Some thoughts on artist publishing:
There are no rules about what can be an artist publication: a zine, a magazine, a book, an art-book, a pamphlet, a poster, a postcard, a set of letters. A website, a newsletter, an app, an e-book, a workshop or webinar, and/or a print on demand book distributed to bookstores (like with IngramSpark). What you want to make can determine the right shape.
Artist publishing is another way to think of it, rather than self-publishing. I’ve been feeling like it’s a more accurate description for a lot of what I’m interested in, and seeing my peers and collaborators do.
I often hear self-publishing being used as a way to diminish work that’s not made through the corporate/industrial publishing process, usually by trying to indicate it’s lower quality or made by just one person. But often artist-initiated publishing has collaborators, influences, and so much is higher quality and has more spark and zing to it. And takes more interesting shapes than what’s allowed in the corporate world.
If you want to publish, and it could be an artist-initiated publication, my encouragement is: don’t wait for a corporate publisher. Nobody needs to give you permission to be an artist publisher.
Almost anything writing-art-publishing can be learned via the internet and library, with free/paid classes, blogs, newsletters, videos, by talking to peers. Artist publishing lets you learn interesting process bits by trying it out, and doing it yourself at a smaller scale.
You don’t need to be a great writer in terms of spelling, grammar, etc. Just find what you know to be true, interesting, important, useful, whatever it is that you want to contribute: put it out in some (initial) form. If a publication grows enough that you want to make updates or improvements, you can always revisit, and return to it then.
Artist publishing allows you to make things as polished as feels right to you and your capabilities, energy and resources. What can you make with what’s at hand? Are there any tools you need to buy, rent, barter or borrow to make something to your bar of personal satisfaction? (What is your bar of personal satisfaction? Do you need to use a stack cutter for trimming the “creep” off of zines, or are you fine to leave it? Do typos bother you or are you fine with a few?) Almost everything comes down to personal preference + what’s possible at the time: find something in there and go for it.
You can hire people to help as needed, for editing, layout, photography, typography, book design. Or collaborate with people and co-create a project.
Artist publishing lets you work at your own pace, and scale. I like to work seasonally, and project based. I like to rest between projects: physical, mental, emotional, sensory, creative, social, spiritual. I like the ability to re-assess a deadline — or the shape of a project entirely — if life turns out to have a different pace, energy, or amount of time available to you or a collaborator than anticipated.
Part of artist publishing is getting to enjoy the process. You can put your hands on a publication in so many ways. You can print and assemble books yourself if that’s something you enjoy or want to learn; and if your project involves making a physical object, you could enjoy the sensations of the paper, choosing inks, the weight of the cover. Designing the typography, the cover, selecting a title. You can notice all the beauty, and have a hand in making the choices.
Artist publishing lets you find community and peers, introduce yourself, start things. You can meet so many readers and peers through tabling at zine fests and art book fairs, and selling online and wholesale and consignment through bookstores. You can share your studio process (via a zine? a newsletter? photos?) and trade studio tours and learn from other artist publishers.
I’ve met many small press friends through tabling, bookstore sales, social media comments and DMs leading to meeting for tea, organizing potlucks in the park, hosting zoom chats, being on specialized-topic community discords. I feel so happy finding so many friends and acquaintances locally and around the world to talk about art publications with. Thanks for being here!
—Amelia
P.S. — If you’re making an artist publication (even if we haven’t met yet) feel free to reply or send an email and tell me about it! I love to hear what everyone is working on.