Hello, my dear friend!!!
Sheesh, where do I even start?? BookCon 2026 NYC… the largest gathering of readers in the country if not the world. I had lowballed my numbers before (I mistakenly thought there were only (lol...only) 7,000 people attending)... I was wrong! 25,000 bookworms walked through the doors of the Javits Center in downtown NYC last weekend.
I’ve had a few days to really sit back and think on the experience as a whole and figured I’d share some of my key takeaway from the event with you!! So, here we go, buckle up for some funnn….
Reflecting on it all, one of the main things I realized is that it's okay to let other people help. Man, I don’t know where I’d be without my helpers! I don’t know what wild and crazy part of my brain thought it would be fine if I didn’t have any help.
AND to trust other people to help. There was a point in the workshop where a line of over 100 people were waiting for their mocktail samples. I had been taste testing each one myself (not ideal), my assistant offered to taste test them in addition to me (which I was hesitant on–how could someone else other than me decide if it tasted good? Shocker: they can!!) TRUST your help to know whats right and LET THEM help you. Help is GOOD and important! We are not made to do everything by ourselves, and that is a lesson I am still working on hammering into my head.
To add onto that, friends are important! I’m so eternally grateful to my two buddies (shoutout Molly and Ethan) for really bearing down and helping me get through this. I don’t think either of them really knew what they were getting into when they agreed to help me at BookCon (to be fair, I didn’t really think it would be as crazy as it was either haha! It was a fun learning experience and definitely my biggest event I’ve ever done BY FAR). I don’t think…no, no, lemme edit that…I WOULD NOT…have made it to the end of BookCon without them—so very big shoutout to amazing friends who truly care about you 💕
With events as big as this, you really just have to embrace the chaos. Isn’t this what life is all about?? Does anything EVER truly go according to plan? Chaos is inevitable; it's how you react to it that matters. You've just got to go with the flow sometimes and be okay with the idea that some things may not go how you’d planned them to.
Was there more help promised to me at my workshops? Yes. Did that help show up? No. What did we do? Make a split second decision to change the entire order of the workshop from pre-portioning ingredients to an assembly line of 100 people coming up to get their drinks poured into their cups…
BUT…
People are more patient than you’d think! The amount of kind words I heard from attendees on how much fun they were having and how happy they were to be there was unreal! I am so eternally grateful to everyone for embracing the situation and being so understanding.
I learned quickly that shit happens. Microphone not working? (yup, my microphone stopped working in a room full of over 100 people waiting to hear me speak) Improvise!! Walk the room! Greet everyone and thank everyone individually—which turned out to be great fun. It’s all about that last minute shifting of plans and being willing to adapt when things do not go as planned.
Something I realized, talking at a con is a lot like playing in a piano recital. I went to a jazz show with a dear author friend (shoutout D.D. Black) on Sunday night after the last session of the conference wrapped up. During the show, I couldn’t help but focus on the piano player and recall the many piano recitals I used to perform in while I was in middle school and high school. I had this silly epiphany: playing in a piano recital is a lot like giving a talk at a conference. It’s chaotic, it’s loud, shit happens and then you improvise. Most of the time, no one will be able to tell if you slip up as long as they are enjoying the show, just go with the flow because people are more patient than you’d think.
And always… underpromise, over-deliver. Folks came to make drinks; what they walked away with: an armful of swag, coloring pages, take-home recipes, mocktail challenges, and (hopefully) an experience they will remember (and maybe a few new friends they met through a whacky mingling event I provided).
At the end of the day, BookCon was GREAT! It was amazing to meet so many beautiful people who were just so excited to come experience Tropetails! One of the workers even made a joke saying that he would have thought Jay-Z was performing with how long the lines were to get into the workshop HA (I’ll take that compliment).
Overall, I made new friends, met online friends in real life for the first time, and even met some of my former Kickstarter backers (shoutout Sarah if you’re reading this) who contributed to bringing the very brand itself to life! I’m just overflowing with appreciation for my community and so glad that BookCon invited me to come make some bookish drinks!! 💕
Did you know my human wrote a book about ME?????? I’m famous now, right??? Well, I’d probably be more famous if you went to check out the book which is live now on Kickstarter until May 1 at 11:59PM EST…..so, what do ya say??? Will you go check out my new memoir??? Click here to check it out!! We are currently only $46 away from our next stretch goal too, which means every physical backer will be getting this bonus sticker below! WOOOT!!
Cheers + Talk Soon,
Maggie 🥂