Advertising

(Did you mean Adzine, Ray C. Higgs’ fanzine?)

Adzines, aka tradezines, are fanzines devoted to advertising, typically classifieds of the buy-sell-trade type concentrating on books, prozines and other items of fannish interest. Like their mundane equivalents, they’ve largely been superseded by Craig's List, eBay, Amazon and other online marketplaces.

Whether fanzines should sell advertising has at times been controversial. Some fanzine fans have felt strongly that taking money endangers faneds’ amateur status. According to Les Croutch in Light 30 (January 1946), Helen Wesson was one such:

In fact, after reading Helen V. Wesson’s neatly printed magazine in which she commented on selling advertising space, and costs, I am wondering more about doing this. Helen Wesson takes the logical viewpoint that an amateur does not do what he is doing in return for monetary recompense of even the mildest sort.

She believes that an amateur publication ceases to be an amateur publication the moment it sells an inch of space for advertising, or sells subscriptions. If this is the case, there aren’t many true amateur magazines in the field.... However, a point to bo considered which she does not and that is that there are many amateur publishers who are short of cash and who must try to make their magazine pay for itself to as great an extent as possible. Evidently Helen Wesson has no such fears. 

See also: Booster Ads.

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

(Adzines are simply fanzines which exist as a medium for advertisements; other material may be included without changing the nature of the zine.) Want ads are often placed to fill gaps in a collection, or for rare items. For sales include the same thing, sometimes offering an entire collection; and a good deal of trade results from these and swap ads. There are also advertisements of stickers, stationery, odd typeribbons, organizations, fan gatherings and all sorts stuff. Mention should be made of the humorous fake advertisements of Lowndes, Danner, Grennell and others. Lowndes and Danner imagine a capitalistic future and offer remedies for horrible new maladies, books on spicy customs of ETs, begging ads for unlikely charities, industrial novelties from the United Vacuum Fabricating Machinery Works, ktp.

From Fancyclopedia 1, ca. 1944

Both classified and display ads are published in fanzines, more often on an exchange basis than paid for. The most common commodity advertised is another fanzine, in which case authors and titles of articles are the chief inducement mentioned. There are also advertisements of stickers, stationery, type ribbons, etc., organizations, and fan gatherings. Display ads of a page or fraction of a page are often decorated with irrelevant art work, and sometimes the appeal will be put humorously, as "Hi, sucker, ...." Want ads are often placed for bits to fill gaps in a collection, or for rare items. For sales include the same kind of thing, sometimes an entire collection being offered. A considerable amount of trade results from these and swap ads. Booster ads are a special type. Mention should also be made of the humorous fake advertisements of Lowndes and others. Lowndes imagines a capitalistic future and offers remedies for horrible new maladies, books on spicy customs of e.t.'s, &c.

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Publishing