Klordny: Devoted to the Legion of Super-Heroes
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Frequently Asked Questions about Klordny (2017 edition)
1. What is an APA?
An APA is an "amateur press alliance" -- a publication put together by a collection of friends and fellow enthusiasts. In this case, we put together a "mailing" of Klordny every two months by having each member contribute enough copies of his or her contribution so that all members will get a copy. Each member sends his collated contribution (or "zine" [short for "magazine" or "fanzine (fan magazine)"]) to the Central Mailer (CM), who collates all the zines into a single, stapled mailing and sends the mailings out to the membership.
2. Why should I join an APA?
To share an enthusiasm and to make friends. Since APAs can take tons of time and money, only those who really share that enthusiasm and really enjoy the APA forum are going to stick around. APAs are also great places to hone your writing and art skills in front of a generally supportive and constructive audience.
3. Sounds interesting, but how can this be done over the 'net?
It can't. Klordny is NOT an electronic APA. We prepare everything in print and trust the postal service to deliver our completed publication to our members. We have regular deadlines, and you can be certain that Klordny can be read at your leisure wherever you are comfortable. Your computer won't be flooded with e-mail, and you will be under no pressure to produce material immediately. In order to maintain your membership in Klordny, however, it is strongly suggested that you submit two pages of Legion-related material once every four months (see our Constitution for more).
That said, there's also a Yahoo! group to talk abut all things Klordny-related. Check that out at the Klordny Yahoo! group page and then join our list, why don'tcha?!?!?
4. How much does an APA cost?
APAs are always going to take up lots of time and money, so be ready for that from the start. But most of the expenses you'll run into will come in the duplication and sending in of your own zines, which you completely pay for. You also have to maintain a positive balance in an "account" with the APA. The "dues" you pay to keep that account in the positive will go toward the expenses of putting out the APA -- satples, envelopes, copying expenses for the bulletin and covers, postage to send the mailing to you, etc. The Klordny membership is limited to 25 people with an open waitlist membership (at the moment we've got more than enough room for new members).
It is the smallest of the existing Legion APAs, and a typical cost for each mailing is between $4-$7 (waitlist members pay a flat $4 plus postage [usually $3] for their mailing). Each mailing's bulletin gives a detailed account of the previous mailing's expenses so you'll always be able to see how your "dues" are being spent.
There's no sort of profit or salary or any sort of financial incentives going to the APA or its officers; all of your account dollars go towards APA expenses. So don't think of those "dues" as the major part of your participation. What will probably cost you a bit more is making the copies of your own zine and then paying to send them to the Central Mailer. You'll probably end up photocopying your zines, in which case our current copy count of approximately 15 and a copying cost of fifteen cents per page would mean you'd be spending $2.25 per page in your copying. Postage will vary according to the size of your zine and the type of mail you choose (some people send their zines in first-class, others use a courier, depending on how close to the deadline they send it (always pay attention to the deadline!). And remember, these expenses come with every mailing you contribute to, and there are six mailings each year.
Our current central mailer also accepts emailed copies of your zine, which he'll then print out at cost and assemble for the issue, saving members on the postage costs associated with sending their contributions to him (many of our contributors take him up on this offer!)
5. What should I write about in Klordny?
Anything you'd like (so long as it's not libelous or infringing on a copyright). In this case, the reason for all of us getting together is comics in general and the Legion of Super-Heroes in particular, so you're encouraged, but not required, to discuss the Legion. Fiction, artwork, reviews, articles and virtually anything else you'd like to discuss are all fine.
But remember that this is not a fanzine, it is an instrument of more personal communication. You're not writing for a wide audience but for the specific membership of Klordny. "Mailing Comments" (MCs) -- reactions to other people's zines from the previous mailing -- tend to be the liveliest and most effective segments of APAs. Suggested topics for a first zine are your personal background (where you've lived, what your hobbies are, what your family is like, your "significant other," pets, etc.), the history of your interest with the Legion, your favorite Legionnaire, your favorite Legion era, your favorite individual story, favorites elsewhere in comics, etc., etc.
