Trib

Synonyms:	contribution, contributor
See also:	zine
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Trib and "Tribber" are terms used in print zine fandom.

To trib is to contribute a story, poem, filk, or piece of art to a zine.

Tribber is someone who tribs material to a print zine.

A trib also refers to one's contribution or individual "zine" in an APA.

Tribbers generally receive a free trib copy of the zine they trib to. Trib copies may be dependent on the size of one's contribution, though -- for instance, a zine editor might declare that tribbers needed to send a minimum of three pages of story, or a certain number of poems or pieces of art, in order to receive a trib copy.

Some History and Description

In 1989, Susan M. Garrett wrote:

Every writer invented fan fiction on their own. Or at least, in a world where you needed to know someone who knew about fandom or had been to a convention before you realized that people were writing fanfiction, the average fan usually committed fanfic prior to knowing that fanfic, as a concept, existed and had existed for quite some time.

After writing the fanfic, the next impulse was to share it with others. That was easy enough to do – simply loan a copy of the story to your friend. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. Until you hesitantly asked them what they thought of it and they admitted sheepishly that they threw it out with last semester's algebra notes.

Thus, the idea of actually making copies of your work. But copies would cost money. And even if you did make copies and stapled it, you'd have to sell it to someone to make back that money. But who could you sell to? And why would they want to buy it?

The editor became the means by which your work would be read by hundreds and perhaps thousands of people. The editor created the copies, paid for the copies, and sold the copies, taking on the financial risk and, possibly, the financial reward. And in addition to the joy of knowing that people were reading your fiction, you got a bonus . . . a free copy of the fanzine in which your work appeared.

Not all fanzine publishers gave contrib copies to all contributors. Sometimes the contributor received a discount on the purchase price of the fanzine. Sometimes the size and form of the contribution would determine whether the contributor received a gratis copy or a discount (a poet might need more than one poems or filk printed in a fanzine to merit a free copy). Sometimes a contributor might receive a number of free copies in exchange for their submission, usually for a large contribution (like an entire novel) or a major piece of artwork (like a cover). But the contrib copy always served as a reward for having contributed work to a fanzine, as well as an incentive to contribute in the future.

Contrib copies might be mailed to a fanzine contributor or might be delivered directly to the contributor at a convention of through an intermediary. When the average fan could spend hundred of dollars a year on purchasing fanzines, being able to earn that copy through a contribution of your own work was an idea that appealed to many fan fiction writers and fan artists.

The Politics of Tribbing

One expectation regarding tribbed materials is that one should not submit their fanworks to more than one zine at a time.

Editors wanted exclusive rights to print fanworks in their own zine in order to attract readers.

Readers also did not want to see stories and poems in a newly purchased zine that had previously appeared elsewhere. They expected material to be brand-new.

Sometimes editors got permission from previous zines to reprint material, and they were expected to make clear that the stories and other items had been previously published, and from where.

It was bad form to reprint fanworks without this acknowledgment, even with the original creator's permission.

Of course, reprinting a fanwork without permission from the editor or original creator was considered very bad form, not unlike the sin of plagiarism.

It was expected that zine editors give a timely response to authors and artists who had tribbed material. Holding onto tribs without acknowledgment put their creators in a bad spot; they weren't allowed to submit the material to another zine, but no reply from the editor meant they did not have the freedom to shop their content around.

Contributors also had to have patience, as sometimes their material did not see publication for a long time, commonly months and sometimes years passed before their story, poem, article, or art was available. While uncommon, sometimes fans took back permission from editors; this sometimes led to misunderstandings and hurt feelings.

Time Limit for Posting Online

When the internet became an option, fan creators and editors had to come to an understanding regarding posting print items online.

Fans generally agreed that stories printed in a zine needed to "time out" before they could be posted online. This period of time was usually understood to be a year. There were, however, exceptions to this: Beyond Dreams Press asked for three years.

From a fan, Lorraine Anderson, in 1995:

You should also know that I have been a ‘zine editor in the past, which is why I found Mysti’s editorial extremely interesting. It recounts an incident she had with one of her writers: apparently this writer put his story out on the World Wide Web some time before it was to appear in Green Eggs and Ham #6. Mysti was quite justified in being upset... this is almost tantamount to prostituting yourself, then representing yourself to your fiancé as a virgin. (OK, my language is a bit strong.) This sounded like a case of ignorance rather than intent, simply because the author did inform Mysti what he had done... but it does make one wonder what less principled authors might do...?

For fans straddling both the print fan and the online world, things could get complicated. From a fan in early 1997:

I wanted to talk a little about something that seems to be coming up a lot... fandom on the internet. I will try to keep it short. (No laughing!) It seems that just in the last couple of months the number of Classic Trek (and K/S) fans on the net seems to have increased dramatically. Just within the limited circle of people I correspond with, several difficult situations have arisen. We have all tried to resolve these situations as best we can, but it seems to me that there are areas where fan-etiquette and "nettiquette" come into conflict.

