November 2022

Zine: My 20-minute rule for movies

“My 20-minute rule for movies” is about how I don’t feel guilty when I stop a movie I don’t enjoy. I give any movie a fair chance, but I’m okay turning it off if it’s not for me.

The cover of "My 20-minute rule for movies" zine. The text is printed in black on orange paper. Film strips are in the top-left and bottom-right corners of the cover.

I made this zine in Canva. (Read more about how I lay out zines in Canva.)

It’s 12 pages, printed in black and gray scale on orange paper. It measures approx. 3.5 inches high x 4 inches wide. The zine is hand-folded and bound with staples.

Zines on Big Cartel

4/7/2023 update: As of today, my Big Cartel shop is in maintenance mode indefinitely. Meaning, the site is still up but no zines are available. I decided I’ll use Big Cartel as a back-up for Etsy, rather than running two shops at the same time. Unless I have a specific need to list zines on Big Cartel, that shop will stay in maintenance mode. Please visit my Etsy shop if you’d like to purchase any of my zines.

I launched a shop on Big Cartel to list some of my zines. My Etsy shop is staying as is, but I wanted to have an alternative (especially if Etsy gets worse…). You might notice a few differences between my Etsy and Big Cartel shops if you browse both of them.

1. Big Cartel ships to the U.S. and Canada only

At least for now, Big Cartel orders can ship only to the U.S. and Canada. That’s for simplicity’s sake. If you want to ship somewhere outside the U.S. or Canada, please use Etsy. I’m also happy to trade zines internationally. (Message me for trades.)

2. U.S. shipping: Free on Etsy and paid on Big Cartel

Well, at least it looks like that on the storefronts. I factor in shipping costs on Etsy and then mark the product as free shipping, because that’s what Etsy encourages sellers to do. On Big Cartel, I have shipping as a separate cost.

But from a customer standpoint, you’ll pay the same price for the same product on Etsy and Big Cartel. For example, a zine that is $4.60 and free shipping on Etsy vs. the same zine that is $4.00 + 60 cents shipping on Big Cartel.

3. Untracked and tracked shipping on Big Cartel

On Big Cartel, I set up shipping so that you can choose between untracked shipping (regular letter mail) and tracked shipping for U.S. and Canada.

This is different from how I ship orders on Etsy. On Etsy, for U.S. purchases, I do untracked for orders under $10 and tracked for orders $10 and over. Outside the U.S., most of my listings will calculate tracked shipping.

For “How to Deal with Small Talk” on Etsy, I made a new shipping profile to experiment. You should have options for:

  • free shipping in the U.S.
  • untracked shipping everywhere else (you pay postage)
  • adding tracking to your order (for U.S. and everywhere else)

If you’re shipping outside the U.S. and run into anything wonky on Etsy or Big Cartel, please message me.

Zine: How to Deal with Small Talk

“How to Deal with Small Talk” is a collection of tips for how to handle small talk conversations.

Maybe you’re like me and small talk drags you down. And maybe, like me, you have to put up with it anyway. Hopefully this zine can help.

The cover of "How to Deal with Small Talk." The background is a blend of purple and blue colors. Below the title, in smaller font, the text says "a practical guide."

This is printed in full color. I made the background pages using blue, purple, and red inks. Some pages have digital illustrations. All the text is typed.

It might be difficult to tell from the photos, but I tried a new page size for this zine, and I like it! A 12-page zine, printed double-sided on one 8.5×11-inch sheet of paper. The finished zine is about 3.5 inches high x 4 inches wide and bound with staples. And these dreamy cotton candy colors are on every page.

Glorious.

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