We’re looking for submissions all about amusement. Poetry or any form of visual art welcome. Submissions due Dec. 23.
felanzine@outlook.com | https://felanzine.wordpress.com/submit/
Zine Review: Anecdata 5
Anecdata 5
Olivia M June
Oliviaszines.tumblr.com
www.ParadoxNowCreations.etsy.com
Anecdata 5 is another ‘zine in the life’ of Olivia, containing pieces like a short dream she had, ‘Femme-NOS’, ‘Racism and Romance Novels’, updates on pieces from previous zines in the series, and more. Plus, Olivia continues her variety review section, this time with soda reviews. Though I’ll likely never try any of them, I thought it was fun to see how someone judges soda.
The writing style that I found so engaging in Anecdata 1 continues in this edition and takes topics that might otherwise be ‘delicate’ and makes them read as normal as talking about the weather. (As it should be.) I love learning about new things (and Olivia introduces me to new things) with zines because it’s such a safe but personal place to start.
The piece that really stuck out to me in this issue was “El Centro and Alienation” in which Olivia talks about the disconnection between her and her Mexican-American heritage as well as pondering why attending Mexican-American events can make her feel negative.
Being distanced from my own heritage is a sadness I’ve always carried but sort of just accepted about my life. To read a zine by someone expressing that kind of sadness and isolation made me feel for Olivia but also has inspired me to write about my own experiences.
One more thing to love about zines.
As you can likely tell, this is a perzine series that I am continuing to enjoy and want to have all copies of. I hope to see (and read, of course) more in the future.
Three Tips for Making an Excellent Zine
I know I’ve said it loud and proud from the rooftops that the beauty of zines is that there is no one way to make them. That still holds true, and the things I mention in this post as things that make ‘excellent’ zine are simply opinions. (Though the current post title IS much better than ‘Things You Could Consider Including in Your Next Zine’.)
That being said… There are a few things that I love to see in zines.
Margin Awareness
If I’m in the right kind of mood, having words cut off by printer margins can be like a fun puzzle that I have to sort out. I’ve only ever been in that mood once.
Printers and copiers have margins on all sides that they won’t print on. (Unless you have a printer that does borderless printing, in which case I am jealous.) That’s why you get that wonderful white box around an otherwise dark/heavily cut and pasted zine.
It’s too easy to set margins in Word, InDesign, and other programs to simply ignore it. Doing things completely by hand isn’t an excuse in my book either (though Dear Anonymous 1 will show you that I learned the hard way). There are plenty of ways to take care of it – from simply being aware of the margins to using something like washi/tissue tape that will give you a border without ripping your page up when you take it off.
I get the ‘stick it to the man’ crowd who won’t be held back by ‘margins’ or ‘thinking about layout’ and such. I get not wanting to be held back creatively. But having your words get cut off because of lack of margin awareness is less ‘stick it to the man’ and more ‘stick it to the reader’. (Hint: you probably don’t want to stick it to the reader)
Include Contact Info +/- Contributor Info
You probably saw this one coming because I talk so much about it in my reviews. You know how much I love zines. If I love your zine, I want to know more about any other zines you may have created or are creating. I want to follow on Instagram and Twitter. Possibly Tumblr even though that’s still a bit of a foreign world to me. There’s not a lot that I appreciate more as a thoughtful gesture as clear contact info.
I do keep in mind, however, that some people don’t want to be found/contacted/etc. So while I do make a point of it often, I am also considerate that some people want to create in an anonymous way.
Only Use Your Handwriting (Or a Font) if it’s Readable
I don’t see a lot of handwriting in the zines I read, but I have seen the bad side of it. There was one zine with a subject I was very interested in, but there were handwritten parts mixed in with typed parts… and I could barely make out the handwriting. Pair that with bad margin awareness, and you have something that people are likely to put down.
A side note for fonts: I love fonts. There are so many out there, and places like DaFont.com make it easy to find exactly what you need. What you probably don’t need in your zine, however, is a lot of different fonts. There are exceptions to this (at least, I hope, because I consider Dear Anonymous to be one example of an exception), but consider your font usage carefully.
A Little Bit More
I know I said three tips, but here are a few other things you *might* want to put in your next zine. You absolutely have to stay true to your vision of what you want your zine to be, and you have to do what makes sense (why put a table of contents in a four-page mini-zine?). However, there is fun to be had by thinking outside the box…
*‘First printed’ date
*# Print run
*# Zine (ex 2/30)
*Page Numbers
*Table of Contents
*Intro Page/What it’s all about
Have fun. Do what’s right for you and your zine.
Done, Doing, Dreaming – The Distracted Version
Distracted version is right. As much as I’ve tried to avoid it, I’m definitely in a scattered state.
