I Tabled At My First Zine Festival & I’m Already Itching To Do Another.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of tabling at DC ZineFest, my first zine festival ever!! (whoop, whoop)

I knew that people liked zines. (I’m one of them) But I didn’t truly understand how complex & strong the greater zine community is, until this weekend.

This journey began back in July during International Zine Month.

As you may (or may not) know, back in July I released the Songs From The Girls Room Zine Collection; a collection of zines that serve as an extension to The Songs From The Girls Room book. So all things zines were at the top of mind.

In the process of sharing and creating this zine collection, I also learned a lot more about the many possibilities and choices you can make/take when creating & releasing a zine. From the ways that people are getting creative with the construction, to the displays they put on to present them.

My research (mostly lots of web surfing & going down rabbit holes) led me to discovering more about zine fairs/festivals.

My initial exposure was earlier this year before I created my first zine, when I applied for the Black Zine Fair & got rejected, (No hard feelings, I am going to try again next year) but I wasn’t aware of how many other cities across the country also host them annually.

Still fresh on the brain, my curiosity to find more zine spaces led me to the Printed Matter Inc. Book and Art Fair List. Here, I went through each link to learn more about the individual festivals, if they were hosting this year, if it had already passed, and if there was any opportunity to attend and/or be a part.

I found that most had either already passed or there was no way that I would make it due to scheduling conflicts. There were two that seemed to be a good match at the time; The Queen City Zine Fest & DC ZineFest.

With the Queen City being my hometown Charlotte, NC I really wanted to participate, but the applications to table were closed. I then reached out to volunteer. I was accepted but I still was unable to attend because I got contracted for a short notice out-of-town paid gig for the same weekend. (I’m still a bit sad tbh, but we live & will circle back!)

This left me with one last option, DC! After applying in late July, they notified me that I got accepted in early September, giving me about a month and a half to prepare.

Now you’re probably thinking, “That’s more than enough time.” And you would be absolutely right, it is. But unfortunately between early September and late October I was occupied with NYFW, filming and launching a podcast, HBCU homecoming season, as well as a slew of other projects that have yet to be released. So it was quite challenging for me to focus solely on my table.

I thought about it a lot though. But, because I had never attended a zine fair I felt quite a bit of anxiety around how I should go about showing up in the space.

I knew that I would be provided a 4 foot table and two chairs, but the rest was up to me.

PREPARATION

My biggest challenge was deciding what I would offer and how much I would bring.

I didn’t want to have way too much, because I didn’t know the next time I will be vending (hopefully soon) & I didn’t want to be wasteful. But at the same I didn’t want to have not enough and potentially have a near empty table or sell out way too fast.

This fatigued me and slowed down my process, forcing me behind schedule. I found myself putting other tasks ahead of my preparation because I couldn’t decide on a clear direction. I had so many ideas I could turn into zines. I also knew that I could have extras like stickers, pins, bookmarks, keychains etc. to offer as well. But it wasn’t until the week of that I made myself make final choices and get to work!

I decided to offer: copies of the SFTGR book, all 6 zines from the SFTGR Zine Collection, 6 new soular themed zines, The All Star Special: A Zine by Da Souf Got Something To Say from my joint platform + a surprise zine, mini journals, single page zines, mini print packs, stickers and bookmarks.

Obviously after now seeing it all listed out, this was way too ambitious. And I later learned that as I attempted to produce it all in 5 days, knowing I didn’t have 24 hours of the day to dedicate to it.

After pulling several all nighters preparing digital files, spending a ton of time sitting in front of my at-home printers, lots of trial and error with formatting and print settings, and an emergency trip to Office Depot, by Friday evening I had narrowed my list down and got mostly everything printed, but I still wasn’t ready.

Throughout the week I coordinated my table decorations and shopped for other supplies to ensure that I would be prepared to welcome customers. I originally wanted to do a mock table at home to see it altogether and make changes, but I didn’t have enough time, so I packed everything up and made my commute north to Washington D.C.

FESTIVAL DAY

I took the bus. (yes we are still in our humble beginnings era) When I arrived I had 1 hour and 30 minutes to spare, so I sat in the waiting room and folded the digest size zines so that they could be stapled, and folded the single page zines so that they could be cut. I then made a last last minute trip to Fedex to print bookmarks and stickers. While I waited I cut up the printed mini soular journal outer covers and inner pages, before racing over to the MLK Memorial Library for the festival.

When I arrived I entered the most beautiful library. The sleek modern interior design filled me with excitement. That feeling went through the roof when I arrived to the 5th floor and seen all the other zinesters hard at work building their table displays.

