Shane wrote (replying to Annie):
This decision of yours is interesting. From the sound of it, you're basically ghettoising _all_ stories about gay relationships into slash zines, and I would like to ask you why you do this. There were gay characters in the programme, so it can't be out of respect for the canon; since you yourself are involved in a same-sex relationship, it can't be
out
of a belief that all fiction involving gays should be kept on the X-rated shelf.
An aversion to the ghettoisation of slash was indeed a part of my motivation for producing a mixed zine.
Apparently it's just down to sales, and again I'd like more evidence that it _would_ harm sales-- the people who wouldn't buy the zine might be compensated for by the Jane Carnalls of the world: the people who don't object to fiction about gays, but do object to explicit sex.
Well, I'll let you know in a few months, but advice from experienced gen and slash zine producers, such as Judith Proctor, suggested that a mixed zine would sell fewer copies than *either* an all-slash or an all-gen zine.
This "sales" thing, though, bears closer inspection. You mention the word "sales" and "selling" quite a lot in there. Now I've asked you what your interest in B7 fandom is-- ... Could it be the profit motive dominates?
Have you *any* idea how much work it takes to produce an anthology zine? In terms of writing, drawing, commissioning, editing (text and illos), chasing authors, scanning, design, layout/typesetting, proof-reading, printing, collating, binding, distributing, compiling promotional materials and cost-modelling I wouldn't like to put a figure on how many hours of my time ttba has consumed -- but it must run to many many hundreds.
While I do hope to recoup my per-copy costs, give or take, I have no hopes whatsoever of recouping the capital costs of the software and hardware that proved necessary to make ttba a reality, nor of paying myself, or anyone else who laboured on the zine, anything for our time.
No-one, but no-one, produces zines for profit.....
Tavia ttba: http://www.viragene.com/