Stolen Sharpie Revolution: A Diy Zine Resource

by Alex Wrekk, Joe Biel

A brief, but engaging, and eminently useful guide to doing a zine. From tools, to layout, copying, printing, trading, promotion, ordering, mailing, distribution, and a whole lot more. Over 150 (albeit pocket sized!) packed pages. The new third edition includes 32 more pages of distributor listings, stores, and libraries that work with zines.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Writing, How To, Reference, Crafts, Creative

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 2003

About the author

Alex Wrekk (born June 19, 1977) is the pen-name for a Portland, Oregon, DIY, feminist, zinester and author. The self-published writer is most commonly known for her book, Stolen Sharpie Revolution, and her ongoing zine, Brainscan.

Alex Wrekk’s life revolves around making things; primarily zines, custom pinback buttons (badges), vegan food, travel plans, and space for a cat in her bed. Alex Wrekk has lived in Portland, Oregon since 1999 and has been creating the zine Brainscan since 1997. Alex Wrekk is actively involved in zine culture by updating the zine event listings on StolenSharpieRevolution.org, organizing the Portland Zine Symposium, established July as International Zine Month, hosts the podcast Nobody Cares About Your Stupid Zine Podcast, attends zine events, and sings in a zine themed pop-punk band called The Copy Scams. She also runs the online & brick and mortar Portland Button Works and Zine Distro shops.

Reviews

[megHan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When this book came in the mail, it was delivered in a shipping envelope from the author, and the only thing I really knew about it is what Sage told me. It really was not what I expected at all. This is like the cutest little book ... ever. It's small, like the size of my hand. When you see it, your first thought is "aww," but then you quickly realize that this is REALLY cool.

This, plus SHARPIES (did you hear the angels singing "Hallelujah"? Yes ... THAT happened!) and the fact that she uses one of the most awesome words in the HISTORY of awesome words - "mercurial" - I was completely hooked on this book from the very first pages. Alex Wrekk, WE can be friends. Totally. Hang out sometime. Hell, I'll even let you bother ... um ... use ... um ... let's be honest, you can stand in the same room with my Sharpie collection, but don't even THINK about touching them haha.

This book is VERY informative and includes how-tos and points on all aspects of zine creation and the zine community. It is nicely written by someone who obviously loves zines and wants to help others create something beautiful as well. It's a creative book - very aesthetically pleasing - and she points out that she made it look the way she wants, the way she does her zines, but this doesn't have to be the way that you do your zine because are a very personal thing. I think this book is great for people who are just starting out in the zine community, but also for people who are already in it, especially because of the resources she includes in it (and on her website).

Note: I received a copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Please remember that this review is my opinion based on my own personal impression of the book.

You can find my pre-review story on The Gal in the Blue Mask (http://the-gal-in-the-blue-mask.blogs...)

[Diz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great little (it's a pocket-sized book) resource for those who are thinking of getting into the zine scene. The thing that I really like about this book is that it is produced in zine style, so it has a raw, hand-made quality that is inspiring for potential zine creators. Another thing that I appreciate is that there is a strong focus on the actual production of zines rather than on the history or culture of zines, which is what a lot of other books of this type focus on.

[Koen Crolla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should say up front that I'm not at all a fan of this impulse to try to turn every little thing you do into a full-fledged identity and then forge a community around it, especially when it comes to something like zines, which are, after all, an ancillary thing to a more significant pursuit, i.e. whatever you're writing your zine about. I understand it, of course, but it's unhealthy and only ever leads to toxic communities, because the shallowness of the premise means it inevitably takes a backseat to interpersonal manoeuvring sooner rather than later.
There's nothing fundamentally unifying a person who writes a local community newsletter zine with someone who, say, writes one about cooking halfway across the world, any more than there is unifying people who illustrates children's books with someone who writes for a paper encyclopedia—it's basically the same medium, but the only thing they'd have to say to each other that any random two people might not is bland tips about lay-out, if that. Which is to say, you can write zines about zines, but you cannot meaningfully write zines qua zines. ``Zine culture'' is not coherent.

That said, this book is still mostly a zine (or near enough) about zines. While the various tips in it are all either extremely common sense or very subjective aesthetic choices, it's nice to have them all together, and more than anything, they do convey a genuine enthusiasm for creating and self-publishing in a zine format. You can't begrudge people that.

