Self- Publi s hi ng

Empowerment
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Res ourc e for Communi t y Groups
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I N T R O D U C T I O N
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O Z I N E S
Z I N E - M A K I N G WO R K S H O P S
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O B L O G S
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O
P R I N T - O N - D E M A N D A N D
C O M M U N I T Y P U B L I S H I N G
C O N C L U D I N G T H O U G H T S
R E S O U R C E S
C O N T R I B U T O R S
C o n t e n t s
1
5
1 4
3 2
5 4

6 9
7 0
7 5
Words and concept by Deborah M. Wi t hers
De s i g n a nd l ay out by Mi c ha l C. Wi l l i a m
w w w . s e m i - s q u a r e . c o . u k
1
I n t r o d u c t i o n
Tis booklet introduces various forms of self-
publishing that are available for groups and indi-
viduals working in low-budget contexts.
For those of you who are new to self-publishing
and wonder how it can be useful to a project you
are working on, it is, potentially, limitless in scope.
Self-publishing can cover a broad range of topics,
genres, mediums and styles and can be adapted to
the requirements of a project or situation. It can be
creative or autobiographical; feature illustrations
or comics; draw upon life and community history;
be digital or more traditionally produced. Most
importantly, it can be used to communicate ideas
that are important to particular groups, challenge
misrepresentation and create space for self-defned
expression.
In short, self-publishing is empowering and can
help people get their voices heard. For marginal-
ised groups and individuals, self-publishing can
help create visibility, making an opportunity for
people to connect with other peoples experienc-
es. Tis may help them feel less isolated in their
own lives. It can help in challenging stereotypes
through letting people represent themselves in
their own words. Self-publishing helps create
community.
Ofen, publishing is thought of something beyond
the scope of the everyday person. It is something
that only people who have lots of money and time
2
can aford. Having the time to write, research,
draw and be creative is for many still a luxury.
Nevertheless, if people have a burning desire to
say something, they are going to fnd ways to say
it. If they have taken the time to create a piece of
writing or a comic strip they are going to need a
platform to distribute it, and there are many such
avenues available at a low or no-budget cost for
the eager cultural producer.
Tis is not to assume that you have already
produced what it is you want to self-publish.
If you had done that then this resource prob-
ably would have not caught your eye. Nor
do you need to know what you want to
say before you think about the possibili-
ties of self-publishing. Ofen what we say
emerges in the publishing process, in the
act of doing. Te possibility makes space
for untapped creativity to be released.
Self-publishing is about realising
that what we can say does matter.
Our experiences are important
and others may think so too. Self-
publishing allows us to share this
with friends and people who may
become our friends. Te tools of
self-publishing themselves are
here to help you explore your
own creativity and ideas. Here
lies the connection between
self-publishing and empow-
erment.
S E L F - P U B L I S H I N G
CAN BE E MP OWE RI NG
F O R A N Y O N E A N D
E S P E C I A L L Y F O R
MARGI NAL I SE D GROU P S.
I T I S A G R E A T B O O S T
F OR THE SE L F -E STE E M
T O R E A L I S E T H A T Y O U
CAN DO SOME THI NG F OR
YOU RSE L F .
I T I S ALSO I MP ORTANT
F OR MARGI NALI SED GROUP S
TO B E VI S I B L E AND S E L F -
P UBLI SHI NG I S AN EXCELLENT
TOOL F OR THI S.
AMY SP ENCER
AUTHOR OF
DI Y THE RI SE OF LO-FI CU L TU RE
3
T h e f o r ma t o f t h i s b o o k l e t
Tese days, there are many diferent ways that
groups and individuals can self-publish their
ideas. Tis booklet acts as an introduction to
three types of self-publishing that can be
easily utilised by community groups.
While these formats have diferent
things to ofer, and each can open
up diferent possibilities for cre-
ativity and communication,
they are all relatively low-
budget, accessible, and
user-friendly.
My
hope
is that,
with the
information
in this book-
let, this will be-
come more so, and
community groups
will have practical and
creative frameworks where
they can apply their use. I am
assuming that the reader of this
booklet is totally unfamiliar with
any of the information I am present-
ing, so it has a fairly back to basics
tone, to ensure maximum usability.
4
Te good news for people interested in self-pub-
lishing is that there is a massive wealth of resourc-
es available in print and online media, in books
and in audio visual forms. People involved in self-
publishing usually want to spread the word and
help others to also express themselves. You will
fnd that many of these resources are either free
(online) or available at a low-cost.
Tis booklet is split into sections that focus on
these three diferent formats:
Z I N E S
B L O G S
P R I N T - O N - DE M A N D B O O K P U B L I S H I N G
Each section will include the following:
A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O T H E F O R M A T
A N D I T S H I S T O R Y
A D V I C E O N H O W T O D O I T
I N S P I R I N G A D V I C E F R O M P E O P L E A N D
G R O U P S , A N D P R O F I L E S O F I N T E R E S T I N G
P R O JE C T S
F U R T H E R R E S O U R C E S A N D R E A D I N G
I D E A S F O R W O R K S H O P S
5
I n t r o d u c t i o n t o z i n e s
Zines (short for fanzines or magazines, and pro-
nounced zeen) are physical, printed, self-publi-
cations. Tere is no limit to the length of a zine,
they can be 1 page or over 100.
Zines are cheap to produce and reproduce. Tey
can be as basic or as fancy as you want them to
be. Tey can be made with materials such as scis-
sors, glue and a pen, or using computers and de-
sign programmes. Tey can be in black or white
or colour; on paper, cardboard, or a combination
of the two.
Zines are usually reproduced us-
ing a photocopier, but can also be
reproduced using other printing
methods, such as ofset and let-
terpress printing. Tey are col-
lated with staples, or bound
with wool or thread.
You can get very creative
with zine design, and
make them as unique as
you want them to be.
A zine will ultimately
reflect the desires
and ambitions of the
person or group of
people who make it.
E A C H A N D E V E R Y Z I N E
I S U T T E R L Y U N I QU E A N D
C O N V E Y S T H E P A S S I O N
A N D I N T E R E S T S O F I T S
M A K E R S . T H E Y R E F L E C T
T H E T H O U G H T S , I D E A S ,
O P I N I O N S , S T R U G G L E S A N D
J O Y S O F L O T S O F D I F F E R E N T
P E O P L E , F R O M D I F F E R E N T
B A C K G R O U N D S A N D A G E S , A S
T H E Y G O A B O U T T H E I R D A I L Y
L I V E S A N D C O M M U N I T I E S .
RE D CH I D G E Y
Z I N E WO R K S H O P F A C I L I T A T O R
6
G E T T I N G Y O U R W O R D S ,
YO U R VO I CE , AR T, P AS S I O NS ,
E X P E R I E N C E S , L I F E O U T
THE RE , ON YOU R OWN TE RMS
AND TO YOU R OWN ME ANS,
T H A T S E MP O WE R ME N T .
EXP RE SSI NG, SHARI NG AND
SHOWI NG THAT WE AL L
AS I NDI VI DU AL S HAVE ,
THAT S E MP OWE RME NT.
ME L A N I E MA D D I S O N
E D I T O R O F A R T
Z I N E , C O L O U R I N G
O U T S I D E TH E L I N E S
Zines have
been around
for awhile, ofen
existing under
a diferent name.
Political pamphlets,
for example, have
been circulating since
the 18th century. Tese
publications bear more
than a passing resem-
blance to zines as cheaply
produced, short publications.
Chapbooks, a small booklet used
to disseminate popular culture in
the 16th 19th centuries,
is also similar to the zine.
7
Zines as a tool for communication
Like all media, zines are a tool for commu-
nication. Where they difer from books,
television and magazines, is that zines
have consistently been used to build
community amongst groups who may
not have their interests represented in
the dominant media.
From the 1930s science fction fanzine
community in the USA to the punk movement
of the late 1970s, zines have been used to build
connections which enable correspondence
between communities of interest at a grass-
roots level. Due to their low-cost nature,
they have been a vehicle for circulating
ideas, ofen facilitating the growth of social
movements and subcultures.
Zine making has thrived within communities
that take a Do It Yourself (DIY) approach to
culture making. DIY in this context does not mean
putting up shelves and doing handiwork around
the house. DIY, in the words of Belgian zine and
comic maker Nina Nijsten, is about reclaiming
autonomy, creative freedom, making your life and
the world as you want it to be, getting confdence
from doing/making things [happen].
8
You do not have to subscribe to DIY principles in order to exploit the
potential of zines within your community group or networks. Never-
theless, Ninas description of DIY provides important insights into what
makes zine-making special. Te creative freedom that Nina outlines is
a major attraction of zines. Zines can really be about anything, from the
weird to the wonderful and then back again.
Zine workshop facilitator, Red Chidgey, writes
about the fexibility of zines for those that
use them: a zine is a tool of permission: it
authorizes its maker to say what they like,
how they like it, and no one can censor
that. Because zines fourish through a
no-rules approach, it means there's an
incredible scope for folk to engage in
zine making in the way that suits
them best. Some might like to write
stories, or create a cut and paste
collage from magazines, or draw
stick fgure comics. Tere's
room for any and every ability
and form of expression. As a
means of self-refecting and shap-
ing identity, zines are also useful tools for
disadvantaged members of society because the zine
will be about their truths, their expression - it's incredibly
empowering.
Tis empowering aspect of zines could be highlighted in community
publishing projects that use the zine format. By making zines there
is the potential to increase the zine makers confdence in their own
abilities, creative voice and perspectives. Zines also readdress cultural
imbalances by putting diferent voices into the world.
CONTENTS CAN
BE ANYTHI NG YOU
LI KE: P ERSONAL
STORI ES, P OLI TI CAL
I DEOLOGI ES, MUSI C
RELATED WRI TI NG,
GARDENI NG TI P S,
JOKES, LI STS OF THI NGS
YOU LI KE OR DON T LI KE,
TRAVEL STORI ES, COMI CS,
P HOTOGRAP HY, F I CTI ON,
DRAWI NGS AND ANYTHI NG
ELSE YOU CAN THI NK OF .
AL E X WR E K K
AUTHOR OF ZI NE RESOURCE GUI DE,
TH E ST O L E N SH A R P I E
RE VO L U T I O N
9
C o u n t e r i n g i s o l a t i o n
Zine making can help counter isolation among
groups of people whose experiences are not being
represented elsewhere.
Due to their low-
budget nature, these
zines can then be cheap-
ly shared amongst friends
that helps create connections
and community.
Although zines have a strong DIY,
low/no budget ethos, and have fourished
within certain communities, they should
not be seen as belonging to particular sub-
cultures, or groups of people. Tere is something
in zines that are, and should be, for everyone. Te
maker, or makers, can take the form where they
want to go with it. Zines are full of possibility.
Wrekk writes, zines are made by a diverse spec-
trum of people throughout the world and from
all ages and walks of life. People who make zines
can build and participate in communities that cel-
ebrate the tangible written word and support each
others eforts to do so.
Zines are a very simple concept. It enables groups
and individuals to collect writing, drawings,
ephemera from day to day life such as shopping
lists or notes and put them in a publication to
share with others.
P E O P L E ( F O R E X A MP L E Y O U T H ) WH O P E R H A P S
F E E L L I K E T H E Y A R E T H E O N L Y O N E S
T O B E E X P E R I E N C I N G WH A T T H E Y A R E
E X P E R I E N C I N G , O R T H I N K I N G WH A T T H E Y
A R E T H I N K I N G H A VE T H E O P P O R T U N I T Y
T O F O R M A N E T WO R K S & C O MMU N I T Y
T H R O U G H Z I N E S , A N D R E A L I S E
T H E Y A R E N O T A L O N E .
