the trouble with zines

[kindkit]

THIRTY-EIGHT DOLLARS FOR A ZINE?

*headdesks repeatedly*

Okay, I get that zines aren't cheap to produce (although it would surprise me greatly if it cost that much). And I get that zines have historically been an important part of fandom. But nowadays there's this awesome invention that lets you distribute your fanfiction and fanart to the entire world for free. It's called the internet. Surely making your work available as widely as possible, as cheaply as possible, is more in keeping with the nonprofit/gift economy ethos of fandom?

(And no, I don't accept the "but some people don't have internet access" argument. There's hardly a place in the world anymore without internet access, and if somebody can afford $38 for a zine they can afford dial-up. Zine distribution is more exclusionary than internet distribution, not less so.)

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Comments

the trouble with zines

[st_aurafina]

Wow. I can't even imagine paying that for a zine. I thought the whole point was to cover the cost of getting your words out there.

*cherishes Aussie X-Files zines ($2 per issue) from the before-internet times*

Re: the trouble with zines

[kindkit]

I think pre-internet zines are an entirely different matter. But they're not necessary anymore, and they're certainly a very inefficient way of making fic available. I don't understand why people are still producing them. Maybe it's some kind of snob appeal, either for the writer (fic on paper is more prestigious than fic online?) or for the reader (zine buyers as an exclusive club who get access to fic that other people aren't allowed to read?).

Re: the trouble with zines

[brewsternorth]

I suppose one possibility is "future-proofing" the fic. Times have been when fic has been lost because of change and decay in the state of Internet hosting. LJ's stability has been rather the exception to the rule. Now, of course, we have AO3 and other similar hosts. I suspect it's a generational thing.

(Still doesn't excuse the $38 pricetag. Yikes.)