Writing a Zine Agreement
Purpose: This exercise leads students through the process of planning their zine. It encourages them to figure out what will be included in their zine, what each member will contribute to the project, and what timeline they will follow.
Description: This activity can be used as an early step in having students develop an anthology or zine of their workshop group's writing. It has several aims: clarify what texts the students will contribute to publication, give each member a role to play in the collaboration, create a schedule for the group to follow on the project, and give the students experience with writing a contract.
Suggested Time: 10-15 minutes in one class to let students brainstorm and write notes for the agreement; 10-15 minutes in the following class for students to read and further revise a typed draft of the agreement that one or more of the group members prepares plus 5-10 minutes for the instructor to read and approve, or not, the typed and revised draft (15-25 minutes total for this class period); and 5 minutes in another class to allow for members to sign the revised draft. Additional changes to the agreement can be discussed and written in group meetings either in or outside class.
Procedure: After explaining the group anthology or zine project, ask the students to work in small groups of 3-6 to plan their publication and write an agreement that outlines their plan. It's important to give guidelines such as the ones that follow in the box below. It's reasonable as well to provide samples of agreements that students in preceding classes have written, but students may simply adapt samples without thinking as much as they should about the contents.
After the second class devoted to the exercise, in which the students revise a typed draft, review the agreement to ensure that it meets your expectations. If it does, mark it "S," and return it for the students to sign. If it doesn't, mark it "U," add comments to explain what's missing, and return it for additional revisions until it earns an "S."
Guidelines for the ZINE AGREEMENT:
Develop a written statement outlining your workshop group's collective plan for developing your zine. There is no required length for the agreement, but it should cover at least six areas:
who the audience of group's zine will be and what the theme of the issue will be;
what pieces of writing and what graphics each group member will contribute;
how the work for the zine will be divided;
what schedule of work the group will follow;
where and when critical meetings will be held; and
what step(s) of the production each member will be responsible for -- for example,
who will convene group meetings
who will serve as group scribe;
who will write a general introduction for the collection of papers;
who will prepare a graphic layout or web page design for the collection;
who will copy edit the drafts;
who will compile the manuscripts on paper or upload them to the english3 server, or both;
who will who will track the progress of the drafts if any are late?
You should develop an initial draft of your zine agreement during workshops on [insert date] and refine it in discussions outside class. Circulate a typed draft among the workshop members on [insert date], and change any parts that need expansion or correction. Prepare an operating version for every member to sign on [insert date]. Once it's completed and marked satisfactory, have each member sign it, and give each group member a copy to keep for her or his own reference.
Be sure to save the fully signed copy, and include it in the final portfolio.
Additional Information: Students usually have fun dividing the work. The roles suggested in the guidelines can be combined or split up as the group members like. Caution them, however, about giving anyone more responsibility than anyone can, or should have to, reasonably manage. In fact, I usually ask workshop members to divide the work equally among themselves. To reinforce this point, I give the group a grade for the project, and give each member a percentage of the grade multiplied by the percentage of the work she or he contributes to the result. For example, if a group that consisted of four students created an A+ zine and they agreed they'd all done the same amount of work on it (25% each), the formula for each member's grade would be 100 (the A+ for the zine) x 4 x 25% = 100. If the same group of four created an A- zine and they agreed that three of them had each done 20% of the work and one had done 40%, the formula for the first three students' grades would be 90 x 4 x 20% = 72; and the other student's grade would be 90 x 4 x 40% = 144. (The amount earned for the project is added to grades for other work done during the semester to total a maximum of 100%.)
Remind students that the agreement is a working document. The process of drafting it in its initial form involves collaboration and negotiation. Unlike some documents, however, it can be amended if unanticipated events make changes necessary -- as long as all the members agree to the changes. To encourage everyone to stay informed about changes in the plans for the project, I insist that everyone keep her or his own up-to-date copy of the agreement, and I usually ask each student show me hers or his fully signed copy at some stage before the end of the zine assignment. As noted above in the guidelines for the agreement, I also require students to include their copy of the agreement in their final portfolio.