ME L I S S A ST E I N E R
CH E R R Y B O MB CO MI C S
10
Inspiring examples of proj ects
World Comics
World Comics are an International Development
organisation based in Finland. Tey work in
countries throughout India and Africa, facilitat-
ing comic drawing workshops with local activists.
Te organisation helps activists who have very
little or no experience in drawing to learn in a few
days how to put their ideas across using comic
wallposters (a comic strip told on one side of a
piece of A3 paper).
World Comics ofen work with people with
little or no formal training in comic drawing or
illustration. Tey use peoples experiences of life
in their community as a starting point, not their
expertise in the art form.
11
Telling stories
through comics
enables commu-
nities to share in-
formation about the
issues afecting them
using a grassroots, low-
budget form of commu-
nication. It also empowers
people to tell their stories
on their own terms.
World Comics has a wealth of
resources on their website, as well
as an impressive documentation of
the projects they have initiated so
far. Teir book, Grassroots Comics: A
Development Communication Tool, is
available free online and in hard copy if
you contact them through their website,
www.worldcomics.f
WE A L WA Y S E MP H A S I S E T H A T T H E
S T O R Y I S T H E MA I N T H I N G , A N D A L L
C O MMU N I T Y A C T I VI S T S H A VE A L O T
O F S T O R I E S . WE S A Y : Y O U R S T O R Y
MU S T B E I N T E R E S T I N G A N D R E F L E C T
Y O U R O P I N I O N S . I F Y O U R S T O R Y I S
E N G A G I N G , I T D O E S N ' T MA T T E R I F
T H E D R A WI N G I S N O T P E R F E C T . WE
S E E I T I N A L L P L A C E S WH E R E WE
R U N WO R K S H O P S - P E O P L E WH O
T H I N K T H E Y C A N N O T D R A W
E N D U P MA K I N G C O MI C S T H A T
T H E I R N E I G H B O U R S MA R VE L
A T ( N O T T H E D R A WI N G ,
B U T T H E S T O R Y ) . MO S T
P E O P L E C A N D R A W I N A
B A S I C MA N N E R , I F TH E Y
A R E MO T I VA T E D T O
C O ME O U T WI T H
T H E I R S T O R Y .
L E I F P A C K A L E N
WO R L D CO M I C S
12
Melanie Maddison, Colouring Outside the Lines
Since August 2005, prolifc zine maker and editor
Melanie Maddison has been self-publishing her
interview based zine, Colouring Outside the Lines.
Te zine is a treasure chest of interviews with
contemporary female artists, challenging the idea
that art is an elite practise done only by men. She
has also been the main editor for Reassess your
Weapons, a zine by the Leeds-based feminist
collective, Manifesta.
1. I F YOU RE MAKI NG A ZI NE COLLABORATI VELY,
OR THAT I NVOLVES THE I NPUT OF OTHERS
(WHETHER THEY BE I NTERVI EWEES, ARTI CLE
WRI TERS, ETC) EXPECT TO OVERSHOOT
YOUR DEADLI NE - FOLKS GET BUSY/COLD
F EET/WRI TER S BLOCK/HAVE THEI R
OWN LI VES AND DEADLI NES.
2. ALWAYS SEND FEEDBACK
AND ENCOURAGEMENT ABOUT
PEOPLE S SUBMI SSI ONS. PEOPLE
NOT ONLY NEED TO KNOW
THAT YOU RECEI VED THEI R
WORDS/WORK, BUT ALSO
N E E D T H E S U P P O R T
O F AN E DI TO R . TH I S
AS P E CT, I B E L I E VE ,
M E L A N I E M A D D I S O N S T O P S I X E D I T I N G T I P S
13
I S COMMUNI TY BUI LDI NG I N I TSELF - FORGI NG
CREATI VE RELATI ONSHI PS, ENCOURAGI NG FURTHER
CONTRI BUTI ONS, LETTI NG PEOPLE KNOW THEY RE
VALUED, THAT THEI R VOI CES ARE I MPORTANT.
3. DON T UNDERESTI MATE THE POWER OF
CONTACTI NG (PESTERI NG! ) FOLKS YOU D LI KE
TO WRI TE FOR/FEATURE I N THE ZI NE. MORE
THAN L I KE L Y, F OL KS WI L L BE HONOU RE D
AND THRI L L E D TO BE THOU GHT OF AND
APPROACHED.
4. WHI LE YOU ARE AN EDI TOR I N NAME,
NEVER EDI T PEOPLE S WORK - YOU RE
THERE TO FACI LI TATE, ENCOURAGE AND
CO-ORDI NATE; NOT CONTROL I T.
5. ENCOURAGE CONTRI BUTORS TO
I NCLUDE AN EMAI L SO THAT READERS CAN
FURTHER JOI N THE CONVERSATI ON/
GE T I N TOU CH F OR F U RTHE R
THOUGHTS/ADVI CE. SI MI LARLY,
RESPECT CONFI DENTI ALI TY TO THE
UPMOST - I F PEOPLE WANT THEI R
ARTI CLE/CONTRI BUTI ON TO BE
ANON, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.
6. ENCOURAGE CONTRI BUTI ONS
F R O M A S WI D E A R A N G E O F
PEOPLE AS POSSI BLE.
14
z i n e - m a k i n g w o r k s h o p s
Basic zine-making workshop for a group
1 facilitator : 8-12 participants.
Tis workshop is best run over two four-hour sessions. Te
aim of this workshop is to collectively produce a basic, A5
zine and provide participants with skills in zine making.
I N T R O D U C T I O N / W H A T I S A Z I N E ?
Assuming that your audience has never heard of or seen one,
present open questions in the introductory session that enable
the group to fnd out what they think a zine is (one hour).
I N T R O D U C T I O N
What do you think a zine is? What do you know
about zines? Have you ever made a zine before?
S H O W E X A M P L E S
Present examples of a zine and a glossy magazine.
What are the diferences? Discuss the benefts and
disadvantages of each type of publication.
W H Y M A K E A Z I N E ?
Stress the importance of self expression: zine
writing is about what interests them and that
what you say matters. Zines can help document
friends, community, family, or personal experi-
ence. Emphasise that there is no right or wrong
way of making a zine. Zines are brilliant because
every one that is made is unique.
15
D I F F E R E N T K I N D S O F Z I N E S
Present diferent zines to the group to show the
range of zines available: music, personal, political,
comics, work, food, art and poetry zines; zines that
are individually or collectively authored. Present
diferent sizes and styles of binding (if you do not
own many zines, check out the distro section in
the resources to see where you can buy them).
W H A T D O Y O U L I K E / D I S L I K E A B O U T Z I N E S ?
Break up into groups of 3 or 4. Get groups to look
at a selection of zines for about 10 minutes, then
come back into a big group and talk about what
they liked and didnt like about the zines. Tis will
help the group to think about what they would
like to make for their own zines.
L A Y O U T O F A Z I N E
In this part of the workshop the group will decide how they
will layout their zines (one hour).
L A Y O U T O P T I O N S
Computer layout, cut-and-paste, or a combina-
tion? Talk about diferent methods for making
zines and diferent layout styles. Draw from the
group what they think is efective, or inefective,
layout.
T Y P E O P T I O N S
Explore ways of writing in the zine. Use examples
such as a typewriter, computer, rubber stamps,
handwriting. Emphasise that if you are going to
include handwriting, make sure that it is legible.
16
G E N E R A T I N G I D E A S F O R P A G E L A Y O U T
Get the group to split into two. For ten minutes,
ask them to layout a number of pages in diferent
styles. Te point of this exercise is to explore what
makes a page interesting, how to use background
and put type over a picture without making it look
crowded. Tis will enable people to be conscious
of how to use space on a page. Afer they have
completed the exercise, get the groups to come
back and share what they have learnt.
Afer this part of the workshop, participants will
have an understanding of :
Te diferent styles of zines;
Te wide range of subject matter that can
be included;
Empowerment to write/draw/collage
their own perspectives;
Practical skills on how to do lay-
out and preparing a booklet.
WHEN LAYI NG
OUT A ZI NE, I T
I S I MP ORTANT TO
LEAVE A BORDER
AROUND THE EDGE.
PHOTOCOP I E RS AND
P R I N T E R S U S U A L L Y
CUT OF F ANY TEXT OR
I MAGE F ROM THE VERY
EDGE OF THE P AGE. THI S
CAN BE F RUSTRATI NG F OR
THE READER AND LESSENS THE
QUALI TY OF THE F I NAL ZI NE.
ON EVERY PAGE OF YOUR ZI NE,
DRAW A 1 CM BORDER WI TH A PENCI L.
THI S CAN BE RUBBED OUT LATER.
BY MAKI NG SURE YOU WRI TE/DRAW/
COLLAGE I NSI DE THE LI NES, YOU WI LL
EASI LY AVOI D THE COMMON PI TFALL
OF ZI NES WHI CH HAVE TEXT MI SSI NG!
1 CM
17
M A K I N G A C O L L E C T I V E Z I N E
In this part of the workshop the group will make a collective
zine (2 x two hours).
Ideally this exercise should take place over two sessions with
a break of a week or more in between. Tis will give people
time to collect material, write and draw things that they want
in their zine. Tis can then be pasted in during the second
session.
Each member of the group can contribute a page, or a number
of pages, to the zine. Tere is no need to limit how much a
person can contribute to a zine.
D E C I D E O N A T H E M E A N D F O C U S F O R T H E Z I N E
If you are working with a group who share a
common interest (for example Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender people, older people or
inner city youth) you may want to frame your zine
around their experiences (to help raise awareness
of experiences, counter isolation and so forth).
Alternatively, you may want to theme your zine
around an emotion (obsession, excitement, pas-
sion, sadness) or a place (the home, the city, the
world).
Either way, it is a very good idea to secure a theme
for the zine as this helps people to focus their
contributions. It is important that ideas are drawn
from the group, rather than imposed upon them.
Asking open questions such as what issues are
important to you?; how are your lives and ex-
periences represented in other forms of media?
18
or what would you like to see writing/drawing/
photography about? Get people to dream big, as
there are no limits!
L A Y O U T O F T H E Z I N E
Afer the previous session, the group will have a
good idea how to use layout and general design.
Tis will help them decide how they want the zine
designed.
Emphasise that the zine is collective but can have
individual infections, and although it is a good
to have an overall theme, it doesnt have to be
the same style all the way through. Tis can help
people who are not confdent using computers to
contribute to the zine.
H O W W I L L Y O U M A K E T H E C O V E R ?
Will it be made on special paper or cardboard, or
will it be the same as the rest of the zine? It is a
good idea to have a few people working specif-
cally on the cover (particularly if you are doing
something a little diferent to the rest of the zine).
W H A T W I L L T H E Z I N E B E C A L L E D ?
Tis will probably emerge from discussions when
you decide upon the theme. Again, its important
that the title emerges from what the group wants.
H O W W I L L T H E Z I N E B E B O U N D ?
Staple, sewn, or bound with wool? Te most time
efcient way of binding a zine is by stapling it.
However, if they want to, the group could bind it
by using thread.
19
P R O D U C I N G P A G E S F O R T H E Z I N E
Create a blank booklet and write in the page
numbers (an A4 sheet folded in half will make 4
A5 pages). Pages for the zine should be produced
on a per-page basis. Cut up sheets of A5 paper.
With a pencil, draw a 1-1.5cm border around it.
You should make sure people either draw inside
the lines or cut the border of. Tese pages are
then ready to be pasted into the master booklet of
the zine which will later be photocopied.
