#If you want to buy a print of one of the pieces in the zine you can!

[alythekitten]

Finally I can officially share my Ichigo Box designs!!!

Aftersales are open if you want to buy some pieces merch without a bundle, there is also a raffle with 4 ita bags!!!

I have one print and two double design charms a contribute for this zine!

[faggotmox]

something wonderfully important has happened! my "wrestling dad" josh shepard got his book of wrestling erasure poems published & it is up for sale (either 10$ or "name a fair price"). this is incredibly important to me as im one of the first people to have gotten the privilege to read these poems as josh wrote them. josh is incredibly important to me as a friend, he is the guy who introduced me to wrestling & gave me a deep, unrestricted passion for it.

josh is so fucking talented, & creative. he is also my favorite poet, not just bc he's my friend. the book's flow is dedicated to the flow of a wrestling match, following all the hallmarks (the lock up, big heat, the comeback, ect) with the themes of his poems to create a match like narrative for the book.

there are like three specific poems in the batch that i want tattooed on me, a stone cold one, a mick foley one, & a briscoe brother's piece. the aj lee pipebomb poem moved me to actual tears, even when i read it now. the macho man poem abt being bipolar struck me so hard i rethought my own feeling on my mental health. josh pushes impressive themes of capitalism, mental health, poverty, & family theoughout many of his poems. i know ive got a few wrestling fans here, & if you're also into poetry please considered josh's work. or just if you want to support a friend of mine.

a cool way to support josh's work is by requesting it at your local library! even suggesting to bookstores that have poetry sections or interacting with the work thats already published. following/reposting josh's work for exposure also is great.

bruiser zine said this:

The second volume in the BRUISER Zines series, Cutting Promos is a collection of pro wrestling erasure poems by the Oklahoma City poet Josh Shepard. Printed and assembled in Baltimore, this limited edition zine collects 26 poems previously published in BRUISER, HAD, The Daily Drunk and many other fine publications.

After being laid off at the onset of the pandemic, Shepard found comfort and inspiration in the glow of professional wrestling and its performers—their violent struggles, fighting spirit, and electric language—and from their speeches and promos that have inspired wrestling fans across the globe he delivers Cutting Promos, a collection of erasures that echoes the personalities, pursuits and perseverance of pro wrestling’s greatest, standing as a testament to life lived during Hard Times and deliverance through them.

[ IN CASE YOU MISSED THE LINK ABOVE TO BUY JOSH'S BOOK ] [ JOSH'S TWITTER | INSTA | LINKTR.EE* ] *a lot of the links don't work bc the publications went under :( but there's still quiet a few up for free here

support my kayfabe father!!! i watched him turn his hard times into beautiful pieces. even in the beginning when he only had 3 or 4, before he even thought he could make the book i saw his passion for these pieces. i was there for every heart wrenching rejection letter & every hard earned spot. every time he was working late at the library sending me new ideas bc he couldn't watch dynamite. every single wrestling poem josh has written has now been published & that is a huge success. he puts in the work like a wrestler puts in the work in the ring. hard hitting, gritty, & beautiful.

[srmt-zine]

At last, some details!

(A while back on @srmthg we had a zine interest check, and it remains open for any additional suggestions/feedback about what you'd like the zine to be (you can also shoot this blog an ask) but I don't plan on doing a second interest check. If enough people feel this is a mistake, there's still time to do one, but as it stands I don't see the point. I will continue to accept feedback and take it into account moving forward!)

By the way, my name is @netbug009 and I'm your friendly head mod for this project! This will be my first time running a zine, but I've been helping run projects in this fandom for 18 years!

The Format

SRMTHG Zine (cooler name tbd) will be a free PDF zine scheduled to release on September 18th, 2024, AKA the 20th anniversary of the series' first episode!

I know a lot of folks (myself included) like to have nice, shiny, hard copies of zines, and I hope to get the zine onto a publishing on demand site such as Lulu to let people buy them at-print-cost if they'd like, but a free digital edition will be the first priority. Since this zine is a celebration of the anniversary of a relatively small fandom, I want as many people to be able to access and enjoy it as possible! Plus, this is my first time running a zine, so I think it's smart to keep it simple. This also lets us worry less about page counts - if a lot of cool people contribute cool stuff, a PDF can be a chonk as we want!

The Content

The zine will include both fanart and fan fiction (and maybe even a few QR codes to some other digital goodies like AMVs and fanmixes if there's enough contributor interest!)

Light shipping will be allowed, with a few exceptions - no adult x child and no monkey x human ships will be allowed. (This was THE overwhelming request in the interest check and is not open for debate.)

