How To Survive your 1st NYCC

NYCC is coming next Friday! WOO! I'm so excited. For those of you who don't know, NYCC is the largest con for us east coasters. It's not as big as SDCC right now, but it's predicted that some day it will be. NYCC can be extremely intimidating for first timers. So I want to give you the post that I was looking for when I headed to my first comic con! If you've been to the Jacob Javits center for BookCon or BEA, well you can multiply the attendance there by probably 3. The crowds there are nothing compared the crowds you'll have to face for NYCC. I'm talking madness here. But it's also so much fun and extremely worth it if what you want to see is at NYCC.

1) Make a Plan! 

First things first - if you want to get anything or do anything at comic con you need a plan! I'm not saying that you won't have any fun if you don't have a plan at comic con - I'm saying you might miss a lot of things that you wouldn't have IF you had a plan. How do you make a plan? Well that all depends on what you want to see. I'm assuming you're mostly interested in the bookish things and maybe some entertainment things so I'll go over that.

2) Get the NYCC phone app. 

The app isn't all inclusive with signings, but it'll give you a nice head start on your plan. There's a map so you'll know where that booth you wanted to head to is. So add some things to your to-do list and EVEN if two things you want are at the same time, add them! You never know if maybe one line is already closed and then you have a back-up plan. Important *The NYCC app is important because they will sometimes change the timing and locations of things*. Even during the show! This will help keep you up-to-date on everything going on.

3) Check out the social media of your most anticipated booths/guests 

The things that you're missing on the schedule will most likely be posted by the social media sites of who you want to see! Funko tweets out their exclusives - you won't find them on the website! Publishers also usually tweet out their schedule - including in booth signings, panels, galley drops, and swag giveaways! So far, Quirk Books and Macmillan tweeted their schedule. I do expect Harper and Penguin to tweet theirs out too since they did so last year. The only one I don't remember doing so is Disney - but they do post their daily schedule at their booth. They will usually also let you know if something is ticketed or if you can just show up. You don't want to show up for something and not be able to participate because they gave out the tickets in the morning and you didn't know!

4) If you're early then you're on time - if you're on time then you're late! 

This is probably the biggest advice I can give. If a panel or signing is scheduled for 2:00 and you show up at 2:00 - chances are you won't be able to do it. The autographing table book signings generally aren't that crowded so you might be able to get away with it there. However in-booth things such as the Harper Spin Wheel, the line fills up in probably 5 minutes and then they don't let anymore people in line once it gets to a certain amount. However, if you're hoping to meet the guests of your favorite TV-show, you will NOT be able to show up 20 minutes beforehand. You want to be there an hour and a half AT LEAST. Is that crazy? Maybe. But nobody is expecting you to do it! If you would rather not wait in line THAT long, you can check out panels or walk by booths.

5) Pack things and dress comfortable! 

If you know one of your favorite authors is going to be there, then go ahead and bring one of their books to sign! It's not like BookCon where you are forced to buy a book there if you want to meet a particular author. They are there if you want to buy them, but you don't need to buy one in order to be admitted into the signing line. Bring some snacks and a water bottle unless you don't mind waiting in another line for food and overpaying for it. But what better way to kill the time for those long lines by EATING? Eating is one of my favorite past times so it seems like a good way to kill time for me! You should also bring a book bag! For goodness sakes, you will get so much swag you won't know what to do. Yes - they'll have tote bags there but you will end up holding 5 reusable tote bags filled to the brim and your arms will feel like they're breaking. If you want to go a step above - bring a cheap suitcase! No you can't roll it around comic con, but you CAN check it at coat check and every time you're load is getting heavy, you can put you're lot in the suitcase. Also wear comfortable shoes. Personally, I wear Ugg Moccasins which are sinfully ugly but also sooo comfortable. Nobody cares what you're wearing unless you're cosplaying - so don't worry about not looking nice! :)

6) What's free and what's not? 

You payed a lot of freaking money to go to NYCC! You want to know how much MORE money you're going to have to spend there. Good news is - most things are free! Here is a general rule, in-booth signings are generally free, autographing hall signings usually cost money UNLESS it is a whole show cast or an author! You will have to pay for things like Funkos, action figures, and other things. But all swag is free - that's why it's called swag ;). Last year the only things I spent money on was food, Funkos, a few comics, and art from an amazing disney artist! All in all, I probably spent less than $200.



And don't forget the most important rule - have fun! It's NYCC! Do what you want, see what you want to see, get some free stuff, and party! Let me know if any of you guys are going to NYCC. I'd love to meet up!

- Jocelyn