6. What should my zine look like?
Any way you want it to, but here are a few guidelines to help you get started...
It's not required that your zine be typed, but unless you have extremely clear penmanship and an unusual invulnerability to writer's cramp, we suggest you do whatever it takes to get your zines typed.
Leave yourself about a one-inch margin on all sides, and most especially on the side that be next to the "spine" of the mailing (the left-hand margin on the front side of a page, the right-hand margin on the back, if you print double-sided). If you write to the very edge of the page, some of your words are going to get lost in the spine. Some readers also like to make comments on the outside margin to assist them when they get around to doing their mailing comments.
Please give your zine a distinctive name (some examples from past and current Klordny mailings are "Mysa's Mysteries," "The Forbidden Zone," "Invsible Insights," "Yakka Mahor," "With Regards from Computo the Conqueror," and "Shanghalla") and list that title, plus your name and address (and phone number and e-mail address, if you like) near the start of your zine. It makes it easy for the membership to find and recognize you.
We encourage using coloured paper when it's cheaply available because white zines collated next to white zines tend to "bleed together" and become hard for people to tell them apart. Also, double-sided copying is generally considered better looking and saves in paper weight, therefore saving postage for both yourself and the APA.
And please, do NOT staple your contributions. Most Central Mailers encourage stapled zines as it makes the collation easier. For Klordny, however, one of our previous Central Mailers began a policy of removing staples (being of the opinion that it makes the completed mailing look much nicer). That tradition has kind of stuck. But you know what? If you want to staple your zine, go right ahead. It's not like there's a law against stapling your zines.
Yet.
Artwork always brightens up the APA, so include as much as you like.
Certain members are of the opinion that pictures of Nardo or the Super Moby Dick of Space also brighten up the APA ... except even more so. So, if you'd like to include picutres of Nardo or the Super Moby Dick of Space, we encourage that sort of activity.
7. What are some of the most common mistakes made by APA newcomers?
Most newcomer's mistakes come when a member forgets that APAs are a forum best suited to personal, friendly communication. They often prepare materials as if they're writing for a wide circulation publication and all that work just doesn't pay off in this medium. Generally, more personal levels of communication are easier to write, more effective, and get a greater response from the membership.
Most APA newcomers will underestimate the amount of time and work it takes to actually finish a zine, copy, collate and package it, and get it to the post office, so they've seldom allowed for time for the inevitable problems at the copy shop, or the computer crashing, or whatever other disaster you'd never expect to happen until it does. the most important and common disaster is that the post office slows down for some reason and your package arrives too late to be included in the mailing.
8. What are Klordnites like?
We have a wonderfully diverse and wide-spread membership from across North America. We've even had members from overseas (Australia, England and France in the past; currently we have members in Germany and Canada). We've got executive types and students, librarians and computer operators, cooks and architects, bon vivants and ne'er do wells. We've got single members, married members, and members who prefer alternate lifestyles. We've got writers and artists, researchers and essayists. We've got younger members and we've got older members. Although all of us are tending to skew a bit older nowadays. Most importantly, we've all got a love for the Legion, both old and new.
If you took a look at one of our mailings today you'd find an incredible amount of fiction (Klordnites seem to be quite prolific) and some high-calibre art. But don't worry if you're not a writer or an artist; a lot of our members are around just to read and comment. That's the essence of an APA. We've made a good number of lasting friendships over the years and look forward to finding many more.
9. What's all this I hear about firetrucks and ... monkeys, is it?
Ah, but that would be telling. That's a perk reserved for members of Klordny. So why not join up and find out? Believe me, once you join, you will find out about the firetrucks. And the monkeys.
Oh yes.
You will.
10. So what do I do to get started?
You can write the current Central Mailer of Klordny for further information. The address is:
Carl Fishman
3588 Plymouth Road #229
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
USA
E. carlfishman@att.net
Or get in touch with the administrator of this site and the Yahoo! Klordny group: klordny2020@yahoo.com. If you have any questions, I'd love to try and answer them for ya.