C O P Y T H E Z I N E
Once the booklet is made, it will be ready to be
reproduced. Tis can be done either by hand, or
by employees at a photocopy shop.
When you have a copy of the fnished zine, you could also
scan it into a computer, ready to upload to a website. Your zine
can then be available for others to download and read. Te
simplest way to do this is to create a PDF (Portable Document
Format) fle which can either be printed or read on-screen
(using free sofware such as Adobe Reader). To create a PDF,
you will need a PDF combiner programme (such as Adobe
Acrobat or My PDF Creator). A PDF combiner programme
collates various fles and turns them into one single fle. If
you wish the zine to be printable, you will need to scan it at a
minimum resolution of 300dpi. For on-screen-only reading,
it needs only be 72dpi.
Making zines is a learning process. Emphasise to the group
that they will fnd their own way of doing it, and that this is
ok. Above all, have fun while you are doing it!
20
Presenting the zine to other audiences
Once the zine has been
created, and copies
produced, why not or-
ganise a launch event?
Tis will give contribu-
tors the chance to read
their pieces and exhibit
their artwork to new au-
diences.
If the zine aims to challenge stereotypes, or raise awareness
about an issue or group, the publication and event can be
an important platform for these perspectives amongst the
community. It might also inspire others to make zines as
well.
Zine exhibitions are most efective when they are simple.
Displaying zines in an accessible way (such as hanging
them from the wall with a piece of thread) allows viewers to
engage with the publications as objects, and gives people the
opportunity to read the
material.
If your exhibition is part
of a zine project, why
not include quotes on
the wall from partici-
pants that will tell peo-
ple how they found the
process of making a zine.
21
T i p s f o r s p e a k i n g i n p u b l i c
People in your group may not have much experience in pre-
senting their writing to audiences, so here are some things to
bear in mind:
S P E A K S L O W L Y
Te importance of speaking slowly when reading
in public cannot be emphasised enough. People
need to understand every word that you say.
When people get nervous they tend to race
through things. Try to be as relaxed as possible.
Have confdence in what you are saying. Zine
writing ofers a platform for unique perspectives
and people need to hear them.
P R O J E C T Y O U R V O I C E A N D K E E P Y O U R H E A D U P
If you are reading from a zine, remember to not
read into the paper. Project your voice over it.
P R A C T I S E B E F O R E H A N D
Read aloud sections of the zine to yourself. Find
the bits which are the most funny or dramatic and
focus on delivering these well. Even better, have a
practise run through with the group before any
public event. Tis will help achieve the experience
of public reading, but in a supportive, peer setting,
where everyone is going through the same thing.
H A V E C O N F I D E N C E I N W H A T Y O U S A Y
Tere is a saying that goes, fake it til its real. So,
even if you are not a super confdent person, act
like you are and you will be. If you are confdent
in what you are reading, your delivery will refect
this. Tats what its all about, self-publishing and
empowerment.
22
Ideas for generat i ng c ont ent for zi ne
10 minute writing and drawing exercise.
Te great thing about zines is that they can be about anything.
People can basically write about what they like, how they like.
Tere are no rules.
However, if the people in the group are fnding it difcult
to pin-point something to write about, try the following
exercise:
For ten minutes, without stopping, ask people to write or draw
about an average day in their life.
You can ask them to record their impressions, what their sur-
roundings are like, who they meet, how they feel when they
are doing certain activities (like getting ready to go to school
or work), what they enjoy, and what they dont enjoy about
their day, and what they would change if they could.
Encourage people to go into as much detail as possible, even
if things seem mundane or boring. Most of the time this kind
of writing will be interesting because it refects the individual
perspective of the person writing it and everyone is diferent!
From this exercise people will gain confdence in writing
about their personal experience, and it might lead to other
things that they want to say.
If some people in the group do have a specifc topic they want
to write about, they can focus on that, while the others so this
searching exercise.
23
I n t e r v i e w i n g e a c h o t h e r
Interviews are a great way to explore ideas. Trough asking
questions, listening carefully and responding it can help us
understand each other better, creating the possibility of ex-
change, which strong communities thrive on.
Generating content through the spoken word will also help
people who fnd it difcult to express themselves through
writing or drawing to make a contribution to the zine. Again,
people draw on the richness of their personal experiences for
this material.
Tis exercise requires the group to have access to a voice re-
cording device (eg. a digital voice recorder and a microphone)
and for someone to transcribe the interview aferwards.
S P L I T I N T O P A I R S
Each person will take it in turns to interview the
other. Try to keep each interview 10-20 minutes
long.
D E C I D E T H E T H E M E O F T H E I N T E R V I E W
Tese can be based on general themes such as
work, family, culture, religion, relationships or
whatever the group has decided will be the main
topic for the zine.
TRY TO ASK QUESTI ONS THAT ARE OP EN
Use plain words, and avoid suggesting answers.
For example, describe an average day in your life
and let the person talk for as long as they want
to. It is a good idea to ask questions which invite
24
descriptions, comments, opinions:
"How did you feel about that?"
"What sort of person was she?"
"Can you describe the house you lived in?"
"Why did you decide to change jobs?"
F O L L O W U P Q U E S T I O N S
From these open questions it may be necessary
to ask more specifc ones, for example how long
have you lived where you live?, or where did you
live before? in order to pinpoint information.
T R A N S C R I B I N G
Afer the interview is over, it will need to be
transcribed (written out word for word). Once
the transcript is produced, the pair can go over it
and edit it together to see if there is anything they
want to cut out (for example, sensitive material)
or expand on (provide more context).
F U R T H E R C O N T E N T
Interviews may generate more content (such as
illustrations, photographs, ephemera from scrap-
books), so gather this if necessary afer you have
edited the text.
S H A R I N G I N T E R V I E W S
Once a fnal edit of the interview is ready (and
supplementary material gathered) it can be shared
with the group, prior to inclusion in the zine.
25
Z i n e - ma k i n g w i t h f o u n d ma t e r i a l s :
t h e E c o - Z i n e !
Bristol based artist Pamela Graham has a slogan campaign
there is no such thing as rubbish, only raw materials.
Zine making is a perfect platform
for exploring this idea.
One idea for a zine workshop could
be to highlight how eco-friendly
zines are. Tey present an opportu-
nity to transform the paper waste in
our environment be it wallpaper
scraps, old magazines, coloured pa-
per bags, newspapers, fyers, pam-
phlets, maps, food packaging and
to use them in a publication.
Such material can be used to produce collages and act as a
background to any heavy text-based page your workshop par-
ticipants may be constructing. Its a good idea to play around
with layout of your zine (see more in the section referring to
layout) as this makes the text look more interesting.
If the form defnes the content, then the zine making work-
shop could be used by ecological community groups to pro-
duce a booklet with helpful information and advice relating
to this issue.
When you come to print your zine, make sure it is printed
on recycled paper using soya based inks. Footprint is a print-
ing co-operative based in Leeds who provide printing services
to the highest possible ethical and environmental standards.
Tey will be able to reproduce and deliver your zine in the UK
(www.footprinters.co.uk).
26
S a f e t y a n d z i n e s
It is important that the safety of people making zines is con-
sidered when you facilitate zine making workshops. Zines give
a platform for expressing personal experiences which may be
sensitive and may endanger people if they are disclosed in the
wrong circumstances.
For this reason think carefully before putting down person-
al details in the zine. Do not put in home addresses. Email
addresses may be fne. It is worthwhile having some kind of
contact details in the zine because readers may want to get in
touch and give feedback.
Contributors may also want their pieces to be anonymous
(particularly they are vulnerable or at risk). Make it clear that
people can do this, as it may allow them to express themselves
in ways they otherwise felt they could not.
27
T e m p l a t e s f o r s i n g l e w o r k s h o p s
Short works hop 1
Two hours.
You may not have a lot of time to dedicate to a zine making
workshop, so you may want to compress the longer workshop
described above into a shorter timeframe.
You will still need to have the same materials mentioned in the
earlier section these are the nuts and bolts of zine making.
A shorter workshop will be more hands-on all the way through,
and the main focus will be on the act of making the collective
zine itself.
Due to the shorter
timeframe you
may want to ofer
clear choices as
to the method for
making zines. For
example, it may
have to be cut and
paste, handwrit- ten or typewriter only unless you have a
computer and printer handy for generating the text.
It is best to focus on what you can achieve within the time
frame and not complicate things too much. Of course you
can stress that when making zines people can use whatever
method they want there is no right or wrong way to make
zines but be realistic. It is better that people go away with
a sense of what is possible rather than having a super snazzy
zine in this context.
28
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O Z I N E S
Introduce the group to zines. Find out their
experience of this form of media. Highlight the
diference between zines and magazines and pass
around a variety of zines for the group to look at.
Draw attention to the diferent forms of layout for
the zine and get participants to think creatively
about how to use space (15 mins).
Before beginning the activity, be sure to tell people
to leave a border on the pages they are writing
on. To save time you may want to bring along
prepared A5 sheets with a 1.5cm border cut of,
ready to be pasted into the A5 booklet.
It is also not necessary to stick with the A5 frame-
work. You may want to make an accordion book-
let (see fgure 1) or a smaller zine (see fgure 2).
However, it is important to decide what the whole
group is doing and stick with this, otherwise the
group will be making zines of diferent sizes.
F I G . 1
ACCORDI AN
B O O K L E T
29
D E C I D E U P O N A T H E M E F O R T H E Z I N E
M A K E A C O L L E C T I V E Z I N E
Invite each participant to produce a page for
the zine. If they are confdent they may want
to produce more than one. When people have
fnished the page ask them to bring them to you,
as facilitator, who can stick them into the booklet.
People ofen take to zine making at diferent
speeds. Ofer advice and encouragement to those
who may not be confdent. Emphasise again that
there is no wrong or right way.
P R E S E N T T H E F I N I S H E D Z I N E
At the end of the session, pass around the fnished
zine so that each member of the group can hold it
in their hands. Explain ways to get it photocopied
and reproduce it!
F I G . 2
S MA L L E R
Z I N E
30
Short works hop 2
Another way of doing a shorter zine workshop is for everyone
to make their own personal zine which they can take away
with them at the end. For this you could experiment with the
size of the zine.
To make a small 12-page zine from a double-sided A4-sized
photocopy, divide the paper in three strips and paste the
original pages in the order shown in fgure 2.
Cut the photocopy, assemble the pages and staple them to
make your twelve page booklet.
If you have access to a photocopier, get the participants to pre-
pare the panels before cutting and stapling them. Tis way it is
easier and quicker to reproduce. At the end of the workshop
they can have experience of assembling zines (either with sta-
ples, thread, wool) and can have copies to give to their friends
and family.
Te zines could be themed around identity or a day in the
life,
31
Short works hop 3
Another idea for a collective zine workshop is for everyone to
contribute a page to an individual zine that each person takes
home with them at the end. Tis way, the zine and workshop
has a collective feel, but people still get to take something
concrete home with them.
For this, you should prepare a blank zine booklet for each
person in the group. Again, you may want to experiment
with size. Try folding an A5 page in half to make a smaller
booklet.
Get people to make a page in the booklet and pass it on
to the next person. Make sure by the end of the workshop
everyone has had the chance to contribute a page to all the
zines. Encourage people to respond to the themes or stories
in each zine. Suggest that the frst page can present a question
or statement that frames the content of the booklet to help
this process.
At the end of the workshop, people can take home their
collectively shaped, but totally individual, zine!