We're going for a general vibe and love the idea of getting copies into the hands of voice actors/staff, which should give you a rough idea of the type of content we're going for - if it's too creepy/fetishy to hand to Ciro at a convention, it's too creepy/fetishy for the book. (That said, Monkey Team is a very silly and weird show with a love for classic horror tropes so I hope people don't let that limit their imaginations too much if they wanna do something spoopy!)

NO AI WORK WILL BE USED OR ACCEPTED IN THE CREATION OF THIS ZINE. I hope that'd be a given but just to be 100% clear, no.

The (Rough) Timeline

March 2024 - Contributor Applications Open!

April 22nd - Zine members selected and invited to Discord

May 1st - Zine members finalized

June 1st - Zine check-in 1

July 1st - Zine check-in 2

August 1st - Zine pieces due!

September 1st - Zine layout finalization due!

September 18th - ZINE RELEASED!

You might notice this is a pretty long timeline for a zine and we're starting pretty early; because this fandom is fairly small and this is a big occasion, I want to provide extra time so that as many people can hear about the project and participate as possible.

If you're looking for something to do until contributor apps open, SIGNAL BOOST, SIGNAL BOOST, SIGNAL BOOST! Reblog, post to Twitter, tell your friends, get the word out so this can be the biggest celebration it possibly can! If you make any graphics in your quest to help get the word out, PLEASE tag this blog so they can be shared!

Aaaand that's the basics! Again, feel free to send an ask with any additional questions. If you're considering applying in January, it's never too early to start sketching/considering ideas!

[cromulent-marshland]

🍉 FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA

HELPING PALESTINE

If you think that the only way of helping Palestine is going to a protest, then you're not thinking big enough. While protests are amazing, and we need to keep the pressure on Biden and the other world leaders, here's some things you can do in your daily life that also help.

🍉 Follow the BDS list. I'll link some resources of what not to buy and what is safe. I know this gets confusing, but I'll try to give you all the resources you need to make informed decisions.

🍉 Give money to Palestinian organizations. Just like the BDS list, I'll link all the resources I have. Lots of them are helping on the ground to provide aid and give Palestinians a chance to tell the world whats going on.

🍉 Follow Palestinian journalists. I'll link a lot of them down below, but they are the best way to see what's going on right now.

🍉 Listen to Palestinian people. I'm white, so I only want to use my voice to uplift Palestinian ones in this issue. I will stand hand in hand with them and use my privilege to push them to the forefront, but I never want to to take the spotlight away from them.

🍉 Learn Palestinian History. I'll link some great resources I found that helped me learn the history of the Nakba, the constant degradation of Palestinians by Israel, and why this issue needs to be talked about until Palestine is free.

🍉 Distribute reading materials, zines, stickers, or anything else. It's a great way to spread information and lift up Palestinian voices.

Resources after the cut.

RESOURCES

BDS LIST

🍉 What is BDS? - The official website. It tells you want not to buy and all that other fun stuff.

🍉 Sully Iqbal - His TikTok's about the BDS list break it down simply for everyone can understand what it means and how to follow it.

PALESTINIAN ORGANIZATIONS

🍉 CARE FOR GAZA -  Nonprofit that’s taking donations to help get food to the people in Gaza right now. 

🍉 E-SIMS FOR GAZA - eSims are one of the only ways Palestinians have been able to keep in touch with the world and loved ones.

🍉 CARTOONIST CO-OPERATIVE E-SIM DRIVE - If you donate an eSim to Gaza through the link and provide proof, you can get a commission or free art piece from these amazing artists. 

🍉 MEDICAL AID FOR PALESTINIANS - an organization on the ground in Gaza working to stock hospitals with essential healthcare supplies.

🍉 MIDDLE EAST CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE - Helps children in Gaza.

🍉 PALESTINE CHILDREN’S RELIEF FUND  - Also helps children in Gaza.

🍉 UN WORLD FOOD PROGRAM  - They are trying to send aid trucks into Gaza right now and working to get it past Israeli checkpoints.

🍉 DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS  - Many members are in Gaza right now helping in hospitals.

PALESTINIAN JOURNALISTS/ NEWS ORGS

🍉 Motaz - Not currently in Gaza, but is important to follow as he goes to plead Palestine's case all over the world.

🍉 Bisan - Currently in Rafah. Makes beautiful documentaries and posts about everyday life.

🍉 Wael - Not in Gaza, might be returning. Works with Al Jazeera in the Middle East.

🍉 Walaa

🍉 Nour Arfaa

🍉 Doaa

🍉 Aya

🍉 Al Jazeera - Good news source. Actually gives you information about what's going on in Gaza.

