#fanbinding on a budget

[alysvolatile]

Want to fanbind? Need davy boards/book boards and low on funds? I have an excellent hack for you:

Repurpose shitty books

"But!!!" You may say, "no book is shitty! All human experiences are worth putting to paper!"

You're right! But, also, Counterpoint:

I went to my local thrift shop and got these for the low price of $5 for all 10. ("Getting into politics?" The lovely ladies behind the counter asked me. "In a manner of speaking," I replied.)

Once I got home, it was easy to turn them into this, their component parts:

("Please stop saying you're skinning them," my partner begged. Too late!)

[EDIT TO ADD: Here's a guide! Also on my tumblr. Also - when thrifting, bring a piece of paper folded or cut into the minimum size you need for boards: this way you can make sure you're getting big enough material!]

While these are just book boards, diligent deconstruction can even yield headbands, I'm pretty sure - I'll report back on my next trial run. [EDIT TO ADD: yup, you can!]

I cannot overstate the delight I have in giving these covers new life for binding fanfiction, particularly the queer kind.

Happy binding!

[but-my-weekend-is-booked]

I’ve been rebinding paperbacks, but I’ve seen people make the most beautiful fanbindings of fic, and I really wanted to have a go!

I’ve never bound a book start to finish, so it was far from perfect, but I had to do cicer’s “love, in fire and blood”, because I’m on an MDZS kick at the moment and that fic is amazing. It makes a huge book!!!

I love this fic and I’m so excited to have a physical copy!!!!

[snek-panini]

Books! The ongoing project I've had half-finished since March continues to thwart me, so I want to show off a project from May that turned out incredibly well. I'm extremely proud of these!

Ta-da! Look at my creations! Are they not beautiful?? This is a set of two related works, From the Deep and Into the Deep. They are by the same author, @worse0mens, and they share a lot of worldbuilding but are not a series and can be read independently. They are siren AUs with very solid characterization, both for everyone's favorite main characters (three guesses who I mean; this is a Good Omens work) and for the secondaries as well (Eve in Into the Deep is a particular favorite for me). The worldbuilding is another star; I would read non-fanwork originals in this universe and that's not something I usually say.

More photos and process talk under the cut! I had to make a lot of adjustments to the design while it was a work in progress, so this post got even longer than usual.

Since these are so closely related even without being a series I really wanted to make them look like a set, and I honestly think I nailed that. I found the pale blue scale-patterned paper on ChibiJay before I even started the typeset and knew it would be perfect if I could match it in black, given that those colors are so heavily associated with our two viewpoint characters. The original plan was to have one in all blue and one in all black, but that blue paper was kind of a nightmare for color-matching. It clashed horribly with the blue book cloth, so I switched that to the black book, and then it also clashed with the black cloth I had chosen. So it got charcoal in the end, and it ended up coming together quite well. The titles are HTV, first time using that on cloth, and that also did not go well. It very much did not want to stick, took more than twice as long as it should have to press, and I still ended up with some wrinkling. Further experiments are needed, I think. It was worth it in the end, though--colors and fonts are perfect, and I like the vertical orientation even more than I thought I would.

Endpapers are solid brown on both books. Another nightmare of color matching. Black is easy! Everything looks good! But that blue was really stubborn about what I could match it to, and this was the only paper that I could find that looked good with both. It's ludicrously thick and was hard to trim even with my plow. Endbands and bookmark are solid black and solid blue respectively, the only easy match in the entire project. Even then, I had originally wanted a gold bookmark on both, to match the gold lines on the covers, but I couldn't find one that was thin enough. Everything in the right colors was wider than the spines. I was very glad to find that blue ribbon, and it was an exact match for some endbands I got ages ago as part of a variety pack. Stroke of luck, there.

Interiors. As I said above, I wanted them to look like a set, so the same fonts, sizing, and text ornaments are used throughout both copies. All the images came from rawpixel, all I did was resize them and I think adjust the color. I was originally planning a much simpler look for these, and the typeset reflects that sort of stripped-down look; there are fewer text ornaments than I normally use, and the title fonts are less curly and ornate than my usual. The plain endpapers were also chosen with that thought in mind, but the covers turned out way more ornate than I thought when I first pictured them in my head. I don't think the insides match the outsides terribly well, but both came out so nicely that I don't mind. I could never regret those covers, they are too gorgeous for that.

