ABSTRACT
Forgetting about the exact terminology and the who-said-what-fi rst of it all for a moment, the notion of controlling one’s words has been around for as long as words themselves-or, for that matter, notions themselves. Th at is to say, the concerns that guide the credo of the self-publisher are not new, or secret, or hidden. Th ey weren’t invented in the 1970s, the 1930s, or 1517. Selfpublishing and zinemaking are rooted in simple, timeless concepts. Th ey grew from the desire of individuals to produce and distribute their own ideas without interference from others. One needn’t be a punk-rocker, broke, criminal, under the age of 24, feel desperately misunderstood by one’s peers, or live in the basement of a parent to desire to both speak and to control the conditions under which one will be heard. One must simply wish to be understood clearly, and be willing to accrue and utilize the necessary resources-which are likely available to you already: pencil, paper, scanner or photocopier, and your own personal brilliance (see Figure 27.1).
