Seth Friedman is the current publisher of the
resurrected zine Factsheet Five and the author of The
Factsheet Five Zine Reader, which will be coming out in
June ($14).
Tripod: How did you get interested in all those zines out
there? Can you give some history about how you started doing
Factsheet Five?
Seth Friedman: I've been interested in zines for years,
even before I ever saw a copy of Factsheet Five. Early punk rock
fanzines were certainly an influential force on me, as was the
legendary OP magazine. I restarted F5 for one reason and one reason
only: No one else was doing it and I thought it was too important to
see it die. Of course such altruistic ideals are rare and often
destroyed in this world, but I'm still trying to do something
worthwhile.
Tripod: There are quite a few zine books coming out right
about now, including some other zine anthologies. Do you think
there's room for them all? Do you feel any pressure or competition,
or is it all one big zine-loving happy family out there?
SF: Publishing zines is a money-losing venture that offers
even less in the area of literary respect. I'm very happy that Al
Hoff and Paul Lukas are finally getting some money and respect
after years of hard work in the name of zines. It's great that book
publishers are recognizing the talents that exist in the world of
zines and are finally bringing this material to a larger audience.
Chip
Rowe is another topic entirely. His book was produced in
response to and in direct competition to my book. While there's
nothing wrong with healthy competition in the world of cut-throat
capitalism, in some naive way I thought zines were different and I
thought zine publishers were different. Chip was a friend of mine.
You'd think friendship would be more important than money,
especially when it comes to zine publishers. I could accept this
kind of backstabbing competition from a stranger, from some
outsider, from some ambitious writer-for-hire, but not from a
friend.
Publishing Factsheet Five for over five years has given me a
unique insight into the world of zines. I believe my book will be
better and my readers will seek it out.
Tripod: Have you noticed any trends in the zine world
lately?
SF: There are always trends in the world of zines. Zines
seem to be going online in record numbers. The number of print zines
seem to be surging as well.
Tripod: What do you think of Web zines? Are they analogous to
regular zines, or a totally different concept? Are there any you
particularly like?
SF: I don't particularly care for Web zines. They're much
more difficult to read (you have to read them online or else
download them and print them out into a mess of unbound sheets).
Also, the "Web zines" I find most rewarding aren't even zines in the
traditional sense. They're web-based magazines. Zines, as in
xeroxed, homegrown, quirky, and personal, are an entirely different
animal.
Tripod: Do you have any other projects in the works?
SF: Publishing Factsheet Five is a huge undertaking. I
wish I had more time for other projects, but I had to slash my
publishing schedule in half just to get this book out the door. I've
got lots of projects on the backburner, but without the money or
assistance, they'll probably just remain there.
Tripod: Are there any other zine books you'd like to see?
SF: Included in The Factsheet Five Zine Reader is a
chapter on the history of zines. In doing the research for this
chapter I came across so much fascinating information that I'm sure
it would certainly make a fabulous book. I would love to see a
comprehensive history of self-publishing, but unfortunately that's a
task that I just don't have the time for right now.
Jenny Boe grew up in Berkeley
and now lives in Seattle, where she writes, temps, and maintains a
Tripod homepage.
She has recently rediscovered the joys of the International House of
Pancakes.
© 1997 Tripod, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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