My Bookfair Adventures (Frankfurter Buchmesse 2017)

Last week I spent four days at Germany's biggest bookfair and it was such an amazing experience! In the past I have either only visited for one totally stressful day or have worked at the fair as a representative of the publishing house I worked for. This year I was lucky enough to have four free days and a blogger pass to enter the fair for free.

Bookfairs are seriously one of my favorite things on Earth. They are like the world's largest book shop but with authors walking around, millions of like-minded booklovers waiting to meet you and fun and educational events. It's every reader's and writer's magic place. And as I am both (plus having worked and planning to work again in the publishing industry) I enjoyed it a lot.

Because I experienced so much during these four amazing days, I'm going to divide my adventures into themes to not overwhelm you too much (though I still feel utterly overwhelmed in a good way).

Networking

I only have one semester left before I get my Master's degree and will finish my studies once and for all. Then what? So many people ask me that and I have no clue. What I do have are several vague ideas and as many of them revolve around books, I set out to check out the industry and what's in it for me. And let me tell you, there are so many possibilities!

I went to two networking events, getting to know many people from the industry (both people just starting out like me as well as top notch employees, CEOs and other important people). I collected their contact info and will definitely connect with them. It wasn't all rainbows and butterflies though. The book industry is a tough business, especially if you want to be an editor (in that case good luck - you're gonna need it!). Luckily I'm more interested in marketing and that's an easier career to get in. It's still tough but I'll find my way, wherever it may lead me.

Writing

As you may know, I'm not only a passionate reader but also a writer, working on a youth novel at the moment. I'm unpublished so far (well except a short story I won a contest with), so I'm one of the millions of writers who are looking to be published. I went to lectures on writing (which were amazing!) and also on marketing yourself or your book through social media.

The problem is that everyone is a writer nowadays. Classical publishing houses take almost no new authors at all. The chances to be published the traditional way are really, really bad, which I was told again and again at the bookfair. However there are other ways. Many say that traditional publishing is a dying breed anyway and the way to go is to self-publish. Obviously there are many disadventages to taking this route: having to market entirely on your own and being overlooked in the massive amount of self-published books out there are the most important ones. Which is why I will still try to find a publishing house to take on my novel. In the end, I believe that the best thing you can do to get published is to write the very best book you could possibly write. That's what I'm focusing on right now. Improving my writing, making my novel better, finishing it. We'll see how it'll progress after that.

Blogging

I also attended a blogger event which was really interesting because they discussed many exciting topics and trends in the blogging world and also I met like-minded bloggers and You Tubers. I think it's amazing that everyone can start a blog or a You Tube channel. My goal is to start and establish a German blog solely about writing and reading and after the bookfair I am so motivated!

Fun Stuff

Of course it wasn't all networking and attending lectures at the bookfair, I also did some things purely because they're fun (but the other stuff was fun, too). Most notably I met my favorite YA author Teri Terry! Her trilogy "Slated" is the best thing out there. Seriously, forget about "The Hunger Games", "Slated" is the best YA distopia I have ever read. I bought another book by her ("Mind Games") and so far it's also amazing. She really knows how to write YA literature.

Also I attended a reading of my favourite German adult Sci Fi author, Andreas Brandhorst. I've only read one book by him so far but it's one of the best books I've ever read, particularily in the Sci Fi genre. His other books were too hard Sci Fi for me, but his new one is right up my alley, so I'm definitely gonna give it a try. He was reading and being interviewed together with Germany's most succesful fantasy author, Wolfgang Hohlbein, who I haven't read anything by yet but my Mum likes his work and she doesn't even like fantasy, so it sounds like it might be up my sleeve. His new book sounds great, too.

Also I met some old and new friends, as well as a famous German You Tuber and of course I spent numerous hours browsing books and being amazed by literature. It's truly magical what a good book can do to you and I'm so grateful for books, reading them as well as writing them. I brought home from the bookfair new contacts, wisdom, lots of inspiration and motivation and so much reading material in form of magazines, extracts and more.

My Favourite Blogs

I'm not only a blogger but I also love reading other people's blogs. This was my main reason to join the blogger community in the first place. I follow probably more than 100 blogs, but there are a few of which I rarely skip a post, because I like them so much. Here are six of my favourite blogs in no particular order:

Cole Nemeth

Reading Cole's posts feels like listening to a good friend. I like that she's approachable both though her stories which are those of a mother, creative person and dreamer as well as through actually communicating with her readers. I love that her blog is her little space where she can brag and think and write about everything that's important to her, no matter if that's art, her family, movies or beard competitions. I think too many bloggers only think about what people want to read, without even considering what they enjoy writing about. But in the end a true and simple blog like Cole's trumps every overstyled and constructed one any time.

