them at least.
I absolutely love Jay Crownover’s Marked Men series. I have some of her other books too and haven’t got to them.
(This is completely my opinion) I will not read anything by Gena Showalter again. I read her Intertwined series and I could not believe it ended like that, I was screaming at my phone. Since it was a group read someone told me there’s going to be a fourth book (yay). After some looking I see that the publication date had been pushed back many times. I find her website and see that she said (paraphrasing) that she no longer has passion for the series and will not be writing a fourth book so she can focus on her other books.
I understand in way but to me it felt like the series was incomplete. I compared it to being as if Katniss is rescued from the dome and it ends.
I totally can see how meeting an author can make you want to run out and read their books. I am totally influenced by a fun personality – I think it would show through in their writing. Hope you enjoy the new authors you try!
I love this post and while I never have bene to a book convention I can totally imagine those reactions. And I can understand how meeting an author and finding they are a nice person makes you want to read their books, I had this happen online a few times. Like with JA Belfield, who used to be a book blogger and I met her in a goodreads group and then found out she was an author and I had to read her books because they sounded good and she was a nice person. I’ve read most of her books by now and really enjoyed them, so that’s even better.
I would really recommend Erica Cameron, I read her novel Sing Sweet Nightingale and it was so good and original! I can’t wait for the sequel. I recently read Kiera Cass her book The Selection and really enjoyed it. I have heard of most of the others you mentioned, but haven’t read any of their books.
Oh I still have RT books that I need to read. And I’ve been to 4 now! And yes, there are some from the very first one still! LOL! It’s funny, when I went to those nearly consecutively, I went from 2010-2014, skipping 2011, I got books from one author and I have yet to read the series! I got nearly the whole series from her, except for book 5 out 6…yeah…not sure how that happened! LOL! But it’s one that I want to read, but haven’t started yet.
But ohh, I do love Kresley’s Arcana Chronicles and Gena’s White Rabbit Chronicles is awesome too! I really fell in love with her Intertwined series, I totally recommend it, yet I will warn you that the third book ends with huge cliffhangers and it seems Gena may never write a conclusion. I was in tears that day. 🙁 But I still recommend it! Who knows, if we get enough hype around it, maybe Gena’s muse will be inspired!
Also loved Sara Raasch’s Snow Like Ashes! Hoping to meet her later this year at another event that I plan to go to. And Sophie Jordan’s series is awesome! I still need to read the final book in her duology for Uninvited!
But basically, I totally get what you mean by these author situations! I’ve found myself in most of them over time!
hahaha this was a brilliant post Nicole^^ I’ve had similar experiences at BEA. Sometimes meeting an author makes you want to read them more which is awesome and I’ve met quite a few authors before actually reading anything by them. When you become a fan after the fact, it’s like you wish you could go back now that you KNOW how awesome they are. I did have one awkward encounter though with an author my first year at BEA. I’d never read anything by her but she was signing a book I really wanted to read so I lined up. When I got up there, she was like: so what books of mine have you read? *silence* *crickets* O.O uhmm, none so far…?! Eeep! I felt bad but at the same time it’s like you said: we can’t read ALL the authors or ALL the books. But you’re right: meeting them DOES make me want to read them even more 😀 You are NOT alone LOL
I sooooo know what you are talking about. Last fall when I went to the Anderson’s YA Lit Conference, I ended up spending a small fortune as I kept running into various authors that I enjoyed interacting with. Of course, I then had to go back to the book shop and buy more books with each visit! I’m trying to preread more this summer in preparation so hopefully I won’t get quite as sucked in!
I just got back from UtopYA where I met a ton of other authors and many I was so excited about, but most of all, I met Marissa Meyer and I had a VERY hard time containing my fangirling. Lol.
I have been to conferences and have known the excitement of wanting to read books after meeting an author in person. I have also experienced connecting with an author on a personal level and then feeling really shizzy about not liking there book. Ha! Now that’s awkward.
haha I LOVE this post because it is so true! I think I have had every single one of these reactions at some point or another when I have met authors. It gets super awkward when I meet an author when I have already read and HATED their book.
Tbh, I can’t actually relate to this, as I’ve never met any authors in my life *sad face* It sucks so much that I don’t live in a country where book events and author signings happen.
But still, even knowing an author through social media can make me want to read and like their book. For example, Katie McGarry is such a sweet person in twitter, and I really want to like her books -especially if I am supposed to review them- as I adore her as a person.
I feel the same way! All of the authors I’ve met have seemed like such awesome people, it makes me want to go read their books right away 🙂
Meeting authors totally makes me want to read their books. I briefly met Sarah Raasch at a panel and she was so friendly and so much fun. I’d read Alethea Kontis before I met her. But after meeting her she launched to the top of my auto-buy list. Same thing with A.C. Gaughen.
I think it’s such a gift to have the opportunity to meet authors at panels or conferences or signings because I know just geographically a lot of readers can’t. Even if I don’t love a book by an author or have even read it, most of them are such cool people that I’d recommend their books to others or tweet about them or something 🙂
[…] Nicole says meeting an author makes her want to read his/her books. […]