Oh Interviews

So I've emailed Todd Dills my interview questions. I only had eight questions ready figuring that I'd email him back based on his answers. I'm really interested to see how he responded to a lot of the questions I raised.

The only other interview I've ever done was with Elizabeth Bernstein from The Big Ugly Review and that went extremely well. It still worries me though because these people are doing me a favor and they don't really have to take it seriously I guess. When it comes to that they could just answer in two sentences and that's it. What do I do with that? Anytime I do an interview I'm extremely nervous. I also had to interview someone with my dream job this semester and my favorite author in the entire world, Diana Gabaldon agreed to do the interview, I was shocked. As I was thinking of questions to ask her pertaining to the life of a full time writer I was more stressed out then I've ever been in my entire life. I guess I'm just wondering if doing this gets any easier, just the constant anxiety of wondering what the hell they're gonna say.

Oh about Story Week,

Aimee Bender's piece was fantastic and Christina Garcia's voice annoyed me. I also don't know how I feel about her writing. There's something there obviously but I don't know if it is something I actually enjoy. I mean it's good, but I don't know. I can't quite put my finger on it. Then again maybe it was just her mousy squeaky voice that made it that way. Who knows.

Speaking of Story Week

Definitely not mandatory, but if anyone's not busy tomorrow at 11am, I'm on a Story Week panel with Johnny Temple of Akashic Books, whose work we've discussed, and whose essay on author promotion we read. In fact, the panel is on that very topic. So if you have the time, come check it out:

11:00 AM
Panel: Beyond the Bookstore Tour,
A Look at Guerrilla Marketing for Authors
with Jonathan Messinger, books editor, TimeOut Chicago,
publisher, Featherproof Books, and author, Hiding Out; Hillary Carlip, publisher, FreshYarn.com, performance artist, and author, A la Cart: The Secret Lives of Grocery Shoppers; Eric Kirsammer, owner, Chicago Comics and Quimby's Bookstore; Shawn Shiflett, author, Hidden Place; Johnny Temple, publisher, Akashic Books
Host: Sam Weller, The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury
Columbia College Chicago
Film Row Cinema, 8th Floor
1104 S. Wabash, Chicago

Class meeting tonight

Just a reminder that we're not meeting in class tonight. You're all expected to go to the Story Week event at the Harold Washington Library Center, 247 S State St, in the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium. Here's the info. So no assignments due tonight, just be at the reading, and make sure I know you're there, otherwise you will be marked absent.

See you tonight.

Lost in an abyss of paper work

Okay,

I really am having a hard time figuring out what it is I am supposed to be doing. I probably should have taken notes. My bad. Anyway, if there is any way I could get some direction on what is expected from us for Tuesday that would be appreciated. I kind of know what I doing but I think it would be good, if not for the whole class, then just me if we could get a post of what we all need to have ready for you this week.

good at rambling

Other than catching the flu for the first time since I was, I don't know, five, in the time I've been missing from class, I was approached by a friend about a project, well, a publication--a zine/music thing that would see no financial contribution on my part whatsoever. I thought I'd never ever get financial backing for any of my insane projects but in six months time, I hope, people'll be seeing a pop-up, pop-culture oriented zine/10" single/thing out with the help of yours truly and a couple of amazing people scattered around the country and production paid for by someone else (!). The opportunity is really great and I'm glad to be part of something, but it totally brings in a few facets I've never had to deal with before.

Namely, there's someone rich I don't know well expecting something from us with set in stone deadlines. Also, an "us". I've never worked with other people before on a scale like this, where the budget is something I don't have to worry about dipping into my rent, where I only have to concentrate on how to make our ideas work together in a timely manner. Other people? Freak me out. I'm used to just making books/zines of this nature alone, that it's a weird shifting from a very personal, "do it while I'm watching TV" thing to a "meeting on Sundays to discuss screen-printers" mindset. What I like to do for "fun" is turning into work and that is AWESOME (but not FANTASTIC because I'd really like to see shit like this buy me, like, a pair of shoes or something instead of just stroking my ego...). No one expects to make any money from this and it'll be a one-time deal but it's planted a lot of thoughts and questions in my head. Would it be possible for a tiny project like this to blossom into something bigger? Into something self-sustaining (rather, as self-sustaining as it can be while still dependent on distribution and marketing and whatnot)? Into something people actually want and pay for? Will I be lucky again to find people who think I'm endearing enough to throw money at once in a while for really ridiculous projects? How do people "make it", if they "make it" at all? Will it be possible to quit my dead-end job to do things I'm stoked on like help word/art/story/whatever projects materialize? So many thoughts! Other than sheer will and tenacity, constant toil, and hoping that rich people who feel bad for poor people always exist, I wonder if there is any other way.