🍉 Lama - The youngest journalist in Gaza right now at 9 years old.

PALESTINIAN HISTORY

🍉 BLACK ZINE ARCHIVE LINKS FOR PALESTINE - Lots of good resources and articles about Palestine 

🍉 ISRAEL PALESTINE CONFLICT - SIMPLIFIED

🍉 A GUIDE TO PALESTINE FOR BEGINNERS

🍉 POLITICAL EDUCATION PODCAST PLAYLIST  - by Emma Kim Rust

ZINES/READING MATERIALS/PRINTS/ETC.

🍉 LIST OF WRITERS AND ARTISTS MARTYRED IN GAZA 

🍉 BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT SANCTIONS by Omar Barghouti 

🍉 FREE EBOOKS FOR A FREE PALESTINE 

🍉 THE OCCUPATION OF WATER

🍉 PALESTINE ZINES AND READING LIST - by @cyclista_zine

🍉 PALESTINE ZINES -  by ig @illegibledistro

🍉 THE FREE PALESTINE ISSUE - by Mizna 

🍉 PALESTINE: A SOCIALIST INTRODUCTION Edited by Sumaya Awad and brian bean 

🍉 "ISRAEL IS MASSACRING US. PALESTINIANS NEED PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKE A STAND" -  by Ahmed Abu Artema, October 17, 2023  Middle Eastern Eye

🍉 "LIGHT IN GAZA" - edited by Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bin, et al.

🍉 "THE NAKBA AND PALESTINIAN REFUGEES: IMEU QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS" - by Institute for Middle East Understanding, May 5th 2022

🍉 PALESTINE READING LIST - by Dogfish99

🍉FREE PROTEST ART - Paste it in your city.  

🍉 MORE PROTEST ART

BOOKS 

Analysis and history 

🍉 “The Question of Palestine” Edward W. Said 

🍉 “Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics” by Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick 

🍉 “ The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A history of Settler Colonialism and Resistance 1917-2017” by  Rashid Khalidi  

Poetry 

🍉 “Words under the Words: selected poems” Naomi Shihab Nye 

🍉 “Birthright” by George Abraham 

🍉 “ Dear God. Dear Bones. Dear Yellow.”  by Noor Hindi 

🍉 “Rifqa” Mohammed El-Kurd 

🍉 “I could die today & live again” by Summer Farah

🍉 “Born Palestinian, Born Black” by Suheir Hammad

🍉 “ How water holds me” by Tariq Luthun 

🍉 “Almond Blossoms and Beyond” collected works of Mahmoud Darwish 

Fiction

🍉 “Minor Detail” by Adania Shibli 

🍉 “Against the Loveless World” Susan Abulhawa

🍉 “The Book of Ramallah” Short Stories edited by Maya Abu al-Hayat

OTHER ACTIONS YOU CAN DO

🍉 STOP THE GAZA GENOCIDE TOOLKIT - Very important. A treasure trove of information. 

🍉 FREE AND FAST WAYS TO SUPPORT PALESTINE

🍉 PALESTINIAN BUSINESSES - Support people and Palestinian businesses directly. 

🍉 CALL CONGRESS: STOP FUELING VIOLENCE

🍉 JAM THE PHONE LINES

🍉 WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR PALESTINE BLANK ZINE - Fill it out and hand it out to give out when you're in public.

If you have any more resources or suggestions, reblog them under this post or DM me and I can add it to the original post. Free Palestine. We can't give up on Gaza, no matter how tired we may be. They need our help.

[poxei]

im making an oc art book

my goal is to make an art book compiling all of my polished diner oc art and make it at least 50 pages long. it'll probably be done by the end of 2023. this book will include all my finished pieces, including ones that i've already printed as stickers and prints. i'll post everything online so there will be no book-exclusive art. there may, however, be book-exclusive text and commentary. i hope you look forward to it ^_^

now that my plushie making ventures are over, i can fully focus on making this book! i really want to finish it!!!! originally i planned to finish it in July, but i pushed back my date because i didn't want to rush it and end up with a poor quality book. and im also announcing this in case people want all of my art but dont want to buy that many prints, they can save for this book instead. and also bc announcing it will force me to finish it.

im also thinking of making a companion r18 zine that will be just non-canon oc yaoi. this zine will contain stuff im too shy to post online lol. so there will be exclusive content in this one.

