Sunday 28 August 2011

Ten Tips For First Time Zinesters


Ten Tips For First Time Zinesters

This is not an exhaustive list, however I’ve tried to bring together some of the strongest themes from the zinester interview series on my blog (which asks, amongst other things, what tips the zinester has for anyone thinking of making a zine) with my own experiences. I am by no means an authority on the topic but hopefully this list will be of some help to newbies or at least trigger debate! Please feel free to use the comments box to add tips of your own whether you are a first-time or established zinester, or even considering making your own zine.

Before you begin…

1. Read. Read as many zines as possible – this will give you an idea of what works well and what doesn’t. Think about what you enjoy in a zine and how you can transfer that to your own creation. Don’t just look at the words either – consider the different sizes and lengths of zines that are out there, and of course pay attention to layouts. Reading plenty of books too will help you hone your writing skills and consider elements such as style and structure.

2. Consider your privacy. It is important to think about this before you even begin writing as once your words are in print and out there you can’t get them back! Personally I choose to keep the name of the city I live in and my surname out of my zines, and these are factors I consider when writing any articles or re-using materials with my full name on in layouts. You might also want to set up a separate email address to use for zine-related communications if your main email address includes your surname. Of course many people do choose to print their full names and even their mailing addresses in zines and that’s fine too, but think before you print!

Writing and layouts…

3. Accept your zine isn’t going to be finished straightaway. Zines aren’t finished in an hour. If you’re really eager to get your zine out there as soon as possible, consider a mini-zine or a 24 hour zine (or even combine the two). Many zinesters perform several edits on each piece before producing their final version - although many good zines are written stream of conciousness style too. As with all things zine-related there is no hard and fast “rule” on this but I would advise that you take your time with writing, and double check your facts if you’re writing about (for example) a band or well-known author. Take the time to proofread your writing, or even better – ask someone else to proofread it for you as they will most probably spot mistakes you hadn’t.

4. Create an eye-catching cover. This is the first thing people will see when they look at your zine, and the image you will use for promoting it once its done, so it's worth investing a decent amount of time and effort in it. I often make several potential covers for each issue of my zine (or at least sketch out several potential ideas) before picking one. If you feel you don’t have the art/design skills to make the cover your zine deserves, consider asking a friend or another zinester if they will design it for you – many will be only too pleased to be asked and to oblige, as long as you give them appropriate credit.

5. Keep it neat and legible. Potential readers will want to flick through your zine at zine events (or see photos/scans of the inner layouts online) before they pay for a copy, and if these are messy and unattractive you may lose out on readers even if your writing is of a very high standard. (Not that having as many readers as possible should be anyone’s goal when making zines, but you probably don’t want to miss out on readers if you can help it.) Personally I find messy layouts are a huge turn-off when it comes to whether or not I will enjoy a zine no matter how good the content is. Call me shallow, but that’s how I roll (and I’m not alone in this – most zine review blogs frequently comment on the layout of zines they feature).

If you’re not visually artistic don’t worry – this is where “keep it neat” comes in. Your layouts don’t have to be particularly ornate or original to be good, just make sure everything is stuck down properly, that your text is neat and not too small (I made a major error in Not Lonely #1 by trying to fit far too much in and consequently using tiny text which copied very badly and almost illegibly) and that there aren’t crossings out everywhere. Two things I often see in zines that don’t look great and can be easily remedied with time and close attention are outlines around text blocks with stray lines coming off where the zinester’s pen has slipped and messy cutting-out of blocks of text/images for layouts (of course the latter can sometimes be a stylistic choice). And finally, keep an eye out on this blog for an upcoming article I’m writing on layouts for beginners!


6. Consider your content: Or, “all killer no filler!”. This is related to point number 3 – a good zine isn’t going to be finished in a matter of minutes. It’s very easy to spot when a zinester has put in content merely to fill up space and whilst a page or two like this may be inevitable once in a while (you miscounted the number of pages a piece would need perhaps, or you need to fill those last two pages so your zine is ready for a zine event the following day) your zine will be a disappointing read if a lot of the content feels like it is there purely for the sake of it. Give some thought also to the overall flow of the zine for the reader – if you want to include some lighter, fun pieces alongside heavier content then that’s great, but intermingling the two throughout the zine can (again, it won’t always) make a zine feel a bit disjointed.

