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The Compass Rose, Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2000 |
Heyla! I'm Aurora Nelson (aka Rea Wildfire), and I ran Don't Argue With the Voice and currently run Golden Grove.)
This booklet, or perhaps just bunch of papers stapled together--I have no idea in what form you've received this, since I give permission for anyone who wants to to photocopy this, send it to friends, etc.--is for aspiring 'zine and newsletter editors. I've put this together in an attempt to increase the number of 'zines and newsletters that stay afloat, by offering you the advice and experiences of those who made it. Or, perhaps as the case may be, what those who didn't make it felt that they did wrong. I hope it's useful for you the reader.
Many projects to help people new to Fandom, Velgarth, and personae have sprung up in the past, some more useful than others. Those dedicated toward presenting others' personae that were recognized to those who don't have any idea what a persona is, or what they're doing wrong, are a good idea. But I can't help feeling that only those who know that their persona(e) are in there are buying them . . .
I myself have personae, four recognized [Ed. Note: by Queen's Own]. I have others, but I've either never gotten around to sending them in to Judith or Robin or Linda and Kendra (past and present editors of Queen's Own), or felt that they were good enough for recognition. Or they never got sent in because I sort of felt as if four recognized personae were enough.
[Ed. Note: Paragraph detailing the four personae is skipped in this version.]
To me, being an editor is easy. But then, it also plays with skills that I love to use. Computers, writing, cut and paste . . . I think it's great. The only truly hard part is getting people to contribute. (I've found that if you beg, plead, and just plain beg everyone whose address you have--such as penpals, and people who asked about your 'zine--in Fandom to contribute, that helps a lot. I've gotten a lot of contributions that way.
Also, familiarity. People feel special when you treat them as if they're a good, close friend. It worked on me and a lot of other people and will continue to work for a long time. You get a lot of new penpals and friends this way . . . <grin>
Also, a main point of a surviving 'zine tends to be that they advertise everywhere they can. At every possible opportunity. Ceaselessly. Advertise before actually starting any real work on your 'zine is my suggestion. The constant advertising lets people know that you're still there, you haven't given up, but the year in which you do nothing allows you to build up interest and contributions. Try to send out flyers, if possible, and make sure that you have guidelines and that people know that you'll enforce them. I've found that strict guidelines actually seem to increase the number of contributions! But then, people tend to like order and not chaos.
Keep records of everything you receive and everything you do. Hang on to all letters and submissions. I recommend a special file or folder for this purpose. Also, I found a receipt book to be useful, as well as a journal specifically dedicated to DA stuff.
If you decide to start a 'zine, only make ten copies at a time. When you get down to two, then you can make more. About twenty people bought the first issue of DA, and the second issue was up to about ten before I quit. Often, however, people manage to sell less than ten issues of each issue. So don't get discouraged by these numbers; they're normal!
Don't accept money until you actually have the first issue of your publication in your hand. People get worried about their money. Oh, and people really seem to like subscriptions. If you go down that path, though, make sure that a year subscription is cheaper than buying a year's worth of issues. The cheaper the better. As for individual issue prices on 'zines, don't charge more than five dollars an issue, or you lose a lot of potential buyers . . . Two dollars is optimal, if you can mange that. Remember, if you publish stories based on someone else's world, then you may not make money. In fact, you should endeavor to lose some. The reasons why should be obvious. Also, if you're doing a 'zine, aim for twenty-five to seventy pages. Any less, and it's too short and less interesting. Any more than seventy, and it's a little unrealistic for the editor to put together, unless it's a yearly or twice-yearly.
The reason why I started a 'zine is one that I believe odd. I had planned out every aspect and was certain I could do it. I had a specific theme (quickly lost; I suggest you go for a general and not a specific theme) that I wanted to use. I was certain I could do this, and I was determined. Determination also seems to be an important part. People don't contribute right away because they've been burned by too many crashing newsletters. You have to hang in there; don't give up no matter how hard you find being an editor to be.
The reason why I took over the newsletter Golden Grove was because initially I was helping the editor of said newsletter. And, well, stuff happened, and the editor vanished off the face of the planet. I waited a long time, and since I had everything needed to restart it, plus previous experience, I did so. (Newsletters are also a lot easier than 'zines. :->)
The last thing I have to say involves what I think that people like to see in a 'zine or newsletter. Convention listings, friendly editorials about familiar subjects (as if the editor were writing a letter to a friend), stories (two pages max for a newsletter, two to twelve pages in a 'zine), and lots of good pictures. The last is actually the hardest to get for your publication. You have to ask people you know to be good to contribute rather than assume people who draw (not to be confused with artists) will contribute.
