Subzine

from Fancyclopedia 2 ca. 1959

The type of general interest fanzine that is usually offered for sale, as distinguished from exchanges like FAPAzines, news-sheets, leaflets, one-shots, and other specialized types. Most subscription fanzines have articles, stories, departments, a reader's lettercolumn, art work, and all the other fixings. Club Official Organs are often of the nature of a subzine. Sometimes people actually pay for them, but the fanzine that breaks even is a very rare specimen, and it is customary to send out many copies as samples, send them to pro editors and exchange gratis, and carry other subscribers a long time in spite of non-response to expiration notices. Of course, there are crimes by the editor, too; Reader and Collector for March '41 utters these words of worth: "If you are unable to carry on for a period of at least one volume (8-12 issues) with very few subscriptions — if you don't have the necessary equipment to turn out a legible and easily-read mag — if you don't have the time or ability to properly edit a magazine and reduce the typographical errors to a minimum — if you don't have enough interesting material to enable you to run the magazine for a reasonable subscription period with very little additional assistance — if you are unable to maintain a definite publication date — THEN FOR GAWD'S SAKE DON'T START A SUBSCRIPTION FANZINE!"

from Fancyclopedia 1 ca. 1944

The type of general interest fanzine which is usually offered for sale, as distinguished from exchanges like FAPAzines, newsheets, all-fiction, and other specialized types. The subscription fanzine has articles, stories, departments, a readers' section, art work, and all the other fixings. Sometimes people actually pay for them, but the fanzine which breaks even is a very rare specimen, and it is customary to send out many copies as samples, send them regularly to pro editors gratis, exchange, and carry other subscribers a long time in spite of nonresponse to expiration notices.