Top view on both books. I had some issues with the boards warping on this project, which you can see in the first two pictures. The one on the left is how it looks normally, and you can see that the boards curve away from the text block in the middle, leaving a gap. If you squeeze the book (middle image) this gap goes away. It's present in both books, though more visible on the blue one. I think I made an error with the grain direction, possibly in the endpapers. Or the very heavy endpapers just have more pull to them than the much lighter chiyogami on the outside, and it can't compensate. Hopefully it won't lead to any structural issues further down the line. It's just less than ideal, is all.

I've toyed with the idea of making a slipcase for these. They're already a set, but they could be a BOXED set. Very fancy. I've never done boxes before though, so I'm a bit intimidated. I may revisit them someday to do that.

[java-dragon]

Bookbinding/Fan binding for beginners by... a beginner PART ONE

SO YOU WANNA BE A FANBINDER EH!?

RIGHT! so it felt like maybe it might be sorta kinda helpful to put something about a 'how to do the thing' together. Buckle in this is going to be a ride and a half. Edit as of November 16th 2023 The Master List for EVERYTHING is

HERE

SO, first thing is first- if you're fan binding there is a bit of etiquette to follow. But it is just good manners to ask permission to fan bind the fic you're interested in. See if the author has a FAQ available where they state the Yay or the Nay. Submit a DM or a comment. But as a note of disclaimer- this is for PERSONAL USE ONLY. THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE SOLD ANYWHERE. LOOKING AT YOU ETSY FAN FIC SELLERS THAT CAN GET EVERYONE INTO A FUCK TON OF TROUBLE. That is a breech of fair use laws. Don't breech fair use laws. Don't be a dick.

If you happen to have a EPUB or PDF copy of a fic that has been deleted and you wish to bind it or if you receive no response to the author in question, nod your head, know that you did your best and proceed on with the project and make your fic to put on your shelf. Sleep well knowing you did your best and you can do nothing else.

But if you receive a Nay- don't be a dick honour the author's choice and plop the fic on your ereader and call it good.

Now that we got that all out of the way. ONWARD!

MATERIALS! Musts: (The optional materials will be marked as "OP") Access to a Word processor Printer with duplex printing (It prints on both sides of the page) Fic Printer Paper- regular printer paper is FINE if you're being budget conscious. But if you'd like to splurge:

Hammermill Copy Paper But the Most bang for your buck is Church's Paper

Please note: These are US based links, and I am going from what and where I am located you might have to go to a local paper shop. If you want your book to feel very book-like see if your paper shop can take 11 x 17 paper and cut it in half for you which yields 8.5 x 11 paper on the short grain (paper has a grain there is a stiff side and a floppy side, much like fabric, by cutting the paper in half it makes it more 'floppy' and thus more book like)

a punch cradle I use one made by HoneyMinCo - or some sort of punch guide

Awl

Glue- Elmer's Glue All, Tacky, Lineco , PH Neutral all will do what you need it to do

Waxed linen thread

Curved Needles

Book press- you can make these for cheap with wooden cutting boards, bolts and wing nuts.

A brush you don't mind getting glue all over or you can use a silicone face mask brush like this hell I even use my fingers at times

box cutter or any sort of cutting tool, rotary tool

scissors

metal rulers help

spacers (Not necessary but helpful to have you can also DIY this for cheap) OP

Davy Board/Chip Board/Book Board AKA dense AF cardboard

and some sort of thick paper- like a cardstock

bone folder - butter knives also work in a pinch

Recommendations:

For Printers- Epson ECO Tanks are the best bang for your your buck ink wise and has duplex printing. Inkjet and colour options. Some binders swear by laser printers for speed and the general look for the final product but use what you have. Just make sure you have extra ink on hand.

The upfront costs can be pretty steep but a lot of the materials can be steep but you can get crafty and raid a dollar store and charity shops.

Up Next- How to get a Fic from AO3 to your word processor and how to format a document to get it ready for printing and likely more links, and some people to watch on TikTok or Youtube.

Edit: 11/1/2023:

There is a Fan Binding Starter Kit Found here

[postoakpress]

New tool, new tool.

Semi-impulsive purchase, but I do not regret it AT ALL.

[three--rings]

Havencon Weekend Report

So, I had an absolute blast this weekend.

On the most shallow end, it was my first real con in freaking years, and just being back in a con environment is a little like coming home.  And then it’s the first time I’ve spent any significant amount of time in explicitly queer space for over a decade.  And then finally, meeting up with a group of online fandom friends (members of the Renegade bindery) was another kind of feeling at home.