32
I nt r o d uc t i o n t o b l o g s
Te explosion of blogs and internet blogging has
been one of the major developments in self-pub-
lishing in the past 15 years. In a world where it
can be difcult balancing ambitions and fnancial
limitations, you need to think creatively to fnd
a way to get things done. Digital publishing is a
great way to publish (Amy Spencer).
Maybe its time you or your group started up a
blog.
So, what is a blog? Simply put, a blog is a type
of free website which is maintained either by an
individual or a group of people which allows for
users/readers to interact with the content. Blogs
ofer a unique platform for expressing ideas and
sharing information. Furthermore, they are fex-
ible and relatively easy to use.
Blogs have developed alongside Web 2.0 technol-
ogy, a form of web design which enables infor-
mation sharing and interaction amongst diferent
users. Tis is a very important function of blogs.
It allows diferent people to change its content
(i.e. not just the one person or group of people
maintaining the blog). Tis in turn shapes the
messages which are published on it, building dia-
logue amongst readers.
33
Like zines, blogs are a fexible and open format.
Tey really can be about anything you want them
to be. Tink of them as a blank canvas which
can be used for functional or creative means (or
somewhere in-between). From fction to diaries,
to political writing, journalism and travel, blogs
are used by diverse people throughout the world.
Tey are utilised by diferent organisations, from
proft-driven corporations to low-budget com-
munity groups.
Ana Lauras point about the immediacy of blogs is
an important one, and this is a signifcant way in
which they difer from zines as a way of publishing
information. Blogs allows for the fast turnaround
of information, which can be built upon very
quickly. You may only need three or four compel-
ling posts to begin with and already your blog will
have interesting content. Tis gives you a solid ba-
sis from which you can keep adding to your blog.
TH E M A I N A D V A N T A G E O F B L O G S I S T H A T I T I S
F R E E , S O I T S G R E A T I F Y O U D O N T H A V E A N Y
F U N D I N G . TH A T W A S O R I G I N A L L Y W H Y T H E B L O G
W A S T H E S T A R T I N G P O I N T F O R T H E P R O J E C T .
B E C A U S E I T W A S T O T A L L Y U N - F U N D E D I T W A S
A G O O D W A Y F O R P U T T I N G T H E C A L L O U T F O R
P E O P L E W H O W A N T E D T O B E I N V O L V E D , A N D A T
T H E S A M E T I M E A S I N F O R M A T I O N W A S C O M I N G
I N T O P U B L I S H I T S T R A I G H T A W A Y . I T I S V E R Y
I M M E D I A T E A N D T H A T R E A L L Y A P P E A L E D T O U S .
A N A L A U R A L O P E Z D E L A TO R R E
R E M B E R I N G O L I V E C O L L E C T I V E
34
V e r s a t i l i t y o f b l o g s
Blogs are versatile in the way that diferent media
can be combined on them. For example, with a
blog you are not simply limited to writing, but
can include photographs, videos and audio. Te
multimedia capacity of blogs means that they
can engage people with
a diverse skill bases.
Tey may also empower
people to try new things
and explore their creativity
in diferent ways. Tey give
a lot of scope to present
information.
For the full potential of blogs to be exploited, it is
useful for users to be familiar with other internet
sites such as You Tube or Vimeo when uploading
flm, or Flickr when uploading photographs.
Tese are separate fle hosting services which
you can use to share digital media with the wider
public. Similar to when you sign up to a blog,
you will need a user identity, a password and be
comfortable with uploading fles to the internet
(uploading is when you transfer fles from your
computer, a memory stick, a digital camera
of video camera to an external site). Many of
these sites are quite intuitive, and present clear
instructions about how you upload information
to them.
WH E N Y O U M A K E A N
E N T R Y O N A B L O G ,
T H I S I S K N O W N A S A
P O S T . A P O S T C A N
B E W R I T T E N , I M A G E S ,
V I D E O O R A U D I O ,
O R A C O M B I N A T I O N
O F T H E S E T H I N G S .
35
Web presence and one off events
Blogs can be used to create a web presence for
low or no-budget projects, ofen functioning
as the main website of a project, as they do for
Remember Olive Morris and the Deseronto Ar-
chives, which are featured in this section.
Blogs can be as engaged or as minimal as you want
them to be, providing either simple information
about up and coming events, or can be used to
document projects from beginning to end.
Due to the fact that blogs are free
to use, they can be a useful tool for
publicising one-of events. You can
provide regular updates leading up to
the event as a means of building inter-
est and excitement in it. You can feature
particular activities (e.g. workshops, flm
screenings) do short interviews with par-
ticipants anything to whet the appetite of
potential audiences or people you want to
engage with your project.
Te blog will show up in an internet search en-
gine but you wont have to pay out for an ofcial
website. Once the event is over, you can publish
photographs, responses and evaluations on the
blog, capturing its best or worst aspects. Blogs are
a document of what is possible and may inspire
others to do a similar event, but in hopefully their
own unique style.
TH E R E I S N O T H I N G
L E S S E X C I T I N G
T H A T A N E G L E C T E D
B L O G , A N D I F Y O U
WA N T T O D E V E L O P
A R E A D E R S H I P , T H E N
I T I S A G O O D I D E A
T O K E E P I T U P D A T E D
R E G U L A R L Y .
36
S h a r i n g i n f o r m a t i o n
Blogs enable people to share information with a
wide variety of people, creating networks of like-
minded groups or projects through blog rolls.
A blog roll is the name for a list of links to other
blogs from your site. Te blog roll is a way of
building community and networks, which is an
important capacity of the blogging tool.
For marginalised and isolated groups, an ex-
tensive blog roll can help promote visibility and
knowledge about a certain topic or way of life.
Even though most blogs
contain a blog roll, it is
by no means essential
for your blog to have one
if you dont want to.
Blogs are unique in the
way that they imme-
diately enable people
to comment on what is
written or published in
them. Tis is another way
in which dialogue and
community can be built
through blogs.
J
A
Y

B
E
R
N
A
R
D
37
A r e b l o g s u s e r - f r i e n d l y ?
Blogs are ofen described as easy to use or user
friendly. In reality, how accessible are they as form
of self-publishing?
Tere is a common stereotype that the younger
generation are comfortable using computers,
while older people consistently struggle to keep
up with the latest developments in technology.
Tere should be no denying the fact that an ad-
equate level of computer literacy is essential if
you want to be able to maintain a blog, and
this has been noted as a main drawback for
the accessibility of blogs.
However, Ana Laura is optimistic
about blogs in relation to other
Web 2.0 tools: depending on
your access to technology and
your familiarity with it, it
can be better or worse.
Compared to other
things its not as easy
as using email but
not as difcult
as using a wiki
for example.
THE ONLY
DRAWBACK
THAT I SEE
I S SOME PEOPLE
WH O A R E N O T
F A M I L I A R WI T H
T E C H N O L O G Y S O
I T S NOT ACCESSI BLE
F OR THEM AS USERS,
THEY CAN READ I T I F
THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THE
I NTERNET BUT TO P UBLI SH I T
REQUI RES NOT A HI GH LEVEL
OF EXP ERTI SE, BUT YOU NEED TO
BE COMFORTABLE WI TH COMPUTERS.
ANA LAURA LOP EZ DE LA TORRE
38
If you are going to use blogs as a focus for a com-
munity project about self-publishing, be realistic
about the amount of training and support people
are going to need to be able to maintain the site
on a day to day level. You will need to factor this
into your timeframe.
With blogs, familiarity creates confdence and
expertise. Te more you use them, the bet-
ter you get like most things really, prac-
tice makes perfect. However, the reverse is
also true: if you dont use them regularly,
you may forget how they work. Ana Laura
states: I think mainly its an issue of time,
you know, to sit down and update the
blog, and even if you told someone, if
they dont start doing it straight away
its quite easy to forget what you are
supposed to do.
She also points to the problem when
the blog platforms, such as Word-
press, are updated: they are con-
stantly making it better so they
change the way it looks and you
might be shown the way to use
it and you might go back four
months later and everything
looks diferent, and that can
be quite disorientating for
people.
B L O G S C A N B E
R E A D E R - U N F R I E N D L Y :
I A M CE R TA I NL Y GU I L TY
O F L E T T I N G MI N E S I T
F O R MO N T H S WI T H O U T
U P D A T I N G , A N D T H I S I S
VE R Y F R U S T R A T I N G F O R
R E A D E R S , E S P E C I A L L Y
I F Y O U P U R P O R T T O B E
S O ME C O O L , R A D I C A L
WR I T E R WI T H A U N I QU E
P E R S P E C T I VE . WE L L , I F
Y O U D O N T K E E P I T U P Y O U R
R E A D E R S H A VE N O T H I N G T O
R E A D A N D E VE R Y O N E G E T S
C Y N I C A L .
JA Y BE R N A R D
BR R N R R D C O MI C S B L O G
39
Within any given community project, even if
everyone is not completely comfortable with
updating the blog, there is so much scope for
people to generate content for it (for example by
taking photographs, writing things, making flms,
doing oral interviews). A community project will
ultimately be a collaborative efort, drawing upon
the unique skills of everybody contributing to it.
Creating or collecting material for the blog is as
important as uploading it in the fnal stages, so if
you are absolutely terrifed of computers there is
no need to feel lef out of the process. Tere is
also nothing wrong with getting a bit tech-y
and you will be surprised at how easy it can
be once you know how. Te important
thing is to go at your own pace and your
confdence will develop steadily.
If you are still worried about putting
too much emphasis on a form of
digital publishing that may be
difcult for some of your users
to get their heads around, you
can also always combine it
with other activities. Ana
Laura suggests that part
of the success of the
ROC collective is that
the blog was just one
forum among many
to present the aims
of the group.
WE D O B A C K
T H E B L O G U P
W I T H A L O T O F
O T H E R T H I N G S . WE
D O A L O T O F T A L K S
A N D P R E S E N T A T I O N S
A N D WE T R Y T O H A VE
S T A L L S E S P E C I A L L Y
A T L O C A L C O MMU N I T Y
E V E N T S B E C A U S E W E
A R E W O R K I N G W I T H A
H I S T O R I C A L G E N E R A T I O N
T H A T MA Y B E U S E E MA I L B U T
T H E Y S T O P WI T H C O MP U T E R S ,
S O T H E T A L K S A N D T H E S T A L L S
A N D H A VI N G B A D G E S B A C K S T H A T
U P F O R A N O L D E R G E N E R A T I O N .
AN A LA U R A LO P E Z D E L A TO R R E
40
C r e a t i n g n e t w o r k s
An important aspect of blogs is how they can fa-
cilitate networking and help build community.
For Jay Bernard, blogger and zine writer, build-
ing such a network is an important part of creat-
ing a successful blog: it happens that you cannot
be successful unless you engage with other blog-
gers. Comments beget comments. So building a
network is necessary for anyone who blogs and
desirable too; the more successful sites are full of
ideas, links and conversations that you can feed
in to your own writing. Te whole thing is about
response.
Creating this kind of online community ofers a
potential way to counter isolation of groups whose
perspectives are not usually visible in mainstream
media forums. Importantly, like all forms of self-
publishing, it allows people to self-represent on
their own terms. Furthermore, the networks that
I S T A R T E D MY B L O G I N 2007, A N D I D I D N T
R E A L L Y T H I N K A B O U T I T MU C H A T T H E T I ME ,
B U T N O W T H A T I R E A D A L O T MO R E B L O G S I VE
MA D E A L L T H E S E C O N N E C T I O N S WI T H D I F F E R E N T
B L O G G E R S , A N D T H E Y L L B L O G A B O U T Y O U R B L O G
A N D Y O U B L O G A B O U T T H E M. P E O P L E I R E A L L Y
R E S P E C T H A VE R E F E R E N C E D MY B L O G O N T H E I R
B L O G A N D I VE G O T T H I S A MA Z I N G C O MMU N I T Y
A L L O F A S U D D E N .