[Katt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I discovered this after i had began my own zine and didn't really take anything from it. I learned more from reading others zines. Also- a lot of the content is common sense//her personal preferences.

[Hank · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had my way, this zine would be handed out to every school kid in America some time around 6th grade. Good info packed into a handsome package.

[_ _ _ _ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is perfect if you want to make zines that LOOK like those Alex Wrekk has published, aesthetics of which have not changed since the late 90s when she invented zines and 1-inch buttons. What is the point of typing something out on a your blog only to re-type it on a typewriter to then cut and paste it sloppily for the purpose of making it look "authentic" to the era when Alex Wrekk started making zines? If you're after APPEARANCES and don't have any content or an ethos to focus, this is the Bible.

I also dislike the fact that Etsy is promoted in this publication. It's as if Wrekk is saying that it's just fine for you to make the work and have a middleman skim profit of your time and energy (and your thinking brain) when you could easily set up your own on-line shop and sell independently rather than fund a bunch of Brooklyn beer habits.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zine sites:

www.etsy.com/teams/6488/team-zine
groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/zinelibra...
nobodycareszine.libsyn.com
www.portlandbuttonworks.com
qzap.org
spillthezines.blogspot.co.uk
syndicatedzinereviews.blogspot.com
www.stolensharpierevolution.org/inter...
http://www.stolensharpierevolution.co...
24hourzines.com
Wemakezines.ning.com/group/zinelibrar...
Zinelibraries.info
Zinelibraryday.wikispaces.com
zinewiki.com
Zines.barnard.edu/zine-libraries

Author info:

Alex Wrekk
c/o Lunchroom Publishing
5307 N Minnesota Ave
Portland, OR 97217

[Sally]

When I added this to my "to-read" shelf, it was $4.00 on Amazon, and I thought it could wait. It's now out of print (which is funny to say about a self-published zine about zines) and going for $30!! Can you believe it!? So, maybe I won't read it....

[BespectacledBookGirl]

Throwback to middle school when I thought this book was the edgiest thing ever. Now, I enjoyed reading it as an adult who is actually into zines. Read because we are starting a free zine library / distro. Super fun read!

[Phobean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little book. Tells you pretty much everything you need to know about crafting a zine.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cute little book is great if you're looking to start your own zine or are simply interested in seeing what steps are required to making one.

Some of the key topics it hits on: how to get your own zine started, info on the zine community, how to distribute and promote your zine, and even a few crafting articles for making your own paper and such. I especially appreciate the zine page layout article. It has a nice explanation on different ways you could layout your zine pages for easy photocopying. If I had read this a year ago I could have saved so much time and avoided all those frustrating trips to the copy machine.

This book was definitely worth my time.

[SS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great instructional and introductory book into making zines for yourself. Includes a good amount of tips and resources. Also, lends to tips for organising your own zine event or becoming a zine distributor (diastro) and a brief discussion on zine librarians.

The author has a long history making zines and growing the zine community.

[Agnès · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'edició m'agrada molt i la informació està bé tot i que ja sabia gran part.

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

New hobby alert?

[callista · Rating 5 out of 5]

sososososososososo cute!!! everyone in the world should have at LEAST a digital copy.

[Scott Satterwhite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for those new to zines, and useful (and inspiring) for those who've doing zines for years. My only critique is that most of the websites were old. Outside of that, I really loved this book and highly recommend it.

[Stacia Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute size book that looks like a zine and reads like a one, too. It has outdated links, but is still a great resource for creating and getting a taste of zine culture. Worth a read!

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great guide.

[Arlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic and relevant guide for anyone in the zine world, from first-time readers to distroers to event organizers. Alex Wrekk's writing is concise, her tone is helpful, the layout is simple and effective, and the tidbits of advice she gives are genius -- I had never thought to use the inside of a safety envelope as a background before. Clever!

I only have one or two tiny snags with the book. I really wish there was more detail about common problems in making a zine, or about how to digitize a zine for ease of printing. As well, the term "zine" is really exactly defined -- which is awesome! -- but the book later goes on to reference making copies of flats without defining that, too. (I may have just missed it, in which case: my bad.) Also, I did a double take when I read that USPS requires letters to be in rectangular envelopes, then a few pages later were instructions on how to make different-shaped envelopes... I get that envelopes can be used for things other than snail-mail, it was just a little it confusing at first.