[henrikvanderhussy]

Clue Crew Zine Done Cheap

The current trend in fandom zines (fandoms in general, not Clue Crew in specific) are these very fancy, professionally-printed collections of fanfic and art. Typically it's competitive to be selected as a contributor, and expensive to purchase. I'm sure they satisfy a project management itch or an "owning a nice thing" desire, but they don't satisfy my personal feelings about fandom. I want to make something for the sake of making and sharing, and the joy of creating without the pressure to make it perfect. I want to touch it with my hands and feel like I'm connecting.

I was feeling a little sad that the zines I want aren't really a thing in fandom anymore. Then I remembered that I'm the bizarre Millennial Who Owns A Printer and also I accidentally just bought way, way too many stamps* 

So fuck it. Let's make a zine.

I'll print them at home and mail them out for free to anyone who wants one. If they're too large for a regular sized envelope, I'll still mail them out for free but also ask people to chip in a little money for postage if they can.

We need two things to make a Nancy Drew games zine: 1. People who want to make things for it, and 2. People who want it mailed to them.

1. Fill out this form if you want to make something for the zine. This is not a binding commitment, this is just a way for me to get in contact with you. I'll also poke people in a couple months to see if they're still interested in contributing. 

2. Fill out this form if you want to be notified when it's time for me to collect mailing addresses. To be clear, this isn't an 'interest check' or whatever. As long as one person wants it, I'm going to make it. I'll also put up another tumblr post when I'm ready for addresses, but if you fill out the form, you'll get a message and won't have to worry about watching for that post. 

"What can I make for the zine?" Honestly anything, as long as it centers around the Nancy Drew games and hasn't been posted publicly yet. Fanfic, meta, speculation about KEY, a puzzle, comparisons of Bess Marvin's character across different Nancy Drew media. Limit it to maybe…2500 words? I'm trying to keep this in a range that won't kill my printer.

Art doesn't really work, because again, home printer. BUT an option would be to put in a link or a QR code that goes to an art piece. And hell, if we're going to make this multimedia, it can be anything: a music composition, a podfic, a video acting out your favorite game scene with puppets. (I can help with image or audio hosting for anyone who needs it)

This is open to everyone to contribute, no restrictions or auditions. I'm setting a tentative submission deadline of February 29th (it's a leap year!), but that can be pushed back if needed.

I know it's uncomfortable to give your address to some stranger on the internet, especially since I'm newer to the Clue Crew! I've had my main blog (@theshmaylor) for ages though, and I have some mutuals there who I've met in person at various conventions who can vouch for me. I'll also make sure to collect addresses in a way that doesn't connect to your username or internet presence.

I really want to make this zine happen, so please share around Clue Crew tumblr, and let me know if you have any feedback or ideas!

*I thought I was buying 4 sheets of 6 stamps, but it turns out the sheet was folded and actually they're sets of 18 stamps, and sure I should have asked more questions about why it was so expensive but there was a big line behind me, so what was I supposed to do? Hold up the line at the post office? Of course not

[winds-of-change-zine]

Application QnA!

If accepted, would it be possible to be credited with a pen name not associated with ones’ tumblr account/common @ handles upon zine publication? *Wanting to participate with a specific character zine, however, remain unaffiliated with the media/fandom it resides from.

Yes! Once you make it to the zine (If you do) You can aska moderator if it's possible to go by a different pen name! We will gladly help you.

Will there be an overarching theme of the zine that my piece should fit in with?

Nope! We have decided that this year it will NOT have any themes. Perhaps next year!

I have a lot but what I'm most curious about are specifics! Stuff that I would only need to worry about IF accepted. Any specific Morro design? Canvas size? How complicated/how many items would the drawing need?

The zine won't need a specific morro design! It is to celebrate and show love for a character in the fandom, so, fanon designs will be accepted. If you make it, our server will have specifics on what your piece will need regarding the layouts! Lastly, the drawing will have to be a fully rendered piece (No sketches, Lineart, or incomplete pieces) and will need at least a simple background.

Will there be an option to buy a print of the zine? I think that'd be awesome!

The zine will be free and ONLINE ONLY! We will see if next year we are able to make it a physical but for now it is a full on passion prject and experiment.

How would sending the image go? Would I be sending it to you via email?? Do u have a preferred image format (jpeg,png, etc)?

We will have a google Drive folder that will be open for our contributors to drop off their pieces. Also, PNG or PDFs will be the onky ones acceptable!

The zine Tumblr has lost of q&a but is there a specific link to a applicant rule sheet I'm missing & am I correct under the presumption that the zine is free & just for fun of it?

Yes the zine is free and just for people to enjoy, it was also made as a first zine gig for those who have never joined one.

how long do comics tend to be in these kind of zines? As this would be my first zine, I don't really have a point of reference. I can make my pitch work for any length but just wondering what is typical anyway :)

We are allowing people to let their comics be as long as needed. But, usually regular zines will let you do a 3-4 page comic!