SI A N NO R R I S
WR I T E R A N D B L O G G E R
41
are created have the potential to present voices to
each other in a dynamic way, helping to build re-
lationships, both of line and online.
Given the nature of the internet and the way peo-
ple search for information, people may fnd your
blog in random ways: people do come across it,
they read through it and comment you know,
what a great blog, people that come across it in
the most unlikely ways. (Ana Laura).
Ana Laura also refers to the viral nature of blogs:
Tey just get picked up and re-published. Tere
is an endless list of people blogging away and they
might get something from our page and republish
it or link to our site so I think there is this kind of
capacity to connect with other groups.
Importantly, blogs are a fast
and immediate way of cre-
ating networks that exceed
geographical boundaries, it is
a great way to reach a diverse
audience and transnational
audience too, so anyone from
any part of the world can see
it (Ana Laura). Amanda Hill
from the Deseronto Archives
similarly makes this point: Peo-
ple from all over the world who
have a connection to the town
have been able to get in touch in
ways that would have been harder
without the online presence.
A L O T O F U S I N T H E
RE M E M B E R I N G OL I V E
C O L L E C T I V E A R E
I M M I G R A N T S S O W E
S P E N D A S U B S T A N T I A L
P A R T O F T H E Y E A R
A B R O A D , MA Y B E VI S I T I N G
O U R F A MI L I E S O R F O R
W O R K , S O I T H E L P S U S
A L S O T O G A T H E R A R O U N D
T H I S S P A C E A N D Y O U C A N
A L W A Y S C H E C K W H A T I S
G O I N G O N B Y L O O K I N G A T B L O G
A N D C O N T R I B U T I N G WH E N Y O U
A R E A WA Y
ANA LAU R A LO P E Z DE L A TO R R E
42
C h o i c e o f B l o g g i n g P l a t f o r m
Tere are two main blogging platforms that are
commonly used by bloggers:
Wordpress www. wordpress. com
and Blogspot www. blogger. com
In this guide I will be focussing on Wordpress
because the research indicates it has wider
capacities in terms of what it can offer the
blogger.
AS I NTERNET PLATFORMS
A R E , WO R D P R E S S I
THI NK I S QUI TE USER-
F RI ENDLY. ALSO I T S
VERY F LEXI BLE SO YOU
CAN DO A LOT. I HAVE
U S E D O TH E R B L O GS , I
HAVE USED BLOGSPOT AND
I FI ND THAT I T I S MORE
CONFUSI NG AND YOU CAN
DO LESS THI NGS WI TH I T.
I U S E BL O G S P O T, B U T
I T H I N K WO R D P R E S S I S
MO R E A E S T H E T I C A L L Y
P LEASI NG.
I T OF F E RS SOME F E ATU RE S
THAT ARE N' T AVAI L ABL E
TO U S WI TH BL OGGE R.
As Ana Laura suggests,
Sian Norris, a writer
who uses her blog to
showcase her fctional
and critical writing,
states,
Te Deseronto Archives
recently moved to the
the blogging platform at
Wordpress because
43
P r o b l e m s w i t h s a f e t y
a n d s e c u r i t y w i t h b l o g s
Until now Ive been presenting blogs as a quasi-
utopian space which can help put people in touch
with each other, engender new forms of creativity
on behalf of its contributors, and be a great way
to have internet visibility for projects which are
strapped for cash. All of this is true, but with
the benefts of blogs, there are also inevitable
dangers.
Again, like zines, it should be stressed that
publishing too personal information such as
where individuals live, phone numbers, names
of people and so on should be avoided on your
blog. Particularly if the person whose details
you are publicising has not given you their prior
consent, as it violates their
privacy. Amanda Hill, from
the Deseronto Archives
describes an incident on
the project blog: We once
had someone post the
names and phone numbers
of the current occupants
of a house - which was an
invasion of their privacy.
We were soon able to take
that down, though, so no
great harm was done.
44
It is important to keep in mind that blogs are
in a hyper visible public space and show up
in internet searches. If, for example, you pro-
duce a community life-story project
and the people telling their stories
are at risk if they disclose cer-
tain information about their
lives, a blog may not be the
most suitable platform to dis-
seminate them.
However, blog platforms such as
Wordpress do allow you to set privacy set-
tings so that you can choose how visible your
blog is on the internet. For example it allows
you to choose whether your blog will show up
in all Google searches, whether to block search
engines or whether the website can be visible
only to whom you choose it to be. Tese op-
tions make things a little safer; although mate-
rial can easily be re-posted on the net on other
websites if people fnd the site.
Another problem that sometimes arises with
blogs is that the people who are reading may
not agree with what you are blogging about.
Tere is a group of people who comment
on blogs who are described by the blogging
community as trolls. Tese people come
onto the blogs and they create arguments for
arguments sake. As Sian Norris describes,
they dont go in with founded criticisms: this
45
is what you believe, this is what I believe, its
more like how can I put the cat amongst the
pigeons and that is a massive problem in the
blogosphere.
Tere are ways that you can guard against trolls
invading your internet space. For example, you
may choose to ensure that you screen all com-
ments before they are published on your blog.
Tat way if someone is aggressive or being de-
liberatively provocative you can simply prevent
them from having space on your site. You can
also set entries to the function close comments,
which will prevent people from commenting on
individual entries.
If necessary, you can draw up a code of conduct
for the blog that clearly states what kind of be-
haviour is acceptable. For example, we welcome
constructive comments on this blog; deliberately
aggressive comments will not be accepted.
Further, no sexism, racism, homophobia
or other forms of discrimination will
be tolerated. Any comments expressing
such views will immediately be removed.
If you want to guard against people dis-
closing personal information about the peo-
ple featured in the blog you could write, please
refrain from posting personal information e.g.
names, phone numbers, home or email addresses
of people featured in this blog. If you have this
information, then please contact us directly.
46
DE S E R O N T O
ARCHI VES I S A
SMALL ARCHI VES
D E P A R T M E N T
SERVI NG A VERY
SMALL TOWN OF
FEWER THAN 2,000
PEOPLE I N EASTERN
ONTARI O, CANADA. THE
ARCHI VES HAS A LI MI TED
I .T. I NFRASTRUCTURE AND A
SMALL BUDGET. WEB 2.0 TOOLS
HOSTED ELSEWHERE PROVI DE AN
EASY WAY OF MAI NTAI NI NG AN ONLI NE
PRESENCE FOR THE ORGANI SATI ON.
I n s p i r i n g p r o j e c t s
Deseronto Archives
Deseronto Archives is an example of what you
can with a digital archive project on a low budget
using blogs and other Web 2.0 technology.
WE USE WORDPRESS FOR OUR
BLOG, WHI CH ALLOWS US TO SHARE
NEWS AND I NFORMATI ON ABOUT
THE ARCHI VES ACTI VI TI ES.
TWI TTER I S USED FOR BRI EFER
NEWS UP DATES. BOTH THESE
SERVI CES WERE FREE TO SET
UP. WE ALSO USE FLI CKR AS
A MEANS OF SHARI NG THE
ARCHI VES' PHOTOGRAPHI C
COLLECTI ONS. A ' PRO'
ACCOUNT I S C.26 FOR
TWO YEARS, SO I S NOT
HUGELY EXPENSI VE.
AMANDA HI LL
P ROJECT CO-ORDI NATOR, DESERONTO ARCHI VES
W W W . D E S E R O N T O A R C H I V E S . W O R D P R E S S . C O M
W W W . T W I T T E R . C O M / D E S E R O N T O A R C H
W W W . F L I C K R . C O M / D E S E R O N T O A R C H I V E S
47
Te Deseronto Archives blog presents the unique
history of the small town told from the perspec-
tive of archivists. Te blog contains information
about activities taking place at the archive, as well
as providing a space where incomplete informa-
tion about archival material (such as the names of
people in photographs), can be rectifed by read-
ers by posting comments if they have the relevant
information.
On the site posts are linked back to earlier posts
within the blog. Tis invites readers to explore the
blog in a more in-depth way. It is this creative use
both of the material contained on the blog, and
the blog itself, which makes it an inspiring exam-
ple of how to use blogs and other Web 2.0 tools, to
generate interest in a subject. Te result is that a
story that very few people are aware of is animat-
ed and, importantly, making vulnerable archival
material (such as old photographs) available to
large audiences probably for the frst time.
Te site also acts as digital archive hub for the im-
ages stored in the archive. Tese are stored on the
archives Flickr account, which is a form of Web
2.0 technology used to share photographs. Tis is
an extension of the blogs immediate capacity but
can be easily integrated when you create a blog.
P E O P L E A R E A B L E T O C O M M E N T O N B L O G
P O S T S A N D O N T H E F L I C K R I M A G E S . WE ' V E
H A D A L O T O F U S E F U L I N F O R M A T I O N O N
' M Y S T E R Y P H O T O G R A P H S ' : I D E N T I F Y I N G
P L A C E S , P E O P L E , B U I L D I N G S A N D S O O N .
48
Remembering Olive Collective
Do you remember Olive Morris? is the question
that mobilised one of the most successful British
grassroots history community projects of recent
times. Initially started as collaboration between
artist Ana Laura de la Torre and community ac-
tivist Liz Obi in 2006, the Remembering Olive
Collective (ROC) has grown to include women of
diferent ages and backgrounds.
Te main aim of ROC is to create public and
permanent memories of Olive Morris, a feminist
activist, squatter and member of the British Black
Panthers, who tragically died of Leukaemia in
1979, aged 27. She is an inspirational fgure in
black British history, whose legacy the collective
has been documenting through the project blog
at www.rememberolivemorris.wordpress.com.
Te project blog has been an important focal point
for the group, and it contains a wide breadth of
information relating to Olive Morris, and to Black
British history of the 1970s 1980s. Te research
collected on the blog addresses a large gap of in-
formation available online about this topic. Ana
Laura, for whom the blog is her project hobby
horse, states,
THERE I S SOME I NFORMATI ON THERE WE PUBLI SH THAT I S NOT PUBLI SHED ON
THE I NTERNET AT ALL. THERE I S NOTHI NG, FOR EXAMPLE ON THE BRI TI SH
BLACK PANTHERS, AND I F YOU TYPE BRI TI SH BLACK PANTHERS WE COME
ON TOP SO I THI NK I T HAS BEEN REALLY I NSTRUMENTAL I N CONTRI BUTI NG
TO FI LLI NG A GAP ABOUT I NFORMATI ON ONLI NE ABOUT THI S.
49
Te blog contains a mass of resources,
the ROC library, which houses down-
loadable materials and an extensive bib-
liography. Tis includes articles written
by academics and the collective them-
selves, audio, books, flms, heritage
projects, periodicals, plays and theatre,
websites and a bibliography relating to
Morris.
Te blog is organised via topics or
tags (such as black women, activism,
travels), which enable people to eas-
ily navigate the mass of information
on the blog. When you post a blog
entry it is a good idea to categorise
it as this makes the information easy
to fnd.
Te blog also contains a long list
of like-minded projects and lists
the project partners. Tis clearly
demonstrates a strong network of
people working to document and
celebrate black womens history.
