One Rumpus, One Book
Announcing The Rumpus Book Club!
Update: The official Book Club page has moved. Please go here for the most up-to-date information.
Update 2: The first four books have been announced.
Update 3: Unfortunately we have to charge extra for international subscribers.
Here’s how it’s going to work. You pay $25 a month and every month you get a book in the mail that hasn’t been released yet. You’re invited to a moderated online discussion with the author at the end of the month which we’ll edit and run on The Rumpus as a feature article. You can also write a review of the book and we’ll run the best written review on the website. You don’t have to participate in the discussion or review the book, you could just subscribe to receive a new, unpublished book every month.
We’re going to try to only read good books. We’ll fail sometimes. Some books that are out now we would have liked to include are Sam Lipsyte’s The Ask, Emily Gould’s And The Heart Says Whatever, and David Goodwillie’s American Subversive. The books will often be hardcover, but not always. Sometimes they’ll be galleys, also known as ARCs, Advance Reader Copies, pre-printed paperbacks. It’s neat because we’re going to have a discussion about new books, rather than waiting to be told what books are approved for cultural consumption. It used to be that only people in the media got advance copies of books but that wall has come down quite a bit. Now everybody’s a reviewer.
It’ll be easy to unsubscribe from the book club at any time.
Our June book is Citrus County by John Brandon, forthcoming from McSweeney’s. Give it a try!
May 19th, 2010 at 11:06 am
will the $25 offer cover international shipping, or should we be paying more this?
May 19th, 2010 at 11:17 am
What an innovative idea, good luck with the book club.
Great choice to kick of the series, Stephen, one of my favorite novels of the year. I loved his debut novel, Arkansas, too.
May 19th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Thanks! Yeah, we think John Brandon and McSweeney’s are perfect. Going to be announcing the upcoming authors soon.
May 19th, 2010 at 11:34 am
We’ve decided to cover international shipping. We may change our mind later, but for early subscribers you’ll be OK.
May 19th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Really cool idea. If I can find a job so that $25/month won’t hurt so much, I’ll sign up.
May 19th, 2010 at 11:37 am
We’ll leave the lights on for you.
May 19th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Thanks for leaving the lights on…I saw this on Twitter and just signed up.
May 19th, 2010 at 11:48 am
So glad you’ve chosen John Brandon’s latest as your first selection. As David says above, it’s a great read…as is his first novel, ARKANSAS.
May 19th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I LOVE this idea!! The cost is a little steep for my budget, so I may just opt-in depending on the book. I do short story reviews and read as much as I can, so this is a great opportunity as far as book reviewing goes. Excited!
May 19th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
This is brilliant. Not only cool, but exciting and fun, because we get to read the books before practically anyone else does.
May 19th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Oooh, I love this idea. I just wish that there was an option for me to subscribe bi-monthly. Please create that subscription option, so I don’t have to opt in, opt out, every other month.
May 19th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
This is a really cool idea.
May 19th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
I’m curious as to how you made this work. Do you have a deal with a specific publisher, or set of publishers? Or maybe publicists?
May 19th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Fabu idea. I’m out of work now, but I can scrape up the bread to do this.
May 19th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Love it! I just signed up. I figure I’ll cancel my gym membership. The gym is overrated anyway.
May 19th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Since nobody here has the balls to ask important questions (and I fully expect this comment to be deleted), and Elliott has been far from transparent, here goes:
1. A galley typically costs at least $5 to make. Are you paying the publishers for these galleys with these funds? Or are you pocketing the cash and plundering these galleys, redistributing them among the people who pay you money for financial gain? If the latter, then how can this be considered even remotely ethical (particularly in light of the recent FTC blogger policy)?
2. How is it ethical to take money from subscribers when they can express their professional interest and have the galley sent to them for free when they write to the publisher?
3. Why are you disrespecting the authors with this plan? The galley is not the version that the author wishes to put out. It is riddled with typos, gaffes, and other errors. So not only are you besmirching an author’s vision. You are also taking away much needed sales to that author that will assist her in getting another book deal.
4. Why cut into the galley supply like this? Galleys are typically distributed to booksellers, critics, et al. so that a publisher stands a chance of getting some advance buzz or generating sales. When you take fifty galleys, then this destroys fifty potential shots at a book getting publicity. It is nothing less than monopolizing a supply that you have no right to horde.
May 19th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Hi Edward,
I think you’re wrong about this. I don’t think we’ll be sending galleys out the majority of the time. I don’t want to commit to that, because I’m not sure, but I’m reasonably certain that the majority of time it will be hardcover books, not galleys. Or it might be a mix.