7. Number your pages. It will make your life much easier when it comes to assembling your printed zines!

8. Just do it! This has been quite a long list of “do this” and “don’t do that” so far, but these are merely ideas and tips and as long as you have something to write with and something to write on, you are halfway there to making your zine. It’s easy to agonise over making everything perfect and to become stuck. I feel like this is potentially contradictory to everything else I’ve said here, but if you want to write a zine, just get on with it and write a zine! Do the best you can and get it out there. Once your first zine is out of the way you will learn and grow as a zinester and will have got the hardest part over with.

Once your zine is done…

9. Get it out there! As mentioned earlier, if you’re writing zines with the intention of becoming some kind of celebrity with hordes of readers (or if you think you’ll make any money off zines – most zinesters consider themselves lucky to break even over postage and printing costs) then you’re doing it for the wrong reason, but now you’ve taken the time to create your finished product its only natural you’re going to want to get it out there. Before you start promoting it consider the price you want to charge – copying costs do vary up and down the country but unless your zine is full-colour or in another way particularly expensive to print don’t expect to get more than 50p - £2.50 per issue, depending on its length. If you think you’re going to get back more than it cost to print your zine, you’ll be disappointed. Zines are made out of love, not the desire to generate cash!

Some ways to get your zine into the hands of readers are:
- Give it away! I gave away around 25 copies of each of my first couple of issues to friends, most of whom now order every subsequent issue and some of whom were inspired to make zines themselves.
- Set up trades. Email zinesters (its usually best to stick to those who are writing zines in a similar genre to yours, although again this isn’t a hard and fast rule) or contact them through social networking websites to arrange trades. Keep in mind fairness (for example people may not be keen to swap a 40 page ½ size zine for an 8 page mini-zine) and consider offering part-trades as well as direct swaps (for example your mini-zine in return for 50% off the usual PayPal price of their larger zine). Don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear back from everyone (or anyone) you attempt to trade with straightaway – sometimes it takes people a while to reply to messages or they just can’t set up trades at the moment (e.g. for financial reasons - I am quite selective with international trades for this reason, although I always email and explain).
- Get it into distros. Ask your zinester friends which distros they’d recommend you submit your zine to, and/or have a look online. It’s usually worth making an order or two from a distro before you submit your zine to them so that you can get a sense of their catalogue and the type of zines they like to carry. Again, try not to feel discouraged if you don’t hear back from a distro/any distro quickly/at all. Remember a distro may say no to the first five issues of your zine but yes to the sixth – just keep trying.
- Send it out for review. If your zine is British, why not send it to Spill The Zines with a request for a review? If not, then there are lots of other blogs out there – have a look around the internet and ask other zinesters for recommendations. But please bear in mind point 10 when doing this!
- Promote and sell! Scan/take photos of your zine (including some examples of the inner layouts) and post them on your blog/facebook/twitter/tumblr/livejournal etc., along with a quick description of your zine, its price and how people can order a copy. Join We Make Zines to connect with other zinesters and to set up trades as well as generally promote your zine (look out for groups relevant to your zine – there are ones for perzines, mental health zines and feminist zines, amongst others). Etsy is a handy website to join for selling your zines - they do charge a small fee per listing but as the site handles the transaction I find its worth it to save a wee bit of potential hassle. Etsy is another way to promote your zine to those who might not have known about it previously, too.


10. Expect/accept compliments and criticism. Finally, once your zine is out there, prepare yourself for the feedback. Most of it will be positive, but don’t expect that everyone will love your zine. Personally I found it quite hard to hear (even constructive) criticism when I first put Not Lonely #1 out – I had poured a lot of myself into the zine, as well as a good deal of time, and felt quite defensive in response to critical comments. But in hindsight I’ve learnt that without people telling you what’s good/not so good about your zine you’ll never improve. And remember, no-one’s first issue is going to be amazing, so take what was best from it with you and leave behind the rest.

Sunday 21 August 2011

Zine News Round-Up: 21.08.11

1. Zine Releases
2. Upcoming Events
3. Submission Calls
4. Zine Reviews
5. Distro News
6. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
 - Bettie, the lady behind mental health zine Anatomical Heart, has released the first issue of her new perzine series, Buy Her Candy! Get your copy at Bettie’s etsy shop.
 - The second issue of DJ Moonlight’s perzine, Dancing Barefoot, is now available!  Contact her for a copy at moonlight.phoenixATgmailDOTcom.