Te blog documents the activities
of the group itself, and contains
information and photographs
about the events the collective
have participated in. Tis kind of
rigorous documentation not only
AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH
SOMETHI NG NEW COMES ON
THE BLOG WHI CH I S QUI TE
I MPORTANT BECAUSE YOU
NEED TO KEEP ACTI VE TO
HARNESS THAT I NTEREST
A N D A L S O T O G E T
RANKI NGS I N THE SEARCH
ENGI NES. I F YOU PUBLI SH
ONCE A YEAR YOU LOSE
VI SI BI LI TY, I T S LI KE
A NEWSPAPER THAT
I S NOT PUBLI SHED, I F
THERE I S NO FRESH
STUFF PEOPLE MI GHT
C O M E A N D T H E N
NOT COME AGAI N.
SOME TI ME S I T S
JU S T C H A N G I N G
THE HOME PAGE,
Y O U K N O W
JU S T B R I NGI NG
SOMETHI NG FROM
THE BACKGROUND
TO THE F ORE -
G R O U N D , W E
TRY TO KEEP I T
I N T E R E S T I N G
FOR PEOPLE SO
T H A T T H E Y
CAN REPEAT
THEI R VI SI T.
50
generates visibility and in-
terest in a group, it can also
be useful for getting funding
in the future as it clearly
outlines what activities
have been taking place
and who has participated
in them.
Either way, the ROCs
blog is an example of
how to use blogs to facilitate a
grassroots history project by
a group of people who are
not professional archivists
but activists armed with
determination and a Do
It Yourself historian
spirit.
51
I d e a s f o r y o u r o w n p r o j e c t s
From reading these pages you may already have
had some ideas about how you can use blogs to
your best advantage in a community self-publish-
ing project.
It is fair to say that because of the unique
visibility of blogs through the internet they
can be productively used either for publicity,
documentation or both.
As both ROC and the Deseronto Archives
demonstrate, blogs are an ideal platform for low
budget, community history projects, and are used
by both professional archivists and enthusiastic
activists alike.
Publishing information on a blog may also be a
precursor to other things, such as preparing digital
images for books or exhibitions. What a blog
allows you to do is efectively organise research
into topics and present them to an audience.
On top of that, it documents the process of you
conducting that research.
C A M P A I G N S
Blogs can be useful for publicising a certain
campaign within the community, and can be used
to raise consciousness about issues.
52
Blogs have the capacity to make community
activism exciting and, dare I say it, cool. With
things like twitter updates, you can give short,
sharp reports of what is happening, post flms
of your activities and provide information about
why what you are doing is important.
U S I N G B L O G S F O R W R I T I N G G R O U P S
A blog is a great way for people to publish their
writing and get feedback from others, why not
use a blog in your creative writing group?
Each week could have a featured post of a piece
of writing and other writers in the group could
ofer feedback on it. Tis way people get tangible
critique of their work and exposure in a public
space where other people may also encounter it.
A blog may also be used for things like collective
story writing, tips on how to write and other
advice on how to get yourself out there.
You could also use blogs to archive creative
writing projects, as Tea Hvala, Slovenia
based writer and workshop facilitator, does
for her In Other Wor(l)ds: Collaborative
Science Fiction writing workshop.
Te basic idea for this workshop is to write a
story that everyone contributes to. Depending
on the number of people in the group and how
53
much time you have, each person will write 10
minutes and then pass their story on to the next
person. With each subsequent entry you may want
to increase the amount of time spent to accommo-
date for people reading the previous entry. When
everyone has written on everyone elses story the
workshop ends and you have a story written. Tese
can then be transcribed and posted on a blog.
For the workshop to work efectively, it is
important that everyone states a common topic
on which to base the writing, for example how
many characters and where the plot starts.
In science-fction there usually has to be some
kind of verifable theory that can help the reader
follow its logic. You can also narrow this down to
characters and let them embody issues and ideas.
Sci-f is a particularly good genre to use for the
workshop because the rules are so defned that
people can really get lost in it. Sci-f is about
speculating about what is there, or what is not yet
there. Tere is plenty of scope for your imagina-
tion to really run riot.
You can read examples of the stories writ-
ten from this workshop on Teas blog:
http://prepih.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-
other-worlds-workshop-stories.html
54
I n t r o d u c t i o n t o
P r i n t o n D e ma n d a n d
C o mmuni t y Pub l i s hi ng
Te fnal section of this booklet focuses on another
avenue for self-publishing: Print-on-Demand
(POD) technology.
POD is diferent from zines and blogs because it
does require more money and expertise to use.
If you are about to embark on publishing using
POD, essentially you are preparing a book for
publication. Tis requires more specialist skills.
Tese skills are not impossible to attain or out-
side of the reach of most people but you defnitely
need to have them or know someone who does
that can help you - if you are going to do the job
well.
SELF -P UBLI SHI NG USI NG POD TAKES TI ME REALLY.
I T S ABOUT GETTI NG TO GRI P S WI TH THE SOF TWARE.
I F YOU WANT TO SELF -P UBLI SH - THERE S A F EW
WAYS OF DOI NG I T - BUT OBVI OUSLY THE MAI N THI NG
I S LAYI NG OUT THE BOOK, EDI TI NG, AND GETTI NG THE
BOOK READY F OR P RI NT WHI CH I S A LOT OF SKI LLS;
BUT I F YOU CAN USE A WORD P ROCESSOR AND A
SP READSHEET, AND YOU GO ONTO THE I NTERNET AND
DO THI NGS ON F ORUMS, MYSP ACE. . . I TS SI MI LAR SKI LLS
TO THAT.
DEREC JONES
AUTHOR AND P UBLI SHER WHO USES POD TECHNOLOGY
55
Turning to POD publishing in a community set-
ting may necessitate a certain amount of skill
sharing and collaboration. Tis could be part of
what you do in your writing or community group
already.
For community groups wishing to publish hard
copy books, POD ofers a viable alternative to
conventional book printing (which mostly use
ofset lithography). It makes publishing books
more realistic and possible for groups and indi-
viduals working in a low-budget context.
P OD JU S T MA K E S S O MU C H S E N S E ;
WH Y WA S TE WA R E H O U S E S P A C E , S H E L F
S P A C E , A N D L I MI TE D - I N VE S TME N T
C A P I TA L O N S O ME TH I N G N O B O D Y' S
I N TE R E S TE D I N , WH E N I T' S JU S T A S
E A S Y TO S H O W TH E M TH E E N TI R E ME N U
A N D L E T TH E M P I C K O U T WH A T TH E Y
WA N T? AL L O F TH E E L E ME N TS TH A T
WE N E E D A R E L I N E D U P A N D R E A D Y
TO WO R K TO G E TH E R : D E C E N TR A L I Z E D
D I S TR I B U TI O N O N L I N E , L O N G TA I L
P U B L I S H I N G , H I G H - QU A L I TY O N - D E MA N D
P R O D U C TS , A N D C R E A TO R S WH O H A VE
E N O U G H D I R E C T C O N TA C T WI TH TH E I R
A U D I E N C E TO MA K E G I VI N G H U G E P O R TI O N S
O F TH E I R P R O F I TS A N D TH E I R R I G H TS A WA Y
TO P U B L I S H E R S TO TA L L Y U N N E C E S S A R Y.
WI L L WH E A T O N
W W W . E N D U S E R B L O G . C O M
56
W h a t i s P O D ?
As a way of printing books, print on demand
literally means that a book is printed only when
someone wants to buy it. Tis is benefcial because
you dont have to shell out the money for a 1,000
or 2,000 book run (the main way that publishing
was made afordable in the past). Neither do you
have the issue of storing these books, when there
may be no demand for them.
POD is a
professional
digital printing
method that
ofers high quality
black and white
and colour print
bound books. You will
most likely pay a unit
cost per book (around
70p per book, but this
will vary depending on
service provider) and then
be charged on roughly a penny
per page basis but this does
vary depending on which POD
service you use. Tis would mean
a 250 page book would cost 3.41 to
printTis is the price you will have to
pay if you want to buy a copy of your
book - the unit cost of production before
I T I S I MP ORTANT TO DI STI NGUI SH
B E T W E E N A P O D S E R V I C E
P ROVI DER, AND A POD P RI NTER.
POD SERVI CE P ROVI DERS WI LL
O F F E R A D D - O N S E R V I C E S
( S U C H A S A N I S B N ,
E DI TI NG, P ROMOTI ON, E TC)
AS WELL AS P RI NTI NG AND
D I S T R I B U T I N G B O O K S .
POD P RI NTE RS SI MP L Y
P RI NT THE BOOKS AND
DI STRI BU TE THE M, AND
O F T E N D E A L O N L Y
WI TH P UBLI SHERS, NOT
I NDI VI DUAL AUTHORS.
57
it is marked up for retail. You will also have to
pay for shipping and handling of the book, but if
you make a larger order (of say 100-200 books) to
stock locally, you can pay for the shipping all at
once and save money.
With POD you can print in all shapes and sizes,
in black and white and colour, although it can get
expensive when you start publishing large books
in colour.
Selling the book exclusively on the internet means
that you dont have to print any hard copy books
if you dont want to. People who want the book
can order it direct from your website, POD serv-
ice providers site or Amazon. An order will go to
the POD service provider who will then print the
book and deliver it to the customer.
THERE S ONE COMPANY, LI GHTNI NG SOURCE, THAT SUPPLY AMAZON
AND ALL THE ONLI NE BOOKSTORES AND THEY DON T HAVE TO HAVE
ANY PHYSI CAL COPI ES OF YOUR BOOK. THEY SET UP THEI R PRI NT PLANS
I N WAYS SO THEY CAN FEED I NTO THE ORDERS OF DI STRI BUTERS.
I F SOMEBODY ORDERS YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON THEY CAN HAVE I T
DELI VERED THE NEXT DAY, OR POSSI BLY EVEN A SLI GHT DELAY.
RATHER THAN THEM HAVI NG I T I N STOCK I N THE TRADI TI ONAL
SENSE, THEY SEND AN ELECTRONI C ORDER TO THE PRI NTER,
THE PRI NTER PRI NTS ONE BOOK - ALONG WI TH 1 000S OF
OTHERS OF SI NGLE BOOKS - AND THEN THEY GET DELI VERED.
I N THAT WAY I T S ENVI RONMENTALLY FRI ENDLY BECAUSE
YOU DON T HAVE GARAGES FULL OF BOOKS WAI TI NG YEARS
TO BE SOLD AND THERE I S NO WASTE.
DE R E C JO NE S
58
Your proft will be the retail
cost of the book, minus
printing, shipping and
handling. For example:
If getting your books to appear in
high street book stores is your
main publishing aim, then
using POD is not going to
be a cost efective option.
However, for a small
community group, it is more
likely that you will want
to circulate your books in
local, or specialist, settings.
Producing limited print runs
using POD is a good way to
get your publications out there.
R E T A I L P R I C E O F B O O K : 1 0. 00
M I N U S C O S T S :
2 5 0 P A G E B O O K 3 . 4 1
S H I P P I N G & H A N D L I N G 2 . 7 5
P R O F I T 3 . 8 4
59
B a c k g r o u n d t o P O D
POD has been around for much of the 21st
century, and is increasingly seen as a viable
option for many diferent types of initiatives.
Large-scale, corporate companies such
as Warner Brothers have just released
their flm catalogue on a POD basis,
while independent authors wanting
to publish a niche title are turning
to POD in the face of economic
insecurity in the publishing
i ndust r y. Communi t y
groups are also well
placed to capitalise on
innovations presented
by this technology,
particularly at an
economic level.
