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Launch somethingGuide
Plan a small zine that feels complete from cover to ending
Give every reader page a role before making a print layout.
Illustrative resourceNot tool-testedAdult zine makers planning material before page production
What you’re working towards
A reader-order editorial plan with a role for every page, paired spreads and a complete opening/closing text draft. This is a written practice result, not a recorded AI run.
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Make a start
One step at a time.
3 steps
Start with the synthetic worked example or other non-sensitive inputs. Run one prompt at a time in your chosen AI tool. Replace any bracketed placeholders with the requested material, check each reply, and supply the source or earlier outputs that step needs. Paste them again if the tool lacks that context.
Start with the synthetic example, then adapt each prompt to your task.
01
Try the complete example
Open a text AI chat you already have permission to use. Paste the whole prompt below, from TASK through END INPUT, and send it. The input is source material; do not paste the illustrative Output as an answer to imitate. Expect A reader-order editorial plan with a role for every page, paired spreads and a complete opening/closing text draft. If you receive advice instead of the result, ask for the complete requested result from the supplied input.
Your starting prompt
TASK
Plan all reader pages with page role, exact supplied piece text and facing-spread relationships. Include the complete cover opening and closing at the stated word counts. Keep page count, piece inclusion and the intentional pause consistent. Distinguish editorial reading order from print production.
INPUT
Make an original eight-page text zine called Circles Nearby for adult casual readers. Reader order only, left-to-right; pages 1 and 8 are covers, leaving pages 2–7 inside. Facing interior spreads are 2–3, 4–5 and 6–7. Include each supplied piece exactly once, unchanged. One interior page must be an intentional image-free pause. No actual artwork is supplied; do not invent or claim to inspect an illustration.
P, pebble description: A round pebble sits beside an angular stone. Its edge is uneven when I look closely.
M, mug observation: The empty mug makes a circle at its rim and a smaller circle on the table.
B, button caption text: Four holes make a tiny square inside this round button. Use as standalone text; no sketch is supplied.
W, wheel poem: A wheel waits / its circle still / the road goes on.
T, noticing prompt: Find a circle nearby. Describe one detail that makes it different from a perfect ring.
Use P, M, B, W and T on separate interior pages. Draft an original opening of exactly 40 whitespace-separated words on the front cover and a closing of exactly 30 words on the back cover; titles and labels do not count. Do not invent quotations. Explain page purposes and spread relationships. Do not make a print-imposition file.
END INPUT
02
Check and correct
Count eight pages, with covers on 1 and 8, P/M/B/W/T unchanged on five separate interior pages, and exactly one empty interior pause page. Count opening and closing by whitespace, excluding headings: 40 and 30 words. Review the proposed spreads 2–3, 4–5 and 6–7 for an explained editorial relationship without requiring the same placement as the illustrative answer or claiming an illustration exists. Compare with the unchanged source yourself. If anything differs, use the correction prompt, then recheck the complete replacement before saving.
Your starting prompt
Check the answer in this sample chat against the complete INPUT above. Count eight pages, with covers on 1 and 8, P/M/B/W/T unchanged on five separate interior pages, and exactly one empty interior pause page. Count opening and closing by whitespace, excluding headings: 40 and 30 words. Review the proposed spreads 2–3, 4–5 and 6–7 for an explained editorial relationship without requiring the same placement as the illustrative answer or claiming an illustration exists. Quote each mismatch and its source, then return a complete corrected replacement. If source or answer is missing, ask for it. Do not describe a suggested human trial as completed.
03
Use your own source instead
Open a new chat and copy the prompt below. Replace every bracketed field with your own permitted non-sensitive material, or write unknown. Change the source names, counts, dates and rules together wherever they occur. Expect a complete result using those new values. Compare each source link and calculation with your new input, using the review instructions in this prompt. If a fact or rule is wrong, quote the mismatch and source and ask for a complete corrected replacement; keep essential unknowns held rather than borrowing the practice values.
Your starting prompt
Plan a complete reader-order zine from my material inventory and page rules. Allocate every required piece once unless my rules explicitly permit repeats; show cover/interior page totals, deliberate blanks, page purposes and facing-spread relationships. Preserve supplied material and label any requested original connecting text. Follow my word limits and count rule. Hold missing content rather than inventing a quotation or artwork. Review all material IDs against pages, recalculate page capacity and text counts, and assess whether each spread has a reason to be together. Do not claim a print layout or physical booklet exists.
