cut, paste and photocopy plus

[dem bones]

Following on from des's ark, how many of us have edited their own 'zines or regularly contributed to the small presses in any shape or form? Have noted a number of you - rog, david, mark and of course, des - have mentioned previous experience of running independent publications. Currently we have steve and rog with 'filthy creations', justin's 'paperback fanatic' (mr. cultprint certainly has plenty of previous), troo's 'pantechnicon' and only recently sean has made 'all hallows' and lurker has his involvement with the superb 'ghosts & scholars'. any more? (Apologies in advance if I overlooked anyone; just fill me in below).

Would love to hear of your experiences - uplifting or completely disastrous (have definitely got form in the latter department) - especially if they cover the cut, paste and photocopy, pre-computer/ desktop publishing years.

[carolinec]

I'm afraid my only editorial experience was when I was editor of my university's doctoral research newsletter "Hypothesis" back in the early 80s! But nothing genre-related to report, I'm afraid.

Oh, I have had a few articles in a friend's publication "The Collector" which is the newsletter of the Doctor Who Autograph Collectors' Club (maybe I shouldn't have admitted to that!).

[dem bones]

thanks, caroline. actually, i should've stressed it doesn't have to be genre-related at all. from what i can fathom, it was the punk 'zines that really galvanised the cut, paste and photocopy brigade and some of the best stuff i've read this week (don't scream) is from the independent football press - i don't think you'd have to be a fan to get something from the more thoughtful articles. someone i overlooked above is funkdooby with his work for the guy n. smith magazine, excellent samples of which grace the old board (and should be revived on here - funky?)

and hey, quit apologising for being an autograph collector - there's no shame in that at all.

[David A. Riley]

I would love to do a piece - probably several pieces - on Beyond from the mid 90s, as soon as I get my scanner connected up again. This was almost cut and paste, in that I printed off the written pages exactly as the printer would copy them, with spaces left vacant for illustrations, which were submitted to him on separate sheets. I could have done it direct from disc if my software had been compatible with his. Unfortunately, I was then using Lotus, which I have since found is pretty much useless when used with any other application - which is why I now tend to stick to Microsoft.
Our first issue was printed off on a StarWriter. Although this looked okay on the original sheets, it lost whatever sharpness it seemed to have when reproduced by the printer. Steve Jones suggested using a computer instead and printing off our original sheets on a laser printer with 600 dpi, which is what we did for the next two issues. This benefitted us both in sharpness and in far greater scope in the size and variety of fonts we used. Although we were conscious that too many fonts can look messy, it was of great use in particular for title headings, as any comparison between the first and the next two issues shows.

David

[dem bones]

davidriley said:

I would love to do a piece - probably several pieces - on Beyond from the mid 90s, as soon as I get my scanner connected up again.

brilliant! these are exactly the type of responses i was hoping for. des is doing a sterling job on the ark and i think a thread or several from those who produced and contributed to these often excellent, rarely less than interesting publications would compliment it just so.

david sutton has written a book on his long-term experience of the small press world and i gather he's down for the basil copper launch on saturday so i might ask him about that if the opportunity presents itself.

[carolinec]

admin said:

and hey, quit apologising for being an autograph collector - there's no shame in that at all.

Sorry!

By the way, David, I have a copy of issue 1 of Beyond and it looks pretty damn good to me! (my copy is also signed by Mark Morris )

[weirdmonger]

I've done 5 issues of Nemonymous plus Zencore! in the 2000s, but not really 'cut, paste and photocopy'...
Pehaps I should do an old-fashioned mag one day!

[justin]

Highs and lows of cut and pasting? Two hi-jinks that spring to mind in my small press career-

Bomba Movies, my horror movie zine was once investigated by Humberside police as a snuff movie catalogue! Thankfully the distributor refused to give my name and address to the police. This was at a time when people were having their front door battered down at 5am in the morning and their collection of grainy, seventh generation Italian cannibal horror videos seized.

Another film zine of a more adult nature cost my co-editor his relationship! Can't go into more detail than that, but he found himself ensnared as it were. If I do get to London on Saturday night, buy me a pint of cider and I'll reveal all!

[dem bones]

David; hope you don't mind me lifting this verbatim from the Ark thread. I'm not yet sure what i want to do with 'cut, paste and photocopy', but there's a great article in it somewhere kicking and screaming to be let out and i'll hopefully have a clearer idea how to progress after saturday night. but more along these lines would be appreciated and perhaps i may even set some simple questions (if i can think of any to help things along.

davidriley said:

Gothique was the very first fanzine I ever bought back when I was still at school. I still have all my copies of it. It had placed a small ad in a copy of Books and Bookmen magazine
I remember being blown away by the artwork in it - not at all reminiscent of the cover of the anniversary issue you've shown. I remember regularly mailing drawings I had done at the time - I was keen on drawing then - though I never so much as received a letter of acknowledgement off them nor anything returned or published, though I always enclosed an SAE. It was very much like throwing stones into a very deep well. I had much more luck with Dave Sutton's Shadow, which improved my dwindling opinion of fanzines (or fanzine editors) in general.
I was looking through my copies of Gothique recently during a reorganisation of my collection and was surprised at just how poorly printed it was by today's standards and at just how brief and superficial its reviews and articles were. Still, it filled an invaluable niche at the time and I must say I did look forward to each of its far too infrequent issues.

