darkreflections-zine

[darkreflections-zine]

Thank you to everyone who has submitted work for the zine.

Editing is well underway. If you've submitted something and have yet to receive an email in response, please try contacting us either on DMs here or on Discord. It is also possible the email ended up in your spam folder.

As we go deeper into editing, there may be some formatting and printing questions posted here in the form of polls; keep an eye out for those.

[darkreflections-zine]

Thank you to everyone who has submitted work for the zine.

Editing is well underway. If you've submitted something and have yet to receive an email in response, please try contacting us either on DMs here or on Discord. It is also possible the email ended up in your spam folder.

As we go deeper into editing, there may be some formatting and printing questions posted here in the form of polls; keep an eye out for those.

#update #star trek #star trek zine

[darkreflections-zine]

24 hours left for submissions!

This is your last chance to submit work for this zine!

#reminder

[darkreflections-zine]

Hi!

Buenas tardes, ammm... ¿de qué tratan las "submissions"?

Intente leer para poder entender, pero no lo tengo claro. Muchas gracias por su tiempo y respuesta

Sorry, I don't speak Spanish. I tried putting this ask through google translate, but I'm not sure I understand the question. This is a mirror universe zine, so submissions should be related to the mirror universe. They can be art, fic, or poetry. More details are in the pinned post.

#qna

[darkreflections-zine]

News, everyone.

Unfortunately, we have not received enough submissions for a full zine. As such, we have decided to keep submissions open until the end of the year.

You have until December 31, 2023 to submit work for the zine.

Please spread this around. We are especially desperate for more artwork.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to send them as asks here or via email.

Dark Reflections is now accepting submissions!

Dark Reflections is an all-Trek zine focusing on the Mirror Universe and other dark universes. We welcome the dark, the macabre, the unsavoury and the morally dubious.

Please read the FAQ under the cut before submitting anything. Feel free to join our Discord server for quick answers to questions, hanging out with other submitters, beta reader requests, and work reminders.

Submissions close October 10th. Send submissions to [email protected]

FAQ

What counts as a mirror universe?

According to Fanlore, a mirror universe is any alternate universe which is a dark reflection (pun intended) of the original. Whether this is the mirror universe we see in the shows or in beta canon, or a completely new universe that is simply not as kind to our characters as the original is up to you. Keep in mind that this zine focuses on and embraces the more "evil" aspects of those universes.

What can I submit to the zine?

Writing (fic and poetry) and art (traditional or digital, including comics) can all be submitted. We don't accept manips, meta essays (essays written in-universe may be allowed), mood boards, or anything that can't be printed, such as vids and podfics. Fics must not exceed 25,000 words, though depending on quality and number of submissions we may choose more, shorter works over fewer, longer ones. There is no lower limit for writing. Art must be completed, which means no sketches. Traditional art should be scanned, 300p. Written files should be .docx or .pdf, and art files should be .png, .jpg or .tiff. Links to Google Docs are also accepted.

Is there anything I can't write about?

Despite this zine embracing and encouraging potentially controversial subject matters, there are a few things we won't accept. Generally speaking, though, unless you're writing nazi roleplay erotica (for example) we're not likely to reject your fic on subject matter alone.

What show/ship/characters does the zine focus on?

Ideally, all of them. We'd like for this to be an all-Trek zine. However, if we get an overwhelming majority of one series we may end up rejecting a single work from a different one, even if it normally would have gotten in, just to keep everything cohesive. Either way, we will not accept OC-centric works.

Can I submit a work that has been published somewhere else? e.g. AO3, another zine, ect.

No. We only accept new works.

Does my work need to be beta read before submission?

Preferably, yes. We will edit works which have been accepted and which require it. All works in the zine will match in editing style, though we'll try to keep the author's style intact.

If I submit multiple works, how many are likely to get in?

We would prefer to give as many creators an opportunity to participate as possible, but if there is room or your works are particularly fitting, we will include multiple.

Do I need experience to submit works?

No. We will gladly accept works from new creators.

Do I need to join the discord server to participate?

No. The server gives you easier access to the editor, granting quicker answers to any questions you may have, as well as general accountability and greater sense of community, but that is all.

How do you match fic and art?

Ideally, we will have some solid matches from the get-go. If necessary, we will ask submitters who have volunteered to pinch hit for fics with no art. Art with no matches will separate poems or end up on one of the covers.

Will there be merch?

Possibly.

After the zine is published, can I post my work to AO3/social media?

We reserve printing rights for six months after publication (the day printed zines will be shipped). After that, you may do with your work as you wish.

How much will the zine cost?

This depends on a number of factors. However, we will endeavour to keep the zine as cheap as possible. We cannot legally make money off of fanworks, nor do we wish to. A free pdf copy of the zine will be sent to everyone who has purchased a physical copy, and these digital copies will be available to purchase at a much discounted price.

I have another question that isn't listed here.

