The Moon Zine’s Wheelhouse of Collaboration

Tell us a little about yourselves; what makes you tick and what makes your publications tick?

All five of the editors of The Moon Zine graduated from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri where we were all involved in various DIY organizations. When we moved back to St. Louis, we wanted a creative outlet–something that would give us a voice in our community and would be accessible to as many people as possible.

What do you think of the relationship between publishing (what you do) and reaching an audience of readers?

As a submission-based zine, our content is a direct reflection of our audience. We wouldn’t have much to publish without contributors! And although we have this core team of editors, we like to include our readers in the creative process; we have a “collage party” and encourage readers to collage each issue. For readers outside of St. Louis, we put the issue on Issuu and Tumblr for online reading. We also put each issue in a public Google Drive folder so that people may print their own Moon Zine. You can find the printable version on our How To Submit page on Tumblr.

Can you tell us about your creative, editorial, and collaborative process?

The Moon Zine has five editors, with specific jobs. We divide the tasks by interest and workload. We also change jobs from time to time and give input/feedback on most tasks. Working together flexibly has helped make our zine successful. Also we are constantly communicating. We typically have 2-3 meetings a month to discuss submissions, upcoming projects, and to collage the zine. We typically communicate about our zine every other day. The Moon Zine is even more collaborative in that we work together to create one product, and the majority of our content is made up of submissions from people all over–friends and strangers. Collaboration is our wheelhouse.

What advice would you give to someone starting a small press or publishing project?

Our advice is to try to find a way to make it FUN and free (look into printing at your local library!). Many people make light work and a variety of talents, personalities, and perspectives will make it a better product.

How long have you been at it (by “it” I mean publishing)?

We have been working on The Moon Zine for two years! 25 issues and counting. Some of our editors worked on small publications in college including The Gadfly, The Monitor, and Windfall at Truman State University.