My Zine-Making Process

Mosaic of the steps to making a zine

i originally created this for Thaura Distro to share my process for zine making. Everyone has their own process, and i imagine that the process may even differ or change with more experience. i have so far made three zines and this is the process i have followed for each of them. Before i made my first zine, the process seemed very overwhelming to me and i was blessed to have fellow zinesters like Mai’a, CripChick, Nadia, Noemi and BFP share something about their processes so that i could even begin to conceive of trying to do something myself. My method probably isn’t the best method, and may not be the easiest method for someone to understand (i know even with step-by-step process/directions from others, i still didn’t fully understand how it worked). You really have to just get in there and try to do something. But i hope seeing my process might jump-start people to try.

These are photos i took as i was working on my second zine, Fear Hope & Justice. You can see a version of the mosaic HERE, and that includes links to each individual photo so that you can see them each in better detail (on my Flickr) as well.

Here is my process:

1. collect poetry, quotes, images/art that i would like to use in the zine; format text, print and cut everything up for use.

2. i enjoy making my cover first. i’m not suggesting that is a “normal” way to start, but since i am very ocd and also use my dreams/visions/instincts to guide the process, it has so far been my process. i think it lets me set out a visual for myself of where i’m going, keeps my “goal” in mind or how i want things to come together.

3. i take 8 1/2 x 11 paper (i am flexible about what kind of paper. my first zine i used yellow lined legal pad paper of the correct size. i liked that because then it created lines on pages in the photocopied zine which i thought was interesting background. for this zine here i used regular white copy paper.) and fold it in half, setting the pages inside each other. this way, as i start pasting/designing, pages are automatically designed in the order that i would like them to appear in the zine. i know other people like to move pages around, reposition things. that isn’t my method. i also don’t have a specific number of pages in mind. i know the minimim number i want to have to get all of my “pieces” in there, but i usually end up with at least a few pages more than i had planned on because i don’t really count at first. this gives me space to still get a little creative, after i start laying things out on the pages. i can see that i have room to play with.

4. lay out. sometimes this involves additional cutting or shaping. laying things out gives me an idea of how many pages i have to work with or need to fill before i start pasting.

5. pasting. i start the basic pasting, getting things put together in the order i really want. order and balance of text to art is pretty instinctual for me. i follow my instincts.

6. adding additional pieces. when i see i still have quite a bit of white space or pages look too formal or plain, i start looking for creative and unusual elements to fill in space and add texture. in this case, i used several cards from a set i had to provide matching elements that went thruout the zine.

7. finished prototype of zine.

8. photocopied finished zine.