If the publishers don’t think participating in the book club will be good for sales they probably won’t agree to do it. The author has to agree to it as well. An awful lot of authors have already asked us to consider using their book.
I thought you and I were supposed to do an interview?
Stephen
May 19th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
i like this idea, life seems a percentage more exciting now
May 19th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
I like the idea of readers interfacing w/ authors. I’m all over that b/c I personally enjoy discussing my work with readers. I’m open to all kinds of ideas and opinions: good, bad and ugly. Dialogue is fun. I also endorse creative promotional opportunities, the more outside-the-box the better, that expand an author’s potential audience.
But like Edward, I guess I wonder about the financial arrangement. I think it’s great for the Rumpus to get paid for a great idea, which this may very well turn out to be — after all, this site would be supplying the venue — but is the author/publisher getting any cut at all from the $25 book club fee? If not, and if the idea does draw an audience, doesn’t this make participation cost-prohibitive for smaller publishers, which could result in a kind of class hierarchy that reinforces the current system of power and promo imbalance among multinational corporations, big indies, small houses, and micros? Is there a limit to the number of clubgoers? If not, and participation turns out to be relatively substantial (a mixed blessing if publisher/authors can’t even cover the wholesale cost of the books), what publisher won’t send out galleys versus hard covers? And so on…
Silly questions, maybe. Then again, maybe not. I dunno. How many “unique visitors” did this post draw?
Bottom line: I respect the fresh approach of this venture, despite my reservations, and I’m curious to see how it all plays out.
May 20th, 2010 at 7:00 am
Thanks for replying, Stephen, and I appreciate your civil tone. But I’m disappointed in your straw man response. How about directly answering the four questions instead of skirting around the issues?
May 20th, 2010 at 7:46 am
A little civility goes a long way, don’t you think? With all due respect, saying things like “since nobody here has the balls” and “your straw man response” create an incendiary atmosphere that make it difficult for civility to flourish. But I’m guessing you already know that.
May 20th, 2010 at 9:02 am
Replying “I think you’re wrong about this” without addressing the questions is most certainly a straw man response. Stephen has ignored my position and distorted the issue. It’s hardly uncivil to point this out. And if, Shanna, you are that timorous about rational conversations about serious ethical issues, then perhaps you might want to sit this one out. But I remain confident that Stephen can provide us with the truth by answering the questions, and we can discuss all this in a civil and transparent manner.
May 20th, 2010 at 9:21 am
Edward, you yourself didn’t address some of Shanna’s points. How does starting your first response with “since nobody here has the balls” help civility? How about an apology?
May 20th, 2010 at 10:27 am
“Serious ethical issues” — yikes, talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.
I didn’t take part in any of the discussions around this so I don’t know the actual arrangement, and I imagine it may differ from book to book, but can we take a quick minute for some common sense?
1. By long-standing convention, the wholesale price of books, set by publishers, is typically 50% of the retail price. I know this is the case with McSweeney’s. This is the price that booksellers pay, and the publisher and the author are paid out of that first 50%.
2. The cover price of hardcovers is generally in the region of $25.
3. Obvious conclusion! For the purposes of this club, the Rumpus acts as a bookseller, and whatever is left over after postage will be used to facilitate an online discussion.
And yes, it would be nicer for everyone if Mr. Champion would learn some manners, but that is not likely to happen in this lifetime.
May 20th, 2010 at 11:20 am
And as regards the ARC “issue.” Stephen wrote:
“The books will often be hardcover, but not always. Sometimes they’ll be galleys, also known as ARCs, Advance Reader Copies, pre-printed paperbacks.”
To me this is a straightforward caveat. Hardcovers will be the rule, but be warned, there’s a chance a given publisher will decide, for reasons of their own that cannot be foreseen, to offer the club some spare ARCs instead of hardcovers.
Again, use some common sense: publishers control the supply of ARCs. I can’t think of a single scenario where a publisher would send a magazine, for any reason whatsoever, a whole pile of ARCs for free. The general rule is one copy per outlet or per freelancer, and if you want more than one copy you’d better have a pretty compelling reason that is in the publisher’s interest. “Because we have a book club and we want to sell them to readers for $25 apiece” is, to say the least, a compelling reason for that publisher to never work with that outlet ever, so I’m pretty sure that scenario will never arise.
May 20th, 2010 at 11:56 am
Well I think it sounds like a grand idea! If I can eke another $25 out of my tight budget I’ll definitely be on board.
May 20th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
I’m new here, but I can see both sides of the pricing argument.
Yes, $25 for galleys may seem like a lot, but then again, it may mean that we get to read stuff that never gets published in the mainstream marketplace.
