June 20th, 2013, to paraphrase FDR; a date that shall live in infamy. The Queen is in deep seclusion. Today is Scepter’s official release date for The Rules. Yes, despite people already sneaking it out of England’s bookstores, today really is the day. And as part of the EU, hopefully the book is available across the Commoneweatlth. Eddy Merckx will be directing one of his man-servants to the nearest bookshop for a copy.
Why an English publisher? I think the British have such a deeply entrenched sense of humor, only they thought this is insane enough to maybe be funny. An American company might never have gotten the joke. Sceptre seems to be a reputable company and yet they approached us to conjure up a book about The Rules. Obviously, the Keepers are in equal parts dumbfounded and thrilled this has happened. If someone approaches you to do something like this, something you have never done before, never considered doing, with deadlines and contracts attached, say yes. Then figure out how to do it.
How do we write a book? We divided the number of words required in the contract by the number of Rules and it came out to 666 words per Rule. That seemed about right. We never got together in a pub and argued about a mad idea like this. It shames me to say this but it was a virtual collaboration There were endless emails, spreadsheets, skype calls, and ignored shared file folders as five disconnected people each wrote alone. A month into the writing someone let on we couldn’t be using expletives in this book. Oh for fucks sake, I’m back to zero aren’t I then?
Luckily that was a false alarm.
Artists Pedale.Forcheta and Jesse Willems offered us use of their photographs, an act of generosity that made our work much easier. With no hyperlinks and video to fall back on, really good photography still saves the day. The Rules and Lexicon were already written by this excitable community of Cyclists, we just had to fluff it up. We are fluffers.
Due to publishing rights we don’t understand at all, The Rules is not available in the USA yet. VVVV Norton in New York has secured the US publishing rights. They too are also a seemingly upright and stalwart publisher. Maybe too upright for the likes of us but damn it, they have signed on and will be printing and releasing it in the USA in 2014. Before that happens we will have to dream up some more promotional stunts, something (like measuring sock height) that will either end up in litigation, a tazing or a shooting.
Brett has still not seen the book and Marko won’t see one for another month, unless we air drop a copy to him, in a dry bag, somewhere near Hudson Bay, Canada. I’m afraid to read it. I’ll find the glaring mistake I made and never caught. And I’m afraid to show it to my ma. I’ve disappointed her enough already in this life. But everyone else, in Britian and the Commonwealth, go out there and buy a copy or three. It could almost fit in a jersey pocket. Come on Keepers Tour 2014 and get it signed!
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@Dan_R Glad to know we can get the hardback. Are you evacuating there? Stay safe.
@scaler911
Correct
@Mikael Liddy
Mine being delivered via Amazon ... destined to arrive south of Adelaide June 24 ... Monday will be celebrated by waiting for the postie with a cricket bat behind my back ready to exert intense pain and suffering if not handed over.
Got home from work and found a nice surprise... one day early from the UK my copy of The Rules. The real thing is every bit as good as all the photos suggest. Looks great on the shelf, and can't wait until the kid's in bed so I can crack it open. Excellent work - congratulations and many thanks Keepers!
I have my 2 copies, the second to comply with rule #3. So far I have merely dipped into flicking through but today I spend 6 hours on the train with it. Errors? That's what makes it real. Have you read the Obree Way? Grammatically quite challenging at times but you know it was written by someone with a passion, deep knowledge and personal understanding for the subject matter and not merely writing for a living.
What did annoy a little though was I received it on Monday and it was immediately out of date by virtue of the addition of rule #92. Lets hope the USA version will be readily available in the UK to ensure ownership of the complete set.
One last piece of advice. Do not touch with greasy fingers, the matt finish of the cover shows up salt and vinegar crisp covered fingerprints and that does not look pro.
@JohnB
One needs one copy to read, get greasy, leave espresso stains on and another copy with the clear vinyl book cover. That one you just pull out when guests come over. They can't touch it, but they can admire it.
@Gianni
This
SBS Fantasy Cycling Comp 2013 - Tour de France is back on again.
http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/home/fantasy?position=image&cid=23218
Not sure if those outside Australia can participate in this but I've taken the liberty of creating a Private Competition for fellow Velominati - as an aside to the Super Prestige series.
Private Competition Name: Velominati Oz
Password: RuleNo5
If you've done this in the past years it's a bit of fun - create your ultimate cycling team & I'll look forward to seeing you on the leaderboard.
My copy should be with me by the weekend. It's tempting to buy a glass case to keep it in!
You guys should rightly be extraordinarily proud. How are you going to cope with the celebrity status, talk shows and endless literary awards ceremonies?
@Barracuda
+1