2. Upcoming Events
 - DIY Summer At Site: 23rd August – 7th September. A series of workshops, talks, and events celebrating DIY and creativity. Zines will be exhibited and sold there by Rotheram Zine Library.  More info here.
 - I’ve Zine You Zine Fair @ Edinburgh: 28th & 29th August. Come along to the Book Trust, 55 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SR, or to get involved email ivezineyouATgmailDOTcom.
 - Cambridge Creative Fair: 3rd September.  Hosted by the
 Whirlygig Collective, 10.30am til 6pm.  For more info, email the organisers at infoATwhirlygigDOTme.
 - Sheffield Zine Fair: 25th September. Stall applications now closed!
 - Camden Zine Fest: 8th October.  Stall and workshop applications are now open, and they’re completely free!  Will is particularly keen to have zinesters and DIY types tabling there, so book yours at http://camdenzinefest.blogspot.com/.

3. Submission Calls- New feminist magazine LIB is looking for articles and artwork for its first issue! Deadline: 1st September.  For more info or to submit something, contact the team at lib.magazineATgmailDOTcom. 
 - Submissions wanted for a body positive zine, title TBC. 'It has to do with how you feel about your body. It doesn’t really have any other guidelines other than that. ANYONE can submit, you don’t have to be a woman identified person." More info at http://slutrevolution.tumblr.com/submit.
 - Shark Dating: An Inspirational and Instructive Manual, aka the Good (femme of colour/ Indigenous femme) zine: http://www.brownstargirl.org/
Tukru is looking for submissions for the second issue of Vampire Sushi.  The main theme is vampires but other monsters & horror creatures / themes are welcome too. The deadline is September 18th. More info at Vampire Sushi’s tumblr.
 - Liam is looking for two illustrators to design covers for the next issue of Lost Boy zine.  If you’re interested you can email Liam at lostboyzineATgmailDOTcom or leave him an ask on his tumblr.

4. Zine Reviews
 - Sophie at Oh My Clumsy Heart has posted some zine recommendations – take a look.


5. Distro news
 - Marching Stars is off hiatus! Hurrah! www.marchingstars.co.uk

5. A.O.B.
 - Mslexia are running a women’s novel competition! The competition is open to unpublished women novelists writing in any genre for adults (where a novel is defined as a work constituting of at least 50,000 words).  The prize is £5000 and a chance to win a publishing contract. Closing date 30th September. More info here.
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A new zine night is being set up in Cambridge - for zine makers and wannabe zine makers. For more information, you can join the Cambridge Zine Boogaloo mailing list http://eepurl.com/ffmEo
 - Evan has buried comics zines in London (and Athens) for people to find! How exciting! More info here.
 - Back issues of Adventures in Menstruating are back in stock - hurrah! More info here: 
http://chartyourcycle.wordpress.com/zines/

Thursday 18 August 2011

Zine Reviews: Aug '11 (Women's Library Zine Fest edition)

by Caitlin Beth Gwynn

The following reviews are all of zines that I picked up at Zine Fest @ The Women's Library last month. Some of them new, some of them old, but all of them display the great variety of the zine world.

* Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell #15
The 15th issue of Finnish / Kent based zinester, Tukru, was released just in time for London Zine Fest.  The theme of the issue is transition, as Tukru’s main focus is of changes in her personal life, such as her decision to drop out of roller derby, her birthday, and her partner Carl getting a new job. Personally, as interesting as I found the topics Tukru discussed, I did want to hear more about her and Emma Jane Falconer (of Fanzine Ynfytyn) ‘s grrrl club night, Typical Grrrls. However, I did love the account of London SlutWalk, which did make up for me not being there, and Tukru raises some very interesting points of the event. Another slight qualm of mine would be that sometimes the layout did make the content slightly difficult to read, but as usual, it’s another great and interesting issue, worth it for the roast vegetable lasagne recipe by itself!

* I Love Women
This tiny zine is part of the Bradford Zine Collective, whose stall I nearly bought everything from at Zine Fest! It’s written by Jen Claptrap and features personal stories about her friends and what they do that’s totally awesome. It’s a very short read, but an amazing zine in that it shows all of us that by doing the tiniest of things, we can be totally fantastic women.