Just my 2c. Please don’t beat me to death.
May 20th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Jesus I’ve never seen so much turmoil over a literary teacup in my born days, and I’ve seen a lot of them.
I’m never civil about anything, and civility is vastly overrated. The Arabs have a saying: “If you are nicey-nicey, the dogs will eat you.” Or anyway they should have such a saying. So this Edward guy behaving like someone who is a little thick between the ears doesn’t bother me and I didn’t even notice he wasn’t using the correct fork.
I couldn’t make head nor tail of what his beef is, but then after publishing 40 books and hundreds of stories in eleven languages around the globe, I can still barely pronounce the word “literary”.
Steve answered his question very adequately, but apparently “Edward” is too thick to get it, or he requires an answer to be returned in his format and his format alone. No doubt while wearing black leather johdpurs.
I think the Rumpus Book Club is a great idea and will set the standard for centuries to come. “Edward” is too young to have heard of the Book-of-the-Month Club or the Literary Guild, so the concept confuses him and puts him in fear. A good shot of Prozac will help; and in the meantime he can consider using his real name.
May 20th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
I live in Mayberry, plus I’m not a giant fan of, y’know, people, so the notion that I can get a new book every month and a place to talk about it without having to balance a plate of Triscuits and a glass of bad sangria on my lap makes it worth the $25 price tag. The fact that I’m contributing to the support of a website I enjoy on a regular basis is a bonus that lets me pretend I’m a little more altruistic than I really am. Am I missing something? Why is this not allowed to be a profitable venture? And by “profitable” I mean keeping the lights on and maybe someday getting to pay the writers that contribute enough to buy a cup of coffee? We’re hardly talking high finance here. And, re: Edward Scissorhands, well, timorous. You’re clearly not a moron, so at this point I can only assume that you’re TRYING to be a dick. It’s working.
May 20th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Good old Ed. The only thing that’s surprising is that he manages to keep coming, even with that thesaurus lodged in his small intestine (I suppose with all that roughage it’s not too much to ask that he actually understand the concept of the “straw man”). Imagine, a “prominent blogger” like himself posing four probing questions, one largely rhetorical, and Stephen Elliott not leaping to address them, point by ridiculous point.
I guess I should be glad that someone’s on the case with regard to our nation’s preciously limited supply of bound galleys.
May 20th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
This is really cool. Question: How does the moderated online discussion work? Does it happen in a chat room where you have to go at a certain time? And if you miss it, then do you only get to see the edited down version that’s made into a feature article?
May 20th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Yay! I’m in. Love the free international shipping. Only thing is I hope not to be late for the discussion, since I’ll have to wait more for the book to arrive. Other than that, I can’t wait to start! *wags imaginary tail*
May 21st, 2010 at 5:29 pm
I think it’s a pretty cool idea. And I don’t see how it’s disrespectful to authors (especially since they have the right no NOT do it). Creating a pre-publication discussion of the work from/by the reading public would be something most writers would welcome. I’d be stoked if people were talking about my book before/right near its release, rather than waiting for reviews as the only (at times) way word gets out (especially on indies, who have little to no advertising budget…but I’ve been on a major, too, and they don’t use ads much, either).
And, as far as cutting into the supply of galleys (which, it sounds like, will not be the majority of the books used for this, so it’s not even a central issue here) goes, I think it’s actually a GREAT use of galleys. It’s been proven, over and over since at least the 1920′s in publishing that word of mouth is vastly more important for generating sales than are reviews or advertising. It seems to me (especially, again, since a publisher can choose not to participate) that it’s a potentially more effective use of galley supply (when galleys are used for the book club). Most galleys/ARCs, in my experience as a writer and, in my thankfully brief career as a book reviewer, are simply ignored (especially those on small presses…and more so every decade since I’ve been in the business, with the print review market shrinking like a shrinky-dink every year) and the energy and time the press took to send them out is wasted.
Lastly, as to whether the author/publisher gets a “cut” of the fee, well, they don’t get money from galleys/advance reading copies as it is (they are promotional budget materials). It seems to me to be a pretty cool alternative marketing strategy in an era where publishers and writers are in desperate need of new models to promote new books.
May 22nd, 2010 at 7:49 am
“Since nobody here has the balls.” That’s right, folks. Ed has all the balls. You’ve maybe seen them as he races through the blogosphere in trenchcoat and black socks flapping his junk at the literary establishment? Whee!