For page artists, are we allowed to make multiple pieces? Also would it be possible to make a physical zine in the future? Thank you for this opportunity!

For now we are allowing ONE piece per contributor! And lastly, it might be alot more difficult to make a physical in the future as we might need more moderators, but only time will tell and we shall see!

Thats all for now, thank you so much for your questions! If you have anymore dont be shy to ask away.

[danggirlronpa]

Merch Monday Wednesday!! Because I finished my certificate course yesterday andnow I have time to be a person who exists again!

[Ko-fi to Support This Project]

Because I've been lower on funds this last month or two, I haven't been able to purchase nearly as much merch lately. (I physically could not stop myself from buying Some of it. I'm mentally ill. Making poor financial decisions about my hyperfixation is my bread and butter.) So this is a collection of merch from probably the start of November! We'll go from the earliest to the most recent.

THIS IS THE STICKER I THOUGHT I LOST. You can buy this here! I actually ended up ordering another one and then having to cancel it when I found the original (it was buried under my bills somehow), and the artist was very sweet! The sticker itself is just fine, especially for how cheap it was, and I love the art on it. The artist has lots of other fun stuff, including a similar Ishimondo sticker, so check out the rest of their shop too!

This is from @drexecutionzine's fundraiser sale! I wanted to get both it and the matching Komaru one, but this was the start of my Financial Woes, so I couldn't swing it. I ended up getting the more blatant Toko's Got Her Crushes print. This one shipped near immediately after I bought it, which assuaged a lot of worries about their shipping in general. I'm so glad they managed to make enough to ship out the zines!! No defects, gorgeous art, Death Trauma - we've got it all!

These prints by @cactuskhee were fully an indulgence buy, because I've both of these in other forms - the left piece in a much smaller bonus art that was for patreon supporters, and the right one as the cover of the DR Bunny Zine - but I loved the left one so left that I wanted a physical version, and I wanted some physical version of the Bunny Zine, even if I couldn't buy the whole thing physically! (It's a fantastic zine with designs uniquely catered to each character; you can find purchase updates here!) Khee's store, komahina.com, is closed for the year, but should reopen again in January - patrons get a notification when it opens and a password to get in a day early, so consider supporting them!

This is a VERY CUTE Irumatsu keychain from @networkink on her Storenvy! It was originally $13, but it's gone down to $6, which was much more affordable for me - and I'm so glad I got it, because it's sooo cute! The back of the art is bumped out against the back, which may be a negative for people who expect their keychains to see a lot of wear and tear, but for me it isn't an issue at all. She's also got a got other ships planned and some really cute general Yuri totes and pins in her store - check her out!

This is one that I was VERY excited about, because I had input into it!! @ariespetal asked on Twitter what pieces people would want to see at prints, and this is one I mentioned in the replies, because it's one of my favorite Tenmiko arts maybe ever. I'm so so excited that she made it available, and bought it the moment it went up. (RIP wallet.) And it was absolutely worth it - it's a very good price considering its size, and it's even more beautiful physically than seeing it digitally! I'd love to get ahold of her Angie print, too, once I have more money. Check out her etsy!

[kuzakat]

☀️CONTRIBUTORS WANTED!☀️

Artists and writers, we invite you to join our first ever DIBPER ZINE!🌲👽👻 Dibper is a crossover rarepair between Dib (Invader Zim) and Dipper (Gravity Falls)! STRANGE SUMMER will be a fanzine centered around these paranormal-loving boys hunting monsters, telling campfire stories, and falling in love in the summertime! As long as it goes with the summer theme, we'd love to add it! Now, I'll go over some important info.

☀️This zine will not be paid nor cost money to buy! It is purely for fun (and the first zine I've ever done), so it'll be relaxed and made to be viewed digitally or printed out and assembled yourself! (If you have experience putting fanzines together, I welcome any help or advice!)

☀️We're gonna try to be pretty open to basically anyone, but there will be some requirements! We will need some examples of your work, either art or writing. It doesn't have to necessarily be Dibper related! Art will have to be digital and SFW. You can inquire about joining and send examples in my DMs!

☀️You can contribute multiple entries! The Dibper fandom is a small one, so we feel it makes sense to allow several entries if the person wants to make more than one! It can be negotiated, but the limit would be 3 art entries and 2 fic. Art needs to be 8.5x11 inches dimensions, and fic a minimum of 800 words and max of 2000 (negotiable).

