Is this thread gonna be archived?

k wait, am I missing something? Where's the download link? Please excuse me for being a dumbass.

>>398501
good, but has caesar updated the link?

To many, the creation of a user-submitted content zine seemed impossible. To many,
the making the Zine Writers Guild Digest was outright insane. Coming from an often
troll-infested board , it seemed unthinkable that a collaboration project could ever
succeed. Even I, viewing a thread on the project for the first time, couldn’t help but
think of it as some hideous star wars-inspired trap. “This Goldensox guy is obviously a
troll,” I grumbled while looking over its initial thread. “He’s a dictator: just look at
how he handles his posting!”, “Look at how he’s trying to profit off the backs of
others.” There was plenty of suspicion, most of it warranted.
However, after viewing the first three of these threads, I realized there was something
wrong with my calculations, something off. Perhaps I was being a little too paranoid, a
little to suspicious. A little bit too defeatist.
Rarely does a troll wait for more than a day to spring a fiendish attack. Just about
never does a troll post accurate information about practices and procedures. And I’ve
never once seen a troll make a high-quality photoshop jpeg.
“It takes a dedicated fiend to post as much as this one is doing,” I pondered.
“I wonder what he’s trying to accomplish,” I contemplated.
And then I realized Goldensox wasn’t a troll at all; that this zine was an honest effort.
Then I realized that this was the real deal. For the anons, by the anons.
And then I joined, along with countless others.
With the release of this publication, 4chan proves that it can not only challenge the
odds, but beat them. We ask you to join us in celebration.
Never before has a collaborative project succeeded beyond deadlock,
Never before has a project recieved 15-odd submissions overnight,
Never before has 4chan seen a whopping 100+ page magazine.
Until now.
With the release of this issue, 4chan has triumphed.
And all thanks to the anons. Help us make this project grow, help us

>"The Legend of the 10 Elemental Masters if you are familiar with is a quintessential masterpiece often featured on the /lit/ with praised on such classics as Gamer Girl and Atlas Shrugged. I find it though lacking a very compelling read."

>(that right motherfuckers we are busting out the hexadecimal coloring system)

Is this supposed to be written without any concern for sentence structure and grammar? Like, as a joke about the book?

Or do you not have an editor?

Updated

Proper release name:

ZWG_-_March.1.pdf

>>398530
It's the way the author submitted it. We don't actually change anything but typos since we don't want to create drama.

>>398516

http://zwg.wildwestwaffles.com/ZWG_-_March.1.pdf

I can't access the PDF file. When I try to open it, a textbox appears from Adobe but there is nothing written in it except the option to click 'OK'. Then nothing happens. How else do I read .pdf files?

>>398551
Try Foxit Reader.

>>398501

Literally this is the most badly laid out thing I've ever seen.

Someone for the love of god just let me be the guy who does the layout this is all awful.

The font is horrible.
The text alignment is all far left instead of the much cleaner looking left-to-right alignment where it's filled out and neat

WHY ARE THERE NO FUCKING PAGE NUMBERS IN THE GOD DAMN CONTENTS

WTF

IT WOULD MAKE NAVIGATING TO THE BITS I WANNA READ SO MUCH FUCKING QUICKER

SO

BADLY

DESIGNED

>>398540
Caesar, Goldensox advised me that the link I downloaded may have been outdated; I've uploaded a newer copy

>>398537

Okay, I see. I can understand that people would get pissy if you altered their work.

But really, for issue two, you really need to up the ante. Smaller issue, better layout. There's full pages with nothing on them but the words "To be continued". That's sloppy as hell.

And by god, you need someone to proofread and edit this. Badly.

>>398551

Ignore this: figured it out.

Also, will these .pdfs be available from the site forever and ever (amen) or should I save it into my files?

>>398554
We're working on a more polished release, calm down man, this is a promo.

>>398540
>It has the replacement title and revisions I sent to Lindlar on Sunday, right?
It still doesn't!

Guys, I love you, but my story's not got my name on and is under the worst title imaginable. I submitted it as untitled, that was just the document name, and is beyond generic.

Got a copy of the ultra-rare glitched first release. WILL SELL FOR ONE MILLION DOLLAR!

>>398563
weren't there supposed to be contact emails for the contributers? how are we gonna give them feedback?

>>398555

I believe this is the newer one. The link is for the second one that has been uploaded.

>>398558
The second issue will be 60 pages long tops.
Also, we're doing a less flexible work. For the first issue, we wanted to publish everyone's works the way they created it.

About four guys bitched and moaned HARD because we changed the text formatting, so our hands were tied.

>>398573
regardless of layout and editing and all other complaints, thanks for doing this.

>>398558 here

>>398554
>WHY ARE THERE NO FUCKING PAGE NUMBERS IN THE GOD DAMN CONTENTS

This, that was the first huge mistake.

“It takes a dedicated fiend to post as much as this one is doing,” I pondered.
“I wonder what he’s trying to accomplish,” I contemplated.

Wow, who wrote this shit? I'm already vomiting and I haven't even made it past the introduction yet.

>>398560
Forever.

>>398564
We'll fix that on the proper edition.