Gala Darling

Gala has one of the most magical blogs out there. She's a witch, a fabolous woman and the author of "Radical Self Love". She's all about improving yourself in ways that feel true to you. Through her blog I got more into spirituality and rituals which help you through life. But I'm also very thankful that she doen's preach that one way of praying or meditating or whatever which will make everything better but always keeps in mind that not everything is for everyone and that some of that stuff might be nothing but bullshit.

Edenland

Eden has a very personal blog, where she posts mostly sad stories about people she lost and struggles she faces. If you want a blog which will make you happy, this is probably the wrong place. What I love about Eden's posts is that they are real and raw and vulnerable. Also they are extremely well written. She's such a skilled writer, I'm always in awe of the beauty of her words.

The Blogess

This is another blog which deals with tough topics like health issues (both physical and psychological) but which goes at it from a completely different angle. While Jenny's stories are often about dealing with anxiety and other struggles, they are the funniest posts I've ever read. I never skip a post of hers because they are garantued to make me laugh. She's a hilarious author and it inspires me how she uses humor to get through some tough shit. That's how you do it!

BeLoveLive

Liz is one part of an awesome blogger couple who live in Sweden. She writes about her experiences, her marriage, her vacations and her job and she always manages to make every mundane thing sound absolutely fascinating and inspiring. I love her mantra of slow life, of taking your time and really enjoying every moment.

A Beer for the Shower

Last but not least, here is a blog with little words and many drawings and cartoons. The little comics Brandon and Bryan post are always funny and cheer me up. Also I enjoy how they don't care about political correctness and don't shy away from difficult topics - always in good humor of course.

Blogiversary

On this day in 2015 I posted my very first post "A new start" on here and with it "And then everything changed" was born. Can't believe, it has already been an entire year!

Before I started this blog, I was already blogging on Buzznet which was back in its day an awesome community of bloggers where I met many inspiring people and where celebrities and common people were treated the same. It was my blogging home for many years, but then more and more bloggers left the community and it recently shut down completely. This is why, one year ago, I started "And then everything changed" and it was a great decision!

For me, starting this blog was a huge step. For the first time I had no warm community to support me and shield me from the harsh internet world but I had to make it on my own. I soon found new communities, above all The Indie Chicks, a fabolous online magazine I wrote for, which unfortunately no longer exists, but the Badass Writers Group is still standing strong. I discovered many new, inspiring and sometimes even life-changing blogs and I was swallowed up in the world of (mostly female) bloggers who encoure each other to be badass women. I've enjoyed every moment of creating this blog so far and I hope that many more years of blogging will follow.

When I started this blog in March 2015 I was just about to start a new job at a publishing house, too. This was my first big girl job and I've held it for one year now. I felt so unprepared and overwhelmed in the beginning and to be honest I still feel like that now and then. Last week I attended a major book fair where I organized and held two erotic shows and six readings and let me tell you, huge events like that still make me just as nervous as if it was my first day. Which it is not. Despite my nervouseness, I can see that I have learned a lot during the past year and that I can handle my work better and that most of the time I actually know what I'm doing. Which doesn't keep me from freaking out, now and then. But I think that's just natural. We all fail sometimes, we are scared and insecure. I am turning 25 this year and adulthood often seems like a never ending uphill battle. This is what my blog is all about.

But if I think about the person I was a year ago, I can see that I have changed. Even if I still fall apart from time to time, I am much more stable now, I'm more confident, stronger - or at least I can see it more clearly now than a year ago. Both through this blog as well as through my job, I have developed into stronger version of me.

A lot has changed during the last year, but one thing which remained stable is my relationship. I've been with my boyfriend for more than four years now and thorugh all the storms, the battles, the rollercoaster rides he was the one who kept me grounded. No matter how crazy chaotic my day was, when I come home to him at night, really nothing else matters. I think it's important to have something or someone constant in your life. May it be your boyfriend, your sibling, your best friend, your mother, your favorite book, your passion for skateboarding, or your dog. Life can be extremely brutal sometimes but there's a lot of good in it and it's the good that really matters in the end. The hours you spent working or worrying, your salary, your number of followers - all this stuff means nothing, if you don't laugh and smile and spend your time with the people you love.

Here's to one more fabolous blog-year!