May 22nd, 2010 at 1:54 pm
I found this thread so fascinating. Ed, you’re somethin. God forbid people be encouraged to read actual books or have to pay for it. I think $25 per month for either one beautiful brand new book or the thrill of reading a galley copy before it’s released are quite worth it. Considering the amount of work both Stephen, Isaac and the volunteers put into the Rumpus, that 50% gain, if it even ends up being that, to ship out the book and facilitate the discussion, is nothing.
May 23rd, 2010 at 8:21 am
Is it of interest to anyone that Amazon is already advertising Citrus County at a discounted rate of $14.96? That seems a lot less “ethical” than trying to promote current books to interested readers.
I have an idea. How about having a “readership” campaign where those of us interedted in supporting the art and craft of writing pay for some of those young bloods who are truly interested but can’t afford a membership?
Also – don’t give up on the gym membership Shanna – your mind is in your body and your body needs kinesthetics.
May 23rd, 2010 at 9:40 am
Ed talked me into subscribing.
May 23rd, 2010 at 2:38 pm
I have just accepted a full-time job after a year and a half of living by the seat of my pants, this book club comes at just the right time– I will need all of the mental stimulation and creativity I can find to counterbalance the 9 to 5. Thank you Stephen Elliott (et al) for coming up with this madcap idea.
May 25th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
i guess ed is just looking out for us testicle-free morons too naive or scared to put stephen’s feet to the fire, because (obviously!) most of that $25 a month is going up somebody’s nose. thanks for creating a straw man you all too easily can set ablaze.
May 29th, 2010 at 9:02 am
A book club for interested, engaged readers who are willing to take a chance? Wow. As a librarian in a city with a relatively small population, and an even smaller subset of patrons who want to talk about books, this excites me. My readers pick their own books, and so far we’ve read two of the teen-vampire-porn books, a bunch of other mainstream titles, and one book of international acclaim which I could not stomach because of the violence. When we think of the Rumpus as a virtual book club with honest-to-God willing participants who put their money down to participate, we ought to realize that it serves the universe of readers.
If I were to guess at the number of readers and subscribers McSweeney’s is likely to get to join the Rumpus (which, as I see in the past 39 posts, has already been born, kicking and screaming, the way all babies usually enter the world) is less than a couple of hundred. More like 100. Those are *engaged* readers who will spread their copies around by sharing. Reading, discussing, and sharing get the purchase ball rolling. If there were any additions or changes I’d suggest to McSweeney’s for this project, I’d ask that they put a bookplate in the front of each title stating the mission of the Rumpus and asking other readers to purchase a copy of their own, if they liked it and wanted to share it for themselves, from a *local* bookstore.
And finally, as far as moderated discussions go, when I preside at a book discussion group, my job is to move the conversation *about the book* forward in the time we have, and not to go too far off-track or have one person dominate the group. I do that in the role of moderator. It’s never with a heavy hand, and it keeps everybody engaged. I trust McSweeney’s to use the same light hand in a moderated online discussion.
I’m posting under my real name. Feel free to send an e-mail. I don’t want to name the provider because I don’t want to be bombarded. However, it’s the one with Docs, Maps, Earth, etc. Remove the space from my name and join the two to obtain my address.
Best wishes – and continued thanks – to the McSweeney’s crew. Keep coming back to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books!
May 29th, 2010 at 9:28 am
Interesting that prior to the introduction of conflict and tension by “Champion” this testimonial lacked interest. The interactions revealed the “spine” of the protagonist, which turns out to be Elliot.
Missing from this conversation are the really tough questions: Is Elliot paying Champion? Are Elliot and Champion pseudonyms? If not, what is their relationship? Who is the top? This could get steamy.
May 29th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Lord almighty, the book club blog disscussion has already gone meta and there’s not even a book out yet. If this is a sign of the literary discussions to come, sign me up. My 9 to 5′er is sucking the juice out of my overpriced English degree, too.
May 31st, 2010 at 7:01 am
I just discovered Rumpus today, via Utne Reader. I am signing up immediately. Thrilled to be in from the start. And so totally amused by this exchange, I can’t wait to chat books with y’all!
Thanks!
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:29 am
Rumpus Book Club, very cool! I found it on Twitter, and couldn’t resist! As a true bibliophile, I just had a V8 moment that I hadn’t known about this before. Good on ya mate!
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:38 am
According to The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary, rumpus is defined as follows: n. (Colloq.) a noisy or disorderly commotion; a brawl. Is this what this is here? Seems interesting !!! The NAWHCD goes on to define rumpus room: a room for games and play. Reminds me of the chapter in Burroughs’ Naked Lunch “Hassan’s Rumpus Room” which is still one of the weirdest books ever penned I think. Anyway, let’s make some rumpus, eh!!!