>>398569
Just one of them requested for us to show his email. All others will receive forwarded emails with the feedback we gather from here.

A lot of bitching going on off the bat so imma just say this is a cool thing to leaf through. Props to the people who sent stuff in and the ones who put it together.

Reading the SICK one now. Pretty cool.

somebody post this in /b/

>>398573
>About four guys bitched and moaned HARD because we changed the text formatting, so our hands were tied.

Then tell them to fuck off and make their own magazine. They're volunteering their article, they're not putting the book together. If they don't like it, then they don't need to submit to you.

>>398582
>proper edition
What's this then, exactly?

>>398564
Alas, this is one of those "haters gonna hate moments"

A) the zine is new, we're still figuring things out
B) it's free
C) haters gonna hate

fear not, anonymous. We're friendly

>>398583
Yeah, it's cool, but it was on /x/ a year or so ago.

>>398575
Thanks for your support :3

>>398577
It was dropped because there's already the bookmark index.

>>398579
Prole. Yes, we need a new intro writer. Does anyone apply?

>>398590
The first rev. Actually, the second rev. We're working on the third rev based on the feedback we're getting here.

>>398588
At the time we couldn't cope to drop submissions.
But, again, we're growing a pair for the second issue.

Lazarus in the House of Hrothgar is pretty sweet, I must say.

>>398596

The only way I would consider writing the introduction to the magazine is if I were declared supreme editor of the WHOLE BASTARD THING and given full creative control.

>>398614
Then I'm sorry.

>>398614
Why did it take so fucking long...

It is what it is. You did good collecting/organizing guys. Nice one stepping up goes to the submitters too.

Will read and piss and moan and troll tmw.

>>398610
thats mine, I appreciate it.

>>398579
>I pondered.
>I contemplated.

Ugh. Does the writer not understand that this doesn't add anything to the story? The sentence should communicate the idea. If you need an additional description after a sentence, then you need to revise the sentence.

You should only be using this sort of shit to set the verbal tone for the reader. Whispering, yelling, screaming.

In rare occasions, it's okay to say:

"Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck" Jake panicked as he scrambled for the his keys.

But even then, that sounds shitty on it's own.

"As far as a review goes, then, i’d
give a 10/10, for a fantastic game,"

Nice that the actual 'review' section of this game consisted of a few lines clumsily placed in the final paragraph. Maybe it ought to have been called 'FFVII: a retrospective'.

Holy shit, I'm the first one on the list. Fuck yes.

>>398609

And this is what separates this e-zine from anything else out there:

a) It is truly collaborative
b) Changes are actually made based on YOUR feedback

>>398629
No worries. Bit scared to put my trip on now.
Shame mine wasn't moved but I'll live.

>>398609
>At the time we couldn't cope to drop submissions.
But, again, we're growing a pair for the second issue

lol. so now it's not so OMGOMGOMG EVERYTHING WILL BE ACCEPTED.

nice sea change bro

Thanks for doing this, guys.

>>398648
No, we're still accepting everthing, don't imply things we didn't said.
We'll grow a pair about formatting and other things.

>>398563

Really though it's simple shit to get this stuff right, and for something that's been so long coming and hyped up so much it's really a disconcertingly hideous and unwieldy layout. If you, as editors, haven't intuitively given the first issue even a decent layout - that it's something that has to be improved when it should just be automatically ok looking at least; it boggles the mind. It's essentially the only real work creative task the editors have to do and decent layouts are really not that hard.

>>398530
>>398588
>>398636
Here.

Not trying to solely shit talk you guys. It's great that you're doing this, it's a lot of work.

I'm just putting some criticism out there, as that's exactly that you need right now.

>>398610
seconded

the Russian Roulette one was also pretty good

im a raging homo

>>398663
We couldn't get feedback from anon without a release.

But again, we're working on Rev 3. Calm down.

if you guys would like to see the tentative cover of issue #2

pic related

>>398666
This is true, Satan, and we're making Rev 3 based on the feedback we got from here.

>>398679
>800x600
No.

>>398655

I would like to be your new poet-in-residence. I will plagiarise my ideas from the satirical British magazine 'Private Eye' and I will become EJ Thribb, who writes beautiful, poetic eulogies for the recently deceased.

For example:

So. Farewell then
Heath Ledger.
Star of Batman and
other movies which I
didn't watch.

Forever remembered
as The Joker.
Well,
you're not laughing
any more.


I wrote this one myself. Please take it under consideration.

>>398680
I'm Satan now? Alright.

Definitely trim it down.

>>398593
I don't see how your comment is related to the dude you're replying to.

Did you mean >>398577?

Indeed, thanks for doing all this. Often, working with 4chan can be a thankless job (e.g., mods, admin, etc). However, you are in the unique position of being tangible people we can speak to directly.

There's work to be done, as I'm sure you know, but I've no doubt you will continue to impress.

Sigh. I'm seeing nothing but typos and poor choices in mine now I've had time away from it.

p136
>Join us in making this publication a project for anonymous, by anonymous.
p137
>Role-call of editors:

Alright guys, so until now we got:

-Make a numeric index
-Standartize the formatting
-Fix the sensationalist intros


For the people who bitched about the formatting:

Anon choose it. We can't do anything.

