The Summer Edition Is Here!
Do you remember the Beano Summer Special? It was almost as good as having no school for weeks! Or as good as rocket ice lollies. Or screwball ice creams (no we take that back, nothing was as good as a screwball). As kids, we loved having something to dip in to between games of swing-ball or beach darts through those long summer holidays. We missed those Summer Specials so much, so we decided to produce our own.
If you’ve been around for a while, you’ll know that last year we made our first Annual. It was comprised of all of our favourite blog posts from 2020, alongside lots of new pieces too. The RTBC Summer Edition is a sort of mini Annual, but all of the pieces included have the theme of Summer, fun, sunshine and joy.
Everything we do here at Reasons to be Cheerful supports Papyrus, a UK based charity that helps to prevent young suicide, and the Summer Edition is no different. This is a charity extremely close to our hearts, as our sister/daughter Moo lost a friend to suicide last year. Ewan was 16, and his story is a huge motivation behind everything we do. You can read more about Ewan and his story here. All proceeds from every single copy sold will be donated to Papyrus.
We have put together contributions from 33 different people, from all different kinds of background, talking about all different themes. We thought we’d put together a little round up on the blog, so you can get a sneak peak into the kinds of content in the Summer Edition and the process behind making it.
Each publication starts with an idea. This time the idea was to create a book/magazine that radiates sunshine. Everything that we do is all about celebrating cheer, and revelling in the small joys in life, but this time we wanted to make something that felt really really joyous.
We started by contacting our fab designer, Nick Potts, who made our logo and Annual cover. The only brief we gave him for the cover of the Summer Edition, was that we wanted it to be a celebration of Summer and all that comes with it. We love working with Nick. He knows what we like and always manages to design exactly what we are looking for. After a couple of weeks he got back to us with his design - which we think is the perfect front cover.
Once we had the cover sorted, we started to look for contributions. Some of our contributors are friends of ours, or were already known to us - but unlike previous publications we’ve done, the vast majority of pieces came from strangers this time. We usually find people through Instagram. This can be a long process, but it’s so worth it when you stumble across someone brilliant. Everyone in the Summer Edition is fab, and the stories they have to tell are captivating. We’ve heard from beekeepers, quilt makers, activists, bartenders, runners, photographers, artists and so many more.
Once we had all our submissions in, Daisy and Tilly sat down to pull everything together. This is where things can get a little tricky, we try to make sure each publication flows well - which can be difficult when contributors write about so many different things. The page layout process usually takes a couple of weeks, and in the mean time the rest of our team help with proof reading. We are by no means experts at InDesign or proof reading so there are always a lot of changes to make, right up until we go to print.
This time round we were lucky enough to get our printing sponsored by the wonderful Web Mart. We use Park Communications to print all of our publications, and they are absolutely brilliant. The Summer Edition is a certified climate neutral print product for which carbon emissions have been calculated and offset. Printed on FSC certified paper. The inks used are HP Indigo ElectroInk which comply with RoHS legislation and meet the chemical requirements of the Nordic EcoLabel for printing companies. 95% of press chemicals are recycled for further use and on average 99% of any waste associated with this production will be recycled and the remaining 1% used to generate energy.
Once we have the first proof, that get’s proof read (again and again) before the final document gets sent to the printers. At this point, we start to promote the publication on social media, announce the contributors, and take photos/reels/IGTV’s so that we have lots of content we can use to promote it.
And then we wait! The final copies usually arrive within a week (though this time round the printer is broken, so we’ve been waiting a little longer) and we get stamping boxes, wrapping books and packing them. We like to include something extra with each copy, so the Summer Edition comes with a post card you can send to a friend. We pack and ship everything ourselves, and usually you guys get your copies within a few days. This is always the most antagonising wait for us, it’s so nerve wracking awaiting the feedback from everyone who bought one!
We had so much fun doing this. It’s jam packed with writing, playlists and recipes.The only thing missing is one of Mark’s Nan’s corned beef sandwiches that had been dropped in the sand and given a cursory wipe with a napkin. We hope that wherever you are, whether you are vacationing at home or away, whether it’s sunny or rainy, you’ll have it with you and enjoy it. Buy your copy of the Summer Edition HERE.