Thanks for checking us out!
(Thanks to Brad Horning, who originally posted these FAQs on his Klordny website.)
1. What is an APA?
An APA is an "amateur press alliance" -- a publication put together by a collection of friends and fellow enthusiasts. In this case, we put together a "mailing" of Klordny every two months by having each member contribute enough copies of his or her contribution so that all members will get a copy. Each member sends his collated contribution (or "zine" [short for "magazine" or "fanzine (fan magazine)"]) to the Central Mailer (CM), who collates all the zines into a single, stapled mailing and sends the mailings out to the membership.
2. Why should I join an APA?
To share an enthusiasm and to make friends. Since APAs can take tons of time and money, only those who really share that enthusiasm and really enjoy the APA forum are going to stick around. APAs are also great places to hone your writing and art skills in front of a generally supportive and constructive audience.
3. Sounds interesting, but how can this be done over the 'net?
It can't. Klordny is NOT an electronic APA. We prepare everything in print and trust the postal service to deliver our completed publication to our members. We have regular deadlines, and you can be certain that Klordny can be read at your leisure wherever you are comfortable. Your computer won't be flooded with e-mail, and you will be under no pressure to produce material immediately. In order to maintain your membership in Klordny, however, it is strongly suggested that you submit two pages of Legion-related material once every four months (see our Constitution for more).
That said, there's also a Yahoo! group to talk abut all things Klordny-related. Check that out at the Klordny Yahoo! group page and then join our list, why don'tcha?!?!?
4. How much does an APA cost?
APAs are always going to take up lots of time and money, so be ready for that from the start. But most of the expenses you'll run into will come in the duplication and sending in of your own zines, which you completely pay for. You also have to maintain a positive balance in an "account" with the APA. The "dues" you pay to keep that account in the positive will go toward the expenses of putting out the APA -- satples, envelopes, copying expenses for the bulletin and covers, postage to send the mailing to you, etc. The Klordny membership is limited to 25 people with an open waitlist membership (at the moment we've got more than enough room for new members).
It is the smallest of the existing Legion APAs, and a typical cost for each mailing is between $4-$7 (waitlist members pay a flat $4 plus postage [usually $3] for their mailing). Each mailing's bulletin gives a detailed account of the previous mailing's expenses so you'll always be able to see how your "dues" are being spent.
There's no sort of profit or salary or any sort of financial incentives going to the APA or its officers; all of your account dollars go towards APA expenses. So don't think of those "dues" as the major part of your participation. What will probably cost you a bit more is making the copies of your own zine and then paying to send them to the Central Mailer. You'll probably end up photocopying your zines, in which case our current copy count of approximately 15 and a copying cost of fifteen cents per page would mean you'd be spending $2.25 per page in your copying. Postage will vary according to the size of your zine and the type of mail you choose (some people send their zines in first-class, others use a courier, depending on how close to the deadline they send it (always pay attention to the deadline!). And remember, these expenses come with every mailing you contribute to, and there are six mailings each year.
Our current central mailer also accepts emailed copies of your zine, which he'll then print out at cost and assemble for the issue, saving members on the postage costs associated with sending their contributions to him (many of our contributors take him up on this offer!)
5. What should I write about in Klordny?
Anything you'd like (so long as it's not libelous or infringing on a copyright). In this case, the reason for all of us getting together is comics in general and the Legion of Super-Heroes in particular, so you're encouraged, but not required, to discuss the Legion. Fiction, artwork, reviews, articles and virtually anything else you'd like to discuss are all fine.
But remember that this is not a fanzine, it is an instrument of more personal communication. You're not writing for a wide audience but for the specific membership of Klordny. "Mailing Comments" (MCs) -- reactions to other people's zines from the previous mailing -- tend to be the liveliest and most effective segments of APAs. Suggested topics for a first zine are your personal background (where you've lived, what your hobbies are, what your family is like, your "significant other," pets, etc.), the history of your interest with the Legion, your favorite Legionnaire, your favorite Legion era, your favorite individual story, favorites elsewhere in comics, etc., etc.
