S’mores Special Segment: What is a Zine?

In this week’s letter, I would like to introduce readers to the world of zines (short for fan magazine!) Zines are often created as a showcase of fan content for certain specific topics such as a video game, tv show, or even combinations of different media. These projects are usually hosted by a small team of artists or independently depending on the scale of the zine’s outcome and goals.

As an example, let’s take a look at the recently completed Sheer Cold Pokemon Zine: a zine dedicated to ice type Pokemon! Zines can have many different goals that range from simply celebrating and sharing fan content to raising funds for charity, such as with Sheer Cold. All profits made from zine and fan merchandise purchases will go towards donating to the Ocean Conservatory, a charity focused on the wellbeing of marine ecosystems. Sheer Cold has been in development for almost a year, and is currently in the production stage where all of the artists’ contributions are formatted properly into a magazine template and are either shipped to buyers in physical form, or downloaded in a PDF file for readers to enjoy.

The typical zine creation process is as follows:

Idea and Interest Check – An interest check, usually in the form of a public poll or post, gauges whether or not the idea has a big enough audience to warrant starting the creation of a zine.
Mod Applications – For bigger zine projects, a zine will need a team of people to handle things like promotion, supervising the artists and writers, and handling project finances.
Artist/Writer Applications – Now it’s time to recruit the creators! Artists and writers can apply to contribute art, stories, and merchandise for the project.
Zine Creation Period – The selected artists will privately be given assignments with a set deadline. The creation period typically lasts 2-3 months to allow the most time for every contribution to be completed before the next step.
Preorders – For physically manufactured zines that intend to raise funds, interested buyers will be prompted to preorder the zine (along with any merchandise included) so the team has an idea of how many copies need to be created.
Production – The zine is properly formatted and sent to be manufactured for shipping. For digital only zines, a PDF is created for purchase/free download along with digital merchandise like wallpapers, emojis, and profile icons.
Donation/Payment – For charity or profit oriented zines, the money earned from purchases at the end of the project will be either donated to a selected charity or used to compensate every contributor that joined the project.

While there are many steps left out of this list, this is the standard process required for any zine to be successful. Following artistic projects like these is a great way to interact with others who share similar interests and ideas as you. Getting to be involved in zines can be excellent art experience while building a portfolio, while also working towards a good cause!

Campside Diary: Entry 4

June 1, 2023 – Happy Pride Month! Remember that no matter what you identify as, you will be loved by the right people, and you will always have a place in this world. Stay safe and celebrate yourself!

The search for employment continues! I’m hoping to save enough money to buy my own furniture and other things for my room, as well as money for gifts for various occasions. It’s unfortunate that many don’t feel secure without having a lot of funds saved up for the future. As we advance our technology more and more, life just gets so much more expensive to maintain. I’m grateful to have the support of many friends and family members, so I won’t let expenses keep me down!