r/zines

I read a lot and I love zines.
I’ve made several in the past, and they usually pour themselves straight from my brain onto the paper with ease! But there’s a zine I really wanna make but it’s just not coming out.

I think the idea’s half formed, but I have it’s title and the content but something feels like it’s missing. I think I’m imagining people might want more based on the title and I don’t have anything more to give apart from some pics and captions.

Anyways, I’d love some advice/words of wisdom.

I'm making a zine called Anyway, and I want to fill it with letters from strangers.

The premise: you don't know me, but write to me as if you do—as if we've known each other for years.

Don't introduce yourself. Don't explain who Sarah is. Don't give me the backstory or remind me what happened last time.I already know. Just pick up somewhere in the middle and tell me what's happening in your life right now.

Your letter can be mundane, silly, joyful, emotional, heartbreaking, gossipy, weird—whatever you'd actually tell an old friend.

💌 TO SUBMIT Email your letter to bethanyfortnerart@gmail.com with the subject ANYWAY,

Type it directly in the email, or handwrite it and attach a clear photo/scan.

Deadline: November 7, 2026 at 11:59 PM

A few important things:

• 18+ submissions only. • Letters will be published anonymously unless you ask to be credited. • Change names/details that could identify other people. • Your writing remains yours. By submitting, you give me permission to reproduce your letter in print/digital editions of Anyway, and in posts about the project. • I may make minor formatting/length edits, but won't substantially rewrite your words without contacting you. • Submission doesn't guarantee publication. • Please only submit writing/images you have the right to share. • You may withdraw your letter by emailing me before the issue is finalized for print. Already printed/distributed copies can't be recalled. • This is an art project, not a confidential service. Don't submit anything you would be unsafe having published, even anonymously.

I have no idea how many letters this little experiment will receive. Depending on the response, selected letters will become the first issue of Anyway, or I may extend submissions.

I won't ask you for the missing pieces.

I already know.

Happy writing. 💜

I just finished folding and stapling a run of 25 copies for a little perzine about my commute, and it took way longer than I expected for something so small. Cutting the paper down, folding each signature by hand, lining up the staples so they don't look crooked, all of it adds up even at that tiny scale.

Made me curious what other people consider a "normal" print run. I've seen folks on here talk about doing 100+ copies for distro, but I've also heard of people doing runs of 10 or even single copies just for friends. I tend to stay small because I don't have a long arm stapler and doing more than 30 by hand starts to wreck my hands.

Also curious how people store their extras. Right now mine are just in a shoebox with some tissue paper between them so the covers don't scuff, but that feels like a temporary fix at best.

If you collect zines instead of (or in addition to) making them, I'd be curious how you organize a shelf that has a mix of sizes. My half-letter stuff and my full-size stuff never sit together nicely and I've basically given up trying to make it look tidy.