Rosaleah (Nancy Klee) died back in 2016, I hear, and I just noticed this blog was still up and open. I figure, if anyone's watching this page, I should let you know.
Rosie was a good friend, and I'm sad that nothing really came of this site. I hope wherever she is now she has lots of time for projects and doesn't have to spend her twilight years working on bullshit computer issues.
So long, Rosie! Be seeing you.
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Name It
I was stewing over Rock Stew when it finally occurred to me why I was so bothered by it: Stone Soup is the title of a children's mag! I guess Rock Stew is the grown-up version? Heh.
Methinks a good brainstorming session is in order.
I've invited a couple of friends to have a look at our blog-about-it blog here; one has had a peek and thinks we should definitely go for it. Thanks, Liz! Your opinion means a lot to me! I don't know if the second invitee has been here or not, nor -- if she has been -- whether or not she's rolled her eyes at our flight of fancy. (A decided flight of fancy considering my reduced circumstances!)
I put in some time with MSPublisher over the weekend to see just how workable it is. I'm happy to report that the program includes CMYK and Pantone functionality. I'm investigating the difference between "Black" and "Process Black" in the Pantone system, because of problems I am aware of on the printing end: one of these is probably what is known as "rich black" that uses all 4 printing colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black -- the CMYK of CMYK, with black being K) to create black, while the other should be 100% K. My thinking is that "Process Black" is the one we want (100% K) but I won't know until I run a test .pdf and use the full Acrobat to see the color separations. That is, however, an easy step.
I will have to learn where all the buttons are for everything, but after an initial foray into it, I'd say that Publisher will be just fine for our purposes.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Rock Stew
What to put in such a zine? I suppose a little bit of everything, within reason. A cartoon or two, a story or two, a poem or two*, and some opinions. Really, what does any other magazine have that's not here? Besides reporters, talent, photographers, MBAs, PANTONE specialists, graphic designers, a marketing department, advertisers, submissions, a fleet of Adobe products, huge machines stamping our content upon unwary pages and handlers to attend to their care and feeding, and readers.
But I suppose most of these things are ultimately necessarily. So, let's shout into the wind put in what we can. IF we all contribute what little we are able, it might turn out pretty good.
It's like that story about the guy who threw a stone in a pot and asked the others in the village to add just one thing, and at the end they had a pretty good concoction going for everyone. What was it called again? "Rock Stew?"
* In computer terms, I could have written that as "a (cartoon|story|poem) or two" and saved a few words.
Talking MagCloud
I began a Publisher file for the Zine (titled it Our New Zine as a place holder). Made a couple of decisions: page size 6" x 9" with 8 pages total. Start small, yanno.
Then I moseyed on over to the MagCloud site, where I discovered that everything they publish is 8.25" x 10.75" (from 8.5" x 11" size pages). Um. Okay. That makes the decision for us then. Scratch the placeholder file and begin again. Not the first time I've ever "frogged."
Then I browsed the magazines available from the site under the "Literature and Arts" heading. And started to feel totally inadequate to the task. I mean ... I was looking at some fine high end design there. And while it is true that graphic design is the business I am in -- I'm not really a graphic designer, per se. I'm really just your plain garden variety typesetter. And I was thinking to keep it plain, simple, more about the words (or the artwork itself, should we be blessed with photos / drawings) than about some high-falutin' design work.
Besides, folks, all I'm using here is MS Publisher. And not even the latest version, at that.
And, of course, it will indeed take some money to bring this whole concept to viability. Sure, we can submit our .pdf file and get the issue on the site for next to nothing. But then we'll want to sell issues. We can send folks to the site, but I know from experience with ordering a single issue from them that the shipping cost will be a deal killer. Better would be for us to order hard copy issues and take to the streets to see if they actually sell. And that, my friends and neighbors, will take some serious moola.
Seems like an impenetrable wall right now. Frankly, I want to go crawl into a hole and just cry my eyes out.
But I won't. I'm going to pretend this is viable, even knowing that it's very likely not, and get on with it.
Then I moseyed on over to the MagCloud site, where I discovered that everything they publish is 8.25" x 10.75" (from 8.5" x 11" size pages). Um. Okay. That makes the decision for us then. Scratch the placeholder file and begin again. Not the first time I've ever "frogged."
Then I browsed the magazines available from the site under the "Literature and Arts" heading. And started to feel totally inadequate to the task. I mean ... I was looking at some fine high end design there. And while it is true that graphic design is the business I am in -- I'm not really a graphic designer, per se. I'm really just your plain garden variety typesetter. And I was thinking to keep it plain, simple, more about the words (or the artwork itself, should we be blessed with photos / drawings) than about some high-falutin' design work.
Besides, folks, all I'm using here is MS Publisher. And not even the latest version, at that.
And, of course, it will indeed take some money to bring this whole concept to viability. Sure, we can submit our .pdf file and get the issue on the site for next to nothing. But then we'll want to sell issues. We can send folks to the site, but I know from experience with ordering a single issue from them that the shipping cost will be a deal killer. Better would be for us to order hard copy issues and take to the streets to see if they actually sell. And that, my friends and neighbors, will take some serious moola.
Seems like an impenetrable wall right now. Frankly, I want to go crawl into a hole and just cry my eyes out.
But I won't. I'm going to pretend this is viable, even knowing that it's very likely not, and get on with it.
