At BookExpo, silly dress is optional. (Unless you're an unknown author)

Ms. Gillette, a first-time author, read books to figure out every aspect of the process. There was one on how to write a book, another on how to establish a company (she plans to publish other books as well as her own), and finally a book on marketing – which is where she got the idea to come to BEA.

Scott Ginsberg knows a thing or two about the art of marketing. That's his business.

He pulled his giant "Hello, I'm Scott" polyurethane name tag, worn as a sort of vest, over his head, folded it up neatly, and settled in for a massage. Self-promotion can be tiring.

Mr. Ginsberg has been wearing a normal-size name tag 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since Nov. 2, 2000. What started as a fun gimmick led to a story in the Portland Tribune. Now, almost five years later, Ginsberg runs a $300,000-a-year business as a speaker and marketing coach.

"There are 30,000 people here," he said. "Everyone wants to make a name for themselves. The challenge is how you get your name out there and be remembered."

He approved of his fellow costume-wearers.

Ginsberg was giving away copies of his latest book, "Make a Name for Yourself." It follows "How To Be That Guy" (2006), which followed "The Power of Approachability" (2005), which came after his debut "HELLO, my name is Scott" (2003) – which was all about self-publicity.

This was his first time at BEA. The book, he said, is really just an expensive marketing tool. He wasn't looking for a publisher, distributor, or bookseller. He was just hoping to be seen.

I was skeptical. Would anyone really approach a guy wearing a giant name tag? Or a woman with a plastic giraffe on her head?

But within a few minutes of sitting down to talk to Guerrero, two people stopped by to comment on the hat and take her card. One was Thomas Zinn, a bookseller with Borders in New York.

Gillette said a producer for Rosie O'Donnell's radio show approached her about being a guest.

It seemed surprisingly effective.

Last, but not least, I encountered God. God, it turned out, was actually British actor Linus Roache, who has played prominent roles in TV shows and movies, including NBC's recent "Kidnapped" series and "Batman Begins."

Mr. Roache was working the floor promoting "When God Falls Out of the Sky," a new book by his spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen. Roache was dressed in long, wavy gray locks and beard, a floor-skimming white robe, and leather sandals. He was congenial and good-humored as he discussed his get-up and the book.

"I hear God is everywhere," said a woman he'd apparently spoken to earlier as she walked by. He smiled.

I told him I was a bit surprised.

"You weren't expecting to see God?" he asked.

I really wasn't.

Here no one seemed especially put off by the costumes. At a more traditional book event, Guerrero, who wore a different, much heavier hat to BEA in 2004 to promote her first book, said she might be more hesitant. "It wouldn't really work. People would think you were a loon."

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