More photos of my beautiful boy, the main reason behind my distraction. He’s been at the vet’s since this morning, waiting for his turn to get an x-ray, poor little bub. I honestly would have sat there all day with him if I could. I hope he’s just sleeping to pass the time.
Fun news in that my friends know I like these little gingerbread bikkies, and they both got me some. Comfort eating is not a good idea, but hey, it’s delicious…
I’ve been putting together a moving binder for the big move in the second half of 2017. It’ll be an interstate move with three animals, so I am very focused on having everything as organised as possible. I’ve only started putting the bits and pieces together, but I can already feel myself getting a little calmer about the prospect.
It’s not all distractions from zines, however, as I’ve been discussion binding techniques with @bodieh – the mastermind behind Slowquest. It feels good to be of use in a time I feel rather useless otherwise.
Oh, the above is a Japanese screw punch, if you were curious. If you’d like to know more, I’ve put up a couple videos on my Instagram.
That’s all for me. Please forgive me for being less than upbeat. These things happen, and I’ll get back to the swing of it sooner rather than later.
Call for Submissions: For Us, By Us – A Zine on Black Mental Health
Call for Submissions: PCOS Stories
Call for Submissions: Harry Potter Fanzine
Call for Submissions: Crown, Leg, Tooth
I’m always looking for poetry about staplers for our zine Crown, Leg, Tooth.
Folks can reach me at denveravepress@gmail.com or
Denver Avenue Press
1319 se MLK Blvd
Suite 214
Portland, OR 97214
Anybody whose poem we use will get twenty copies of C,L,T as a thank you.
Zine Review: Stressed & Overwhelmed: Good Habits for the Exhausted Overachiever
Stressed & Overwhelmed: Good Habits for the Exhausted Overachiever
Elly Blue
https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/artist/elly_blue
I wasn’t sure what I would be getting when I started reading this zine, but, as someone who is often stressed and overwhelmed, I had to check this out. Honestly, it didn’t have me by the first section either. I’m not the person described on the first pages, but I stress out like I am, so I kept reading.
I’m very glad I did.
Stressed & Overwhelmed is a zine that takes you through ways in which to change your behaviour when it comes to work, stress, and the like but also presents ways in which you can work smarter (and healthier) rather than harder. I’ve read plenty of the like in articles and such, but this zine proved itself a bit different from my usual reading by starting off with something that really made me sit up (figuratively) and pay closer attention (literally): Stop Punishing Yourself For Your Successes
How many times have you finally hit send on a big project that’s been hanging over your head for weeks, and instead of celebrating you’ve moved immediately to dreading and beating yourself up about not yet being far enough along on the next big project?
Ding, ding, ding.
This and other things (that I won’t quote at the risk of retyping most of the zine) struck me right where I needed it in regards to this subject.
I like that there is a mixture of direct suggestions – this is Pomodoro and how it works – as well as more indirect suggestions – step back and look. IHaving that mix caters to the different mentalities of just wanting someone to tell you what to do/where to start as well as not liking being told what to do.
My old thorn of no contact details has popped up, but I can almost forgive it because of the wealth of things that I can look up thanks to all the info. You all know how much I love the option of being able to do further research.
As much as the title might be ‘big’ and overwhelming in and of itself, you don’t have to be completely stressed and/or overwhelmed to find benefit from reading this zine.
Zine Review: SlowQuest – A Choose Your Own Adventure Zine – Quest I: The Goblin Guard
SlowQuest – A Choose Your Own Adventure Zine – Quest I: The Goblin Guard
BodieH
@bodieh
www.slowquest.com
Sometimes you see a zine, and you instantly know that you want to get a copy. This is one of those zines.
SlowQuest is a choose your own adventure zine taking you on an adventure for glory and riches! Standing in your way? A goblin guard…
I love this zine so much. On the aesthetic side, it’s superb. It’s well made, the art is incredibly detailed and invites you to inspect it closely, the cream-coloured interior paper suits very well, everything is so nicely put together, and even the corners are rounded. The whole thing is not only fun but speaks to a dedication to making even the tactile experience of the zine a good one.
I have talked a little bit about zine re-readability in reviews, but this is re-readability of a different sort. After I found out that my ‘natural instinct’ adventurer days would be about as monetarily rewarding as my actual life (hahaha), I immediately went back to trying all the different possibilities. The size of the zine is deceptive in that there were even more options than I expected there to be.
I felt like a kid again, and it was awesome.
Also, two thumbs way up for clear contact details:
This is one of those zines that I’m probably going to have to get another copy to loan out because I don’t want anyone messing with my copy.
PS. Shout out to Zine-O-Matic for having such good taste in zines and for granting a wish on my zine wishlist. 🙂