This makes me very happy. Is there any particular ones you are working on already? Also do you take suggestions?
I'd actually almost completely finished putting two books together a few years ago when life kind of fell apart and I forgot about them, so The Queen of Mist and Memory and Taming the Unicorn should be out soon. I also thought I'd put together some of those 1998 Spooky Award winners that were circulating a few days ago, too.
Will you be publishing anymore of the fanzine or fanfic books for Lulu?
I probably will! I just finished a book with Lulu for work, so I'm back in the groove. I'm going to look into where I was with those when I left off and maybe put some other "classics" together. :)
As I've been trying to figure out Lulu (rather than Blurb, which no longer supports the trade paperbacks used for the previous zines), I started working on a print archive project for xf fic "classics."
This is a non-profit project designed just to preserve in hard copy some older favorites that may not be housed at Ao3, and so are more vulnerable to deletion/loss. I don't know these authors, and their contact info is out of date so if you know them, please let them know. I'm happy to take these down if any author objects--I just wanted a nicer way to preserve them than printing them out.
I will say, though, that I just got my copies, and they look so good. I worked really hard on the editing/formatting (about 10-15 hours each), so they're much nicer than the unformatted text of gossamer, livejournal, or the wayback machine. I'm planning to create some more in upcoming months, but they do take a while.
If you're an author and want something like this done with your work, please let me know!
I also plan to rework Volume 3 of the zine to finally get it printed (it just may be in a slightly different format than the others because of Blurb's changes). :)
Hi everyone, I wanted to offer some updates as to why the zine hasn’t been published yet. Basically, everything is in place and the zine is ready to go to print... but it has only half the content of the previous two zines. In other words, it’s only 50 pages long, rather than 100+
So I’ve been trying to track people down, make my own content, pull from tumblr, etc. for months off and on in order to generate more pages for the project, but that’s been a lot of work on top of an extremely difficult and stressful year.
I think at this point, I should probably just send it to print as a half-zine, and probably make it the final volume? Thanks to everyone who has submitted, and I’m sorry the project didn’t come together more quickly.
Hi all! A fair number of people indicated they’d be interested in a third issue of Touchstone, so let’s do it: Quarantine Edition.
The deadline for the third volume will be 1 June, 2020. For more info, visit the website:Â www.msrfanzine.com and see the page on submissions. (I am also copying the submission guidelines below, under a cut.)
Don’t forget that smaller art, manips, photos, shitposts, and commentary can be previously published. While I’m still looking for original content for full-page art and longer fanfiction, shorter bits and bobs may have previously appeared on the web (just indicate where and/or provide a link if possible).
Don’t hesitate to send an ask if you have any questions!
Submission Guidelines
Please Note: Fanfiction and fan art should not have been previously published, either in print or online (such as on ao3 or tumblr). While we may print some previously published content (such as commentary, photos, shitposts, image manips, etc.), fiction and full-page art should be original to the zine. PLEASE INDICATE IN YOUR SUBMISSION EMAIL WHETHER YOUR CONTENT HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED (and if so, where).
Fanfiction
Please submit fanfiction in an editable format such as a word document (.doc, .docx) or a rich text file (.rtf) not a pdf or google doc (these are a nightmare to copy/paste/edit).
Please format your document for print, which means no space between paragraphs (except for in section breaks) and indents at the beginning of each paragraph.
In the document itself, be sure to include a title, the name you wish to be published under, a brief (fewer than 75 words) summary, and the following tags:
rating
identifiers (au, smut, hurt/comfort, angst, etc.)
timeline (pre-xf, season 6, episode names, etc.)
Art
In the body of your email, please list the title of your piece (if it has one) and the name under which you wish to be published.
Indicate your medium (digital art, pen and ink, etc.)
Please upload or attach files at a print-worthy resolution (at least 300 dpi).
Keep in mind that the magazine will be printed in black and white, so color images will be desaturated.
Other
We welcome: photos, screen grabs, interviews, meta commentary, personal essays, doodles, shitposts, image captions, manips, fake dialogue, and all other forms of msr nonsense. These can have been previously published, but please indicate where/when in your submission email.
