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Melissa Mulvaney

So You Want to Start a Book Club?

Book clubs are a fantastic way to combine two very important aspects of being a bibilophile -- reading books and talking about them with your friends.

Book clubs are also wonderful opportunities to expand your reading repertoire and engage in the consumption of delicious food and beverage paired with the books read.

However, starting a book club is no small thing if you want to keep your members happy. I have created or participated in four book clubs as an adult, two of which are still going. Here are some tips and tricks to a smooth start.


First Things First . . . What Are Your Goals?


If you're considering starting a book club, then chances are you already have either a posse of people who you know would be interested, or you have an idea for what kind of group you want to start. If you are starting with a ready-made membership, gather their input as to what genres of books they are interested in. Will this be a fiction only group, or will the group allow a mix of fiction and nonfiction genres? Is there anything that you absolutely will not read? I recommend using the free version of SurveyMonkey.com or putting your questions into a Google Form to get quick feedback.


If you are starting without members, then get really clear on answers to the above questions for yourself. After all, if you will be doing the lion's share of the work to administrate and organize the club with perfect strangers, then you ought to have the biggest say in what you will be reading so that it's fun for you.


Book Sources & Formats


One aspect of choosing books that is often overlooked is where and whether members can find them and in what format. For example, if you are all local and wishing to read the same book, chances are you won't find 10+ copies at the library. Granted some libraries do have book club kits available for checkout, but the selection is often rather sparse. Ebooks from the library or places like Amazon are popular, and many people enjoy listening to audiobooks, not the least reason which it enables folks to consume books while they do other things like driving or cleaning the house. An audiobook option is also a consideration for any members who may be visually impaired, so I have always made it a point to ensure any books chosen do have an audiobook version. Whatever you choose to do, keep these thoughts in mind along with choosing books a month or two or even three ahead of time to give people as much time as possible to purchase, borrow, or listen.


Another important factor in choosing books is who will select what is read and how. Some groups have twelve members -- one for each month of the year -- and each member takes a turn picking the book for their month and hosting at their home or moderating online. With the two clubs I administrate currently, one is reading all of the Outlander "big books" along with the Lord John series in the order recommended by the author. Because the books are already selected and in an order, all that is left to do is figure approximately how many pages, and therefore books, we can read every six weeks. We go in turns to moderate the questions. With the other, older book club, we have a list of members that we follow. Each member gets to choose three books within certain guidelines, and we use the poll feature in Bookclubs.com for the other members to vote on what they are most interested in to read for that month. The book with the most votes wins.


Location, Date and Time


Once you have honed in on genres you want to read and where you will source books, then you need to determine a location, date and time for a meeting. Groups with members spread all over the place will likely need to use an online platform such as Zoom or Google Meet. Be sure you're clear on everyone's time zone so that you can figure out accurate meeting times. It's not always easy, but usually a certain day of the week usually presents itself as the best for most members. Unless you are reading extremely long books (more than 500 pages) or have very slow readers (in which case you may elect to meet every 6-8 weeks), one meeting per month is the norm for most groups.


Obviously, if yours will be an in-person group, then you will need to discuss where you will meet. Common locations include the homes of members with each member taking a turn, a coffee shop, or a library meeting room. Other possible places might be local restaurants (especially those that tie in somehow to the book), a neighborhood clubhouse, or a park shelter. Keep in mind things like the weather, the cost gas and meals out for those members who might be on a tighter budget, and whether the host is responsible for snacks and drinks or if other members bring their own.


Get Organized


I have been part of a couple of clubs that failed before they ever had a real chance to flourish due to lack of planning and basic rules. Honestly, I'm kind of a stickler for rules whereas others tend to give me the stink-eye when I bring them up. Call it the teacher in me, but it really is important from the outset to communicate what is expected of members if for no other reason than to be able to deflect things being taken personally when someone is regularly a rule-breaker. It's easier to avoid conflict down the road if the rules are clear and communicated from the beginning because people who want to participate will follow them.