"Death" seems to constantly use the words "Darkness" and "Light" in his story. Okay, I get it, it's a story about polar differences... All in all, a pretty good read. I liked the beginning of the second page; was pretty poetic, if you ask me.

>>398696
GUILDMASTERS

Another suggestion?

Easy way to trim it down:

1. One story from each genre in each issue.
OR
2. Have each issue dedicated to a specific genre.

What's the release schedule for this? Once a month? Bi-weekly?

>>398696
JESUS CHRIST
WE PUT IT ON THE LAST PAGE
OH WAIT I JUST READ IT

FUCK MAN WE RELEASED THE FUCKING BETA

Okay. This is now officially a leak.
We'll put the link down, edit it and reupload with the true edition.

>>398641

And your writing is subpar at best. Sweet lord.

>>398698
Sort out the page numbers first and foremost. Intros aren't bad but their removal wouldn't be a great loss. Subsections are shit and should be replaced with tags, though perhaps that's too much work for this issue.

Good luck with Rev3.

>>398674

may I recommend a nice font like Arial

>>398704

Really? Because I thought the way in which this story ended with little more than, 'But then he woke up and realized that it was all just a dream...' is the most offensive thing I've read in this issue so far.

Reading .pdf format is so fuckin sluggish

Alright, now I'm taking a break. If you haven't already, GO DOWNLOAD IT! go ahead and complain later

>>398712
>FUCK MAN WE RELEASED THE FUCKING BETA
An auspicious start.

>>398630
Just read this. Keep the critiques coming, guys.

I'm not a spic, though.

>>398735
You wrote what?

"Farm" is the best so far, really atmospheric. "Sick" a close second.

>>398727
I never said that I liked that part. Fuck, I loathed that part. In fact, I'll agree with you. Worst part about the whole thing. But the "Band Together" theme I got from that single paragraph was pretty nice.

>>398735
you suck

>>398727
>>398748
Agreed. I hate myself for that ending. I was looking back at it after submitting it and thought "Fuck I'm going to piss someone off".

>>398741
I wrote The Collector. It's my first proper foray into relatively lengthier storytelling.

>>398753
Why do I suck?

Thanks.

Where do I submit my essay?

>>398754
Okay, Death? Don't give me that shit anymore. I don't want you to ever put the "was a dream all along xD" bullshit in anymore stories. I might enjoy them, even.

Calm down guys.
We accidentally distributed the unpolished version. Looks like we made a noobish job here, but we're fixing it double time.

Also, the feedback is already popping and all suggestions will be taken into consideration.
Lastly, disregard the ZWG Editor troll.

-G.

>>398735

ok, assumptions are fun and this one was based on the pesos. What little i bothered to read wasn't necessarily bad, just a subject that i'm supremely uninterested in and made you sound like a dumbass /v/ fanboy.

Props to getting this done, guys! SICK is very entertaining.

>You see, every Pole has two poles: the south and the north magnetic pole. In normal circumstances, which means in Poland, the north pole of a Pole attracts the south pole of another Pole, which is how Poles form relationships and give life to new generations of Poles.

>However, outside Poland, Poles suddenly lose their polarity and transform into poles themselves. North of Poland, they all become south poles; south of Poland, they turn into north poles. Since like poles repel, Polish tourists abroad ostentatiously avoid each other. Whenever Poles travel to Spain or Greece or Croatia, they spend most of their time making sure that there is no other Pole within a 30-meter-radius. Since a Pole cannot personally tell another Pole to stay away from a certain bar or tavern, they use a go-between to communicate.
wat

>>398793
Growing pains, etc. S'alright.

>>398802
I can't read that.

>>398793

Regardless of the hiccup I would just like to thank you Goldensox, as well as everyone else who has helped in the creation and release, this is pretty fucking cool.

"Reflections of a Poletard" is making my laugh my dick off.

>>398814
Thanks to you too. You're the one who offered to host it all, right? Props, man.

>>398802

I cringed. For at least thirty seconds. There comes a point when any writer just has to say 'This metaphor is not working'.

>>398802
this is hilarious.

Thanks for this. Work should be slightly less boring tomorrow.

>>398743
>>398795
Thanks! This is something I wrote for /x/ a while ago, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to share with another community and the flattering cover placement. Thanks to all the editors.

I'll be a raging self promoter now, and say that you can read some other unpolished stuff I wrote here:

http://thejosefkstories.blogspot.com/

Feel free to give me your savage criticism on these drafts, it's a huge boon to me in the editing process later, and I appreciate it.

The pole thing is excellent.

>>398840
Bookmarked. I'll have a read when I'm done with the zine.

I want to personally excuse myself to all authors here.
It was a sad, ridiculous mistake we made by releasing the unpolished version. We're working on Rev.3 now and it will have professional quality like it should have.

Also, it's the least we could do. Your appreciation makes everthing better for us editors, and we're working hard on Rev.3.

the dog one was good, i caught it half way through

>>398840
yeah, I ran into you on /x/ once. Recall that you had a ww1-themed entry on that blog, which was pretty good

>>398855
Look forward to the final polished one, though honestly this isn't too bad. How long do you think it'll take?
(Don't make a third release thread. That's just trolling.)