But, back to Invisible Arc, back to my baby. And that's the name I'm sticking with for the project in class because although it sounds dumb when read aloud, it looks really good written down and typeset. Never saying my project title aloud again. Yes. What I'm psyched on for that? An artist/musician/graphic novelist agreed to an interview for it. He may or may not be doing the artwork, too, depending on how desperate sounding I am on the phone or something, but dude encompasses a lot of the hodge-podge, aesthetic-driven, cross/mixed-media stuff I'm interested in showcasing inside of Invisible Arc and he seemed at least interested in my project. So I'm excited for the interview, if that's all I can charm out of him.

Flunking Down

No one wants the dollar anymore and no one can buy your magazine. With the collapsing American economy it is tough to keep any small business up and running. Small businesses, whether they be presses or clothing stores, are shutting down, having "everything must go" sales and shutting the door. Until a big business like Marc Jacobs moves in and replaces the independent store with better prices and familiar label names.
I don't think people suck, well actually I do, but that's not the point. If anything small presses need more options, more distributors to work with so that if one goes under, not every magazine gets pulled down with them. The community support is there, the donation of 16,000 is quite impressive, but the lack of a healthy distributor with steady cash flow, is where the problem comes in. The word "backers" comes to mind, wealthy backers, a rich uncle with John Lennon glasses and a velvet robe...
But really, with the economy they way it is today, with the American market floating on a tide of inflation, I wonder how much longer any business can last, even the big ones.

I should just teach myself how to draw.

Seriously, other people suck. That really dependable artist I talked about in class, told me he was too busy a week ago. Now I'm relying on an old friend who's been drawing for a good long time, though I've never seen him draw comics before. I sent him the script on saturday, he said he'd get back to me by sunday, and now I'm going to call him before class today to try and get a definitive answer.

This is all making me want to make my web comic submission oriented. I have a lot of problems with this model, though. Like "won't I have to pay people?" I was contemplating an idea where you could take the ad money and anything donated and divide it evenly amongst the contributers, but that was one of the dumber ideas I've ever had, really. I imagine the contributors saying: "Hey, the website I was published on just sent me a check for $0.45! I'm gonna buy a gumball!"

Also, if I'm going to be doing a website with other people's comics in them, I should try to differentiate myself from people like Drawn & Quarterly and Flight. Though maybe the only real difference I need to have is to be a web comic (something that has new content multiple times a week and costs nothing) as opposed as a print magazine or anthology(something that has new content a few times a year, and costs money). So, yes, numerous roadblocks.

Great Typos

That is supposed to say, "Brought to you by the ruthless dictator, LOQUTOUS! Resistance is futile.



But I think I like it that way now that I can't change it. WE need to get more hard core about our dreams and stop believing some fairy god company is going to scoop us up and save us from the horrors of the universe. Become Magneto!

Audio8.com

Print'n Ain't Easy

Looking at this article through the eyes of Bruce Kent makes me more determined to amplify my ability to be proactive. Many of us wait around for someone else to do the work. WE ALL know we are waiting for science to solve all of our problems. Why are we waiting? Because we think we can, because it is easier than doing it ourselves.... I have said for quite some time now, "I work four times as hard not to do something than if I would have just done it in the first place."

Who can we depend on? NO ONE! if you look at a situation from that perspective, when things do go your way you can use your over preparedness as an extra, or save it up for a rainy day. I wish I thought this way a decade ago!? I personally wait until the very last moment to do certain things, and breaking myself of that habit is hard. Now, ...thinking my finances will be taken care of just because some company was created to ensure it still does not give me the security I really need. (PERSONALLY).

I will never ever again let another humans idea be my security blanket , no matter how full proof it seems. We should all be helping each other out I know, but at the same time working at a pace we can afford. I though that is what taking out college loans was all about? I mean, a dream is important and if it is so important that you have to put your trust in some union, then it should be important enough to come up with multiple back up plans for production as well.

I do admire the proactive stand that was taken to get the ball rolling on getting the money. Sometimes you do have to kick a little butt to get people in line. We've all had our fair share of spankings in our day and I think we can all agree that without them we would be worse off. At least I would anyway. In short you can either be passive or aggressive just to make it black and white for a moment. You can be the bitch getting pimped or the pimp slapping the hoe. The point is when you start playing the numbers game if you're not ruthless the chances of success are very slim.