If a writer posts a story to the internet, he or she faces some hard choices. The alt.startrek.creative and alt.startrek.creative.erotica newsgroups provide a wonderful forum for getting instant reader feedback, and lots of it. But what if the writer also wants to publish the story in a zine? Is it fair to the editor of the zine? What about the reader, who's buying the zine and may have read the story on the net already? It's not that big of a fandom, and as more people get online the chances of this happening will increase.

I posted a story on the net last year, never intending it for a zine. But an editor approached me after the fact and asked if she could have it. I said yes. Now I am writing a sequel, and I'm really stuck. I want to post the sequel on the net too, because I promised it to the internet audience months and months ago. But if I do so, I really need to repost the original story!

I feel bad possibly taking sales away from the zine editor -- but I posted it to the net first. Now I'm wondering if, from now on, I should refrain from posting my stories on the net to avoid this happening again. Should I have said 'no' when the editor asked me? Do I have to choose? I know I'd be annoyed if I paid a lot of money for a zine full of stories I've read. On the other hand, the sheer numbers of responses you get from net readers are awfully nice. But the last thing I want is for zines to disappear! What's a net- savvy writer to do? Just fishing for opinions here. What does anybody think is the right solution?

Creating Specifically for the Trib

It was considered somewhat gauche for a fan to admit they were writing and/or submitting material for the pure goal of obtaining a free fanzine. This is a reflection of fandom as a place of generosity, of non-profit community standards, and as a place where one does it purely for the love of it.

From 1996:

I tried to crack Leather and Blue Jeans 2, which I got for free 'cause of a blatant "toss-off for the trib" story, but couldn't get past that long AU thing with "The Cow-lee". Yikes.

Tracking Down One's Trib

While most zine editors were diligent in tracking down and sending their tribbers their zines, not all kept up their end of the bargain.

From a fan in 1985 wrote a personal statement:

I contributed to Only Trek two years ago. My contribution was accepted... but I never heard any reply from them other than the initial acceptance... I saw this zine on sale at MoreEastly Con, complete with my contribution, so I wrote the editors asked for my contributor's copy. They never replied... I highly object to this zine being sold with my work in it when the editors would deny me my contributors.

From a fan in 2003:

Many writers have stated that they have had to wait months after a zine premieres before they get their tribber copies. Most times they have to request their copies repeatedly. Standard practice is for the writers to get their copy from the publishers first.

A Trib Copy Was Not Entirely "Free"

From a fan in 1991:

Let's talk about that much-vaunted perk, the contributor's copy. "You're getting a free copy of the zine!" some cry, in the same breathless tone they'd use if we'd just won the state lottery. But that copy is "free" in about the same sense that freeways--at a construction cost of millions per mile--are "free." This belief that the artist is getting something for nothing, or damned near it, fails to take into account the costs involved. Cruised an art supply store recently? Then you know how expensive the materials are. References--you know, photos and such-can also be expensive; although sometimes editors or friends can provide 'em, they may not be appropriate to the story or scene (have you ever tried to illo a tense, dramatic scene using a stock, smiling-straight-into-the-camera publicity still of Our Hero? It's not a pretty sight....). 'Stats or halftones are often necessary— usually the artist picks up the tab. And of course there's the postage to get the art to the editor. I recently did one illo for a fanzine. Photo references were $20.00, materials about $2.00. Postage to ship the art to the editor was $4.50. I'm out of pocket $26.50 for this "free" fanzine even before I take into account the time involved in working out and completing the illo, and packing it off to the editor. For another zine, I did three illos. References were only about $15.00, as I already had some of them to hand. But the halftone and 'stats cost me $25.00, postage another $5.00 or so, bringing my costs for that zine to at least $45.00. Again, this is before figuring up the hours involved. And there are many of those, since doing an illo usually takes considerable time and patience (unless you're Suzan Lovett, who is able to do an elaborate drawing, start to finish, in the time it takes the rest of us to unpack our pencils)!

From a fan in 1996:

Regarding writers who write stories to get "free zines." What writers always need to remember is that the zine isn't really free. All the people who pay for the zine are chipping in to buy the writer a trib copy.

It's like a potluck supper. Some people bring stories; some bring art; some bring editing skills, and the rest of us chip in money so it can get published. Then we all share the result. Just as no one would bring burned brownies to a potluck, a writer shouldn't send a story that has major problems to a zine.

A slightly different spin from a fan in 2000:

Even if an individual person doesn't pay for her net access, someone is paying for it -- her parents, her school, her employer, her town. Someone. Bully for her for managing to not have to foot the bill herself, but that doesn't make it free (or do you think that all those meals you ate as a kid, and the clothes you got as a kid, were free, because you never shelled out a penny for them?). And plenty of people read zines for 'free' -- they borrow friends' zines, or they get trib copies, or they go to cons and spend hours in the reading room.

Who Gets a Trib? -- Involved Some Math!

Different zine editors had different stipulations about what fanworks were "worth" in terms of a trib copy of their zine. This was based on community norms, supply and demand, and scarcity. Things like word count or page lengths, the value of poetry and fanart all came into play in the trib equation. One zined gave fan who wrote essays and reviews for Communicator (1981-1985) got a free trib copy but fans who simply wrote a letter of comment did not.