Shoot us an ask! All asks are tagged #qna to make finding them easier. Please check if we have answered your question there before sending a new one.

#update

[darkreflections-zine]

Ten days left for submissions!

We're in the home stretch now! Please try to get your submissions in before the deadline.

#reminder

[darkreflections-zine]

One month left for submissions!

#reminder

[darkreflections-zine]

Two months left for submissions!

If you haven't started working on your submission yet, now's the time!

#reminder

[darkreflections-zine]

Hey I think your discord link expired :(

Damn, thanks for letting me know! Here's a new one, and I've edited the main post as well, though I know that doesn't affect past reblogs.

[darkreflections-zine]

I think you need to define what topics are off-limits. Saying that there are a few topics that you won't allow fics about but then not saying what they are isn't helpful, and might mean that someone writes a fic specifically for the zine only to get it rejected.

I can't specify them because frankly, I don't know them all. I have read plenty of weird and fucked-up fics, so it takes a lot to faze me. Like I said in the FAQ, the chance that your work will get rejected on the basis of subject matter alone is miniscule.

#faq

[darkreflections-zine]

This may sound rude but it is genuine, so please bear with me. I think the previous anon had many good points. How can we know we can trust you? One person doing all the work on a zine not only sounds horribly labour intensive, but also a great opportunity for the person to take the money and run, since there will be less eyes. What about burnout, or a family emergency, where you personally can't edit and print and bind 200 pages of content? Have you done the math to know how many people will need to buy the zine to break even?

Individual people have been making zines alone or with one other person for decades - the groups and committees are a fairly new development.

As far as taking the money and running - all instances of it that I have heard of have been one person who was part of a group where the others didn't know them too well but still gave them control of the treasury. There are plenty of people in this fandom who know me personally and who can vouch for my trustworthiness, including ones who have my phone number and home address. I am not likely to disappear.

I'm very good at dealing with burnout and emergencies, and in the very worst case scenario I simply won't print the zine, issue refunds in case of a pre-sale, and allow the creators to post their work elsewhere.

I'm fully willing to use my own money to fill in the gaps. I am not expecting to cut even. I've already started saving specifically for this purpose.

I'm not going to force you to submit work to this zine or to purchase it. Please don't send me any more asks about whether or not I'm really prepared for this and just trust that I am, or decide that I'm not, and leave.

#qna

[darkreflections-zine]

If you have no experience running a zine let alone a physical zine how are you planning to handle working with manufacturers, setting up an online shop, or international shipping? I mean this genuinely but as excited as I am for this zine I have a lot of concerns. Physical zine production is not done on a whim, you need a good deal of experience..

No one making their first zine has any experience making a zine. If new people didn't make zines then zines never would have existed.

I'm not doing this on a whim, and while I don't have experience specifically making a zine, I have dealt with international shipping and online storefronts in the past. I have done a lot of research and I'm confident in my ability to bring you all a well made fanzine.

#qna

[darkreflections-zine]

How much experience editing do you have? And can you explain a bit more how you define the types of edits you'll be doing for the fics? (Above typesetting, of course.)

I have plenty of fic editing experience and a little experience editing academic papers.

The vast majority of edits I'll be doing are for flow and SPaG, as well as edits for cohesiveness across the zine - all works should use American spelling (this is because the show is American, and as such I find non-American spelling and terms to be a little jarring) and the Oxford comma (this is because I personally like it). I will never ask a writer to completely rewrite their story, though I may suggest small edits to close plot holes or explain certain things better. We also have a sensitivity reader on hand; while this zine focuses on sensitive matters, framing is important and we may request edits based on that.

If you ever disagree with an edit I suggest, please say so. There is always leeway for artistic choice, and I will never actively try to change someone's writing style.

#qna

[darkreflections-zine]

Have you edited/put together a zine before? Solo or otherwise?

I have submitted to zines before but have never made one myself. I do have some experience running other fandom events, though.

#qna

[darkreflections-zine]

Sounds like this is a big bang too with art accompanying fic and vice versa...but there are no details on how authors will be matched with artists?

This is not a big bang. Artists may submit whatever works they wish, and if it works well with a certain fic it'll appear among its pages. Pinch hit artists will only be used in case all fics except one or two have art attached and we don't want anyone to feel left out.

#qna

[darkreflections-zine]

Since acceptance of works is somewhat dependant on what everyone else submits, will you not be letting everyone know if their work was accepted until after the October 10 deadline?

Correct. Every who submits a work will get a confirmation email that we have received their submission, but until all the works have been submitted and reviewed you won't know if yours has been accepted.

#qna

[darkreflections-zine]

Do you have a target number of submissions that must be approved for the zine to go to print?

The goal is around 200 pages. Whether that requires 4 fics or 15 depends entirely on the length of the works submitted. If we can't get more than around 125 pages we'll likely reopen submissions to try and get more works in there. It is very unlikely that the zine won't go to print.

#qna