I didn’t have much time and my zines were still unstapled so I had quite a lot to do. For my table set up I had:

• A table cloth + skirt

• A desktop pocket chart stand (you can also explore magazine racks/stands or even building your own from cardboard)

• A money box (Most people payed via money transfer app but could still prove to be useful)

• A basket for free items

• A mini chalkboard sign

The table ended up being a lot smaller than I imagined. (which was great, because it was the perfect size for the table cloth that I hadn’t previously opened) All the offerings I originally wanted didn’t make the cut (which was also great, because I was doing way too much lol)

I decided on:

• SFTGR Book + Zine Collection

• The All Star Special Zine by Da Souf

• Single Page Mini Zines (2 SFTGR themes and 2 soular themes)

• mini print packs

• Free mini business card zines & bookmarks

The items that didn’t make it to the table were

• new soular themed zines

• mini journals

• stickers

• the surprise zine

but I definitely have future plans for them. (Especially since they are already printed)

My best advice for anyone looking to table at their first zine fest and is unsure how much they should bring, I would recommend:

1) Focus on mini zines first

You don’t want to overwhelm yourself like I did. Mini zines are a great start & I wish I would have leaned more into them. People loved the ones I offered and I sold about half, but I believe if I had a more diverse selection I more than likely would have sold out.

I would recommend making them from single sheets of paper & offering a variety of titles. From series, poetry, random, thoughts etc. I found that 10 - 20 copies was the sweet spot.

2) If you choose to offer digest size or larger print zines I wouldn’t any more than 5 titles

5 max!! I had 6 from the SFTGR Collection + 1 from Da Souf. I sold out of 5/7 of the titles which was really nice, but in the future I will focus in and narrow down. When people came to the table I could tell that they were a bit overwhelmed. Even though 6 were a part of a collection, they weren’t packaged together so I had to explain each & I noticed how lost or confusing it could be. Especially at the height of the fair, when 5- 10 people could be at the table at one time.

I would recommend having 5-10 copies of each title. I had 5-7 of each SFTGR title, and 9 of the Da Souf title present.

3) Have at least 1-3 add ons

Once people have selected their zine(s) upsell them with an add on. I offered mini print packs & those proved to be a great choice. Because my work is very photo and graphic heavy, having the print packs worked as an extension to the work & an opportunity to interact with photos that didn’t make it into zine form. I brought 32 packs. (Now removed, I made way too packs for way too cheap. If you copped one shoutout to you, I def won’t be selling for that low again. lol)

Other ideas for adds on are stickers, bookmarks, keychains, custom washi tape, postcards, wristbands, matchboxes, and pins, just to name a few.

4) Offer at least 1 freebies

Lastly leave your customers with a freebie! I had bookmarks & a mini business card zines to give away. In the future I probably will do stickers too, as a thank you supporting me!

In regards to pricing, I, like most first time zinesters undercharged out of fear of overcharging. (shoutout to the customers that were nice enough to bless me with extra and provide me with advice)

Of course pricing varies based on printing cost, labor, demand etc. but based off of what I observed from the other tables & what customers were willing to pay, most items fell between the following price ranges:

• Mini zines: $3 - $5 each

• Digest size zines: $5 - $15 each

• Add ons: $2 - $15 each depending on the item

I also noticed that some zinesters offered their products on a sliding scale, so customers could choose what they pay based on what they could afford. This was my first time seeing a payment option like this & it really interested me. At my next festival I hope to implement it within my pricing to be able accommodate everyone, while still considering my own value. (sliding scale can also be great if you are testing out a new product and aren’t sure what people are willing to pay for it)

IN COLCLUSION,

I really enjoyed this experience and I am itching to do another zine fest. The feeling of eager hands swarmed around my table previewing my zines, gleeful to explore the corners of my brain and how they show up in paper form, invigorated me and provided me with the thrill that I have been chasing. There is a void that has existed for a while in my universe. Social media has been such a great place for exposure and reach but it’s not enough anymore. (I don’t go viral & even when I do, I don’t feel fulfilled)

There is something so special about speaking directly with people. Watching their face light up about my work, purchase, and walk away with an extra pep in their step. I got to meet so many people from different places who had come to DC for a plethora reasons. Some traveled in for the festival, others were local to the area. One person had stumbled into the festival and found themself fascinated with the culture. Our conversation allowed me to briefly step into their world and bring them into mine.

As the festival winded down I made my rounds to take a look and shop the other tables.

These are the items that I walked away with:

If you are interested in learning more about zines & how you can start making you own, check out Planet Zine:

Special thank you to everyone that showed me support, from reposting my flyer, pulling up to shop, and even reading these words. To those that I met at the zine fest & are new here, Welcome! I am so grateful and equally excited that you chose to join me for more.

Shop the Songs From The Girls Room Zine Collection + books:

and stay tuned for more online zine and releases *rubs hands together*

Thank you!