Self-publishing: The Women of the Underground
Photograph from the Anais Nin Foundation
Self-publishing has a bad reputation. Those who see self-publishing as an opportunity to create and share art are slowly dismantling the old-fashioned notion that self-publishing is a failure on the artist's part for not being good enough.
Through the necessity of showing their own work, women have published their own art over the years. In addition, they have started presses where they can curate and edit content without interference from large companies or busy editorial staff.
I began my underground publishing journey in 2006. I wrote, curated, and printed zines that featured poetry, art, music journalism, film reviews and prose. I began with a cut and paste style and later moved into the digital realm which allowed me to produce more professional looking publications. I created my own world that did not fit into the mainstream because I felt like I didn’t. I could create and print - safe in the knowledge that it would not be tinkered with by strangers.
There have been zines since the 1940s publishing science fiction, music, and comic strips. We also had the riotgrrrl and feminist zines in the 1990s and 2000s featuring manifestos, personal writings, activism, and feminism. Zines and self-publishing have a rich history and dates back much further than we think.
We still see cut and paste zines, but we have also been seeing a lot more of the digitally designed publications - with useful apps and software out there nowadays, anyone can publish. We also have the option of making it more accessible to online readers such as eBooks. Of course, this desire is not always popular in the underground publishing world, and I can appreciate both sides.
Although I run an online arts journal, I still print real publications. Would I also consider making these into eBooks? I don't see why not. My research for this piece included asking the women in the independent publishing community about eBooks amongst many other things. There was general agreement that eBooks have a place in publishing. The work of an artist, regardless of its format can be the catalyst to inspire and ignite ideas and emotions.
So, why do women want to self-publish? The words that came up regularly were uncensored, preservation, freedom, and control. This was never about publishing because a major publishing house said no. It is about having control over your own work, showing the world your art in its truest form, and having the freedom to sell and market the work how you see fit. It allows us to collaborate by keeping other independent presses and artists close - it is not about competition but about community.
The mainstream publishing world is not a bad thing as women have chosen that path many times in the past. However, writers and artists realise they can show their work in a different way - a more controlled way. To have their work out there as it is intended to look is so important. We create for ourselves and in turn create for others, the aim is to share our work. We may not sell millions of copies of our work, but if it makes one person experience something then our job here is done.
So, what about the downside of self-publishing? Words related to this topic included marketing, technology, finance, and confidence. It is true that if you self-publish or open your own press it can be a lot of work and it can prove to be expensive, but the results are worth it!
If you are working on a small budget, limited edition runs may be your thing. Low marketing budget? Learn how to make cheap flyers/postcards to pop into everything you sell, start a newsletter, or get savvy on social media if you like that kind of thing. Collaborate, reach out to other presses run by women, we must stay connected in such a disconnected world.
We are on the periphery. We are the outsiders, the ones that stay underground not because we seek shelter but because we have our own rules down here. We have our freedom, our own voice, we are uncensored, and we are in control. We are women and we publish!
