It's been 1 year since I started a zine. Here are 6 ways it skyrocketed my professional skill set...
When life gives you lemons, make a zine. That’s been my philosophy, anyway! When Witchology Magazine went on permanent hiatus, taking my freelance role as music editor with it, I decided to launch my own publication: earwyrm zine.
I saw it as a great way to keep testing and honing my skills, even when work was sparse. It also offered a source of income that couldn’t—by its very nature—be replaced by AI. I was right on the first count (and I’m still working on the second!).
Now that one year has officially passed, I thought I’d drop some wisdom. If you’ve been toying with the idea of starting your own zine or hiring me based on my experience with them, keep reading.
1) improved my interview technique
I was no stranger to interviewing when I started my zine. I’d done them with several high-profile musicians and actors for Metal Hammer and Witchology Magazine (see my portfolio for the goss on that), but they were so high-stakes that I found it nearly impossible not to shit myself before each one. I would stick rigidly to my questions and launch right into things without explaining the context.
Interviewing folk for the zine is still pretty scary, but the pressure is off — I’m not representing a publication; I’m showing up as myself. Any mistake or misstep is mine to own, and I’m comfortable with that. It’s now more like a chat which hits the points I want to explore while leaving room for banter and segues.
2) gave me an editorial eye
When you’re writing for another publication, you’re scribbling to the tune of someone else’s editorial plan. Running a zine changes all that. When I launched earwyrm, I designed everything. The branding, the ethos, the art direction, the flow structure for each issue. I’m constantly on the lookout for new artists, musicians, and cool folk to feature. New ways to encourage my readers to use the zine as part of their craft (did I mention it’s an occult zine?) or in their crafting. The only person in charge of ensuring the issue is commercially appealing, engaging for the readership, and cohesive in its flow… is me. And, to be honest, I thrive under that power. Without the zine, I never would have known.
3) taught me how to do magazine layouts
I’m arty by nature, but magazine layouts are their own thing entirely. First, you’ve got the constraints of printing — keeping all your best bits within the guide lines and being mindful to stay away from the cutting edge or the ditch of the page. I moved from pure writing and strategy to UX design. And that, my friend, opens up a wealth of creative opportunities that you just can’t get elsewhere — how are you going to encourage folks to use the zine in a non-standard way? How can we be playful while keeping UX in mind? It’s a challenge I enjoy.
4) forced me to be quicker
Before earwyrm, I would really labour over my articles. I’d sink more time into them than was financially sensible, just to make sure they were utterly perfect. Working on a quarterly zine around my regular client work meant I needed to get quicker, like, yesterday. I don’t let myself stress over perfection — I write and come back later to finesse rather than forcing myself to sit through the block. Done is better than perfect, and the rough-and-ready nature of zines is an ideal way to learn this lesson.
5) made me even more commercially-minded
Don’t get me wrong — everything I write/strategise/advise is commercially minded. Always has been. But when you know you’ll have to stand behind a market stall and watch folk read your work in front of you…and potentially put it back on the display stand, you learn to get better at it. How are you going to sell each piece? What’s going to make someone need to read it? What links need to go at the end of the piece to ensure the interviewee can enjoy the spoils of their coverage? What’s my marketing strategy going to be for the issue and the zine itself? Big questions, big consequences, big learnings.
6) made me more comfortable with multitasking
Before the zine, a heavy workload would stress me the fuck out. Multiple projects with multiple clients would send me into a stress hole until the workload was shifted. But no more!
The zine requires me to liaise with a good handful of folks for each issue, balancing schedules, plans, promises, and promotions. After the first two issues, I got used to plate spinning in a way I hadn’t for ages. Then, a few months later, I had two lapsed clients return on top of the regular retained clients I work with. AND I had a holiday booked. But did your girl stress? Did she fuck. Turns out, I’d finally learned to trust my ability to handle lots of moving parts. And it makes for one chilled writer.
You can find earwyrm online here and on Instagram here! If you’re thinking of starting your own publication, you can book a consult here, and if you’re thinking of working with me, you can pop me a line here. Cheers for reading, love!