>>398869
It'll be released tomorrow. We're going overnight.

Found a mistake: Relationships intro text lists a story which is not actually present.

>>398869
>How long do you think it'll take?

Copying and pasting?

I VOTE FOR REFLECTIONS OF A POLE-TARD TO BE ON THE FUCKING FIRST PAGE

>>398877
Problem, Anon?

Ah fuck, the Pole thing is fucking fantastic.

oh my god ! This shit is horrible ! How could you ever release this shit ? fucking vanity bullshit

>>398894
see
>>398855

we're getting it done, fear not

It's fine and dandy that you put this whole thing together.

It's cool that anonymous ended up losing, and you all got your fame for being TEH EIDOTRS OFF DA ZIYN

But it's too bad that 90% of that is shit not worth reading.

>>398901
10% is good enough for me

>>398901
>90% is unreadable
>My opinion is fact and my personal tastes are universal standards for quality

>>398901
...but the other 10% is gold.

>>398908
1% Bronze
99% shit pants

14 years to write a review of FF7. Guy manages one paragraph about putting fire materia on your sword to make it a fire sword, then gets bored and gives up.

>>398920
>complaining about the technical section, that isn't meant to be entertaining anyway

Okay okay

Do we get rid of the flashy intros or what?

>>398906
>>398908
>>398916

The purpose of an editor is to sift through all of the shit and publish only the good stuff. It should not be only 10% gold. It should be at least 50%.

>>398926
I'd say so. For now, anyway.

>>398926
I skipped over them, so yes.
What you've done is cool, but to bang on and on about 'THE WOLRD HAS NEVER SEEN THE LIKES OF THIS.........UNTIL NOOOWWWW!!!' is kind of pretentious. Let the work stand on it's own legs and make it's own reputation through quality and excellence.

>>398930
The editors did jack shit but copy and paste

>>398930
All things considered, this may be future policy. However, the zine recieved most of these submissions based on the assumption that "anything goes". It's a tough question, to be honest

>>398935
Oh god. I thought the exact same thing. I was like 'WOW THIS GUY IS LIKE COMPLETELY CRAYZAY THIS IS SOME X-TREEM SHIT WE'RE FUCKING WITH'

okay okay, getting rid of those.

>>398923
>technical section
>isn't meant to be entertaining

What the fuck is wrong with you? The best reviews are informative along with entertaining.

Example: Redlettermedia's Star Wars Episode 1 review.

>>398706

That first one...sigh

I had a dog once that ran away. He came back. And got run over on the way.

Sigh.

>>398930
The whole point was they'd accept all comers. Obviously the ratio of shit to good was going to be uneven but I'm enjoying rooting through it and picking my favourites.

>>398943
Goldensox was kicked out apparently

I'm not reading this thread or the zine but I approve. Good work.

ITT the people already involved circlejerk

Mission accomplished, guise

>>398944
Lol oh, you.

>>398946
All of it was medicore thanks to the Brazilians

heuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuh
euheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheuhe
uheuheuheuheuheuheuheuheu

PROTIP: It's not protecting artistic integrity to keep some of these writers shitty formatting unless it's absolutely intrinsic to the piece. It just looks shitty.

Lack of spaces between paragraphs like so really helps readability which is a necessity for a publication primarily read on computer screens.

Also you should really liaise with these writers if their grammar is iffy instead of going "Oh except for typos we won't change it".

I'm not bad-mouthing the whole production in its entirety and I must say there's a nice selection of content in amongst the tripe - but I just think these kinds of things need to be addressed.

>>398946
Why do you like reading shit?

>>398950
Who do you think these "other" Editors are? If you never noticed, they all just happen to browse /lit/ at the same time.

I'm sure it's a coincidence.

>>398935
meh, I wrote that. It was pretentious, it was flashy, but It's kind of what you need for startup. If anon hates it however, it disappears.

>>398960
see here
>>398855

>Download with an open mind
>Read table of contents
>"Fiction" has been separated from "Horror," "Sci Fi," and the like, as though Fiction is something that does not encompass those things.
>Read the letter from the "editors"
>Bad grammar
>Misuse of quotation marks
>Straw man argument
>Laughable pseudo-intellectual poser tone
>Pompous overstating of the project's importance

Letter TO the editors:

Please never do this again.

-- 4chan

>Go back to reading
>hopefully the user-submitted writing will be better

>>398963
You saw ZWG Editor startup screen?

inicio

Haters gonna hate. Be paitent folks, you'll get the revised version soon enough.

>>398978
>"Fiction" has been separated from "Horror"

Horror does not have to be fiction.

I just started reading this. So far, I really liked 'On Being Locked Up'.

>>398998
Oh. So some of the horror tales in this publication are, in fact, works of journalism? Please indicate which ones, I'll read them immediately.

Really loved "How This Ends". Nice and short and direct

>>398998
oh you.

fiction whould be "general fiction", at least in theory. this is an older copy of the zine that has since been updated

Uploading this in Deviantart would be a far better choice

"Revolution" is not set during the Russian revolution.