So anyway, I hope this helps and that you find this booklet useful. Zhai'helleva & Temar'Zhre!
Hi, I'm Cassandra Vuksa, editor of the newsletter "Austral'a'in" and the 'zine People of the South (plus several other 'zines in the works, but we won't go into that now . . . )
I actually started writing "Austral'a'in" sort-of by accident. I was doing a Technical Writing course at University, and I had to write a report on something--and I decided to do a feasibility study on opening a chapter of Queen's Own (QO) here in Australia. The first thing I did was get in touch with Judith Louvis [Ed. note: who was president of Queen's Own at that time] and ask her how many Australian members she had in Queen's Own and ask her to send each of them an ad that I gave her. She was a great help, and through her and my penpals I got in touch with ten or fifteen people who were interested in joining an Australian chapter.
The next thing I did was make up a survey, which I sent to them, asking what people were interested in seeing in the newsletter, suggestions for names, and so on. It was Fiona Forrester who suggested "Austral'a'in" as a corruption of both Latin and Shin'a'in, and I liked it. It was there htat I also decided on the format I have now: Introduction, Reviews, Penpal Ads & Personals, Stories, Poems, Other Stuff (recipes, crosswords, etc.), Disclaimer. I won't always have all of these in there, but it gives me a basic outline for what I do have.
Once I had enough subscriptions for a few issues of the newsletter (which I shamelessly modeled on the QO format--six pages, disclaimer at the end, intro at the beginning), I put together a sample, whcih I sent free to everyone who had completed the survey, as well as to anyone who asked. (I actually will still send the first issue free to anyone who's interested, which costs me a lot in the long run but wins peoples' trust.) Most of the people who'd done the survey joined for a year.
Since then people have come and gone, but our numbers have been fairly stable, and I'm satisfied with that. I would be just as happy with two or three times the members (I could distribute to a hundred comfortably before I started running into problems), but I can still produce good work with what I have. The newsletter is now eight pages with a piece of cover art on each issue.
After I'd been running the newsletter for just over a year, I looked back at the submissions I'd had and realized that I had enough for a substantial sized 'zine, which is how People of the South came about. But that, and any other 'zines I may produce, is incidental to the main work, which is the newsletter.
Advice for people starting out? Decide how many people you're willing to accept as a minimum membership, then wait till you have at least that number interested before you produce anything (and before they pay). Get submissions off everyone--write what extra you need yourself (Create personas for the stuff you write if you don't want it to be obvious that you did it!). Make a deadline and stick to it because people trust editors who get their projects out on time. A post office box is useful--it makes you look more professional and stops you from swamping your parents with mail--but isn't required.
It is far easier to run a newsletter of six to eight pages once every month and a half than it is to produce a 'zine of fifty pages four times--or even twice--a year. (At least it is if you're organized, but that's required anyway!) There is no way I could have made People of the South without having run the newsletter first. A lot of people seem to try and make 'zines work first, and while some pull it off, others don't.
[Ed. note: Paragraph about personas created by Cassandra Vuksa deleted in this version.]
Why so many [personas]? Remember what I said about writing stuff yourself when you don't have enough submissions?? *grin* There was a bit of that going on there for a while, but lately I have been writing for the pleasure of it--I have enough fanfic by other people to keep the newsletter running for another year or more. And that's exactly what I plan to do. Looking for a newsletter to join? (heh, heh) Write to me at
Austral'a'in
c/o Cassandra Vuksa
P.O. Box 1850
Woden ACT 2606
Australia
As editor of Companion's Choice . . . , I've been messing around with newsletters for about two years, and I definitely think I've learned a few things since I started my little newsletter off the ground with one loyal subscriber and little more.
The best thing I could tell anyone who thinks that they want to start their own newsletter is that it takes time. Whatever kind of newsletter or 'zine you decide to do, it will take ten times the amount of time that you think it will. It's not all fun and games, either. You will beg people to submit. You will beg them to submit anything, up to and including their Chemistry lab from last week with the names of chemicles changed to those of Hawkbrothers. In my experience, there are always one or two wonderful people who keep you supplied with material to print, but what about the other twenty people who get your fledgling newsletter? Be prepared to publish lots of your own stuff.