☀️Entries must be original/made for the fanzine specifically! You will be allowed to post your contributions separately after the zine is finished and public! Entries will need to be SFW (swearing, kissing, and some violence allowed), and they must feature Dib and Dipper primarily, though other Invader Zim and Gravity Falls characters are allowed in pieces with them.

☀️If accepted into the project, we expect you to stay respectful towards other contributors and stay in contact with us. We reserve the right to remove someone from the project if needed, but we don't want to! Just be nice to people. After acceptance, we will need you to join Discord to stay in contact about the process. This link will be shared only if you are accepted.

☀️At this time there is no cutoff date for joining, so go send an inquiry!

☀️We are going to try and have STRANGE SUMMER done and assembled in Summer 2023! Please DM with any questions not answered here, or to inquire about joining us!☀️

[duckprintspress]

Why Query Letters are Good Actually 

Part One of a Two-part series of guest posts by Alec J. Marsh.

Hello, it’s me, Alec. I’m a new editor to Duck Prints Press and the resident corporate shill sellout. I love Duck Prints Press and their ethics (and will write an opinion piece soon on why they rock and you should submit to them). I also…. love traditional publishing. 

I’m sorry! I know this makes me a trend-following sheep. I know it’s a hot take in the indie pub crowd. Traditional publishing absolutely has its flaws, and I could go on at length about them. I’m still aiming to get my novels traditionally published. I want to be able to find my book at a Barnes & Noble and be nominated for a Hugo. Sorry not sorry. 

One of the worst parts of traditional publishing is the arcane hoops you have to jump through to participate. As anyone who has poked querying with a long, tentative stick knows, there are many requirements, and every agent’s website uses slightly different phrasing, and it’s a nightmare to navigate. It’s an extra nightmare if you’re neurodivergent and desperately seeking a clear, simple list of expectations. Unfortunately, the basic requirements are there for a reason. A GOOD reason. Learning the skills required to put together a good query package will serve you well, whether you want a ten-book deal with Tor, to sell hand-stapled zines at the local convention, or anything in between. 

So let’s get into it! 

The first thing you need in any submission process is a query letter. What is a query letter? In short, it’s a 3-5 paragraph essay about your book, yourself, and why a publisher should buy your work (and therefore why an agent should agree to represent you). You need to tell the agent the genre, the plot, and why this book is special. They are excruciating to write, because yes, you need to condense your book down to 300 words, maximum, and sell it at the same time. 

But imagine, for a moment, that you’ve walked into Ye Olde Barnes & Noble. There, on the end cap, is a cool new fantasy book you’ve never heard of. The cover has a sword and a snake on it, and you like swords and snakes. But how is it different from the 20 other books with names like A Court of Swords and Snakes that have come out in the last five years? The first thing you do is pick the book up, turn to the back cover, and read. 

You know what’s on the back cover? 

Paragraph one: In a stunning tour de force, ACOSAS takes you through the glittering world of naga politics… (A teaser sentence)  

Paragraph two: Princess Arya has always wanted to be a dancer. But when the evil northerners attack her kingdom… (A paragraph about the main character and the central conflict of the book) 

Paragraph three: Alec J Marsh lives in the Pacific Northwest and has never seen a snake in the wild. (A biography of the author) 

Guess what you just read? A query letter. In many cases, what’s in the blurb is actually pretty close to the exact query letter the author originally sent to their agent. Yes, really. Sometimes a query letter makes it from agent to editor to publicist to final copy.

They’re that important. 

But Alec, I hear you say, I’m not planning to get trad published! Why do I need to do this? Well, indie and self-published people—you will need to write cover copy for your book. And you’ll almost certainly need to write it yourself. The good and the bad part of self-publishing is that you do everything yourself. Less meddling (good!), but less help (bad!). And here’s the hard truth: absolutely no one will spend a single one of their hard-earned dollars on “sex babes get pounded by space aliens” if the back cover says “lol I suck at summaries, I promise it’s good :)” It’s useless, and it’s disrespectful to the buyer’s time and money. 

And that is why query letters are good, actually, for all writers, and are worth practicing how to create!

So go out there and sell your books, and you’ll accidentally write your query along the way. 

In Installment Two…now that I’ve convinced you that you should write a query letter, I’ll go over how to actually, you know, do that. Coming soon!

[emipon]

FAQ

What program do you use?

Procreate. I use an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil.

What brushes do you use?

Free sketching: Narinder Pencil

Lineart: Apple Pencil Crabfu

Base colors: G Rutkowski MH 8B Brush 5 7

Blending, etc: Grain Pencil Heavy Chanelle, Copic Marker Chanelle

Do you have a print shop?