>>399023
You. Silence. Sexy cunt.

>>399024
the joys of overwork.

>>399029
Easier to look at in deviantart

>>399045
honestly, we'll consider it.

>>399048
Just do it and accept all works

Anonymous can submit edited works as well

Has dis been cross pollinated? I know you got submissions from /tg/ and /x/

REV.3 maybe today.

>>399020
oh you

>Editors dismissive of well-intended criticism, pretty much proving the point of everyone who has a problem with this shitfest

>>399057
What, suddenly you're on-board this whole thing?

>>399061
Right well I think I'll fuck off to sleep and get the polished version in the morning.

>>399061
ah, methinks it's essay time. if you wanna send it to Caesar, just read his e-mail and do what it says. Basically a step-by-step guide.

adios, anon.

>>399057

whats the difference? jpg vs pdf?

>>399070
NO YOU
WAIT A SECOND
O... okay. I was going to ask for a more hetero intro... but okay then.

>>399065
No I want them to fucking change the whole "Zine" concept on .pdf

>>399071
look at this

http://www.deviantart.com/#catpath=literature/prose&order=24

Do you think thats a bit easier to fucking read?

Revolution is my favorite so far, sick was good too. However some of them are fucking awfull, the collector wasnt poorly written but the plot and the ideas involved are just fucking dull.

>>399090
dA is for faggots. That's exactly where this shit belongs.

>>399090
>Do you think thats a bit easier to fucking read?
No. What's so hard with a PDF? Opening it with Okular gives me the ability to jump to whatever story I want via the table of contents + easy scrolling and no loading. Fuck you and your jpegs.

>>399103
agree 100% besides the faggot part

>>399090

>Do you think thats a bit easier to fucking read?

If the people here wanted to put their shit on dA, they would have done so already.

>>399090
That looks fuck-awful. Putting them on there is retarded.

>>399119
/lit/ can do a collaboration of work instead of the individual

>>399119

Exactly. I personally would not like to see my work placed on a site that earns ad-money from collective artistic mediocrity and will probably pull my submissions if that is the case.

>>399146
Same.

>>399146
whats this I dont even

the magazine is much cooler.
get foxxit if youre having issues with adobe.
if you dont like reading from a computer, then print it off.
stop bitching dammit

alright e/lit/ists

tell me whats worth reading here?

My suggestions are twofolds. First, make it a website. Keep it as much like a "magazine", add grainy textures to make it look like an old book, but make it all online. PDFs are unfriendly.

Secondly, there has to be ONE person in the group with common sense. His only job is look at a magazine, then look at what is created, and then have the guts to say:
>>"People don't center-align their preface"
or
>>"People use tables of content at the start, not a crude list"

>>399172
nothing

>>399179
don't be a faggot. surely some of these are good. don't make me look at the whole thread.

>>399147

It is.

>>399132
Exactly, /lit/ can do a collaboration of work instead of the individual, as a zine. There's no need to get a middleman involved, when the pdf is fine. A few little things here and there, but it's their first issue.

>>399176
Taken in consideration.
Just having some issues converting REV.3 to pdf

>>399204
The first one is just a short paragraph and it's okay. Forget about the second one. Skip and read the third, "Revolution". At least so far, this one is worth reading.

>>399204
sick
Lazarus in the House of Hrothgar
Farm

Jesus christ learn to fucking JUSTIFY

writers are being exploited by this shit

>>399210
They can submit all the work into one account

>>399241

>There is no need to get a middleman involved.

>>399219
Thanks. I am sorry; when I re-read that suggestion posts, it seemed harsh and commanding. I guess I am just taken by surprise. The way the update threads were laid out, it appeared that there was a solid work of editing going on.

>>399252

They aren't.

>>399260
They are

>>399263

>>399260

>>399263

>>399260

I enjoyed Revolution by Darrin :D

*continues to read*

Anonymous is Powerful once more, we has a book :)

>>399279
Wait till you see rev.3

>>398564
Sorry Jeremy.
I e-mailed prole and told him to check his e-mail in the thread afterward. Dunno what happened.
He was probably just busy with school.

the vast majority of these stories are unreadable.
I liked the one where he turned out to be a dog at the end , but only for the mindfuck value.

I really think A Dark Day could have ended on a much better tone. Death, you need to work on your endings. A lot of the writing was pretty poetic and a little deep. I enjoyed how you compared living as sleeping, while a lot of people I know have always done the opposite. It was all pretty good, until...

Well, anon can just read the ending. It was a really horrendous way to end it, and I mean in a "Why would you end it like this" kind of way. Other than that, pretty enjoyable.

The "zine" should include our own personal edits

>>399301
Title of story?
I haven't yet found a filter through the shit.

>>399315
*"they're"

I don't what's worse; the writing quality of these stories or the fact that they're not formatted in a consistent (or attractive) way.

fix'd

Bravo!

Oh my.
It's like everytime I convert the goddam PDF, it just messes with the effing page numbers...

I'm up to "On Being Locked Up" right now.

Most of the stories are average (the darkness one was average, but had a cute ending). Two are not average.

