APR: Zine-go-round (Collaborative Zine Project)

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Group:	Zines, mail art & other cool stuff
Swap Coordinator:	snout (contact)
Swap categories:	Zines
Number of people in swap:	17
Location:	International
Type:	Type 3: Package or craft
Last day to signup/drop:	April 6, 2013
Date items must be sent by:	April 20, 2013
Number of swap partners:	1
Description:
All aboard the Zine-go-round! This is the first round of the Zine-go-round Collaborative Zine Project. For this first swap you will prepare one mini zine (see tutorial). Choose a theme and create front and back covers for your zine. Include your mailing address on the back cover. Send this zine to your partner and include a note describing your theme or anything related to the zine that you would like your partner to know. Mini zines are small, self-published pieces of work. For this collaborative project, six people will contribute to your zine! You will design the outside of your zine. Once all of the inside pages have been filled, your zine will be sent back to you! Be sure that your return mailing address is printed clearly on the back cover. If you choose to jump on the zine-go-round realize that it will take six rounds to complete your zine. First time making a mini zine? Check out this awesome tutorial! (Comment below if you would rather continue this project in the forums to ensure a different person 'signs' or decorates each page. I will happily organize swaps or a forum thread as preferred by the participants!) EDIT Thanks for all the great comments and feedback below! You are welcome to send your zine however you like! Sending folded should not be a problem for your zine and the postage will cost less. I will create a spreadsheet to help track zines. Everyone will receive an e-mail from me after swap assignments so that you can respond with your swap partner's name. Good communication will make these swaps successful! There will be a forum thread set up for zine discussion. Swappers can post their zine themes and anything else related to the series there. If at any time you lose interest or choose not to participate, please contact me so that the zines can continue to circulate!

Discussion

TangleCrafts 03/10/2013 #

Just wondering - should the original maker's return address (or contact details) be included on the back cover when it is first sent out? The final page could still be further decorated/completed once the zine is eventually returned, but otherwise, how will the 6th person to add a page in the zine know where to return it?

Of course this wouldn't be an issue if there is a forum thread to track & organise things, but I'm still thinking it might be easier to include the originator's contact details initially, just to avoid potential complications later...

As far as a forum thread goes in general, I wouldn't personally be too concerned about possibly getting the same person adding to a zine more than once - that's the nature of 'random'! I'd probably prefer the project to continue as a series of swaps, but it probably wouldn't hurt to have a forum thread in addition (so there is a fallback position if somebody who was participating needs to step out, etc).

Love the idea of the swap! :)

snout 03/11/2013 #

@TangleCrafts of course! Thanks for your input! (I like the randomness of the swaps as well.)

For simplicity's sake let's decorate the front and back covers at the beginning. Returning address should be incorporated into the design of the back cover. (This will also be added to the information above.)

TangleCrafts 03/12/2013 #

Thanks for clarifying - that makes a lot of sense to me. :) Now I just need to decide if I'm brave enough to commit to add work to the other swappers' unknown themes... ;)

scrappermama 03/12/2013 #

TangleCrafts I'm with you on that last thought! There are a lot of amazing artists out there, not sure if I'do justice to their zines!

snout 03/13/2013 #

You should both join!! I think the fun of collaborative work is to have completely different styles (or not). I would say that we have a very open-minded and supportive group here, a perfect place for this sort of thing! ( @scrappermama I am by no means an amazing artist! So join in! It'll be fun.)

TangleCrafts 03/14/2013 #

It's still a definite maybe from me. ;) I'll probably join but need to give it lots more thought, first...

scrappermama 03/15/2013 #

Lurking, lurking...

soyprincesa2 03/15/2013 #

So on the sixth round we would need to return to the owner rather than a random assigned partner. Am I right? Will this work with the rating system?

Wingy 03/20/2013 #

I'm in...sounds like fun :D

Wingy 03/20/2013 #

when i send the zine to my partner with the letter should the letter continue on with my zine to the other swappers so that they can see the theme....

Caromite 03/24/2013 #

I wonder how to send the mini-zine... Will the mini-zines be send already folded or unfolded in a big envelope? This makes a big difference for the postage so I would like to know!

BTW, I really love the idea of a collaborative zine!

ARTG33K74 03/25/2013 #

I would be favorable to folding the page in advance and using a legal sized envelope. â˜º That makes the most sense, mailing flat would cost a lot and my apartment mailbox is small. Your going to need a spreadsheet to track what went to whom & when! â˜º I'm all in. This looks like so much fun.

snout 03/26/2013 #

@soyprincesa2 Sending it back to the owner would be a step outside the rating system. That's generally the easiest way to do these sorts of swaps. (Many similar swaps will be held within forum threads rather than set up as swaps.)

@Wingy I think that will be up to the person who receives it. They could send on your note, write one themselves explaining the theme (this makes me think of the telephone game!), or send both. I will have a note in follow-up swaps reminding people to note the theme. ;)

@Caromite & @ARTG33K74 I too expected people to send folded. I'm all for saving on postage!

Glad everyone is excited!! Me too!

I will set up a spreadsheet once partners are assigned to help us track the progress. Please send your partners to me once you know. There will be an e-mail reminder for this and a follow-up with the spreadsheet for anyone else who wants to keep track!

Would everyone also like a forum thread for tracking and discussing the progress?

I do plan for this to be ongoing to allow new people to jump in along the way!

snout 03/27/2013 #

I have added an extra week for creation. :)

soyprincesa2 03/31/2013 #

Yay! It's good to see so many joining this!

scrappermama 04/ 4/2013 #

Oh! Finally jumping in with both feet!

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APR: Zine-go-round (Collaborative Zine Project)

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