In the 1980s, home publishing was a messy and often highly amateur affair. Fanzine writers would slave away with typewriters and Pritt Stick or, occasionally, a cheap Desktop Publishing package on their ZX Spectrum; while big-budget magazines used the latest version of Quark to make their publications look infinitely more professional.
Now, however, the playing field is level. The average home computer has the same power as the ones journalists and magazine producers use. With the advent of the Internet and the Free Software revolution, it has never been easier, or cheaper, to make a magazine.
Choosing a Desktop Publishing Application
Whether it is for a local community group, a school project or because the world needs to know how to make sauces, successful magazines must look professional. The simplest way to make a magazine look good is to make it on a computer with a Desktop Publishing application (more commonly known as a DTP package) like Quark or Adobe InDesign.
However, these programs cost hundreds or thousands; which puts them out of the budget of the average home computer user. Adobe offer a 30 day trial of InDesign on their website but this is hardly a long-term solution, so what can be done? It's simple: use free software.
The leading alternative to InDesign is Scribus, which is fully-functional free DTP package for both the Mac and PC. It cannot load InDesign files, but looks and feels a lot like InDesign, so users already familiar with DTP should have no trouble making the switch.
How to Find Free Pictures
Magazines filled entirely with text are generally called books; so any new magazine is going to need pictures if it is going to look professional, or even interesting. Anyone with a digital camera can take enough photographs to fill a magazine but sometimes there isn't either the time or money to travel and take that much needed picture. The Internet, however, may have many free pictures that can be used in magazines without incurring royalty payments.
Google Image Search now has an Advanced Image Search option beside the search bar. This allows for images to be searched for by keyword and licence type; which is a quick and efficient way of finding royalty-free images. For magazines that will be sold, it is best to select “labeled for commercial reuse” under “Usage rights”. Free magazines can use the more general “labeled for reuse” option. Images found using this method may have restrictions on how they are used, such as a requirement that the copyright owner be acknowledged, so it is best to check for details.
How to Publish for Free
Publishing magazines online can be as simple as exporting the magazine from Scribus as a PDF, putting up a website and letting users download the magazine from there. A quick Google search shows there are hundreds of companies providing free web space and with free content management software like WordPress, it has never been easier to build a professional website. Companies like e-Junkie even allow download shops to be set up quickly, meaning the magazine can be sold securely as a PDF within minutes of it being created.
It is simple to get a magazine printed, too. Companies like MagCloud provide free accounts to create print-on-demand (“PoD”) magazines, meaning there are no up-front payments and back issues need never be out of stock. By creating a PDF of the magazine in Scribus and uploading it to the PoD website, the magazine is printed only when a copy is bought and it is shipped directly to the purchaser. All the magazine's creator need do is provide a link on the magazine's website to the PoD site and readers can order their copy quickly and easily.
The Internet has levelled the playing field in magazine publishing, allowing professional magazines to be produced at home, for free. Whether it is a community newsletter or a full-blown commercial venture, magazines to rival those on the racks of any newsagent can be produced on a home computer and distributed via the Internet at no cost.
Zoe Kirk-Robinson - Zoë Kirk-Robinson is a freelance writer/artist specialising in legal writing, internet technology and creative writing. She holds a ...
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