Roulette was extremely enjoyable, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

That story about the hispanic gamer or whatever was so boring two pages in that I dropped it. I get that the author is probably speaking from experience (if he isn't, then God bless his soul on his journey to gaining any talent), but the story, writing, grammar, et al was horrendous.

Will continue reading. I was hesitant about the idea at first, but now that it's finally here, I'm glad it has been made.

poetry section is my personal favorite

The Dolors of the Internet was my personal favourite.

No, seriously... I dunno... There's a hidden deepness on this poem.

Absolutely worth your time:
SICK
Revolution
Farm
Reflections of a Poletard

There's a surprisingly high quality on average, but these ones are genuinely good.

>>399421
You could include a "commended" section, so long as it doesn't turn into a circle jerk.

This could be a process based on feedback from preliminary releases.

Filter if you must, but do so as little as possible and don't let opinions detract from getting the broadest spectrum of the pysche of anon.

>>398596
This has been a matter of discussion among the editors for some time now, and we want your honest opinions.

Should we start filtering works to produce a smaller release of higher quality?
This would entail accepting pieces that we feel exhibit entertaining plots and are well written, while turning away subpar submissions unless they can improve their works, while providing suggestions on what and where improvements could be made.

>>399429
Shouldn't you always want to release the highest quality work that you can? I understand you're trying to be nice and all, but if the story sucks, then the story sucks. We don't want to have to wade through the "meh" submissions to get to the truly great.

>>399439

Yes yes yes yes yes a million times yes

>>399439
>Should we start filtering works to produce a smaller release of higher quality?

woaaaaaaaaaa hold on

>>399439

What >>399441 said. Quality > quantity, and it'd be good to get a rep for the latter. Turn down the truly shit, offer suggestions for improvement to the mediocre, accept the best.

Of course, try not to make too big a thing about "the highest quality submissions!" because then when haters hate (as they are gonna, I am informed in this thread) they really will rage. Just have an unobtrusive minimum standard, and if you have too many submissions give priority to the good shit, rather than what got submitted first.

>>399439
Obviously, the answer is to filter out the works and only choose high quality stuff. However, this doesn't mean that you should make the zine so large as this first release is in the case that you get a ton of great submissions.

Of course, this also entails that you have a good amount of people, each with different tastes and literary backgrounds, judge each work. I am finding that most everything on this release of the Zine is good, but there is some obvious shit in there (The Collector).

>>399431

I kind of like this idea.
One of our goals in this project was to provide a reason for developing writers to continue writing. We wouldn't have to turn anyone away, so we could still achieve this goal.

But at the same time we wouldn't waste reader's time by putting the best works in a special section that they can go right to.

Sorry for the deletes. Tired.

You can't win. If you start filtering you're going against the spirit of 4chan and imageboards in general and people are going to rage, and if you don't filter then the zine is going to be nothing but absolute shit (as this one mostly is).

I think it would be cool, seeing as this is an anonymous message board, if all the works were written under the name anonymous or anon. That way it could be reflective of where it came from, as well as something unique and never before done (at least to the best of my knowledge).

Just a thought, maybe that's not what you want for your zine though.

>>399479
They already did

>>399439

Nah. If you do that, then it might deter some people from submitting their works. Just keep accepting all works. Readers can skip over the shitty works if they desire to do so. After all, I'm sure that not everybody here is a pro writer.

>>399494
I think they did not accept all the works

>>399494
>not everybody

i'd actually go with

>nobody

>>399497
Source.

>>398802
It's an allusion to the recent Winter Olympics.

Alright guys, Rev.3 done.

Caesar, you still there?

>>399493

>>399476
Same anon as the quoted, I would also suggest dividing the zine between "finished" and "unfinished" works. If the writer is blocked, release their work raw in a work in progress issue/section and let it be critiqued. Forward any advice to the person and help them get into the "finished" issue/section.

This pleases both the reading and the critiquing side. Anyone who resents what they see as a clusterfuck of fail can at least read the "best" of what anon has, while the professors in /lit/ can help the newbies.

>>399519
>Same anon as the quoted, I would also suggest dividing the zine between "finished" and "unfinished" works. If the writer is blocked, release their work raw in a work in progress issue/section and let it be critiqued. Forward any advice to the person and help them get into the "finished" issue/section.

I keep saying that but nobody wants to listen...

So is Mallorie Soto actually Gamer Girl?

>>399527

Because you're not in the kitchen, you sexy minx.

>>399530
I thought the same thing.
I bet everyone did.

>>399519
What do you think about just tagging works with a very noticeable
RECOMMENDED
tag in the table of contents (which can be used to link the reader to the work in the next submission)

>>399407
having read this recommendation, I've only read those four so far and agree.
sick: very well constructed, very well written, also fucking nasty. delicious.
farm: beautifully done, and also really different, amazing how satisfying it felt despite having no action or dialogue.
revolution: needs some more polishing, not as well written as the rest, but a good read.
poletard: a bit incomprehensible, and I'm probably missing a joke by not speaking polish, but also laugh-out-loud funny in the middle.

>>399536
That sounds like the best way of doiung things.

>>399536

Maybe. Something like "editor's choice" or such.

