Category: General

Have I mentioned how much I love Sticky in Melbourne? It’s a great place and one I am very glad to say stocks my zines. I spent a bit of time in Melbourne last week. More on that to come later.

I’ve been thinking about how I want to proceed with this blog and my zine activities in general. Some might say too much thought at this point, but I want to do things right. I also want to do things in a way that makes the sustainable.

What you might not know about me is that I have bipolar disorder. While I manage things quite well now with the medication, I still can get into depressive swings that make it hard to keep up with things. So I want to do things in a way that will make everything habit. Routine is the saving grace of people who deal with mental illness. With that in mind…

I’m going to keep calls for submissions on the weekends. I love posting up things and getting a bit of a shout out going for different zine makers, but I don’t want this blog to become the grand index of calls for submissions. It sounds like fun, but that’s not a part of the project I want to take on (at least at this point).

Zine reviews are coming! What does my bipolar mean in terms of zine reviews? Only that I’ll be doing them in bunches, but you won’t notice all that much. I’ll spend a high energy day doing a bunch of reviews and then post them up at once or twice a week. That way I can post a little ahead and cover any blue days. The good news is that it’s coming to summer in Australia, and I have much more energy in summer than I do in winter.

Zine review… videos?! One of the reasons I haven’t jumped right into the zine reviewing stuff is because I also want to do video reviews. I’m sure no one is particularly interested in seeing my face, but I think videos could add something a bit new and different. I’m a little nervous about putting my face – and voice – out there, but I could only find one other person on YouTube doing it.

If you think reviews are good in text only, let me know! I don’t want to start making videos if people think reviews should be text only.

Those are my thoughts right now on the whole thing. Again, maybe I’m thinking too much about it, but I don’t want to drop the ball or get overwhelmed by poor organisation. Until next time…

I think zine reviews could really help round out this blog. (And give it more content. Let’s just call that kettle black.) I was doing reviews for a while before life took me away to other things.

Now that I’m ‘back’, I’ve learned a few things about review in the book world. Specifically, I’ve learned about the stigma that exists against authors doing reviews of other books. The thinking is that there is some sort of conflict of interest (I’m not sure how, as any writer worth their brass does a lot of reading) but also in that it opens the author to ‘revenge reviews’ and the like.

I’d like to think that sort of nonsense doesn’t exist in the zine world, but am I naive in thinking so? In hoping so?

I’ll probably go ahead and do it anyway, but if people aren’t inclined to me doing so… shout out!

Most Thursdays, I have the pleasure of meeting up with friends for writing/creative talk as well as yummy nibbles. We’ve also recently added wine, which was an excellent decision. 🙂

Today I had the extra pleasure of introducing the group to zines! I am so excited (as were they), and the number ideas we brainstormed… I am so looking forward to what they come up with next week.

I will even get a start on my next zine: Don’t Call Me Cupcake…

Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to our previous copier/scanner/printer. It did not operate as advertised.

Sigh.

Alas, we have found love! This beauty, henceforth named Sophie, is a copier/scanner/printer that does 2->2 copying, duplex printing for A4 and A5, scanning, photo printing…

I can see Sophie fitting in just fine at Sea Green Zines.

I’m still getting to know my printer/copier and have yet to give it a name, but we’re getting along well. I’ve now printed off everything I need to make 40 copies off all of my zines.

That’s right. The Perfect Pocket Guinness Guide is coming back for a limited time.

But after this? Both TPPGG and the Occupy Melbourne zine are going to be retired. I really want to concentrate on Dear Anonymous (especially as letters are starting to come in!) as well as get one or two other zines going. I don’t want to tend up spreading myself too thin again, which was why this place surrendered to the crickets for months.

So for now? I have a lot of folding to do…

I’m not sure what I want to call it yet, but it will have a name. After all, it is an important part of my plan for getting back into the zine world!

Okay, not so much part of the plan as a happy accident. I didn’t plan for my old printer to kick the bucket, but I did plan on getting a copier/printer when it did happen. No more running to OfficeWorks to copy my zines.

This little beauty and I are still getting to know each other. Things are going well so far. I think it could be love.

Zine Ninja says: My love is like a cherry blossom in the breeze.

I want to get my act together enough to own a zine distro.

<3

I… haven’t melted.

I went out in the sun in temperatures I’ve never felt before, and… I’m still whole. I haven’t melted faster than an ice cream sandwich on the footpath in, well, January in Australia.

I made it.

Go figure.