* Hunkerdown #1
Without a doubt, this was my find of the day. It’s a tiny bright green zine that offers several invaluable moneysaving tips. It also looks at the ethics involved with budgeting too, for example, a discussion on whether you have to be rich in order to craft. Despite being absolutely packed with information, it’s an easy read and inspiring too, full of advice that is actually immensely useful, such as advice for vegetarians and vegans on what to eat to keep up their vitamin intake.

* Pamflet #XI
Some of you may be following the Pamflet girls on Twitter – if not, why not?! This was my first issue of Pamflet, and I’m regretting coming to it so late, as the introduction states that this issue may be the last printed one of Pamflet. It’s the perfect antidote to women’s magazines – funny and intelligent, with a huge dollop of sarcasm. The tongue in cheek critique of fashion, such as citing Tank Girl as a fashion inspiration, is hugely entertaining to read. Pamflet XI is chock full of articles, all of them offering very different food for thought, but always remaining incredibly interesting and entertaining.

* Braditude
Another zine from the Bradford Zine Collective to wrap things up. Braditude was created at a Bradford reading group, with all the members pitching in ideas. Like with Pamflet, the zine is a take on typical women’s magazines, but also mocks them mercilessly. The layout of the zine is unapologetically DIY with loads of hand-written content, and also is an amazing zine in that it has a cut out and keep merkin! As with Pamflet too, the zine is funny and entertaining, and the pop culture emphasises the more serious message about the damaging nature of the world of women’s magazines. 


Sunday 7 August 2011

Zine News Round-Up: 07.08.11

Nothing interesting to say as a preface to the news post today. Enjoy the news! :D

Cath x

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1. Zine Releases
2. Upcoming Events
3. Submission Calls
4. Distro News
5. Zine Reviews
6. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
 - Ingrid has released issue 3 of her perzine Mythologizing Me! More info on the zine, and how to buy a copy, can be found at her blog.
 - Hannah has released two new zines this week. Not Lonely #6 is the latest issue of her perzine, concerning a recent trip to Holland and favourite books from her childhood amongst other topics. The Malcontents' Book Club is a book review zine containing reviews of 10 books. You can order them both from her etsy shop here, or get in touch with her to trade at not_lonely_zineATyahoo.co.uk.
 - Issue 107 of Bi Community News aka BCN is now out with its usual mix of writing about bi life, bisexuality in wider culture and the UK bi scene itself. More info on ordering and subscriptions at BCN’s website.


2. Upcoming Events
 - I’ve Zine You Zine Fair @ Edinburgh: 28th & 29th August. Come along to the Book Trust, 55 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SR, or to get involved email ivezineyouATgmailDOTcom.
 - Cambridge Creative Fair: 3rd September.  Hosted by the
 Whirlygig Collective, 10.30am til 6pm.  For more info, email the organisers at infoATwhirlygigDOTme.
 - Sheffield Zine Fair: 25th September. If you want to apply for a free stall, or volunteer to help out, get in touch at sheffieldzinefairAThotmail.co.uk.
 - Camden Zine Fest: 8th October.  Stall and workshop applications are now open, and they’re completely free!  Will is particularly keen to have zinesters and DIY types tabling there, so book yours at http://camdenzinefest.blogspot.com/.

3. Submission Calls
 - Pandora Press, the Swansea Feminist Network zine, are looking for submissions for their second issue, the “sex” issue.  Deadline: 2nd October. More info can be found at the SFN website here.
 - New feminist magazine LIB is looking for articles and artwork for its first issue! Deadline: 1st September.  For more info or to submit something, contact the team at lib.magazineATgmailDOTcom.

4. Distro News
 - Vampire Sushi is back in business! www.vampiresushi.co.uk

5. Zine Reviews
 - Sophie at Oh My Clumsy Heart has posted some zine recommendations – take a look.

5. A.O.B.
 - Hannah has posted an interview with zinester Emma Jane Falconer on her blog: http://notquiteayes.blogspot.com/2011/07/zinester-interview-emma.html
 - Lots of zines and zine resources have made their way onto Zine Wiki since we wrote about the website last week, including Sometimes I’m Dreaming, Not Lonely, Pandora Press, and of course, Spill the Zines!