I have an inprint which is up but technically not running. It’ll be fully functional one day (maybe idk I live in fear that no one will buy any prints so🙊)

Do you take commissions?

Yes, but rarely. I haven’t opened commission slots in years but if you really want a commission, send me an ask/dm/email and I’ll get back to you.

Can I use your art as an icon/header/wallpaper?

Sure! If you use it on social media then credit me, please. Don’t go printing out my artwork or using it for anything unsavory though…🙏🏻

Is this space safe for minors?

Yup. There will only be art and answered asks posted here. Nothing NSFW will ever appear here. All are welcome here (within reason lol). And I should say- I’m old and get older every year so if you’re scared of old people, don’t follow?

I found a repost of your art. What should I do?

You can send me a link and I’ll do something about it, maybe. You don’t need to fight my battles for me but you could also comment that it’s a repost and maybe to be cool and not do it again/ delete the post.

What projects/ zines are you in? I currently sometimes participate in Atelier Hylia with some Zelda artist friends! I have pieces in these zines: Hyrule Apocrypha, Hyrule Fashion Anthology, Force Fatale, Seal the Darkness, Goddess Reborn, Faces and Facades, ATLA Book of Seasons, AA Seasons, and Path of the Goddess.

Where’s your About/DNI, etc?

I don’t know what to say about myself so I don’t really post anything about that. I also like my privacy…

But here are the basics: I’m Emily (Emily/Emmy/ Em/ emi are all ok). I use she/they pronouns. I’m a hobbyist illustrator and now I have returned to cosplay (Star Wars only atm). I’m a translator and live in Japan with my husband (and hopefully a cat in the future!). My favorite things include LOZ, FF, obscure JRPGs, Star Wars, LOTR, cooking/baking, crafting, languages, and animals.

[plushkitsunecrafts]

Thinking about being big.

I really shouldn't be buying fabric, but this is a blanket and was $11 at the thrift store. And the back is a pretty decent white minky.

I also got a second blanket to make the belly out of. It was $9 and the back of it is also a pretty decent white minky.

The finished size should be about 3 feet long, not including the tail. And after I finish, I'll do a project summary zine with proper directions on how to make a plushie out of a couple blankets.

But basically what you do is, first make an image that is just a rectangle of your main color, but with the same ratio of length to width as the corresponding blanket. (Whatever the blanket's measurements are use that for the number of pixels tall and wide the rectangle is.) Import the rectangle into Excel. Then scan the plushie sewing pattern pieces individually and import all the ones that use your main color into Excel. Copy each pattern piece so you have as many copies as you will actually cut. Then arrange the pieces in the rectangle, and remember to keep the directionality arrows aligned. If the pattern pieces don't fit, make the rectangle bigger. If you have lots of extra space, make the rectangle smaller. Repeat as needed. Then divide the length (or width) of the blanket by the length (or width) of the rectangle, this is how many times bigger you can make the pattern without running out of material. Finally import all the pattern pieces into a new Excel tab and make each piece that many times bigger. If you arrange the images to the background and display print ranges, you can use cell borders to mark where to cut. Just print and you have a pattern sized to the material you have. Although you will have to cut the pattern out and some of the pieces will be across multiple pages and need to be taped together. Use a washable marker to trace where to cut onto the blanket. If not all the pieces fit, wash and then rearrange, or if really needed, resize the pieces smaller.

Also you probably want to pick a laying down plushie design, sitting and standing designs don't always work at the larger sizes.

[cobaltbeam]

Hey! I absolutely love your work and was looking through your print shop, but noticed some stuff I wanted that was not there. Specifically the pictures of flower crown fox and young hound and grizzer, but those are both kinda recently made if I’m remembering correctly. So I guess I’m asking what’s your policy/process with adding art to your print shop?? Sry if this gets asked a lot and there is an answer that I didn’t see, I probably won’t be buying for a while anyway, as I just bought the clone zine and merch, but I just want to know what amazing art work of yours I’m able to to buy (seriously it’s amazing I’m in love ❤️❤️✨❤️🥳🥳✨💯✨❤️)

Aaaaaa thank you so much for the compliments!!!!! And sorry about the wait, I'm really bad at remembering to upload things there hehe but yes of course you can always ask if you don't see a specific one you want!

I just uploaded the flowercrown fox and Hound with grizzer (and the angsty fox piece) in my inprint, here is a link!

[x]

[ruporas]

It’s been really nice talking with you too, makes my heart very happy, you’re so sweet and it’s been just really really nice <33333 I appreciate all your kindness very much.