This is not a place for the soft hearted and the care givers of the world. A very ridged and focused mind set is needed, with the ability to sometimes turn a blind eye to moral logics. How much can one person submit to something like that? Is it for the greater good? WERE THERE REALLY WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION? Probably, but who cares? The four percent of rich jerks people in other countries really hate in the first place, that's who. Are we at war as writers? You bet you sweet biscuits we are. Are you properly armed for this war? I don't think so!

The only way to win is to pay very close attention and don't sleep. The British are coming, and they're our parents and friends who won't help us. They are the people who don't read or write ...ever! The teachers who are pains in the asses because they can be, the students who don't really know what they want to be when they grow up and get in the way of real people who value their educations.

There is an up side to all of this. One day the Earth will be gone and everything about it. So the fact that none of us totally made it won't really matter. On the other hand, since we're here and also good at what we do -what's the harm of giving it all we've got until the bitter end. Figure out who your real foes are and stop making them up in your head. We all know who our worst enemies are. Right? ...Us!

So, when things don't go right, WHO DO WE BLAME? Ourselves. That's where it stops. Not your friend who didn't get it done on time. You knew they sucked before you asked them to participate. Just think about something that you do everyday that you really like and want to do and how easy it is to get that done. Almost effortless that is isn't it. Now all the sudden we can't take time out of our day to fight back a little and become the writers we know we can create with a little elbow grease....

....Hey Print'n ain't easy!

Audio8.com
Brought to you be the ruthless dictator LOQUTOUS. Resistance is futile!

Intake

I've received my first three submission and I must ask "Where is the time?" Between work, school, and leading the Hell Cat project, it's most tiring. One of the submissions had the worst grammatical errors I've ever seen. It came from a musician who will remain nameless but I expected much better from him. However, it's exciting to read stories that are structued similar to my own but carry very different tones, pacing, and voice.

Also, another one of my submitees is callin' in his peopl to submit to this and it's great but I need a good chunk of time to absorb them all! I got so caught up in putting this thing together, I didn't really stop to think about the possibility of calling for help. "HELP!"

Life's tough out there...

I couldn't imagine the stress that would come with the demands of distribution, and still not getting a check in October when it was due on September 15th! I would be especially pissed off if I started my zine 11 years ago and this little financial mess-up threatened to destroy everything I worked for. This whole thing seems like such a headache! Not enough money, not enough people reading it, not enough anything! But I guess Venus got through it, right? How is PunkPlanet doing?
I really would like to know if IPA is still being so stretched financially today. Also looking at these pictures, do they have offices for their zines? I'm only asking because if its based outside of, say their desk at home, then these zines are quite a bit bigger than I had imagined. For some reason I always think that zines are something that gets put together at home, not big enough to have an office of their own. Maybe that's my own misconception.
It's amazing, too, how BigTop is kinda their last hope. With the big publishers, these zines are like the misunderstood teen living in a super-strict parents' house. "Why would you want to sell 15,000 copies instead of hundreds of thousands or millions?"
Life's tough out there for the little guys, I guess.

Money Woes

Hearing about the flight of Punk Planet and Venus is frightening. These zines seemed to be doing fairly well but when they couldn't be paid they essentially faced the daunting realization that they could go under. Punk Planet and Venus have been in publication for over a decade and now, when they aren't being paid by a company who they trusted, they are folding.

The idea that a project that is beloved and doing well can collapse in a heartbeat is scary. My project isn't going to be in print, but for my fellow classmates who are going the print route, they have to realize that it's a risky business. Even well established zines can collapse when the revenues aren't being paid. For those just starting out with little to no money for production face an even larger economic struggle.

I really feel for Punk Planet and Venus, these zines were their editors and creators' babies. Now they are facing collapse and there is absolutely nothing they can do about it. I think Punk Planet actually went under which is devastating to those of us just entering into a small press venture.

The Death of Indie Distro?

Written in 11/05, I'd like to learn what happened to turn the situation around (if anything).  I’m aware of, but don't know Punk Planet or Venus, so I don't know if they are still working with IPA/Bigtop Newsstand.  I could feel the frustration of these people coming through, though.  It must be a really helpless feeling to know that the one group that is supposed to support you has debilitating troubles of its own. 

          One quote that confused me:

"BigTop is the last distributor that specializes in the small independent press. So do you go to a big national distributor, who doesn't understand what you do and doesn't understand why you'd want to sell 15,000 copies instead of hundreds of thousands or millions? And those distributors have even more arduous payment terms than BigTop has."