One of the first questions to answer is "With how many people can we operate well?" The answer to this question depends on how you will structure your group and whether it will be public or private. Most groups, whether they are in-person or virtual are about twelve to fifteen members. Some will have alternates or a waitlist so that when a member plans to be absent or leaves the group, there is a list of vetted options to fill the gap temporarily or permanently. Some in-person clubs insist on twelve members so that they have one home to host in each month of the year. Other, usually online clubs, will allow as many people as want to to join, but then limit the number of RSVPs to a meeting based on a first come, first served policy. The arrangement is really up to you, but give it lots of thought BEFORE you get started in order to ensure that you set yourself up for success.


Another aspect of membership is attendance. What will your policy be? Will you keep track of who attends? Will there be a limit on how many absences they can have? What happens when someone doesn't show up to meetings after that number of absences? This may be a point where having a waitlist or alternates comes in handy. Consider what the point of your club is if people are members in name only. My opinion is that reading the book isn't required but participation is. That means showing up for the meetings even if you don't share, and not missing more than four meetings per year.


One of the biggest gifts to reading groups everywhere is the Bookclubs.com platform which can be accessed via computer or smartphone app. It provides FREE tools for polling, messaging members, writing reviews, tracking what has been read previously, and a place for members to suggest future reads. It even has a place for you to provide your "About Our Club" information and rules. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it whether you are planning a virtual or in-person club. It's a great place to keep all of your book club information together and easily accessible for your admins and members.


Meeting Format


Before you meet, you'll want to have some discussion questions on hand. You can create these, find them online for most books, or you can encourage members to bring their own questions to the meeting. You'll also want to decide ahead of time who will be moderating the meeting. Will you take turns depending on who is the host or who picked the book? If you are meeting virtually, then you'll likely need at least one person to act as "host" of the technical aspects of running the meeting online and someone else to handle the questions. Consider also in a virtual setting whether you will ask all members to remain muted and unmute as they go, or allow a free-for-all discussion. Depending on the personalities within your group and the books you're reading, you'll get a feel for what format or combination thereof works best for you.


Other Considerations


Once you grow a bit, you may want to start incorporating other fun activities into your group. One of my book clubs offers bonus activities that tie into the selected book each month. Past examples of these activities include creating and coloring mandalas, crossword puzzles or word searches, book bingo, wine tastings and trying recipes. These activities are there for member enrichment and are always optional. Another option is to offer events outside of your regular monthly meeting. These can get a little tricky with virtual groups, but I have had success with all of the following: watch parties, game nights, happy hour, crafting parties, and secret Santa gift exchanges.


As you add options and grow your membership, you may want to reach out for help. Having multiple sets of eyes and ears to keep things organized and running smoothly is important for your morale but also to give members a sense of ownership in the club. It's a lot harder for disgruntled members to point the finger at you when you are working within an administrative team helping you to make decisions. Additionally, I have found that there are costs involved in running a book club, particularly a virtual one. These include the online meeting platform, birthday cards for members (try the Felt app), prizes for bonus activities and for shipping them to members, and food delivery or grocery gift cards for members who are indisposed. While none of these expenses are absolutely necessary (except for the online meeting platform), I have learned from experiences that with virtual groups it is vital to create ways to build relationships between members. Lack of proximity makes developing rapport a challenge.


With the older of my two virtual book clubs, I began last year to look for ways to keep things fun and fresh by making small changes. This led to crafting goals for the new year including reading more diversely, reading more books generally, and donating money that our club raised to a literacy organization. As the club grew from a handful of members up to fifteen, it was important to check in with members to ensure that the day of the week and month still worked for the majority along with getting feedback on what members liked or did not like about our bonus activities and optional events. The survey is important to ensuring members feel like you are listening to them, and if you are charging dues, that they are getting value for their contribution. Not only is this a great way to find out what is working for members, but it allows them to provide you with ideas you may not have thought of yourself. And, as always, it's a way to remind folks that if they are going to complain, then they had better be prepared to pitch in by helping you admin the group. Surveys allow you to ask members their interest in assisting you, and it's critical to have a least one person who can be a backup should you or another host or moderator become unavailable.


 

Cheep At Me Peeps!


What have your experiences with book clubs been like? What did you like? What could have made it better? I'd love to hear all about it. Cheep at with me in the comments below.

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