David

des; don't take the title literally: i mean small press experiences in general, as opposed to just 'cut, paste and photocopy' titles (though i tend to go for 'zines where the use of a prit-stick is in evidence, that's only a personal preference). maybe in time we'll expand it to books which drags in even more of the members.

justin; there will be a Bomba thread, soon-ish, and weird zines is up for a good scrutiny, most likely next week. police intervention was something of an occupational hazard (who can forget the odious and spiteful local media-fuelled persecution of samhein's editor in the wake of the Jamie Bulger murder?). i think i've kept notes on similar incidents which i must try and unearth.

[David A. Riley]

That's not a problem. I must get stuck in to going through those copies of Gothique I have - and one or two others from the same era like Balthus, which had some really remarkable artwork in it, not to mention some excellent, in depth articles.

David

[troo]

I have not-so-fond memories of a magazine I did at university. Well, two magazines. The first I provided content for, the second I sort of edited (i.e. slapped together with no comprehension of running order, editorial process, and gave to some spod to get photocopied).

Both for the University, one was for PSIFA (the Polytechnic ScIence Fiction Association or something, the Uni having been an upgraded poly) and the other was for The Morpheus Project (the uni Roleplaying Society underwent an arty fartsy name change while I was there).

PSIFA I was more involved with, as I was their magazine person one year, and their President the next. I recall producing a glorious work of art for the front cover of a mag, only to find that photocopying was not kind to my intricate and detailed pencilwork. Hey, I was nineteen and stupid

The Morpheus Project mag was mostly online, and mostly filled with reports on our ongoing live-action game.

I don't think I have copies of either any more, which is likely a good thing.

[dem bones]

troo said:

the second I sort of edited (i.e. slapped together with no comprehension of running order, editorial process, and gave to some spod to get photocopied).

yep, that was the approach i favoured too, although i had to make do without a spod slave to cater for my every whim.

Thanks Troo. I've not got copies of any of the first 'zine i did either and the proofs fell to pieces ages ago: i'm very happy about that too, but not for the reasons you mention. Thing is, i've really good memories of doing it and the contributors were a terrific bunch, but if i saw a copy today i'd doubtless detest my own part in it. Sometimes it's maybe best this stuff is consigned to the memory bank where it's always gonna look a lot rosier.

the second, which i essentially ran with the bride on behalf of a. n. other, was perhaps more polished, which may have something to do with how comes i hate it these days, although the content and entire waste of life spent working on it doubtless has plenty to do with that too.

still haven't decided where i want to go with this but if anyone wants to contribute a few words then please don't be put off. despite my best intentions, Saturday's wasn't really the occasion to go around press-ganging complete strangers into joining in, but i think i made one valuable new (to me) contact who i'll be chasing up very shortly.

[weirdmonger]

I've just remembered - I was involved in the inceptions and productions of two 'cut, paste and photocopy's.
SPORADIC PLANET in the late sixties at Lancaster univeristy (I can't recall whether this was associated with THE ZEROIST GROUP that I and PFJ formed around that time or not) - and again another SPORADIC PLANET in the eighties for the Croydon SF Group (1977-1994), variously attended in the Purley Arms and the Railway Hotel and the Kenley pubs by people I've now forgotten the names of, but not forgetting the inimitable Rodney O'Connor, John Hunt and Mark Samuels...
I don't think I have got copies of either 'Sporadic Planet' now...

PS: On 2nd thoughts, I don't think my involvement in the first SPORADIC PLANET was anything more than being in it! But not by-lined! (A collab by me and PFJ that I insisted was only in his name!) Strange country the past

[Craig Herbertson]

At one low point in my writing I decided that the way forward was to construct a small press magazine. I dedicated an editorial to EC Tubb. (The editorial remains the only bit I am proud of). I then wrote a lot of stories and pseudonymised (sic) them. I spent about a month illustrating it myself and spent even longer sneaking around school trying to get it photocopied. Finally I got together about ten copies of the thing. I was left with a product entirely me. It was called something like 'The Bumper book of Fabulous Tales'

I then sent this effort to EC Tubb and Mike Don of Dreamberry Wine. Doubtless both remain baffled to this day why anyone would take all this trouble. They were the only ones beyond myself who saw it as I partially recovered my sanity shortly after.

Craig

[troo]

Please tell me you still have a copy, Craig