Legend of Haiku Zine, Part 8
Apr. 5th, 2021 05:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingIt’s done! I finally published this zine!
I posted the file for digital zine on Gumroad here:
https://gumroad.com/l/legendofhaiku
And on Google Drive here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wHKTlkrQE570yYtOhYxjPbnfBHx6KQqh/view
I also have a listing for physical copies on Etsy (here), but anyone reading this on Dreamwidth can just send me a direct message if you want me to put one in the mail to you.
Although the digital copy is completely free, I decided to charge $5 on Etsy for the physical zine, plus a separate fee for shipping. I’ve been reading about how Walmart and Amazon fuck over small businesses by undercutting prices, and I don’t want to contribute to price depression in the zine community on Etsy. Still, I’m not making money, not by a long shot. All things considered, I’m actually not sure how much I’d have to charge per zine to make money on a project like this. Between one thing and another, I think I’d probably have to charge around $15 per zine without shipping, and that’s without paying contributors or myself. It would be cheaper if I made a larger print run, but I just don’t have that sort of audience or distribution network.
This still might be something to keep in mind in the future if I decide to reprint any of my short fiction zines. I think $5 per zine without shipping is a decent price point, but I could probably go a bit higher. If nothing else, it would ensure that the people who buy the zines are actually invested in reading them.
Anyway, shipping out contributor copies was relatively painless, but I wish I had a label printer and didn’t have to write everything out by hand. That might also be something to consider in the future.
If I learned anything from this process, it’s that most people are lovely and patient and kind. I was expecting to encounter more frustration, but everyone was very chill and nice.
I also learned that it’s good to take a big project like this in baby steps until I reach a sense of critical mass and can work for longer periods as I get a better sense of what needs to be done and how best to do it. I wasn’t prepared for the incredible response I got on this project, but I’m very grateful for the support of the contributors as I muddled my way through.
Thankfully, the zine turned out to be gorgeous, so it was all worth it in the end.
I posted the file for digital zine on Gumroad here:
https://gumroad.com/l/legendofhaiku
And on Google Drive here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wHKTlkrQE570yYtOhYxjPbnfBHx6KQqh/view
I also have a listing for physical copies on Etsy (here), but anyone reading this on Dreamwidth can just send me a direct message if you want me to put one in the mail to you.
Although the digital copy is completely free, I decided to charge $5 on Etsy for the physical zine, plus a separate fee for shipping. I’ve been reading about how Walmart and Amazon fuck over small businesses by undercutting prices, and I don’t want to contribute to price depression in the zine community on Etsy. Still, I’m not making money, not by a long shot. All things considered, I’m actually not sure how much I’d have to charge per zine to make money on a project like this. Between one thing and another, I think I’d probably have to charge around $15 per zine without shipping, and that’s without paying contributors or myself. It would be cheaper if I made a larger print run, but I just don’t have that sort of audience or distribution network.
This still might be something to keep in mind in the future if I decide to reprint any of my short fiction zines. I think $5 per zine without shipping is a decent price point, but I could probably go a bit higher. If nothing else, it would ensure that the people who buy the zines are actually invested in reading them.
Anyway, shipping out contributor copies was relatively painless, but I wish I had a label printer and didn’t have to write everything out by hand. That might also be something to consider in the future.
If I learned anything from this process, it’s that most people are lovely and patient and kind. I was expecting to encounter more frustration, but everyone was very chill and nice.
I also learned that it’s good to take a big project like this in baby steps until I reach a sense of critical mass and can work for longer periods as I get a better sense of what needs to be done and how best to do it. I wasn’t prepared for the incredible response I got on this project, but I’m very grateful for the support of the contributors as I muddled my way through.
Thankfully, the zine turned out to be gorgeous, so it was all worth it in the end.
