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Done, Doing, Dreaming – Slowly But Surely

believe-pin

The sun is shining, everyone (humans and animals alike) is healthy or nearly 100% recovered, and the weather is beautiful. I feel like I can finally breathe. Metaphorically, anyway. It is spring, and the hayfever is strong in this one…

Done

*I’ve been working on updating all the pages here on the blog and making things less confusing. Spring cleaning. Check out the new About & FAQ page to clarify anything or pose a question of your own.
*The Zine Review Index is also now up to date. (At least, until Thursday. Haha.)
*One last reminder to let you know that you can now listen to me read Don’t Call Me Cupcake 1: Introductions on Bandcamp for free! Click here to check it out as well as other zine creators reading their work. <3

Doing

*This is a bit of a strange one, so bear with me. I am working on not self-sabotaging. Any time I start feeling like something is going really well, I start to get nervous. Whereas I was fine doing something before, I suddenly become nervous and feel like I can’t do it. Brain freezes happen regularly, and my self-confidence tanks. It’s happened before, and I’m trying very hard not to let it happen here.
*I am still working on spring cleaning the blog, so if you have any ideas for anything you’d like to see/read, feel free to let me know.
*I am more lurking than working at the moment, but I am still loving the whole concept that is ZineWriMo.
*I’m already incredibly behind with NaNoWriMo, but there’s still plenty of time to catch up. I think. Maybe. If you’d like to be my writing buddy (and very possibly feel a lot better about your word count), you can find me here.
*I am working on editing the audio versions of Don’t Call Me Cupcake 2 and 3. They should come out later this year.
*I’m currently working on Don’t Call Me Cupcake 6, which is about spring in Australia, zine projects, Wanderer being in hospital, and other fun stuff.
*Another last reminder: if you hadn’t already heard, We Make Zines – the place for all things zine – is closing down at the end of this month due to a dramatic rise in cost. I’m not able to do much, but if you know about coding and site migration, be sure to stop by this thread and let Quasifesto know that you’re willing to help out.

Dreaming

*I’m actually dreaming of moving away from Etsy as a shop front, as it’s looking like Etsy is one of the more expensive places to run a shop front…
*I’m also dreaming of Festival of the Photocopier (Melbourne’s zine fest in February)! It slipped my mind when I thought I’d be moving out of Victoria before February 2017, but
*Which means I need to prioritise the button/badge maker. Squee!

I hope you are all having a wonderful start to your week!

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What is #ZineWriMo?

zinewrimo-participant

After an email came my way over the weekend asking about ZineWriMo, it occurred to me that I could have been a bit more explanatory when I mentioned ZineWriMo last week.

This post is here to provide a little more clarification.

First off: I don’t want this post to be seen as me taking any credit for #ZineWriMo. The entire idea belongs to Kat, and I am just another happy participant.

A happy, zine-obsessed participant who likes to shout about about everything I get excited about. Like ZineWriMo.

While ZineWriMo is a ziney NaNoWriMo alternative, it doesn’t have ‘one goal to rule them all’ like NaNo has. ZineWriMo is all about self-set goals and then getting in with the encouragement of the group to reach the goals you’ve set.

Personally, I’m looking to create Don’t Call Me Cupcake 6, make a few new call outs for collab zine projects I’d like to do (one done so far), and complete at least one more of the zines I have on my ‘zine ideas’ list.

Other people are looking to start/finish their very first zines while others are looking to create zine anthologies. There’s a wide variety of experience levels and projects in the group.

ZineWriMo has a Facebook group as well as a Twitter hashtag ‘group'(?) going.

I think that covers things a bit better than I did before. Please don’t hesitate to ask any other questions you have. Your best bet is probably Kat, though, as this whole thing is their idea.

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Call for Submissions: Crown, Leg, Tooth

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.

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Call for Submissions: Bi Focus #3

bi-focus-3

Submission Deadline: 30 November 2016
Find out if you’re in it by: 4 December 2016
Publication: 30 December 2016

Forms of submissions accepted: photos, paintings, comics, poetry, essays, personal stories – max four A5 pages per person (just to stop it being too bulky!). Please make sure it’s your own work and that you haven’t published it elsewhere. When submitting artwork, please consider that because this is printed at home, colours may not come out how they look on your screen at home.

Who can contribute: people who feel that they fall under the bi umbrella (e.g. you might identify as pansexual, bisexual, panromantic, biromantic, bicurious, polysexual, etc).

Topic: there is none! I mean, it still needs to relate to bi-ness e.g. review a tv show and how it portrays bi character/s, or talk about some shit you’ve dealt with due to being bi, or write a story about a bi penguin, or draw a comic about your first crush that made you realise you were bi, or take a photo of some bi peeps (get their permission to publish that pic too please!).

Pay: AUD$5 per contributor (this is an experimental payment for this third issue to see if this is sustainable, I really want to be able to pay people for their work)

Profits (if there are any): will go to charity – all profits from all my zines and art get split between animal and human rights charities.

You can submit by sending me a message on facebook, or emailing me at khuolohan@yahoo.com.au. All contributors will get a free copy mailed out to them/to pick up :).

Please note: I will be selling this at Junky Comics, in my etsy store, and at zine fairs so if you want, feel free to use a fake name or no name if this makes you feel safer. After it has been printed and sent out, I will not be able to change these details.

Previous issues available here: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ZinesByKeira

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Call for Calls for Submissions: Spread the Word About Your Zine!

Zine Calls for Submissions

Share your call for submissions, announce your newest zine, let people know you are crowdfunding… If you have an announcement to make that has to do with zines, do it here! Sea Green Zines wants to be your megaphone. Even better? It’s an automatic shout out on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr when you advertise here.

Big fuzzy love hearts to those who have a .jpg call for subs, but all are welcome. Get in touch by emailing theauthor[at]inkyblots.com or comment below.

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Zine Review: Doris 15 DIY Anti-depression Guide

doris-15-diy-antidepression-guide-zine

Doris 15 DIY Anti-depression Guide
Cindy (except for the piss article by my sister)
http://www.dorisdorisdoris.com/

When you put the words ‘Doris’ and ‘anti-depression guide’ together, you know I’m there.

Doris 15 DIY Antidepression Guide gets off to (what I think is) the best possible start: with a comic and an acknowledgement in the very first panel that a little bit of depression is a natural part of living in this world. No, constant happiness is not a realistic expectation. It’s a small thing, but it’s nice to see that aspect of living acknowledged before we get into the nitty gritty of addressing depression.

It’s also nice to see that I’m not the only person whose handwriting wanders a bit…

Cindy has a truly unique writing style in that I always think I’ve settled down with her writing voice and where I think she’s going with things. Then, all the sudden, COFFEE! (or the like). It’s not always sudden, but this zine (and Doris zines in general) is less of a guide and more of a conversation. It wanders into all sorts of useful spaces, but if you want a 100% serious, step-by-step guide, then this might not be the zine for you.

That being said, it all comes back around to this feeling that Cindy wants you, the reader, to get more/the most out of life and living it.

I really appreciate that Doris got into the physical stuff. (Namely, UTIs and other kidney stuff that can kill you.) Yes, depression needs to be addressed through mental self-care, but being physically unwell can have a huge impact on our mental health as well. I’ve seen a lot of care guides that seem to forget that part.

I haven’t read much of Doris, but I think it’s the kind of zine you have to at least try one of. They do my head in sometimes, but I quite enjoy them.