A fan in 1986 described a pecking order of value:

The artists and writers who contribute to our zines, do so for love of ST since a contrib copy of a zine is very little recompense for all the effort put into the story, poem, or piece of art. Artists are luckier than the writers since they have the opportunity to later sell their work. But writers are doing us a big favor by contributing.

From a 1991 comment in Cold Fish and Stale Chips #10:

Submissions: Any submission of at least 300 words will get a comp copy of the issue of Cold Fish in which it appears. General personal information is not included in word count, but you are invited to let us know about yourself. Song lyrics may be edited for space, but comp is based on what you send, not what we print. Submissions can be for any or all of our features: story fragments, story ideas, songtape ideas, letters of comment, poetry or art (finished or unfinished).

From a 1991 comment in A Throw of the Dice:

One last note, also to subscribers, who have asked 'what gets me a contributor's copy?' Our policy is to buy poetry (serial rights: you own the poem, but we can reprint the zine as long as anyone wants to keep ordering it), we pay $2 for understanding, we pay $3 a page up to 6-7 pages, then switch to a contributor's copy for longer stories (NB: reduced-type format swallows 1000 words per page). Or, a mix of vignettes and poems would come to a tribber's copy. If you get a fee rather than a freebie, you can either have cash or a voucher, which can be part-exchanged for any zine. a voucher, which can be part-exchanged for any zine.

From a 1997 comment:

There seems to be a lot of confusion about contributor's copies, mainly, who gets 'em! I think there are a lot of different policies out there, and sometimes they even vary from issue to issue of the same zine (depending on the size and expense of the zine!). Ideally, all contributors received a free copy of the zine, postage paid. The key word is "ideally"... When the zine assumes heroic proportions, and the costs mount wildly, somehow it doesn't always seem possible to send a free issue to, for example, a fan who contributed one poem -- and lives in Denmark! (Overseas postage is a killer, usually costing more than the value of the zine; I love it when overseas contributors offer to reimburse me for postage!!) I think to avoid misunderstanding (which seems to be the reason this question kept coming up), contributors should make it a point and ask what the policy of the zine is. Zine-eds don't always remember to tell every contributor, so ask! With the WC, we try to give a free copy to every contributor -- but sometimes (the old "one poem" case), we just can't justify it. Then we offer a half-price or something similar. And, as I said, we really appreciate the understanding of our overseas fans. After all, if we go bankrupt, there won't be a zine anymore!

From a press, possibly in 2002:

Fiction: For every story four pages and longer that is accepted and printed, the author receives one free copy of the zine. If the story has multiple authors, the discount is applied proportionally. For example, a ten page story written by two people will earn a 50% discount for each author. If a story is only three pages long and is written by one person, the story earns a 75% discount. If a story is two pages long and is written by two people, the authors will each receive a 25% discount.

Poetry: For every four pages of poetry accepted and printed, the author receives one free copy of the zine. (Some poems will be printed on one page, others will flow over to two pages.) Two pages of poetry earn a 50% discount, three pages a 75% discount.

Artwork: For one or more pages of artwork accepted and printed, the artist receives one free copy of the zine.

From a fan in 2003:

When first came onto the scene as a publisher, I remember looking at a friend's zine and goggling in stupefied disbelief at [Mysti Frank's] contributors' guidelines. She was expecting huge amounts of input for a single free copy of her cruddy zine, whereas the standard in fandom at the time was "you contribute (*anything*), you get a zine".

From an undated post at Requiem Publications:

For a trib copy, your submission must be one of the following (or a combination thereof):

A) Story/stories, for anthologies, of at least ten pages unless otherwise noted in the zine description. If the story is co-authored (more than one author), then the story must be ten pages for EACH author (unless otherwise noted in the zine description). A general example: if written by three authors, then the story needs to be thirty pages in length, minimum. If you want an e-copy (download or CD, non-printable) of the zine instead of a paper copy, five pages per author should be submitted.

B) Two original pieces of artwork/illustrations. If sending cyber art/photo manipulated art, submissions must be clear and photocopy ready and cannot be dark. It does not reproduce well.

C) If submitting a novel/novella/collection of stories, you will get two copies of your novel/novella/collection unless other arrangements are made. If you prefer e-copies, you can have four electronic copies of almost anything on site.

D) If submitting a story for an anthology, you get a copy of the anthology your story appears in.

General Comments

1990

Fifty copies [of Up Against the Wall, a Pros zine] were printed and forty were passed out at Zebracon 9 to friends of the contributors. Ten were sold and the money donated to the Pediatric Aids Foundation. Since the zine was deliberately produced to be given away, fifty was the most that the editor could afford to print. It was her way of returning something to fandom, the same reason all of us agreed to write a story for the zine.

1999

A paper zine is the *real* thing, the prize. It was very interesting when I published Swords & Senses, the Net Edition -- one of the authors picked up her trib copy and held it to her bosum sighing, "it's so much more real when it's in print!"