Book clubs
Land on next month's meeting
A book club needs a new date every month, from whoever is hosting next, with enough time left to finish the book.
Grace's book club is five people who take turns hosting each month. Whoever's up next still needs a date the whole group can make, decided early enough to leave time to read the book. Here's how that goes with a poll.
You pick the evenings
Get your link
Whoever is hosting next names the month and taps three or four evenings, a few weeks out.
You share the link
whenworksforyou.com/e/book-club-marchCopied ✓whenworksforyou.com/e/
Send it to the group, however you already talk. Each member votes from the same link, no account needed.
You pick the evening
- Tue Mar 32 yes · 1 maybe
- Tue Mar 104 yes — leading
- Tue Mar 171 yes · 2 maybe
Pick the date ✓
The evening with the most votes is the meeting. Lock it in, and the link shows everyone the date.
- Pick the evenings
- Share the link
- ✓Pick the evening
Why a poll beats the end-of-meeting scramble
The next date usually gets settled in the last five minutes of the meeting, by whoever is still in the room. Then someone who left early can't make it. A poll asks the whole club at once, and everyone answers on their own time.
Which evenings to offer
- Offer the same weeknight across three or four weeks. A club that meets on Tuesdays offers three or four Tuesdays. Most people know their Tuesdays a month out.
- Leave time to read. Send the poll as soon as the book is chosen, with dates four to six weeks out, so the date is set while there's still time to finish.
- Put the book in the title. "March: The Remains of the Day" tells members what they're voting on and what to start reading.
Whoever hosts next runs the poll
Rotating hosts is the normal shape of a book club, and it fits. This month's host creates the poll and shares the link. Next month, someone else does. Nothing carries over that needs handing off, and a free poll is free every month.
What members see
The event name, the evenings on offer, and Works, Maybe or Can't for each, with a comment box for "I'll be late that week" or "I've only just started it". Once they've answered, they see how everyone else did, so a member can tell that the 10th is the evening most of the club can make.
Locking in the date
When an evening has the votes, lock it in. The link shows the decided date to anyone who opens it, along with a start time if you set one. On Autopilot, every member gets the confirmation by email.
Members who answer by email
Some members don't open links. On Autopilot, each one gets their own invitation by email and can reply in their own words: "the 3rd is out, either of the others works". We read the reply and record it as their votes, and we send up to two reminders to whoever hasn't answered. See what Autopilot does.
Where Autopilot helps
On Autopilot, we email each member their own invitation, read replies written in plain English, and send up to two reminders to whoever hasn't voted yet, so the host isn't the one asking twice.
Part of Autopilot — see pricing.
- From
- When Works For You
- To
- luis@…
- Subj
- Grace is finding a date for Book club: March
Hi Luis — Grace is finding a date for Book club: March. Which of these work for you?
Vote on the dates
Or just reply to this email with the days that work.
Land next month's meeting.
A free poll takes a minute to set up. Your guests never need an account.