How necessary is it that the (larger) distributor "understand you," as long as your readers get it?  

Why I'm publishing scares me

After reading about the problems that Punk Planet and Venus have faced, that's my real fear of even trying to start a publication. The constant about the "money factor". I admire those people for pressing on, because I would definitely consider abandoning ship. Starting your own business in today's world is a difficult task anyways. Let alone in a dying market. It's like trying to sell Beanie Babies. I'm also not one who likes to sit back while my money changes as many hands as it has to in the publishing industry.

clink Mission Statement II

We're going to have to face it, people. Drinking is a big part of our culture, whether we like it or not. One of my favorite things about drinking is the talking; knock back a coupe martinis or beers or shots or whatever your chosen poison is, and sooner or later, you'll be talking up a storm. Chances are you'll be telling lots of stories while you're doing all that talking. As a frequenter of bars (and the bottom of the bottle), I've heard plenty of those stories, however slurred they may have been. I've also been on the other end; drunkenly expounding to equally inebriated peers (or strangers, on more than a few occasions).

clink is a meeting place for those stories. Stories about drunk people, drinking, being drunk, wishing you were drunk, overheard while drunk or getting there, told while drunk or getting there... clink is where those stories come to live. It's purpose is to entertain, primarily, but it is also to preserve those stories often forgotten in the drunken haze of bars and wild nights.

_______

I like this one better-- it opens up the range of submissions, instead of limiting it to Chicago-specific stories. I also think it has a bit more of a voice than the first one...

Next week's reading

http://www.chicagoreader.com/hottype/2005/051104_1.html

Oh Submissions

I've received four submissions for my project and I haven't really had a chance to take a look at them yet. From what I've skimmed over they all have a different feel to them and one story takes place in Vienna which is great. Everyone who I've solicited to seems to be really interested in the project which is really encouraging especially when entering into a daunting task such as this.

Being an intern who is constantly reading submissions I think I've gained a good eye at searching for what is appropriate for a certain zine or small press. I'm definitely going to use that sort of critiquing and analytical approach when it comes to accepting pieces for Stick Ball.

When all this first started it seemed like such a large daunting task and now as we're getting into actually gathering submissions, creating our mock up's, cementing mission statements and guidelines, it doesn't seem to huge anymore. Everything is coming together really well. I'm also thinking of asking my interviewee, Todd Dills from the2ndhand, if I can publish his interview in my magazine, but I'm not sure if it will fit the theme when I'm done interviewing him.

So that's what I've got so far, a couple of submissions, a bitchin' mock up coming from my unartistic skills and pretty solid submission guidelines and a missions statement. Now all I need is a website, a domain name and somewhere to host the thing.

Proofing Your Life

I've received my first submission for "The Hell Cat Quarterly". I skimmed through it and it's exactly what I asked from "S.K.U.N.X. de Hoot". Everything's getting crazy in that I'm distributing one literary journal out of S.F. here in Chicago, lining up an interview with a guy at S.P.D.(Small Press Distribution), and putting my project together; all while writing on the side. It's good to be busy. Multi-tasking on a network level is like being in a bar fight-You don't know the outcome so you gotta make every hit count!

Pat Strachan's Mentor

In just browsing through the Q&A with Pat Strachan, one thing that caught my attention (on page 2) was the discussion about learning to edit and whether or not she had a mentor.  Strachan said that she had had several mentors, one being another editor that allowed her to see his manuscripts after he edited them.  She then says that her primary teacher was Carmen Gomezplata, a chief copyeditor, who taught her more than “technical editing…the punctuation and if you put the possessive here or there,” but also what Strachan referred to as “instinctive editing.”

 

This is something I think can really make or break a non-established writer.  Of course, there is an element of “who you know” that can help you get published, marketed, etc.  But having a good mentor must be one of the most important aspects of becoming successful at just about anything.  A lot of times we assume that an artist, writer or musician creates their art on their own, and have enough talent and drive to push the project into being.  I know I can’t.  In academia alone I have already changed what I read, and how I write based on opinions of people I respect.  Note, I say: Of people I respect.  I do not have a strong mentor right now, but I seek advice from other students and instructors that I feel can offer it.  My instincts have been sharpened at least a little by learning and trying new things that I would have otherwise never thought of.  I know that I will be better off working with other writers, editors or those in the field before trying to set out on my own.  I just know that I have sooo much to learn.