Digital Terrarium... part one maybe?

[rynling]

While driving through the woods, I've been working with some of my favorite people to create artwork for two upcoming short fiction zines: a reprint of Terrible People (which has a horror-flavored murder mystery theme), and a new zine called Green Dreams: Dark Tales of Botanical Fantasy. In advance of flying back to the States, I also ordered reprints of some previous titles. My zines have yet to receive any attention from more traditional literary circles, but they sell well, get good reviews, and have tons of repeat buyers.

I also think my zines (and the various bookmarks and stickers and miniprints that I include with them) look amazing. I'm slowly learning more about typography, layout, and editing, and my art is gradually getting better too. Each new publication is an improvement on the last. I like to think that I'm doing good work. I spend a lot of time in indie litfic spaces, and I also think that I'm doing something that no one else is even coming remotely close to.

I'm considering starting an actual small press, which I'd like to call "Digital Terrarium." I think it might also be nice to create a magazine to go along with it. I'm extremely aware of how much work that entails, and I also understand why I am 100% the wrong person to do it. Still, what I have that I think a lot of "I'm going to start my own press" people don't are reasonable expectations. For a project like this, I also think my moss mentality is useful: slow but steady, unobtrusive and kind.

Comments

[renegadefolkhero]

I am fascinated with your zines and what I imagine the creative process must be. Not just the books themselves, but the entire package and the level of obvious care, which is a significant part of it. (Even the way you pack the book for shipping is part of it, there implicit communication not possible with edelivery.)

In my world the cover is generally divorced from the contents, so I am always taken with projects where the cover is not a means to an end (buy this for what's inside) it is just as important as the book's contents. The extras aren't really "extras" they are part of the package.

In romancelandia the closest equivalent is the bespoke hardback and there are several levels of separation between the writer and the final book, in terms of design (templates) as well as production. You design every part of your books, positive and negative space. Some authors provide stickers and bookmarks of course, but it's an "extra" like "add-on thing." It's not the same.

More than once I wondered, could I ever do my version of what rynling does? I can't! lol. I'm more of a digital or a b&w Xerox "stuffed in the back of your pocket" kind of zine guy I think. I have great respect for artists who craft the prose and art AND the papercraft cause it's a lot, and there's a synergy there that you don't get when you need to commission and you're working with a professional outside your headspace.

also that was long sorry!

[rynling]

Every once in a while I’ll fantasize about putting together a quick and dirty photocopied zine with a salty response to something I’ve read online, but xeroxing has gotten really expensive!!

Ironically, it’s now infinitely easier and cheaper to assemble everything digitally and print full-color zines with a professional service. Even if you want to skip the pay-per-copy print shop and print out everything yourself with a home printer, the cost of 50 copies of one of the zines I make is equal to the cost of 1 bw inkjet cartridge. It shouldn’t be so hard to be a nasty little hater, but paper media is dead apparently. Also I am lazy,

Back in the day though. When I worked at University of Notre Dame, I had an infinite budget for photocopies. So there I would stand, in my department building’s lovely little photocopy room, under a lovely little BDSM Jesus crucifix, making zines about everything from my mother’s cats to how much I love abortion. Thank you for your generosity, Catholic Church 🙏🌟

Anyway! I do occasionally see beautiful hardcover editions (+ merch) of self-published romance novels on Etsy and elsewhere. They're gorgeous, and I covet them intensely. Given what a shitshow tradpub has apparently become, I think learning to make something like that would be worth the investment of (more than likely) fucking up my first few attempts. Even aside from printing physical copies of an actual book, being able to navigate the market is its own skill, as is gaining a familiarity with text layout templates. I can't do either of these things, and I have nothing but admiration for people who can. I'll get there eventually, but still. The process seems truly incredible from where I'm standing now.

What I'm trying to say is that the admiration is mutual 🥂

[scrawnytreedemon]

OOOOOOOOOOO, sounds exciting!!! It's an ambitious undertaking, but I think if anyone can pull it off, it's you. Best of luck!

[rynling]

Thank you! I'm sure I'll fuck up many times, but that's just the thrill of the journey, I guess. In any case, I probably won't start doing anything until... this time next year, maybe? I am the slowest mf on the planet, but it's something to look forward to.

[rynling]

Okay I have now caught up on my "reading" page here on Dreamwidth, and I see you also recently wrote about how difficult it is to understand the market, create covers, and manage expectations. I'll reply on your post directly, but oh man. Good luck to all of us. Damn if we don't need as much of it as we can get.

If it takes me a while to post the promised reply, as I'm sure it will, the TLDR is still that I appreciate you. Despite everything, you've managed to remain a lone voice of sanity and good humor in a field that apparently drives people batshit crazy.