Name that Zine
I told John last night that for a long time I'd wanted to use "Glow Worm" as a publishing name -- zine, publishing company, whatever ... it's another way, says my scrambled brain, to say "moonlighting" without saying moonlighting. I would, said I on that aforementioned heady eve, use that title for this very blog about our 'Zine-producing process.
At dawn of day, however, I decided not to do that. Glow Worm sounds like something for kids. Kids are great, but this is an adult endeavor. Glow Worm is decidedly out.
Hence the title "Our New Zine" for the blog. I apologize for the aribtrary decision, but, hey, we needed a start and, John, I don't think you were out of bed yet.
Now the Zine itself needs a title. The floor is open to suggestions.
At dawn of day, however, I decided not to do that. Glow Worm sounds like something for kids. Kids are great, but this is an adult endeavor. Glow Worm is decidedly out.
Hence the title "Our New Zine" for the blog. I apologize for the aribtrary decision, but, hey, we needed a start and, John, I don't think you were out of bed yet.
Now the Zine itself needs a title. The floor is open to suggestions.
Resources
What makes this enterprise possible at all is the existence of MagCloud. John used this resource to publish his Amy & Pyx comic at super duper teeny tiny cost. He had an invitation to open a publisher's account on the site that he sent to me and that I am reserving for when we decide on a name for the Zine. MagCloud has its pros and its cons, but for now at least the big pro is that it is cheap -- almost-free cheap -- a consideration that overrides all else at the moment.
And, yes, it is a Zine, in the proud tradition of amateur-production limited run 'Zines produced by obsessed fanatics everywhere. (Or at least that was once the case. Is it now? I don't think I've seen an actual 'Zine in years and years!)
Other resources:
Internet access, which I have (for now) at home and (when I'm there) at work. There is also, I understand, net access available at the public library, should it come to that. And it might.
I have Microsoft's Publisher program on my home computer. Assuming that after January I still have a home in which to keep the computer, that means I can produce the Zine entirely myself. I would prefer to use Quark as well as Adobe's full suite with InDesign, Photoshop, and so on, but those programs are priced so far out of my reach it's plain laughable. Publisher is usable. I'll use it! (And, hopefully, should it come to that [so sorry for repeating that but reality is reality], perhaps we can find a kind soul who also has Publisher and will allow me to use same to get at least one issue out!)
Google. As in: gmail, documents, chat, Blogger, calendar, and so on. So many google resources! Free! Thank you, Google, I adore you!
Something at least sort of ready to go: A story I entered in a 1-day writing contest (it didn't win, not even so much as a door prize, po' po' me) can be spiffed up for inclusion in the Zine. Even if I can't polish it to my satisfaction, it can still be published in the Zine as an Object Lesson and/or Ongoing Writing Experiment.
And, of course, our own selves. So far, John and I. With any luck, more to come.
And, yes, it is a Zine, in the proud tradition of amateur-production limited run 'Zines produced by obsessed fanatics everywhere. (Or at least that was once the case. Is it now? I don't think I've seen an actual 'Zine in years and years!)
Other resources:
Internet access, which I have (for now) at home and (when I'm there) at work. There is also, I understand, net access available at the public library, should it come to that. And it might.
I have Microsoft's Publisher program on my home computer. Assuming that after January I still have a home in which to keep the computer, that means I can produce the Zine entirely myself. I would prefer to use Quark as well as Adobe's full suite with InDesign, Photoshop, and so on, but those programs are priced so far out of my reach it's plain laughable. Publisher is usable. I'll use it! (And, hopefully, should it come to that [so sorry for repeating that but reality is reality], perhaps we can find a kind soul who also has Publisher and will allow me to use same to get at least one issue out!)
Google. As in: gmail, documents, chat, Blogger, calendar, and so on. So many google resources! Free! Thank you, Google, I adore you!
Something at least sort of ready to go: A story I entered in a 1-day writing contest (it didn't win, not even so much as a door prize, po' po' me) can be spiffed up for inclusion in the Zine. Even if I can't polish it to my satisfaction, it can still be published in the Zine as an Object Lesson and/or Ongoing Writing Experiment.
And, of course, our own selves. So far, John and I. With any luck, more to come.
Our Zine Blog
This blog is the result of a conversation I had last night with my friend, John Harris. We were consoling each other over our lives of poverty and how was I, for instance, going to pay my rent after this month, etc., when we had a Moment of Clarity:
We'll publish a zine! Sell it to the masses! Become instantly wealthy!
It sounded much better last night, believe me.
In the light of day, I realize this will earn us basically squat. And be a ton of work. And likely distract us from earning real pay-the-bills money.
Still, we know it can be done, even if it never earns a dime beyond coffee money. Or never earns a dime, period. That's because we both can write / draw / photograph and we both know others who can do the same and might, just maybe might also contribute if we ask politely and beseechingly.
And, while we have no money, we do have resources, which I will list soon in its own post.
Also going into its own post will be a request for title suggestions, as well as thoughts about what to include in the Zine.
We'll publish a zine! Sell it to the masses! Become instantly wealthy!
It sounded much better last night, believe me.
In the light of day, I realize this will earn us basically squat. And be a ton of work. And likely distract us from earning real pay-the-bills money.
Still, we know it can be done, even if it never earns a dime beyond coffee money. Or never earns a dime, period. That's because we both can write / draw / photograph and we both know others who can do the same and might, just maybe might also contribute if we ask politely and beseechingly.
And, while we have no money, we do have resources, which I will list soon in its own post.
Also going into its own post will be a request for title suggestions, as well as thoughts about what to include in the Zine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)