∴Serial Music: Vol. 06 is Out!∴
Plus a call out for a little help!
After all the time spent tucked away in the studio, turning down skate sessions and resorting to dubious delivery dinners, I’ve reached the half-way milestone of my zine-a-month project. That’s right, Serial Music: Vol. 06 is out!
When I started this project, I had only a vague sense of the amount of time it would take to produce. I thought it would be a project like sand amongst the stones - you know, something that fills in the gaps. But after 6 months of monthly releases (not to mention the monthly videos) I can confidently say: making books takes time.
I knew there would be several time consuming aspects to the project going in. But I wish I’d had a inkling of what to expect. With that in mind, here’s a rough breakdown of what I’m doing for each release and how long it takes me.
Finding 40 negatives, scanning and converting them is roughly a 2 day affair. Cleaning the dust and scratches on Photoshop can take 2 to 3 evenings and another dubious delivery dinner. Arranging the zines in Indesign has sped up a lot now that I have a template, but I’ll tack on another hour for navigating the print shop’s slightly awkward website. Screen printing the ribbons that wrap the zines can be done in a morning. Glueing and embossing them will be maybe another two hours after that.
Making the mini prints is easy - I can leave the printer more or less on autopilot, so let’s say 30 minutes altogether. Cutting 30 of them out of their 4x6 sheets takes a bit of time though, about hour or two. Printing, cutting and rounding the corners of the edition tabs, then stamping them, all that adds on a few more hours1. I finish off by slipping the prints into their envelope, the envelope into its ribbon, clip in the edition tab, and then finally work the zine into its sleeve. This part takes a few minutes for each zine, but multiplied by 30 it adds up.
Next comes shipping. For each order I’ll go onto the Korea Post website and register the details of the zine’s destination.2 The requires a little flipping between English and Korean, and a triple check the information is correct. Once the address and HS Code is entered (this is for customs: 9305101050 - Magazines and parts thereof) I write out a little note of thanks on one of my postcards and pack everything into bubblewrap-lined sleeve. Then it’s off to the post office to flirt a little.
I think I’ve been feeling a bit more keenly the time this process takes this month because I shipped bundles of the first 6 zines to the kind people overseas who ordered the full set of 12.
Speaking of which, the first few issues are on the cusp of selling out. If a full set of Serial Music ever tempted you, this may well be your chance to claim it.
The truth is no matter how much time it takes to go through the process, the feeling you get when you step back and see the whole thing put together and ready to go out into the world is one of more than a little pride.
For those of you who want to make things with your photographs, who want to see them become tangible and real, I hope you know it’s a long and quiet process filled with challenges no one will ever see. I also hope you know it’s worth it, without caveat or condition.
Serial Music: Vol. 06 is out now. Grab one if you’d like to dip a toe in the world of Serial Music, or if you do pull the trigger on all 12, the first bundle of 6 zines ships this month.
Before I go…
I have a question for you and would be very grateful for some help. I’ve been considering reaching out to other photographers and artists and providing them with the chance to share their thoughts through my newsletter. You can think of it as an occasional ‘guest newsletter’ by someone in my broader circle of artistic acquaintances. Realistically, a guest newsletter would go out once every month or two.
I’m curious if this is something that would be interesting to you. Seeing as you’ve subscribed to presumably read what I have to say about photography (which is still a bit of amazement for me) I don’t want to pepper anyone with voices they didn’t sign up for. So my question is this:
I’ll leave this poll open for a week and take it from there.
Cheers,
Chris ✌️
It’s a good chance to call a friend and catch up, so long as they don’t mind the cutting sounds in the background.
If you do it yourself and save the staff the trouble of filling in the info you get a discount.
Congratulations on reaching this milestone of this ambitious project!
I enjoyed reading about the process, things always take longer than we think. Your words inspire to go for it!