The Devastator Funny Book Bundle 3: The Book Ultimatum - Curated by The Devastator
People often ask us how we make our hilarious and crazy books, like the ones we put together in this exclusive StoryBundle. The process sort of mimics the bundle itself – we bring together the funniest, most talented authors we can find and get them to work together. (Mostly for snacks. Good snacks!)
At many publishing houses, humor book ideas are pitched and developed in boardrooms by the editorial staff, then an editor is assigned to recruit a writer to pen the manuscript. After that process is complete, the manuscript gets packaged, printed and sent to stores. If those two sentences made you want to fall asleep, like re-watching that old episode of Mr. Rogers about how erasers get made, we couldn't agree with you more. (Keep on covering that oil, Mr. R.)
At The Devastator, we have a different approach, which combines tactics used by improv theatres, TV show writers' rooms, and Chuck E. Cheese restaurants. The Chuck E. Cheese part has to do with all the frightening animatrons we bought off eBay and taught to sing Shakira songs. It has nothing to do with making books, but you know.
Throughout the year, we meet authors and cartoonists who want to work with us. If we like their work, we invite them to pitch us book ideas during our yearly submission period. The projects aren't picked solely by the publishers. Actually, the previous year's authors go through the submissions and help decide which ones get selected for next year's slate. That way, the books reflect the sensibility of many funny people, rather than one or two people. Neat!
New authors will typically pitch us zines, which are like mini-books where we can take a chance on more bizarre, niche, or ambitious ideas without betting the farm (just a couple chickens). In this bundle, we're offering a number of our favorite funny zines, like wrestling spoof Leg Drop Digest by Joe Starr (Screen Junkies) and Asterios Kokkinos (Something Awful); a guide to sexual and emotional contortions called The Drama Sutra by Paige Weldon (The Meltdown); a teeny-bopper's take on Doctor Who with TARDIS Beat by Patrick Baker (Regular Show), and adorable pups dressed as yesteryear villains in Dogs: History's Greatest Monsters by Micki Grover (McSweeney's) and Lynne Donahue (The Devastator magazine).
Authors fortunate enough to have a book published by us don't work in a vacuum. At regular author meetings, we all read and punch-up each other's drafts, offering plot suggestions, new jokes, and encouragement. We are not alone-in-a-log-cabin-with-a-bottle-of-whiskey-and-manual-typewriter authors. Well, maybe the whiskey.
The ridiculous books you get in this bundle all benefitted from table reads at author meetings, receiving acclaim from critics and readers alike. We Don't Think You're Racist! by Amanda Meadows (McSweeney's) and Robin Higgins (Reductress) is our new bestseller that makes microaggressions macro-hilarious. Killing It by Joan Ford (Nerdist) is a guide to being a "strong female character" in an action film obviously written by men. Oh, the Flesh You Will Eat! by Mike Levine (The Onion) and Jacob Vollum (The Devastator magazine) is the story of a little flesh eating virus who goes on a BIG adventure. Stay at Home Scarface by Kenny Keil (MAD magazine) is an activity book parody where Tony Montana finds out it's harder to raise a baby than run a drug empire. Dream It! Screw It! by Geoffrey Golden (Disney comics) is an illustrated look at rides too dumb for Disneyland, all conceived by Dipp Disney, the worst Imagineer. Finally, Toys "4" Cheap by Asterios Kokkinos and Jimmy Hasse (The Onion) is a catalog of insane and dangerous toys you should not purchase this holiday season.
We brought together all these books, all these talented authors and artists, just for you! Start reading these books today and you'll laugh, you'll cry (from laughter), and you'll panic (also from laughter).
–Geoffrey and Amanda, the Publishers
The initial titles in the Devastator Funny Book Bundle 3 (minimum $4 to purchase) are:
If you pay more than the bonus price of just $12, you get all four of the regular titles, plus two more books and four more zines!
This bundle is available only for a limited time via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, .mobi and .pdf) for all books and .pdf for all zines!
It's also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.
Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.
StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.
For more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, tweet us at @storybundle and like us on Facebook. For press inquiries, please email [email protected].