Please include in your email a description of what you're submitting
Include the name you want it to be published under (or indicate if you wish it to be anonymous)
Submitting: Please send all submissions to spookydarlablack @ gmail.com with the subject line "MSR Fanzine Submission"
Is there any interest in doing another zine? The second issue didn’t sell very many copies, and fandom seems to be waning a bit... but I’ll have some time in May/June to put something together if there’s interest? The other option might be more curative, where I’d seek out pre-existing stuff (but that might be kind of complicated).Â
Comment, reblog, or drop me a message to let me know what you think. 🙂
Hi, will volume 2 also be available digitally, like the first one? I was blown away by volume 1 and return to it over and over again, so I'm really looking forward to the new issue. Unfortunately shipping would be too expensive to my country :/
Hi there, and YES! The digital edition will be available after the hard-copy giveaway from @observeroftheuniverse on the 15th (so probably beginning the 16th). So glad you enjoyed the first issue!
In case you were not aware, Volume 2 of @spookydarlablack 's fanzine project is now available! @msrfanzine
Some of you may also remember that earlier this year, I had a giveaway of several copies of the fanzine. I'm pleased to announce that I am going to be doing another giveaway for this volume!
I will be giving away ten copies of the fanzine to ten random people. The conditions are the same as last time:
LIKE or REBLOG this post for entry into the giveaway
You can enter as many times as you want
You DO NOT have to be following me
Winners will be selected on January 15, 2020. I will announce the winners in a follow-up post, and reach out to the winners. I will need your mailing address so that I can arrange shipping. Again, like last time, I will send shipping confirmation screenshots so that you know it's legit.
Thank you to all the wonderful contributors to Touchstone, vol. 2!
The cost of this issue is $7.49 USD, and shipping should be available worldwide. A PDF version will become available soon as well. Happy Holidays everyone!
I realize it has been a LONG time since updating (very many intense work priorities have slowed this process more than I’d have liked), but I am assembling all the submissions into the final layout now.
The zine should be ready for Xmas ordering, assuming all goes smoothly in the next week or so!
However, this is a VERY last call for tiny doodles/sketches, meta posts, or jokes, etc. that anyone might want to see in print--these can have been posted already on tumblr or twitter!! Maybe you said something funny or had a short thought that you want circulated again--send them in! I’m trying to fill in a few white spaces with smaller pieces and comments.
I’ve received some wonderful submissions for Volume 2 of Touchstone, but not quite enough to fill the volume, so I’m extending the deadline to September 15!
Please look over the Submissions page and conjure up some art, commentary, notes, fic, etc., you lovely smart and talented people!
Cover Art
I’m also seeking a piece for the cover, which should be in color, relatively abstract, and large enough to either stretch over the back cover, or have a second back panel without too many contrasts in color (so that text can be overlaid--take a look at the first issue with art from the lovely @chekcough for an idea).
Cover submissions should be sent by October 1, but please contact me if you have any questions or ideas.
TXF Flash Fiction Workshop: Friday 23 August 8pm Eastern
Let’s write some short fic! Drabbles, flash or micro stories test our skills to produce meaningful prose in a constrained way.
Using a series of prompts we’ll look at how to reduce our word count and increase the impact of the prose.
The workshop is open to XF fanfiction writers at all levels. It’s a friendly session where we discuss writing, the show and share our work in a non-judgemental setting. Join us!
We are going to look at submitting some of the pieces we write to the @msrfanzine!
If you plan to submit something to Vol. 2, would you mind dropping a note in my inbox? You don’t need to list any details, but if you could let me know what type of content (fanfic, full-page art, small image, short commentary, shitpost, etc.) you plan to submit, I’d like to get a sense of what might be coming in.
Don’t forget, submissions are due by September 1!Â
Don’t forget that you can also submit responses to the first issue (letters to authors, comments, etc.), short commentary on the show or the fandom (even one-line shitposts), doodles, manips, images with funny captions, and basically anything else you see on tumblr!
Hi all! Many folks have asked about Volume 2 of Touchstone, and this is just a reminder that SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN.
The deadline for the second volume will be the first of September, 2019. For more info, visit www.msrfanzine.com and see the page on submissions. (I am also copying the submission guidelines below, under a cut.)
The biggest change this time, to encourage more submissions, is that small pieces of art, manips, photos, shitposts, and commentary can have been previously published. While I’m still looking for original content for full-page art and fanfiction, shorter bits and bobs may have previously appeared on the web (just indicate where and/or provide a link if possible).
Don’t hesitate to send an ask if you have any questions!