There are at least 3 people sending asks about shops rn also btw, the first one about the zine yesterday was someone else and there was another today about a shop, I’m sure there are a lot of people who would buy things from you, you have such a… your art feels like when you experience it it’s inside your chest to me. Like it blooms with your heart as you get to touch it and sits warmly with you and doesn’t slip away if that make sense. It’s something that I know personally I would get a lot of comfort from being able to look over and see in my space and I’m sure other people would too.

Art is something I value so much, it’s worth so much to me and I love to make art and listen to it and see it and feel it and live in it as much as possible. It’s how I experience a lot of joy and love and process things and feel life. I love stories. It’s love to me idk!! I love artists and I love that people share things and I love to spend time holding art in my heart and experiencing it and I appreciate it more than I can articulate that you and other people post things and share things and I make art too so I know it’s often a part of our hearts and minds and it’s vulnerable to share things that come from us like that and it’s challenging to even make them often and it’s love to me. So yeah I want you to know that you’re doing something I think is so special and important and wonderful just by making art at all <3333

Art being accessible to people is what’s given me everything and I appreciate it so much. There’s something really nice about having art that’s not in my screen that I didn’t make myself to be in as well though, and that’s worth a lot to me. Your comics and other pieces are poetry and love to me and I’m like. Really deeply grateful and happy that you’re considering making things available for people to have in their physical spaces <33333

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ MUCH LOVE TO YOU!!!! I TYPED A BIT so i'll put it under a read more... but thank you so much...!!!

your words are so kind and dear to me and gahh the way you describe how my work feels T___T i had to literally take a minute or 20 to have that sink in -- IT MADE ME REALLY HAPPY TO READ, it feels so nice to hear that my work can have that lasting effect... i think i mentioned alr, but one of my biggest comfort when receiving replies and stuff about my work is just knowing that people can feel something strongly in my work and knowing it's a warm feeling makes me feel giddy.

you have such a wonderful way of describing your passion for art too, in the collection and making of it..! i share similar sentiments, nothing i can describe as well as u did already, but art is an important everyday intake for me too, just seeing it on the dash and other socmed is an instant serotonin... and also the community it can help develop, the connection built to others who love and share the same interests... i love that sentiment of viewing art as love!! because it really is, there's passion and life poured into works created and it's a special thing to have in the everyday.

i have a few prints on my walls and i understand completely that it feels different having it physically than on a screen..! i never considered it before for my own work, but looking at the prints i have, it really radiates an unique kind of joy and comfort. knowing that someone else could have my stuff on their wall and feel similarly gives me a lot of encouragement T_T thank you so so much again for your wonderful words and for giving me a push in this direction... and i'm very happy knowing that there's anyone at all interested in having my work physically.

i'm so so grateful for these messages!!! sometimes im doing other stuff thruout the day but i remember these messages and i feel like 800x better, IT'S JUST.. SO ENCOURAGING and keeps me going. i do a lot of art for myself, but in the end, i love it most when my work can make others feel happy in any way and hearing it directly from someone else is reassuring that im doing something right in my work..! thank you!!!

[microrockets]

aa hi!! i know its in november but i was wondering if you were planning on coming to brisnova!! and will you still be selling the kakairu zine?? i only found your socials recently im sorry TT i remember i told you at briscomiccon i was gonna go to goldnova to buy the zine but i wasnt able to go SOBBING,, ANYWAYS i just really want to buy your iruka prints, i hope this isnt too long of a message aaAAA HAVE A WONDERFUL EVENING OR MORNING IDK WHEN YOU SEE THIS

OH MY GOD HELLOOOO!!!

it’s okay i didn’t actually make it either 😭 i hope you’re okay !! but YES i will be at brisnova & have it there (and maybe another one with more doodles) and various other new bits & pieces !!! 🥰🥰🥺🥺💛💛 ty so much for getting in touch and sorry for taking a bit to reply ! i was busy with conventions this weekend AUFJJS

i can also rep the kakairu discord if you’re interested in the meantime? 👀

[giyokaizine]

this may be a silly question but is there a way to know how to buy versions of the birthday arts? i preordered the zine and am very excited!! but i love the little birthday art pieces so much i wanted to know if there was a way to purchase those as well!!

Hello!! Most of the birthday art pieces is actually included in the zine! And the ones that don't make the cut would end up in the concept book.

If you're talking about individual prints, however, the best way to get them is by letting us know which ones you'd like so we can take them into consideration for the 1st stretch goal (5 extra prints of select pieces of our promo arts).

Thank you very much for your kind words, your interest, and for supporting our team! We really do appreciate it!! ٩(｡•́‿•̀｡)۶ — Mod Arwaiel