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flexagonSuddenly I seem to know a lot of people who make zines. I went to the Papercut Zine Library last weekend, and then spent a bunch of the rest of the weekend thinking about making some myself... and about self-publishing books... and whether I mean it or what.
I've been feeling a huge groundswell of wanting to interact more with the world somehow. I think some of it is loneliness but a lot of it just has to do with getting older and thinking well, here I am, in the world! I seem to be building up some momentum now. Look, other people are munging up little bits of the world, and I love to munge things up, so why am I not doing anything? Don't get me wrong, I like my quiet little life. But I also want to feel involved. I think that some of this is a desire to somehow be reaching more people, and maybe some of that is wanting to get some work of mine out there. (Some of it might also be interesting investing, like I talked about a few posts ago).
I really liked the zines I saw, and had tons of trouble choosing only four to check out, and I want to go back and look at a bunch more of them. And...they're also not intimidating, in the sense that I fully believe that with a few hours and a photocopier I could produce such a thing. It's a far cry from having to set up a "real", commercial magazine. (Most 'how to make a zine guides' seem to recommend a pen name and a PO box, and the idea of checking snail mail is annoying, but never mind that). I have material sitting around for a zine's worth of photos and poems easily, and probably a lot more than that if I wanted to do one including my comic strips. I've got some essays I've written and some more that I want to write, and generally lots of stuff to say, and it's extremely cool to know that any zines I did put together could sit on the shelves at the Papercut Library and people could check them out. On the other hand (and I hope this doesn't sound snobby and annoying) I'm not sure zines are really the right effort to match that feeling I talked about. Are they... well... ambitious enough? Are they worth the time? Would they really be reaching the people I want to reach (whoever that is)? Should I really be focusing instead on something that I could possibly make money on someday? What am I really after with the zines in my head -- do I want praise, that feeling of creation, that feeling of connection, what?
Honestly, zines are SO cool that it seems weird to me that they seem dominated by super-young alternative/leftie/radical types. I mean, I like those types and by some definitions I am one of those types myself. But zines just seem so nifty, small and fun and easy that it seems strange that EVERYONE doesn't do them from time to time, including (or especially) every established "real" author in the world. What a great way to bypass the whole writing scene (imagine me holding my nose as I say scene) and just get your stuff out there even if it's not publishable in the traditional channels. It's very appealing.
On a just slightly larger scale, my thoughts have also gone back in the direction of self-publishing a small book or two. Just as with a zine, you get to bypass a ton of crappy scenester-stuff at the expense of time & money. Then you go around to a couple of local bookstores, coffeeshops or whatever and see if they will carry it, and you're done when you say you're done. Wheeee. :) I'm getting closer to having enough poetry to fill a real book, but what I'm really thinking of is getting into photomontage this summer--I would love to do a huge series of photomontage using city shots and nude self-portraits. Point being, a smallish book would kind of obviate my worry about a zine not being ambitious enough (although again, one thing I like about the zine idea is that it's not too scary, so I'm contradicting myself), and although it would cost more to produce and I haven't priced it out, I'm pretty sure I could afford it.
I know that at least two people will read this who actually make zines. And at least three people will read this who are right around my age. And everyone has to decide what's worth it to do with their time and what's not. I'd love any comments from you on... well... any of this.
I'm glad I have it on good authority that a lot of people feel restless and slightly crazy as they approach 30.
I've been feeling a huge groundswell of wanting to interact more with the world somehow. I think some of it is loneliness but a lot of it just has to do with getting older and thinking well, here I am, in the world! I seem to be building up some momentum now. Look, other people are munging up little bits of the world, and I love to munge things up, so why am I not doing anything? Don't get me wrong, I like my quiet little life. But I also want to feel involved. I think that some of this is a desire to somehow be reaching more people, and maybe some of that is wanting to get some work of mine out there. (Some of it might also be interesting investing, like I talked about a few posts ago).
