c/diy-zine-culture

Warning: My sister's comment about my zine's cover made me trash 20 copies

She said 'it looks like you're scared to say the real thing' after seeing my personal story zine, and I had to admit I was hiding behind vague art instead of my actual words.

2 comments

amy_bailey86•18h ago

Chatting with my friend Sam about zines at the coffee shop yesterday really got me thinking.

She said she only makes zines about things that scare her a little, like her anxiety or a bad breakup. I've always stuck to safe topics like movie reviews. Hearing that made me realize I've been playing it too safe. Has anyone else started a personal zine that felt a bit risky to share?

2 comments

robin777•1d ago

Chatting with a friend at the copy shop made me think about charging for zines

I was at Kinko's last Friday, you know, making 25 copies of my new poetry zine, when my friend Leo saw the price tag. I always ask for a dollar, just to cover the paper and ink. Leo said, 'You put 40 hours into drawing those little monsters by hand, and you're only asking for a buck? That's giving it away.' He thinks we should value our time and art more, and that even a few extra dollars helps keep making them. But I've always felt like the whole point is to keep it cheap and easy to share, so anyone can grab one. Now I'm stuck thinking about it. Do you think asking for three or four dollars for a thick, hand-drawn zine is fair, or does it go against the DIY spirit?

2 comments

eric_price•1d ago

My zine about my grandma's garden got soaked in a sudden rainstorm at the park

I was trading zines at the little meetup in Greenfield Park last Saturday when a huge downpour started out of nowhere. My whole stack of 'Rosemary & Thyme', which is all drawings and stories from my grandma's garden, got completely soaked. I had to lay all 25 copies out on my kitchen table to dry, and the pages are all wavy now. Has anyone else had a zine ruined by weather and found a way to salvage it or make it part of the story?

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the_mason•6d ago

My barber asked me why I only make zines about my own life

He said, 'What if you just drew pictures of weird stuff you see on the bus?' That simple question made me start a new zine called 'Bus Window Doodles' last week. Anyone else get a random idea from a totally different person that sparked a new project?

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owens.ben•7d ago

Overheard a kid at the library say zines were 'just old internet'

I was grabbing some paper at the downtown branch and heard this high schooler tell their friend that making a zine was like building a website... but with scissors and a copy machine. It made me laugh, but then I thought about how the physical cut-and-paste, the smell of the toner, that's the whole point. Anyone else run into a totally wrong but kind of funny take on what we do?

2 comments