Publishing now: GenderFail’s working class guide to making a living off self publishing

GenderFail

by Be Oakley

Publishing Now: GenderFails Working Class Guide to Making a Living Off Small Publishing is a 18,000 words/35 Chapters book about my journey running GenderFail.

We aren’t taught anything about actually finding ways to make a living being an artist from art school. It’s bullshit especially when you think about the debt working class and low-income are getting into for the off chance of making their dreams a reality. I found a way to make a living off my publishing platform GenderFail and in this publication I share how I think that happened. This is the professional practices or guide I wish I had when I first started out.

With GenderFail I didn’t have any funding when I started and over the 7 years of the project I have found a way to make the work I want while also paying my bills. Publishing Now: GenderFails Working Class Guide to Making a Living Off Small Publishing is my attempt to have an honest account of advise, true stories, resources and other information that can help other low-income and working class people find ways of making a living as a artists. This book also acts as a crystallization of my interests and goals as an educator. The title in part, Publishing Now, Is taken from a class that I taught for 4 semester at SMFA at Tufts. In this I wanted to give an honest survey and account from the perspective of a working class artist and publisher. This book in many ways is the core of what that class intended to share.

Publishing Now: GenderFails Working Class Guide to Making a Living Off Small Publishing is imperfect and acts as just one account of one artist. My hope is this publication will help inspire and motivate other working artists to share this journey to help low-income and working class people find ways to make money in the arts.

[No ISBN.]

Genres: Art

140 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2023

Reviews

[Ezra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book providing insight into one small press's history & experience navigating the publishing world, with the author's personal experience informing the provided tips/tricks/information re: managing one's creative goals and projects as a small press.

I personally found some parts more interesting than others, but overall I appreciated the financial transparency the writer approached this project with (perhaps a little too much transparency, re: their taxes), the emphasis on seeking out, utilizing, and fostering creative community, and "REUSE REUSE REUSE": creating your projects with resources and materials sustainably and well within your means.

Additional notes: I ordered this new & directly from the publisher, but the binding quality resulted in pages coming loose as I was reading. Stylistic publishing choices (printed solely in gold and pink ink) looked neat, but unfortunately were not suited for ease of reading. However, given the publisher's sentiment toward embracing 'imperfection', I suppose these quirks fit right in.

In addition, I read the 3rd edition (which isn't yet on Goodreads, hence my review here on the 1st edition).

[Maitreya Ravenstar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot to ever mark this book on here. The night I read it I saw a shooting star sitting up in bed through my window. I didn’t even turn my head; I looked up and there it was. A few months later I was staying in a canvas tent in the Zagora Desert in Morocco. It was there I received word that I was accepted to do an internship at a photobook publisher. That same night I saw a shooting star lying on my back in the sand dunes and I decided that perhaps there was something to the construct of fate.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A much needed work for anyone interested in zines, small presses, and independent publishing. I learned so much, and I know I’m going to reread parts of this zine again as I continue my journey as an artist :-)

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully made, insightful, honest, and encouraging to anyone who want to find a way of working outside of mainstream systems.

[Kyla Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

GenderFail has been such an inspiration to me! Accessible, clear, and filled to the brim with knowledge that is so often gatekept.

A must read for anyone interested in small- and self-publishing.

[Mikkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think the book was half bad, but I am a little thrown off by the style of the book. Even though I know it was intentional. It's just not my thing. Good overall advice of just doing it.

[alba ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Necesario, importantísimo, perfecto. Qué hermoso cuando alguien comparte todos sus recursos y saberes de una forma tan cercana y transparente. Indispensable para cualquiera que se autoedite (o edite a otras), esta y todas las demás publicaciones de GenderFail ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Esta es la tercera vez que vuelvo a él (y no será la última) <3