I really liked the zines I saw, and had tons of trouble choosing only four to check out, and I want to go back and look at a bunch more of them. And...they're also not intimidating, in the sense that I fully believe that with a few hours and a photocopier I could produce such a thing. It's a far cry from having to set up a "real", commercial magazine. (Most 'how to make a zine guides' seem to recommend a pen name and a PO box, and the idea of checking snail mail is annoying, but never mind that). I have material sitting around for a zine's worth of photos and poems easily, and probably a lot more than that if I wanted to do one including my comic strips. I've got some essays I've written and some more that I want to write, and generally lots of stuff to say, and it's extremely cool to know that any zines I did put together could sit on the shelves at the Papercut Library and people could check them out. On the other hand (and I hope this doesn't sound snobby and annoying) I'm not sure zines are really the right effort to match that feeling I talked about. Are they... well... ambitious enough? Are they worth the time? Would they really be reaching the people I want to reach (whoever that is)? Should I really be focusing instead on something that I could possibly make money on someday? What am I really after with the zines in my head -- do I want praise, that feeling of creation, that feeling of connection, what?
Honestly, zines are SO cool that it seems weird to me that they seem dominated by super-young alternative/leftie/radical types. I mean, I like those types and by some definitions I am one of those types myself. But zines just seem so nifty, small and fun and easy that it seems strange that EVERYONE doesn't do them from time to time, including (or especially) every established "real" author in the world. What a great way to bypass the whole writing scene (imagine me holding my nose as I say scene) and just get your stuff out there even if it's not publishable in the traditional channels. It's very appealing.
On a just slightly larger scale, my thoughts have also gone back in the direction of self-publishing a small book or two. Just as with a zine, you get to bypass a ton of crappy scenester-stuff at the expense of time & money. Then you go around to a couple of local bookstores, coffeeshops or whatever and see if they will carry it, and you're done when you say you're done. Wheeee. :) I'm getting closer to having enough poetry to fill a real book, but what I'm really thinking of is getting into photomontage this summer--I would love to do a huge series of photomontage using city shots and nude self-portraits. Point being, a smallish book would kind of obviate my worry about a zine not being ambitious enough (although again, one thing I like about the zine idea is that it's not too scary, so I'm contradicting myself), and although it would cost more to produce and I haven't priced it out, I'm pretty sure I could afford it.
I know that at least two people will read this who actually make zines. And at least three people will read this who are right around my age. And everyone has to decide what's worth it to do with their time and what's not. I'd love any comments from you on... well... any of this.
I'm glad I have it on good authority that a lot of people feel restless and slightly crazy as they approach 30.
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no subject
Date: 2006-05-11 01:34 pm (UTC)there are a lot of things that draw me to zines as opposed to self-publishing a book. for one, i like the size. you can make them as short as you want -- some are only 16 pages -- if you just have a few things you want to share. or you can go on forever and end up with something that's 60 pages. but no matter what it's going to be small enough to easily stuff in a bag. i like that zines are handmade, that every aspect of them was planned and created by the same person who did the writing. i like that they're art pieces as well as literary pieces, because there are so many choices made in assembling them. i like that they're very cheap to put out. and there's also a lot of immediacy because you're never sending your stuff away for someone else to put together.
zines can reach a huge, diverse audience. i've put out hundreds of clark 8 over the past 4 years (my zine about being suicidal and hospitalized -- which, incidentally, is a topic that definitely sells in the zine world). and my zine about ballet school has been well-received because it's so unlike anything anyone else has ever written a zine about. people can get them from zine libraries like the one you want to, and also through distros (online stores that sell lots of zines). once you get your zine carried by a few distros it will really get out there.
one last thing -- pen name and po box are nice, but you definitely don't need them. a lot of zinesters pick a common noun to be their last name (alex wrekk, hanna neurotica, nicole introvert, just to name a few...) but i don't. and at least half of the zinesters i don't don't have po boxes.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-12 11:06 am (UTC)I like (love) the huge range in what you can put out in a zine, and that they're handmade and that every aspect was designed by the writer. In that sense it makes them perfect for me since I like to do a wide variety of things, in fact I like to do nearly every step of what seems to go into doing a zine. but as for size... some books are small too. :) I am definitely warming up to both ideas about equally.
p.s. it's good to know about them reaching a wide audience. I'm not trying to stereotype anyone, but from the hour I spent in papercut it was all starting to seem like a particular type.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-12 01:05 pm (UTC)any centralized place that has zines is probably going to have a particular bend. papercut seems fairly punkrock from what i've seen. and plenty of zines are, too, but there are also lots from people who are more interested in art than in politics. or who are more interested in being a parent, or in cooking, or just about anything.