One thing that I found to be very helful was to advertise well before actually putting out my first newsletter. That gave people the opportunity to submit things and for me to figure out just what type of format my newborn newsletter was going to have. Also, if you don't get a lot of feedback from your advertising, it's not too late to back out or alter your ideas.
I think another key is organization. That has been the hardest part of running a newsletter for me. You have to make sure that you don't lose anyone's address, lose track of their dues, remember to send things back that people want returned to them, and get every newsletter or 'zine out on time. It's difficult, time consuming, and at times stressful, but there are wonderful things about running a newsletter as well. If you are ready to put up with all the problems that come with it, you'll get to know wonderful people and read some really superb writing.
My name is Laura Cameron, a twenty-six year old feminist college grad with delusions to be an artist/writer, since nothing else seems to suit me. After a few years working in the mundane world, I want to get away from it as much as possible! I enjoy reading various genres and subjects, especially mythology, whcih is reflected in my artwork. I'm a budding Amazon.com addict--watch out!
[Ed. note: Paragraph on persona deleted in this version.]
"The Collegium Chronicles", edited and published colely by yours truly, is a bimonthly newsletter sent out to members of the Pacific Northwest Collegium, a local branch of the Mercedes Lackey Fan Club (Queen's Own). PNWC is going on seven years--one of the longest running local chapters of the national fan club. After taking over the reins from former editor/president Charlene Ryan, I hope to keep the fan club running as long as there's interest in it. The address of publication is:
The Collegium Chronicles
Editor: Laura Cameron
anjakiya@hotmail.com
[Ed. note: You can find this information online at http://www.dragonlordsnet.com/danyacc.htm.]
Running a newsletter/fanclub takes an enormous amount of energy and time. I probably should charge more per newsletter, but if I do that, I won't have any readers! It's more a labor of love, and it's a chance to hook up with people with similar interests. I was lucky that I didn't have to start the "Chronicles" from scratch; I already had an established readership and a basic format. After six years, the former editor decided to let someone else have a go. I volunteered because I hated to see PNWC fold up after so many years, and I had access to a computer and scanner. It's been great fun as well as frustrating to see what I can do to improve upon the original. I have the former editor's help, and we e-mail each other back and forth with ideas. The hardest part is getting people to submit quality as well as quantity. Oftentimes, I wait until the last moment before finishing the newsletter, hoping that someone will have been bitten by the creative bug at the last minute. My advice to would-be editors: advertise! Make up a snappy brochure about your newsletter/'zine and what your goals and requirements are. Figure out who your audience is and what they would like to see in your publication. Attend conventions, writing workshops, or classes. In my case, I visit the local libraries and bookstores or conventions with a stack of brochures that contain a bibliography o fMercedes Lackey's books--plus a little blurb explaining what PNWC is about. About half the people I talk to are willing to participate, and the other half are willing to just read the newsletter. I try to give people a variety of things to keep their interest and encourage feedback.
The first few issues are always the hardest. Be patient, and don't be afraid to tinker with the format or requirements until you settle on what works. Most people like variety (I know I do), lots of pictures and an easy-to-read format. Nobody likes small print! The average newsletter should take about ten minutes to read through, if that. One last thing: be prepared for long hours and frenzied nailbiting when everything goes wrong. Give yourself plenty of time to work (and sleep and eat). Don't procrastinate like I do and wait until the last minute!
This booklet is not-for-profit and intended only as a guide to help aspiring editors of preferably non-profit publications. If you are an editor and wish to have an article added in the next publication, please use the e-mail address evillurking@gmail.com". [Ed. note: Use "Sink or Swim" on the subject line.]
This booklet was created/compiled by Amber Aurora C. Nelson aka Temar'Rea Wildfire McLeod. No infringements of anyone's copyrights are intended. Reproduction and sharing of this booklet is allowed.
Address of publication is PMB #189, 2843 Hopyard Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588, USA. Questions or comments, e-mail evillurking@gmail.com".
If you have any problems with this booklet, please contact the source from which you received it.
Date of first publication of this booklet: Summer 1998.
Date of second publication: Spring 1999.
To order a complete copy of Sink or Swim send $1.50 (Checks payable to "Aurora Nelson") to
Aurora Nelson
PMB #189
2843 Hopyard Road
Pleasanton, CA 94588
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