>>399546
This will be taken in consideration.

Plus they should do literary criticism

>>399536
How about, if you're going to divide works by tag instead of section, just add an "editor's choice" tag and apply it to the best?

>>399516

Here.
Just finished eating, sorry.

>>399536
Same anon again, that seems feasible so long as you can work out the page numbers. It might help to still have some stories that could be reviewed and re-released though. Having a flat line where either you're in/fix it your own damn self is harsh. Especially for lonely/shy anon who have no one to help them review it. Maybe an addendum for unfinished works with potential, or simply another issue for those who need help. Or even a dedicated help staff in the ZWG.

I don't like "recommended" for some reason. I suggest making a second issue entirely for rejected work, and call it
>>Those who didn't make it
It would have a preface that explain that these submitions were rejected due to a perceived lack of quality which could be entirely whimsical. The readers are invited to point out if a story was unfairly left out. Thus the editors will learn what the public wants. Otherwise, the issue would invite readers to discuss on how the stories could be improved.

>>399551

>requires further explanation

>>399479

this

it's like /b/, you need to dig through the shit to get to the gems. that's how this zine will always be unfiltered, and that's how it should be

ALRIGHT EVERYONE
REV.3 IS UP
GET IT @
http://zwg.wildwestwaffles.com/

>>399566

Sounds incendiary.

>>399559
Did everthing myself lol. Updated the thumbnail and the pdf wirh rev.3

Can you make a small disclaimer with the cover of the second issue and the date March 30 too please?

>>399581

cool. it allowed you to overwrite?

>>399568
literary criticism of previous works that have been posted.

>>399588
Everthing went neato.

>Can you make a small disclaimer with the cover of the second issue and the date March 30 too please?

yeah

>>399590

That does sounds neato but wouldn't it be better off being put up somewhere else? Like maybe the wiki.

>>399596
Doing it.

>>399590
What about writing said criticism for us? /lit/ sounds like it loves your opinion and stuff, plus we need a reviewer to tell people what's what.

>>399576
Sounds better than "editor's tag" to me. People will naturally fight to the death to receive this perceived gold medal. You need to weed out people who deserved a deeper look and people who are thinking they're a special snowflake. The section for improvement could also be used for this.

Therefore, if somebody doesn't receive his beloved "recommendating", the editors will not receive the full blame and be called baby-eating nazis. The baby eating nazis will be able to point out that readers didn't claim in "those who didn't make it" that he deserved a first place.

>>399566
Awful idea. The Zine is about the reader's opinion, not anybody else. That's like saying, oh here's a shitty story but you can read if you want. It's insulting to the reader and the story's author.

I change my mind. I originally posted in favor of weeding out bad writings, but let's just keep everything equally. I think I like it that way.

>>399607

Who in the hell would read those "specials" when they know that the better works has already been published in the previous issue?

>ZWG threads

Caesar, could you kindly update the wiki please? It's kinda late here and the dumb is getting stronger in me.

>>399601
We should all have the ability to criticizing someone else work with our own thoughts so it can be publish as well.

Annotated Bibliography?

>>399555
Actually, I was thinking that we would keep the release organized by section (gen fiction, science fiction, prose, etc), but within those there would be "recommended" pieces

>>399618

No problem. I'm currently updating the website. Do you have the cover for the next issue?

>>399612
I think people would read it. I think something called "THE REJECTED FILES" would receive a lot of attention. You know how it goes, people like to watch train wrecks and car accidents.

>>399625
I'll upload it as zwg2.jpg

>>399626
We always try to spoonfeed our authors, and all works are accepted with the best ones being always so slightly praised. We can't possibly make something as the 'REJECTED PILE', it would brew a shitstorm of global scale.

>>399641
Accept all works

>>399654
The second issue will be no longer than 60 pages, and the subsequent issues will follow this rule.

>>399659
Why put a limit?

>>399659
I hope so. You answered quickly, I was re-editing the post just to add that
>>I'm afraid that adding an "editor's tag" is the same thing in reverse.
All things considered, if you accept all review, then accept them all with no Editor's Tag. I advise against giving gold medals. It will create a shitstorm as well.

>>399617
Weirdly, for once that hasn't been the case. GG is hardly shitting things up at all.

I know, I'm scared too.

I pity the fuckers who had to read these stories all the way through.

>>399673
Because pulling a whole 120-pager every month it's hard. We made the first one a double issue because people submitted like crazy, and by the time we finished this issue, we already had material for a second one, so we concured in halving the size so we can work more smoothly and have backup releases for the months to come.
Like, we just released the first issue, but we're already planning the fourth one.

>>399572

this

>A Letter from the Editors

oh wow. you tripfags aren't in the spirit of imageboards. this is a zine from /lit/, not deviantart. As counter-intuitive as it may sound, you need to let the trolling and majority of drama and shit pass on to the zine, otherwise you're not catering to the chan audience.

>>399682
It was actually pretty fun.

Caesar... I was thinking something more like...
The cover of the first issue + link in a medium size on the middle top, and the cover of the second a bit smaller below it with 'Coming March 30' or something.

>>399687
i still pity you. it was difficult trying to force myself to read the stories. to imagine you doing it with your sense of duty to this zine really touches my heart.

