Free press fanzine advice?

jdrakeh · 4th February 2009, 05:43 AM

I have some free time right now due to some health issues, so I figured that I'd put some of my insomnia and other mental craziness to positive use — giving my own free press fanzine a go!

If you've done this thing (or are doing it), do you have any suggestions? What 'zines might I want to check out for examples of "how to" and "how not to" as my friend, Jon, says?

I have a fair amount of clip art purchased over the years, as well as several desktop publishing tools. I figured that I'd probably start with a two-page PDF 'zine and distribute it via a dedicated website.

Really, though, I know that I need to check out other such 'zines (e.g., Iridia) for workable formats, content presentation, etc. Does anybody have suggestions in this regard? I'd be happy to hear them all.

Thanks, again, in advance of any advice that you may have to offer.

Khuxan · 4th February 2009, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdrakeh

If you've done this thing (or are doing it), do you have any suggestions? What 'zines might I want to check out for examples of "how to" and "how not to" as my friend, Jon, says?

I've never published a zine, but I've subscribed to Iridia and 1001+1 Nights. Here are my suggestions:

Start off small, and keep it small until you know you can make deadlines.
Make and keep deadlines - make them as long as you want, but stick to them.
Before publishing your zines, build up a backlog of three or four - that way you can keep your deadline if you find yourself particularly busy.
Keep your layout simple. When one's reading something only two pages long, it gets really annoying having to flick back and forth.
Don't go overboard on the clip art.
Write about whatever you like at the start, and then narrow it based on feedback.
Release it under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives-Noncommercial license so people can share it about.

That's all I can think of at the moment. I hope it helps!

P.S. If you want specifics, I'd be really interested in you writing some more on Dragons of the East.

jdrakeh · 4th February 2009, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khuxan

P.S. If you want specifics, I'd be really interested in you writing some more on Dragons of the East.

Heh. Yeah, I should probably finish that up first, eh?

FWIW, usually, how fast (or if) I work on public projects is directly proportionate to expressed public interest (and you're the first person to mention Dragons of the East for a while).

Khuxan · 4th February 2009, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdrakeh

Heh. Yeah, I should probably finish that up first, eh?

FWIW, usually, how fast (or if) I work on public projects is directly proportionate to expressed public interest (and you're the first person to mention Dragons of the East for a while).

Since you're on that topic, I think you should post a link on the website to the thread where Dragons of the East was first discussed. That way, people who visit your site will visit the thread and maybe revive some interest.

I'm subscribed to a thing called: "Let's Read the AD&D Monster Manual" over at RPG.net. Just today, they were discussing Japanese mummies - Buddhist monks who poison and starve themselves over several years until they have no body fat and their body is too toxic for maggots. Then they - with the assistance of their fellow monks - embalm themselves and die of starvation. They hoped to become Boddhivistas in death. The mummy rot they spread could be seen as replication of their own self-mummification - enforced enlightenment.

jdrakeh · 4th February 2009, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khuxan

Since you're on that topic, I think you should post a link on the website to the thread where Dragons of the East was first discussed. That way, people who visit your site will visit the thread and maybe revive some interest.

Good idea!

Quote:

I'm subscribed to a thing called: "Let's Read the AD&D Monster Manual" over at RPG.net. Just today, they were discussing Japanese mummies - Buddhist monks who poison and starve themselves over several years until they have no body fat and their body is too toxic for maggots. Then they - with the assistance of their fellow monks - embalm themselves and die of starvation. They hoped to become Boddhivistas in death. The mummy rot they spread could be seen as replication of their own self-mummification - enforced enlightenment.

Well, that's what I've been working on most recently — reinterpreting OD&D monster stat blocks via a lense of Eastern myth. Assuming that I'm stuck inside again tomorrow, I may get a chance to finish that up.