I really wish I could give this book 4.5/5 stars. It's a wonderful little book, but it's just shy of perfect.

((Please note, I'm talking about the late 2014 edition, which is not yet registered on Goodreads.))

[HeavyReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came across this book in the young adult section of the LPL while pulling books for interlibrary loan. I decided to read it because it is a classic of zinehood, but I had never gotten around to reading it. (Also, by checking a book out at the LPL, I am assuring it won't get pulled from the collection this year.)

I already knew most of the things included in this book. I'm not trying to be braggy, just telling the truth. However, the templates for laying out zine pages looked rather helpful and I think I am going to photocopy those pages before returning the book. (I've always had a hard time figuring out how to lay out pages.)

If you are new to zine-making, check this out for sure!

(But are new folks coming in to zine-making? i was going to do a zine-making workshop at the public library for junior high and high school kids, but the librarian in that department told me that they did one a couple of years ago and only about three people attended. She said now everyone is into doing blogs.)

[C.E. G · Rating 2 out of 5]

I might have rated this higher if Joe Biel hadn't had a part in its creation. For those who don't know, Joe Biel is the founder/owner of Microcosm Publishing. He is also an unapologetic abusive person. Alex Wrekk writes about her experience here. She ends her long post with "So, the question is do I think people should support Joe Biel and Microcosm? If you think survivors of abuse should be believed, supported and respected and you believe abusers should be held accountable to their community and those they have hurt then I think you know my answer."

But besides that, this book was a decent resource. I didn't learn anything that new (besides some creative ways to find free envelopes), but it might be helpful to beginners or people looking to produce hundreds of copies.

[Winona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm trying to put together a zine. (for now we'll ignore that I've put one together that I hated and have been procrastinating on a 2nd attempt).

That is what this book is about. Making your own zine, and trying to get it out into the world.

Everywhere I've been on line talking about zines talked about this little book, so I finally gave in and bought it.

Actually, this book was a zine before it was a book, and is still done in zine style.

The good news is that it is FULL of information.

The bad news is that its all the same stuff I've already seen online.

The good new is that I now have all of this information in one place and don't have to boot up the computer to see it.

It has bonus material as well, like a "chapter" on how to make your own paper, block printing, and sewing a book as binding.

[Marlowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a bit young and uncool for the zine scene in my teens, but I would have LOVED it. As a kid, I would even make what I know recognize were proto-zines with little comics, as well as reviews of my favourite music and movies (I specifically remember a whole special issue about The Rescuers: Down Under).

By the time I found out that zines were a Thing, I was in college and I thought they were dead. Which is a shame, because I would have loved them at that age, too.

At 30-something, I don't feel like I have much to say that would fit a zine format, but this little book is rather inspiring. And if I do decide to get into it, this book has all sorts of ideas and resources for getting started.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The classic how-to for aspiring zine creators is now in its fifth edition. I'd read the second edition years ago and wanted to see what had changed. There was some new information, and the sections on distros and events were mostly removed and can now be found on the book's website which makes a lot more sense since these things come and go so quickly.

Highly recommended for anyone thinking about starting a zine and/or distro.

[Kenyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really meant to be a read cover to cover like how I read it, but an excellent source material on zines that I see myself constantly revisiting in the future.

[Stephie Jane Rexroth · Rating 5 out of 5]

#DIY
Inspired-inspiring resource for all things zines: how-to zines, tips/tricks/conspiracies, words of wisdom for budding zinsters, getting into/starting your own distros, booking zine tours on a dime-dream. Badcat is now prepared to tear up this year with a series of #Unpop zines, maybe even a tour. Highly recommend. Yes.
<3
I am called Badcatski

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really good resource for people who want to make zines or understand zines. There are a lot of lists in the back, of zine distributors, zine libraries, and things like that. It's fun to read and goes really quickly.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say that I learned anything new from this book, but it's handy to have all this information in one place. Also, the margins in my copy (3rd edition?) were offset and at some parts it's illegible.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This version is updated to include all of the things that have been happening in zine culture, mostly internet-related. Also includes comprehensive lists of zine events, libraries, stores internationally.

[diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very complete primer for how to physically make and then distribute your zine. Not so much about what to write, or how to write it, which is fine, but very in depth info about where and how to get it out there once you have made a zine.