SE L F - P U B L I S H I N G I S
A L O T O F WO R K - B U T
I T S I N E X P E N S I VE T O
A C T U A L L Y D O , I VE G O T
P L A N S T O E X P A N D T H A T , I D
L I K E T O P U B L I S H 1 00 B O O K S I N
T H A T WA Y T O A C T U A L L Y G E T
T H E M I N T O P R I N T U S I N G P OD.
DE R E C JO N E S
O r d e r i n g P r o o f C o p i e s
When using POD printing, be sure to order proof
copies of your book. Tis is because digital print-
ing is toner based, not ink based. Tis means it is
less expensive than ofset printing but the quality
can vary, so request printed samples and review
your proofs carefully. You will need to ensure
the colour and overall quality is to an acceptable
standard before you give the project the fnal go
ahead.
60
2009 has been described by indie author
blogger Warren Ellis as the year that print
on demand [went] mainstream. It is not
only books that are getting the POD
treatment, music and flms are also be-
ing published in similar manner.
As well as changes in the marketplace
and consumer buying habits (such
as online sales) the quality of POD
books has improved. Whereas a
few years ago you could really
tell that you were holding a
POD book in your hands,
now you would be hard
pressed to tell the diference
between a conventionally
printed and POD book.
POD is also coming to
be seen as an ethical
publishing option in
a green-conscious
world it carries
a lower carbon
footprint and
saves trees since
a book is only
printed when
it is wanted.
A M Y S P E N C E R S
T O P F O U R E D I T I N G T I P S
1. DON' T TRY TO EDI T YOUR
WRI TI NG STRAI GHT AWAY. YOU
NEED TO TAKE A BREAK F ROM I T
SO THAT YOU CAN SEE I T CLEARLY.
2. PRI NT OUT YOUR WRI TI NG. I T I S
MUCH EASI ER TO EDI T AND P ROOF READ
ON P AP ER THAN ON A COMP UTER SCREEN.
3. DON' T RELY ON USI NG THE
SP ELLCHECK ON YOUR COMP UTER. I T WON' T
HELP YOU AS MUCH AS YOU THI NK I T WI LL.
4. READ YOUR WRI TI NG ALOUD. YOU
WI LL BE ABLE TO HEAR I TS RHYTHM AND
BE ABLE TO SP OT MORE OF YOUR MI STAKES.
61
CA R E F U L L Y R E S E A R C H T H E VA R I O U S P R O VI D E R S , L O O K F O R
O N L I N E R E VI E WS A N D C O MME N T S F R O M A U T H O R S WH O ' VE
U S E D E A C H S E R VI C E , A N D R E A L L Y C R U N C H T H E N U MB E R S
T O F I G U R E O U T H O W T O G E T T H E B E S T QU A L I T Y A T
T H E B E S T P R I C E . MI C K RO O N E Y I S A N A U T H O R WH O S E
B L O G , WWW. MI C K R O O N E Y . B L O G S P O T . C O M, I S D E D I C A T E D
T O P R O VI D I N G T H O R O U G H , U N B I A S E D R E VI E WS O F VA R I O U S
P U B L I S H I N G S E R VI C E P R O VI D E R S , A N D I H I G H L Y R E C O MME N D
I T A S A G R E A T F I R S T S T O P F O R A U T H O R S S E T T I N G O U T
T O D O S O ME R E S E A R C H .
AP R I L HA MI L T O N
A U T H O R O F TH E I N D I E AU T H O R GU I D E
P O D S e r v i c e P r o v i d e r s
Tere are a number of POD service providers. It
is a good idea to shop around and see what best
suits your needs.
Te most commonly-used POD service providers
are Lulu, CreateSpace and Blurb. Tese are all
American based companies, but books are printed
in the UK. Tey are all commercial companies,
and ofer a range of services which include
P ROMOTI ON
EDI TI NG AND P ROOF READI NG
COVER AND DESI GN
DI STRI BUTI ON P ACKAGE (TO AMAZON,
BARNES AND NOBLE AND ALL THE
MAI N BOOKSELLERS) .
It is, generally, not advised to make use of these
services because they are ofen quite highly priced
62
and, of course, its more empowering if you do it
yourself.
Many of these service providers give you a
free ISBN number for your book so you dont
have to buy a block of them (see ISBN section,
pg 64). Tis means the POD service owns the
ISBN, and therefore has a claim on digital and/or
electronic publishing rights, which undermines
the autonomy of a self-publishing project. If you
take on a POD service providers ISBN you are
efectively signing the publishing rights
of your work away to someone else,
so think carefully about whether
or not you want to invest in a
stack of ISBNs for your book.
Not having to buy an ISBN has
its advantages though. It enables
people to engage in publishing
ventures without having
to set up a full
blown publishing
company (and
all of the things
that requires, such
as promotion,
website, and so on).
Tese POD service
providers sell books
directly through their
website, as well as on
Amazon.
63
How does POD publi s hi ng work?
To publish a book on these sites you need
to create a PDF fle of your manuscript,
ready to be uploaded. Once you have a
PDF of a book, you can simply go to the
website of your provider, upload it, and
your PDF will be made into a printed
book. You can then order copies of your
book for proof reading, and to check if
there are any printing inconsistencies. If
there are, correct these and go through
the process again until you are happy with
the fnal product. It is best to check the books
very thoroughly because, reading user testimo-
nies, there are ofen mistakes in proof copies.
Each time you order a proof you will
need to pay for it (price of
book + shipping and
handling), and each
time you upload a
new PDF the other
one will be deleted.
Some companies,
such as Lightning
Source (who are a POD
printing and distribution
service, not a service provider, and so only deal
with publishing companies, not individual
authors), charge per hour for corrections that
are incurred on a PDF document. Charges for
uploading a new PDF will vary between service
providers.
64
I S B N
If you want your book to appear in catalogues,
and to be stocked in shops and libraries, you need
to buy an ISBN.
ISBN stands for International Standard Book
Number, and it is used to identify your book. In
the UK, these can be ordered from the UK ISBN
Agency at www.isbn.nielsenbook.co.uk.
The cost of ISBNs vary, depending on how
many you buy. Ten ISBNs cost 107.18, while
two-hundred can be purchased for 201.48.
D e v e l o p i n g s k i l l s
w h e n u s i n g P O D
Te way I have been describing POD technology
makes it sound like it is easy to do all you have
to do is create a PDF, upload it to a website and
you have a book ready for people to read. In some
senses it really is that easy, but there are also the
stages in between that need to be attended to.
To start with, the book needs to written in draf
form. Tis is probably the easiest part, and I am
assuming that you already have some material
that you think is ready for publication. For
example, you may have an anthology-worth of
material, produced through workshops, that you
have previously published on a blog or zine.
65
I T H I N K T H E B I G G E S T C H A L L E N G E I S E D I T I N G
R E A L L Y B E C A U S E I T S D I F F I C U L T T O E D I T
Y O U R O WN WO R K B E C A U S E Y O U D O N T S E E
T H I N G S , Y O U MI N D S K I P S O VE R S O I T S N I C E
T O H A VE S O ME O N E E L S E H A VI N G A L O O K ,
B U T Y O U C A N E VE N D O T H A T Y O U R S E L F
JU S T B Y D I S C I P L I N E .
DE R E C JO N E S
You may also decide to run a workshop or course
specifcally for the purpose of publishing a book.
Tis can create a diferent sense of achievement to
publishing a zine or a blog since books are a more
traditionally recognised form of publishing.
POD has a bad name because of what is known
as vanity publishing. Vanity publishing is when
people publish whatever they want to without
getting feedback from others about the quality or
coherence of the material. Because you are self-
publishing it is a good idea to seek the advice of
others if you are not being edited in a traditional
sense.
Building a network of readers, from diverse
backgrounds and reading habits, that can give
you feedback, is essential if you are going to
polish the quality of your book. Tese readers
can help you work on the style of the writing and
spot typographical errors. Tis is a good idea for
individuals, and groups, working on a low budget,
as a professional editor can be very expensive.
66
For creative writing classes publishing work in
this manner, developing editing and proof-read-
ing skills can become an important by-product
of the publishing process. Amy Spencer, who fa-
cilitates a writing group for the organisation art
+ power, that works with people who experience
social exclusion, describes how this happened on
a project she was working on:
Amy did note the limitation of using POD when
specialist skills, such as design, were involved:
MANY OF THE WRI TE RS ARE OF TE N RE L U CTANT
TO E D I T TH E I R WO R K , B U T TH E P R O JE C T
MA D E TH I S N E C E S S A R Y. VI TA L E D I TI N G A N D
P R O O F R E A D I N G S K I L L S WE R E D E VE L O P E D .
WR I TE R S A L S O B E C A ME C O N F I D E N T A T
TA L K I N G A B O U T E A C H O TH E R ' S WR I TI N G .
I F T H E R E WA S N ' T S O ME O N E WI L L I N G T O
G I VE T H E I R T I ME A N D S K I L L S F O R F R E E
T H E N WE P R O B A B L Y WO U L D N ' T H A VE B E E N
A B L E T O P U B L I S H T H E A N T H O L O G Y , A S T H E
WR I T E R S WO U L D N ' T H A VE B E E N H A P P Y WI T H
T H E QU A L I T Y O F T H E P U B L I C A T I O N . TH E
WR I T E R S N E E D E D T O F E E L P R O U D O F T H E
F I N A L R E S U L T A S I T WO U L D B E T H E F I R S T
T I ME T H E Y S A W T H E I R WO R K I N P R I N T .
67
I T I S A G O O D I D E A
T O M A K E Y O U R B O O K
L O O K A S G O O D A S I T
P O S S I B L Y C A N . P E O P L E
MA Y B E I N TR I G U E D B Y
T H E E X P E R I M E N T A L
P R E S E N T A T I O N O F A
Z I N E , A N D F O R G I V E
I TS I NCONSI STE NCI E S
M O R E , B U T B O O K S
A R E S T I L L V E R Y
MU C H JU D G E D B Y
T H E I R C O V E R S .
D e s i g n i n g y o u r b o o k
Designing books may seem like a daunting task
if you dont have the skills. However, like many
aspects of self-publishing, there is a supportive
community of people willing to ofer advice.
Indie Publishing: How to Design and Produce
Your Own Book edited by Ellen Lupton is a good
resource guide, and also ofers a crash course on
InDesign, an industry-standard programme, used
for designing books.
April Hamiltons free online book,
Te Indie Author Guide, is a useful ref-
erence guide. It provides easy to un-
derstand, plain English, step-by-step
instructions for manuscript format-
ting, book cover design and book pro-
motion to authors who have a can-do
spirit but may not have a lot of technical
skills. April breaks it down to the basics:
using word processing programmes,
photo/graphics editing programme, the
ability to work online (flling out forms,
uploading and downloading material) to
show that designing books is possible.
Again, you may want to approach someone who
has these specifc skills and ask them to help you
design the book, or guide you through the process
of designing it.
Some POD providers, such as Blurb, ofer free
book making sofware, available to download
from their site.
68
E b o o k p u b l i s h i n g
Once you have prepared a PDF of your book,
you can also sell or distribute it free online as an
ebook.
Ebooks, and digital books, are becoming
increasingly sophisticated. Tey can be read from
nice little devices that are pleasant to use, they
are weighted like a book, fake
turning pages, so in fact they
have the feel of a book, some
of them you can have a few
hundred books in it instead of
just one (Derec Jones). Tese
devices are known as wireless
reading devices, with a popular
commercial option being the
Amazon Kindle.
Publishing an ebook is largely
the same principle as uploading
the fles to a POD service
provider. Te only diference is
the fle stays as a digital fle and does not become
a book. To make an ebook you may need to do
some re-formatting, to make it compatible with
ebook publishing requirements, so be sure to
check this with whatever option you use.