>>399683
You have to come to the truth of it, there is too much content to let it be unfiltered.

>>399683
why even bother with .pdf?

>>399694

I don't think they're complaining just yet.

>>399700
Aw cmom girl. It could have been a .doc or a .cbr but everyone knows how the standart format for e-zines is .pdf.

>>399709
Well thats the problem

>>399711
society. That is the problem.

>>399718
We should accept society for it is

The book review on Ulillillia's novel is about as impenetrable as the work in question.

So the next one is coming out next month on the 13th right?

>>399709
How much work would it be to release in several formats? Probably a clusterfuck if you have to keep editing out problems as with today, but if you can iron out all the kinks before release it shouldn't be too hard to convert...

>>399724
March 30

>>399722

oh good mother of god Ulillillia wrote a book?

>>399733
Read more in the zine :3
http://zwg.wildwestwaffles.com/

So who thinks it might have been a good idea to create a critique group instead of just going straight for publishing? I think a critique group would be cool.

I like it, keep it up /lit/erati.

>>399738

Explain

>>399722

>http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/the-legend-of-the-10-elemental-masters/7691432

fucking lol @ the reviews

>>399738
What abour a critique group that will receive the beta for current month's issues before everyone (in b4 leakage) and will have their own 'Critique' category on the zine?

>>399752
That could work, except then what's the point in release dates at all?

It's beautiful

Sweet Jesus, moot HAS to know about this.

>>399752

That sounds cool if you can find a trustworthy bunch.

>>399760

>>399752
That would cut actual work...

>>399759
Because releasing everthing 'when we're done with it' sounds like shit. Also, the expectation helps a lot. Tomorrow people'll flip the fuck out.

>>399762
Email him.

>>399771
This explains how I was after reading that

>>399760

Sweet lord, I laffed.

>>399762
Email him then, he seems to want everyone to.

Be advised this thread is now in autosage (no longer bumping).

Read all of the posts. Thanks for taking the time to read the story. I will work on my ability to make a story interesting the next time around. I'm not even a gamer, but it was based on life experiences.

Nevertheless, thanks for reading it. I appreciate the feedback.

For the people who thought it was absolute shit, why? I can understand the boredom since I chose a niche topic, but I'd like some justifications as to why some would argue it as absolute shit.

Thank you for your comments. I will take all of them into account and strive to write a better story the next time around.

Sincerely yours,

The Sound and the Fury

*gets to the part about the FF7 review*

FFFFFFUUUUUUUU
Why'd you have to include that piece of shit?

>>399782

LOOKS LIKE IT'S TIEM FOR A NEW THREAD.

>>399782
AUTOSAGE D: should I make another thread?

>>399772
Yes it would. I'll brainstorm the idea with the other editors and open a thread requesting professional critiques.

>>399792

DO EET. MAKE ANOTHER TOPIC

I know that "filtering" is taboo but I insist to make a last suggestion. Do not accept any work with lacking punctuations, incomplete sentences and bad formatting. Instead, politely point to the sender that he needs to fix this and then send it again.

I HEAR THUNDER. BUT THERE IS NO RAIN

>>399759
>>399752
>>399747

I think it's better for a fledgling writer to be critiqued by a group of interested readers, as we all seem to be, than to just throw their stories out there to be published without that challenge.

I really don't mean to be rude but from the several stories I tried to read, I only finished one. Many of these stories suffer from problems common in amateur writing (I understand this is not profound), which could be easily corrected with a critique.

I've done a lot of critiquing.. I'd be willing to help out.

>>399785
It just seemed a bit dreary and pointless, alternated between big blocks of dialogue and big blocks of description with no overlap, and didn't have much of a point to it or any real narrative payoff. Also, you could use generally tighter editing, the writing was mostly competent but uninspired.

(good on you for being a good sport about it, though)

>>399806

>>399804
Email us. We'll take it in consideration.

>>399760

I like how he includes the alpha channel too, just so you know he's opaque.

New Thread @

>>399806
>>399806
>>399806
>>399806
>>399806

Will let this one dies.

>>399601
>*quite suddenly Prole stops lurking in the shadows*

>>399738
This is a very good idea, I'd suggest trying it.

>>399700
The better question is what is wrong with .pdf format? I see no problems

>>399683
yeah, this basically sums up our situation. IT's great to know that the zine is in good standing, but it's also very difficult to get to everything. Also, I see that the link for the revised edition is up. Kudos.

>>399770
>>399772
How are you going to get all of those writers to revise their stories in time for a monthly release? I just don't see it happening in beta, like you guys have kinda latched on to. I think it'd be better to have all submissions critiqued in a separate critique group, have all the critiques sent to the authors, and perhaps incorporate a rating system (good food for the trolls, but the rating would have to come with a written response, and any non-serious ratings could be easily thrown out. Then when a piece gets a high enough average rating, use those pieces in the next issue.

To expand on the rating system idea, perhaps you could require a certain word count for critiques, say.. 300 words or so. Less for poetry and shorter pieces. Then you can easily read through and disregard the illegitimate critiques and ratings.

>>40000

>>400000