Havencon itself is a small but very comfortable con with immaculate vibes.  Like honestly from moment one of arriving at the hotel I was like, ah yes, the colored hair and queer outfits, I’m among family.  That’s honestly a big deal for me, as a fairly straight-presenting femme-presenting cis female bisexual in a 20 year marriage to a man.   I have not always felt welcome in queer spaces in my life, but at the same time those are the spaces I DO feel most comfortable.  Those are the spaces I sought out as soon as I turned 18 and where all my closest friends are/belong.

But my normal social life is more mainstream nerd oriented. Occasionally I’m jarringly reminded I’m Among The Straights.

Anyway, just, these are the thoughts this weekend inspired in me, among many.

I went to a handful of panels, mostly writing-oriented ones.  Some were more fruitful and interesting than others, and I think there’s something lacking about a panelist interview format for getting into actual writing tips/advice.  But I’ve always wanted the nitty gritty workshop style panels myself.

It was cool getting to hear Patrick Weekes and their partner Karen Weekes from Bioware talk, since I’m such a huge Dragon Age nerd. Besides the occasional anecdote about writing past games, there’s nothing really to report other than they certainly sounded optimistic about DA4 with Patrick being lead writer.  And knowing we have a nonbinary lead writer for the game is...yeah, it’s a thing that makes me hopeful.  Patrick certainly talked about EA as nothing but supportive of diverse inclusion.  Though there was also a lot of talk about budget limitations, so, yeah.

But most of my weekend was talking bookbinding and fanbinding with both my fellow bindery peeps and to others who attended our panels. Lots of enthusiasm for the concept and new discord members.  And I got to see (and fondle) everyone's gorgeous books and feel inadequate in comparison.   I also learned so much just from chatting and have a list of techniques to try out as soon as I can get some more typesetting done.  (New tools to play with include hair dryer and electric sander...)

Oh and Saturday night I went to the Rocky Horror showing with everyone and that was such a trip.  It’s been over 20 years since my last live show of RHPS and yanno, things have changed (and others haven’t.)  It’s also personally bizarre because RHPS was a hyperfixation of mine when I was 16-17 so revisiting it with time and perspective is just...something.  A lot of our group hadn’t seen it and when asked to summarize it, I called it “cutting edge queerness for the 1970s.”  No, lots of it didn’t age well, but also...there’s still SOMETHING about it.  I will say the shadowcast was very gender and size inclusive and quite funny.

And then Sunday night we got to go to the Austin Book Arts Center which is my new favorite place.  So many amazing machines and tools and supplies.  And the supplies are all so cheap!  I’m hoping to be able to take some classes there at some point though probably not for a while. 

Anyway, I have needy cats to hold and a bag to unpack and mostly a back to rest, but it was totally worth it.

[alysvolatile]

Another bountiful harvest of books to skin repurpose for boards...

I think between the garbage political books and the garbage diet books, I'll never lack for bookboards again tbh.

[alysvolatile]

Adventures in fanbinding!

For a while I wanted to try a more robust fanbinding project and I found the perfect fic to start: @niche-pastiche and @wisteria-lodge 's Star Trek: DS9 fic "First, Do No Harm"! It fulfils so many of the things I love in fic: extensive worldbuilding, fun with scifi languages, characters learning about each other (through sex, even!), and the most delightfully twisty narrator!!! This isn't one of my fandoms, and I'm not even usually into BDSM fic....but this won me over (thanks for the recommendation, @fantom-flower!) Check below for images and the process etc.

because my time and budget are a little limited at the moment, this is the first stage of a probably 2 part process: typesetting, printing, and assembling the text block! I used EB Garamond for the body and Jenriv Titling for the chapters and title - I wanted a very conservative, traditional book vibe for this!

For the frontispiece, I used Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's "Ta bouche (Your mouth)" (courtesy of the Met's open access library!) - since beds feature so prominently in the story, I wanted a cozy, sensual sort of image, and this worked splendidly.

I had fun with the glossary and author page as well! The authors clearly put a ton of thought into the linguistics of the piece, and something about seeing a glossary at the end of a book makes my brain go brrr (I blame early exposure to the Lord of the Rings!).

This was my first time assembling a text block with tapes - I usually bind much shorter pieces with pamphlet stitch, and with my budget constraints I typically make paperbacks - but this has been really fun! My next steps are to finish the text block with mull and glue, figure out what I want to do with the cover, and figure out how half-bound cloth binding works! A huge thanks to the authors for writing this piece! If you haven't read it yet (even if it's not your fandom or your usual thing!), check it out - it's wonderful.