6. What should my zine look like?
Any way you want it to, but here are a few guidelines to help you get started...
Yet.
Certain members are of the opinion that pictures of Nardo or the Super Moby Dick of Space also brighten up the APA ... except even more so. So, if you'd like to include picutres of Nardo or the Super Moby Dick of Space, we encourage that sort of activity.
7. What are some of the most common mistakes made by APA newcomers?
Most newcomer's mistakes come when a member forgets that APAs are a forum best suited to personal, friendly communication. They often prepare materials as if they're writing for a wide circulation publication and all that work just doesn't pay off in this medium. Generally, more personal levels of communication are easier to write, more effective, and get a greater response from the membership.
Most APA newcomers will underestimate the amount of time and work it takes to actually finish a zine, copy, collate and package it, and get it to the post office, so they've seldom allowed for time for the inevitable problems at the copy shop, or the computer crashing, or whatever other disaster you'd never expect to happen until it does. the most important and common disaster is that the post office slows down for some reason and your package arrives too late to be included in the mailing.
8. What are Klordnites like?
We have a wonderfully diverse and wide-spread membership from across North America. We've even had members from overseas (Australia, England and France in the past; currently we have members in Germany and Canada). We've got executive types and students, librarians and computer operators, cooks and architects, bon vivants and ne'er do wells. We've got single members, married members, and members who prefer alternate lifestyles. We've got writers and artists, researchers and essayists. We've got younger members and we've got older members. Although all of us are tending to skew a bit older nowadays. Most importantly, we've all got a love for the Legion, both old and new.
If you took a look at one of our mailings today you'd find an incredible amount of fiction (Klordnites seem to be quite prolific) and some high-calibre art. But don't worry if you're not a writer or an artist; a lot of our members are around just to read and comment. That's the essence of an APA. We've made a good number of lasting friendships over the years and look forward to finding many more.
9. What's all this I hear about firetrucks and ... monkeys, is it?
Ah, but that would be telling. That's a perk reserved for members of Klordny. So why not join up and find out? Believe me, once you join, you will find out about the firetrucks. And the monkeys.
Oh yes.
You will.
10. So what do I do to get started?
You can write the current Central Mailer of Klordny for further information. The address is:
Carl Fishman
3588 Plymouth Road #229
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
USA
E. carlfishman@att.net
Or get in touch with the administrator of this site and the Yahoo! Klordny group: klordny2020@yahoo.com. If you have any questions, I'd love to try and answer them for ya.
Thanks for checking us out!
(Thanks to Brad Horning, who originally posted these FAQs on his Klordny website.)
-----
- Prospective cover artists can bid for the right to do a cover in the coming year by submitting a request after September First of the current year to the Central Mailer. The Central Mailer shall compile a list of the cover artists from such requests on a first-come-first-served basis.
- Section covers are left to the Central Mailer's discretion.
- Should a cover responsibility be neglected by a listed artist, the responsibility shall be shifted to the Central Mailer to be dealt with as the Central Mailer sees fit.
- Neglect of cover responsibilities shall empower the Central Mailer to exclude the offending individual from subsequent cover assignments if the Central Mailer deems this necessary.
- An individual may only do one cover per year (officially).
- Contribute a President's Message each issue;
- Publicize the APA and recruit new members;
- Resolve disputes and be responsible for general morale;
- Appoint a Central Mailer if he, she or they cannot fulfill the duties of office because of death, resignation or other reasons. Members in such case will first be asked to volunteer.
- Set a copy count not to exceed 40;
- Set deadlines for contributions;
- Keep track of minacs;
- Handle all APA expenses;
- Contribute a Central Mailer's Message to each issue, including membership roster, waitlist roster and a complete statement of Klordny finances;
- Be responsible for collation and distribution of the APA;
- Be responsible for the Bulletin and other matters pertaining to the waitlist;
- Assume the duties of President in case of removal, death or inability to fulfill the duties of office.
-----
