Young Writers Society

This is a project to compile works of a literary nature into a 12-page B&W zine that will be printed and distributed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It may also be printed elsewhere if somebody else does it too.


Q: What's a zine?
A: Google is your friend.

Q: What for?
A: What's anything for?

Q: How much will this cost?
A: It doesn't matter. I can print it pretty cheaply. I'll start off with 100 prints to give away to all and sundry, and I'll release the digital file with instructions on how to fold and staple the pages into a zine.

Q: What do I have to do to get in on the ground floor?
A: Reply to this thread, claiming a page. Only one page per person. Be aware that there's a deadline. However, you only need to write one page, so it's not super difficult.
Deadline is New Year's Eve, but like, I'm sure we'll get finished before that. *fingers crossed*

Q: How much do I need to write?
A: Enough to fill one page. I'll size it up accordingly, but be aware that if your page sizes are too large, the text might come out really small. The final dimensions of your page will be exactly half an A4 sized sheet, or 4.25" x 5.5".

Q: Can I include pictures?
A: Of course! Make your page however you want in any format, and then PM me the final layout and I'll make sure it gets printed right. It will be black and white, though, and some pictures with low contrast may not look right.

Q: Will there be more zines?
A: Maybe, who knows? I just want to focus on getting this one done and dusted for now.

The exact why of this all is that I wanted to reconnect to a bunch of you guys that I haven't spoken to since 2011. And I figured there was no better way than to do it over our mutual hobby/lifework/careers...writing. I never went on to be an author, but I enjoyed writing and still do, and I know you guys do too.

Here are the peeps so far!

1. @Jenthura
2. @Jash
3. @Skins
4. @Demeter
5. @Lava
6. @Kyllorac
7. @Strident
8.
9.
10.
11. Front cover
12. Back cover

I forgot to add how to submit! Just post it like you normally would on YWS in whatever category it falls under. Post a link here to this thread, along with any specifications you might have for the page layout. I'll post each page as they're finished here.
If you want to just email me a doc or pdf, you can email jenthura@gmail.com

Some things to think about:
Font
Images
Page layout, you may need to stitch what you want your page to look like for me so I get it right.

Remember that this isn't a normal book or magazine, you can do whatever you want! If you want it to look like a page torn from a newspaper, or a shattered mirror with all the words duplicated across the page, you can do that! If I can print it, it works.

Additional edit: Please consider subscribing to this post so that you get all the updates! Also smash that like button in the face!

I FANGIRLED OVER SKINS AND DEMETER OMGIE GUYS LEZDHOOODIZ I'M SO HAPPY FOR THIS PROJECT LIKE I CAN'T BECAUSE IT'S BEEN LIKE FIVE, SIX YEARS OMGIIIIIIIIE.

Okay. I'm breathing normally now. Anyway, will there be a theme?

No theme planned. If a majority of us want one then we should definitely do that. I believe it should just be as loose and free as possible, with no regards towards being themed.

Ooh hai Jenth this might be a fun way to get some writing done! Also, hi @Demeter!

Added you, @Lava!

Ok, I did a bit of experimenting. I made a sample zine very simply, from my own printer instead of at a print shop. Learned quite a few things.


^
The font is 10.5 pt Arial. A bit too small for my preference. I think for my piece I'll try 18 pt with a little more line spacing.



^
The staples were put in backwards. I actually pierced and bent these by hand. I need this stapler to do it properly.



^
I miscounted how many pages I'll end up with. It's 3 pieces of paper, with 12 total pages after folding. However, two of those are covers, so I guess we only need 10 people now.



^
I'll need a wider margin in the middle, probably about a full inch.


So far looking good! I'll do some more tests when we get out first page so I can see exactly what it would look like.

*screaming and claiming*

I think a theme would be a good idea, but however it winds up going, count me in!

(Psst! One inch margins are standard, though you also have to account for what's called bleed, which is where things get folded/trimmed. The minimum bleed is typically 1/8 of an inch, which you could probably get away with adding only to the inner margins in addition to the basic margins since it's such a small zine.)

Kyllorac wrote:*screaming and claiming*

I think a theme would be a good idea, but however it winds up going, count me in!

(Psst! One inch margins are standard, though you also have to account for what's called bleed, which is where things get folded/trimmed. The minimum bleed is typically 1/8 of an inch, which you could probably get away with adding only to the inner margins in addition to the basic margins since it's such a small zine.)

HIIIIII! :O Maybe we can ditch the theme for this one, but if (because come on! who knows?) this becomes like a bi-annual thing or something, themes would be good!

Also, Jen! If each of us does the layout on our own, there would be a variety of fonts. Is this okay with you, or are you adding requirements so there's unity in the format?

@Kyllorac
Added you! Thanks for the advice with the bleed. I've never done this before, so all advice is defs welcome.

@Jashael
I think as many fonts as you want is fine. With only 12 pages, it's not that much work to customize each one.
I'm also hoping we could make this annual or whatever, so maybe in the future we can theme it up and add restrictions to fonts.

Also, I got a nice big stapler designed to put together booklets.

Nice Post G

Heya, may I claim a page?

@Strident Of course! I'll add you!

@sajjad Thanks!

@Jenthura, will there be a digi copy of this which we can give away to everyone who wants to read it?

@Jashael Yes indeed! I'll put a link in this thread with a download of the final .pdf. I'm hazarding a guess that most printers will not like the weird nature of zines (one side of the page has to be upside down to the other side) so I'll probably release the .pdf as several versions just in case.