hiiiiii! zay has his copy now so I can post pics!! :D
I don't normally bind my own work, but after zay did an incredible podfic of one of my jayvik fics, I decided to give a go! (and so I could make him a copy too hehe). this is a bind of the podfic of my little seaside post-canon, when it comes my turn to lose you. gorgeous artwork on the CDs is by @moonartjb and @wr0wn. (full pieces, which have and deserve their own posts, are here and here!)
as always, more crafty chatter under the cut! <3
This was such a fun challenge! I knew going in that I wanted a format that would showcase the podfic in a physical way, but I went back and forth on how best to do that. While I was puzzling out possible dimensions, I came across the digibook and went !!!:
From there, it was just a matter of sizing the textblock and case around the CDs, then making paper pockets for each board to house them. For the textblock, I measured the dimensions of a CD and a standard jewel case as a starting point, then found a size I thought would work best. I printed on my usual short-grain letter paper and trimmed twice--once after sewing the signatures, then again after gluing the spine. The finished size of the book is the same height as a jewel case, and a little shorter length-wise:
(comparison photo with another bound podfic by zay hehe)
For the CD pockets, I used cream printer paper and folded them using this tutorial (...don't ask me how many times I had to refold them to get the dimensions exactly right ajsdlfkjs).
All in all, I'm quite happy with this size! I think it strikes a nice balance between book and CD case, and it feels nice and sturdy in the hand, especially with both CDs in there (Disc 1 is chapters 1-4, and Disc 2 is chapters 5-7!)
Another one of my favorite bits of this bind is the window inset! Original photo is by Daniel Gorostieta, which I edited in Affinity Publisher and printed on Epson photo paper. I then layered a sheet of acetate between the boards to give it that reflective window quality, and also to protect the photo paper, which can be vulnerable to scratching and fading if left exposed.
But by far the COOLEST part of this bind was getting to hand it to zay in person!! I've only ever mailed author copies before, so it was amazing getting to meet up and hand him something we'd both worked on together 🥹
And finally, one last credit--the beautiful metal spiral bookmark (which I just had to include in the pics) was a gift to me, literally forged by dear @zillac. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever received, and I can't believe it's mine!! I will treasure it forever <3
Between the artwork, the podfic, meeting zay, and zil's gift (which arrived around the time I was finishing this bind)--gosh! All my books are a mosaic of people and stories I care about, but this one felt extra special 💌
And that's all for today! Once more for the road: you can listen to zay's podfic on ao3, here <3
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