One company that specialises in ebook publishing
is Smashwords, while Lulu ofers it as a publishing
option.
USE THE ADVANCES I N NEW
TECHNOLOGY - DI GI TAL PRI NTI NG,
PRI NT ON DEMAND - TO MAKE
YOUR BOOKS LOOK AS GOOD AS
POSSI BLE; TRY NOT TO MAKE I T
LOOK LESS THAN THE QUALI TY YOU
WOULD SEE ON A SHOP-SHELF, AS
THEN NOBODY BEYOND THOSE WHO
WORKED ON I T WI LL BE I NTERESTED
JOHN RI CHES
QUEENSP ARK COMMUNI TY P UBLI SHERS
69
O N C E W E P U B L I S H E D
T H E M , W E P U B L I C I S E D
T H E M . WE A C T U A L L Y
B L O G G E D T H E P R O C E S S
O F P U B L I S H I N G , W E
B L O G G E D T H E E D I T I N G
P R O C E S S , A N D E V E R Y O N E
W A S F O L L O W I N G I T
D E R E C JO N E S
O P E N I N G C H A P T E R
C o n c l u d i n g t h o u g h t s
Tis booklet has outlined a number of diferent
ways self-publishing can be used by community
groups working in low-budget contexts to get
their message out there.
From basic zine making to cutting edge digital
publishing, to getting your book published, this
booklet will hopefully provide you with some
ideas about how you can integrate self-publishing
into your groups activities.
Tanks for reading this booklet.
If you have any feedback, would
like to order a copy, or would
like me to facilitate a work-
shop for you, please email
me at mail@debi-rah.net.
I look forward to hearing
from you, and best of
luck!
70
R e s o u r c e s
Books about zi ne- maki ng
Make a Zine! When words and Graphics Collide by Bill Brent
and Joe Biel.
Published by Microcosm, Portland, 2008.
Grassroots Comics: a development communication tool by
Leif Packalen, and Sharad Sharma. Published by Ministry of
Foreign Afairs, Finland, 2007.
Whatcha Mean, Whats a Zine? Te Art of Making Zines and
Mini-Comics by Esther Pearl Watson and Mark Todd.
Published by Graphia, Boston, 2006.
Stolen Sharpie Revolution 2: A DIY Resource for Zines and
Zine Culture by Alex Wrekk.
Published by Lunchroom Publishing, Portland, 2009.
Onli ne i nformat i on for zi ne- maki ng
Tere is a wealth of online resources relating to zine making
and zines, including online video tutorials that people have
made themselves. Tese are good if you fnd it helpful to see
someone go through the steps of making zines in diferent
shapes and sizes.
DIY - How to Make a Zine; Paper, Scissors, Pen - Rockin!
by Sam Proof. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh1W15BWCUk
71
Accordion Book from Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaES5tk3M7M
Make a 16 page booklet from one piece of paper
www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-book-16-pages.-Just-one-
piece-of-paper.
www.grrrlzines.net
Website with a wealth of information about contemporary
zines made by women and queer people trans-nationally.
www.wemakezines.ning.com
Social networking site for zine makers.
Z i n e l i b r a r i e s
56a Infoshop Archive
56a Crampton Street, London, SE17 3AE.
www.56a.org.uk/archive.html
Te Womens Library
25 Old Castle Street London E1 7NT.
www.londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary/searchthecollec-
tions/printed-collections/zines
www.qzap.org
Online queer zine archiving project. Tousands of zines
throughout queer history are available to download.
www.grassrootsfeminism.net
Contains a digital archive of zines.
72
Zi ne di s t ros ( di s t ri but ors )
Marching Stars distro
www.marchingstars.co.uk
Corn Dog Publishing
www.corndog.co.uk/zine-distro
Books about pri nt - on- demand ( POD)
and i ndi e aut hors hi p
Te Indie Author Guide by April Hamilton, 2008
www.aprillhamilton.com/iaguides.html
Book Publishing DIY : Te Do It Yourself Guide to Self-Pub-
lishing Using Lulu and CreateSpace by Tony Loton.
Published by Lotontech, 2008.
Indie Publishing: How to design and Produce Your Own
Book by Ellen Lupton
Published by Princeton Architectural Press, Princeton, 2008
Self-Publishing for Dummies by Jason R. Rich.
Published by John Wiley & Son, London, 2006.
Onli ne i nformat i on for POD
www.publetariat.com
Website that has loads of information and advice about self-
publishing, from publicity to editing.
73
www.openmute.org
POD advice agency, ofer workshops and tutorials to commu-
nity groups and small businesses.
www.authonomy.com
Online community for aspiring writers, includes advice about
POD.
POD s ervi c e provi ders
www.lulu.com
www.createspace.com
www.blurb.com
Ebook publi s hi ng
www.smashwords.co.uk
www.lightningsource.com
Self- publi s hi ng fai rs
Publish and be Damned
Annual self-publishing fair, London.
www.publishandbedamned.org
Brighton Zine Fest
Zine fair based in Brigthon.
www.brightonzinefest.co.uk
74
London Zine Symposium
Large zine event with stalls, workshops and discussions.
www.londonzinesymposium.org.uk
RGAP (Research Group for Artists Publications)
Small publishers fair, London.
www.rgap.co.uk/spf.php
Handmade & Bound
Afordable book art and zine fairs.
www.handmadeandbound.com
London International Comics Festival
www.comicafestival.com
Zine Friendly
An ofshoot from Alternative Press who hold zine swapping
and making events in London.
www.zinefriendly.wordpress.com
Alternative Press
Alternative Press is a group of artists, comix creators, writ-
ers and poets dedicated to encouraging creativity through self
publishing.
www.alternativepress.org.uk
Bristol International Comic & Small Press Expo
www.spexpo.co.uk
75
C o n t r i b u t o r s
Melani e Maddi s on
Editor of Colouring Outside the Lines, an inter-
view-based zine that showcases women making
art in grassroots contexts.
www.myspace.com/colouringoutsidethelines
www. cotlzine. blogspot. com
Red Chi dgey
Zine workshop facilitator, archivist and organizer.
www. redchidgey. net
www. grassrootsfeminism. net
Meli s s a St ei ner
Music blogger and co-founder of Cherrybomb
comics.
www. cherrybombcomics. co. nz
www. fasthearts. com
76
Ni na Ni j s t en
Belgian zine maker and artist.
www. ninanijsten. 110mb. com (artwork)
www. echoproject. 110mb. com (zines)
Lei f Pac kalen
Chairman of World Comics Finland, an organi-
sation that promotes grassroots comics as a de-
velopment communication tool, mainly in Asia
and Africa, but also with immigrants and other
special interest groups in Europe. Te methods of
grassroots comics have been crafed in coopera-
tion with World Comics India.
www. worldc omi c s . fi
www. worldc omi c s i ndi a. c om
Ana Laura Lopez de la Torre
Co-founder of the Remembering Olive Collective
and London based, Uruguayan artist. Te Re-
membering Olive Collective (ROC) is made up
of women of diferent ages and backgrounds. Te
main aim of ROC is to create public and perma-
nent memories of Olive Morris, a Brixton activist
from the 1970s.
www. lopezdelat orre. org
www.rememberolvemorris.wordpress.com
,
77
Amanda Hi ll
Archivist at the Deseronto Archives and Web 2.0
enthusiast.
www. deserontoarchives. wordpress. com
Si an Norri s
Feminist writer, zine maker and prolifc blogger.
s i anm. norri s @googlemai l. c om
www. sianandcrookedrib. blogspot. com
Jay Bernard
Writing, blogging, comics and zines.
www. brrnrrd. wordpres s . c om
Tea Hvala
Tea Hvala (1980) published her frst zine in 1997
and only recently began contributing her stories
and essays to less obscure publications. Her pas-
sion for utopian queer literature has been grow-
ing alongside her mustache. She lives in Ljubljana,
Slovenia.
www. prepi h. blogs pot . c om
78
Pamela Graham
Bristol based artist who seeks to overturn peo-
ple's perceptions of materials using viral market-
ing poster campaigns. Her art also challenges our
habitual throwawayism through working with
material and objects discarded onto the streets, as
well as her own household rubbish. Tese prac-
tices aim to give back the value that is lost when
things are thrown away.
Amy Spenc er
Amy Spencer is a PhD student at the Centre for
Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths. Her research ex-
plores the shifing positions of the author and
reader in digital literature. Her research back-
ground is in do-it-yourself media production and
she is the author of DIY: Te Rise of Lo-Fi Culture
(2005, 2008) and Te Crafer Culture Handbook
(2007). She is also a Programme Coordinator for
art + power, a Bristol arts organisation that aims
to promote social inclusion through participation
in the arts, and she runs creative writing work-
shops.
79
Rac hael Hous e
In the 1990s Rachael produced the queer zine Red
Hanky Panky, a self-published autobiographi-
cal comics zine. Rachaels comic strips appeared
internationally in publications including Girl-
frenzy, Holy Tit Clamps, Metro News (newsletter
of Greenwich LGBT centre), Bi Community News
and Glasgow Womens Library calendar. Rachael
is now an artist who works in the expanded feld
of art; her work includes Pet-tastic events, fancy
dress picnics for dogs. Tese socially charged art
events bring people together, use/claim public
space and allow participants to experience col-
lective joy. Blackpool pet-tastic took place on the
promenade September 2009. She also co-directs
Space Station Sixty-Five, an artist run space in
South London. Rachale continues to make comic
strips, and is pleased and bemused that she has
become part of queer history. She lives with her
lover, Jo, and her cat, Misty.
rac haelhous e@bt i nt ernet . c om
www. pec khampet - t as t i c . c om
www. s pac es t at i ons i xt yfi ve. c om
Derec Jones
Author and founder of publishing company,
Opening Chapter.
www. openi ngc hapt er. c o. uk
80
Apri l L. Hami lt on
April L. Hamilton is an author, blogger, Tech-
norati BlogCritic, leading advocate and speaker
for the indie author movement, and founder of
publetariat.com, the premier online news hub
and community for indie authors and small im-
prints. More recently, she launched a crowdsourc-
ing tool, on the site, to serve trade publishers and
self-published authors in literary acquisitions. In
her popular self-published reference book, Te
IndieAuthor Guide, she ofers aspiring self-pub-
lished authors a roadmap to publishing success.
www. publet ari at . c om
John Ri c hes ,
Queens park publi s hers .
Queenspark Publishers are a community pub-
lishers based in Brighton. Since being founded in
1972 they have published histories - either frst-
person, local history, or 'community targeted',
such as Bangladeshi, Sudanese, homeless people,
newly-arrived migrants - and collections of crea-
tive writing. Tey also run courses related to pub-
lishing - editing, design, marketing, self-publish-
ing - and oversee a number of websites.
www. queens parkbooks . org. uk (archive)
www. t hedec kc hai r. org. uk (literature site)
w w w . l e t t e r i n t h e a t t i c . o r g (Brighton-
related letters and artefacts)
Mi c hal Wi lli am
Michal William is a graphic designer, writer and
artist. He learnt to design by making zines, posters
and record sleeves.
www. s emi - s quare. c o. uk
Debi M. Wi t hers
Deborah M. Withers is a writer, researcher and
artist whose practise exists at the intersection
between the arts, community and academic
worlds. Involved in queer, feminist and DIY (do it
yourself) networks, she is committed to grassroots
empowerment for others. She is the founder of
HammerOn Press, a publishing and information
initiative that fuses these interests.
www. debi - rah. net
www. hammeronpres s . net