 Julee Peezlee, McJob
Age: 27 Selection: "The Best Worst Job I
Ever Had," by Al Hoff (page 149) Recent review (from Sztuka Fabryka): "The
zine for the disenchanted employee of low-paying jobs. The best
zine about a strange (but important) theme in ages." Sample: No longer available.
When did you launch your zine? What inspired you to do so?
 April 1995. I was unemployed
and sick to death of looking for work. The classifieds disgusted
me. I was bored with the town (Boulder, CO), so I started thinking
of all the crappy, horrible jobs I've held in the past (therapy,
perhaps?). And all the terrible jobs my friends have had. The
stories would make a great, entertaining zine, I thought. I am
fascinated by the phenomenon of multi-talented, creative individuals
forced to work in meaningless, boring jobs.Why publish a zine?
In my case, it's venting frustrations
combined with creative expression. I've been self-publishing
for seven years and it's made life worth living (ahem...). Because
it's fun and a relatively inexpensive way to make your thoughts,
beliefs, etc. available to a wide range of readers. Because if
I didn't publish, I'd go crazy. What can you tell us about the selection you provided for
"The Book of Zines"?
Al Hoff's article has generated
the most comments from readers—it remains the most well-liked
of all McJob articles. Do you publish any other zines?
Dyslexic mail order has a
plethora of publications and products—all very different
from McJob. I wouldn't really call them zines but rather chapbooks,
one-shots and art products. Any general tips for aspiring zinesters?
Don't get so enthusiastic
and excited about your topic that you completely forget the presentation.
Readibility is important—try to avoid poor Xerox quality.
Avoid trite introductions (usually located on inside cover sheet)
explaining why the issue is late, apologizing, etc. Zines can't
be "late" because by definition they are "irregularly
published." What's your favorite part of doing a zine?
Doing the final paste-up and
layout, i.e. "seeing it all come together, man!" Really,
the whole process is fun. It never fails that I come across some
tidbit at the last minute that I want to add to the zine so I'm
always juggling the layout to fit it in. In my other life, I'm a:
Photo service lab technician. Fan
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