MY INPUT
Theme and reader: [replace with your source or rule]
Complete permitted material text with stable IDs: [replace with your source or rule]
Reader page count: [replace with your source or rule]
Fixed inclusions: [replace with your source or rule]
Desired pacing: [replace with your source or rule]
Format boundaries: [replace with your source or rule]
Opening/closing text limits and word-count method: [replace with your source or rule]
Facing-page convention and intentional blanks: [replace with your source or rule]
Use only MY INPUT for facts, quantities, names, dates and permissions. Ask for missing essential facts or conflicting rules instead of guessing. Creative invention is allowed only where this task and my boundaries permit it. Return the actual complete requested result, a separate unknown/hold list and the source-specific review described above. Do not reuse practice-example facts. Keep this a draft; do not publish, contact people, book, buy or change another service.
Optional: improve the result
Compare a quieter centre
Optional, sample-only extension. Return to the practice chat, or paste this guide’s complete practice input and your checked answer into a new chat. Test pacing without adding pages or material. This does not apply unchanged to your own source.
Advanced prompt
Using the original sample, propose a second reader order with the pause on page 4. Keep all five pieces once, both cover texts unchanged and eight pages total. Explain how the centre spread changes and provide the full revised page allocation. If the complete sample input or answer is missing, ask me to paste it. Keep new variants separate from the original result.
Show, then try
See the shape of the result.
This input is synthetic. The output is a written illustration of the intended result, not a verified AI-tool run.
01 / The starting point
Synthetic input
COMPLETE SYNTHETIC PRACTICE INPUT
Make an original eight-page text zine called Circles Nearby for adult casual readers. Reader order only, left-to-right; pages 1 and 8 are covers, leaving pages 2–7 inside. Facing interior spreads are 2–3, 4–5 and 6–7. Include each supplied piece exactly once, unchanged. One interior page must be an intentional image-free pause. No actual artwork is supplied; do not invent or claim to inspect an illustration.
P, pebble description: A round pebble sits beside an angular stone. Its edge is uneven when I look closely.
M, mug observation: The empty mug makes a circle at its rim and a smaller circle on the table.
B, button caption text: Four holes make a tiny square inside this round button. Use as standalone text; no sketch is supplied.
W, wheel poem: A wheel waits / its circle still / the road goes on.
T, noticing prompt: Find a circle nearby. Describe one detail that makes it different from a perfect ring.
Use P, M, B, W and T on separate interior pages. Draft an original opening of exactly 40 whitespace-separated words on the front cover and a closing of exactly 30 words on the back cover; titles and labels do not count. Do not invent quotations. Explain page purposes and spread relationships. Do not make a print-imposition file.
Copies text only. For image or file tasks, use the source files named in the steps too.
ILLUSTRATIVE AUTHORED OUTPUT
Written for this guide; no consumer AI execution or real-world trial is claimed.
READER ORDER
1. Front cover: Circles Nearby. Opening below invites slow observation.
2. P: “A round pebble sits beside an angular stone. Its edge is uneven when I look closely.” Purpose: begin with a natural, imperfect circle.
3. M: “The empty mug makes a circle at its rim and a smaller circle on the table.” Purpose: move from a found object to a made one. Spread 2–3 compares two everyday edges.
4. B: “Four holes make a tiny square inside this round button.” Purpose: notice a shape inside another shape; text only.
5. W: “A wheel waits / its circle still / the road goes on.” Purpose: contrast a small stationary button with a wheel associated with movement. This is the centre spread, 4–5.
6. Intentional pause: leave the page empty, with no illustration or extra piece. Purpose: give the reader space before their own observation.
7. T: “Find a circle nearby. Describe one detail that makes it different from a perfect ring.” Purpose: hand the looking over to the reader. Spread 6–7 pairs breathing room with an invitation.
8. Back cover: closing below brings the noticing beyond the page.
OPENING — 40 words
Circles turn up in things we nearly overlook: a pebble, a mug, a button, a wheel. These pages make a little room for looking. Follow their edges, enjoy a pause, then notice a circle of your own somewhere nearby today.
CLOSING — 30 words
The page ends, but the looking can continue. Choose one ordinary circle and describe its smallest surprise. You do not need to collect it. A moment of attention is enough.
ALLOCATION CHECK
Eight reader pages = two covers + five pieces + one pause. P, M, B, W and T appear once each. No art is promised. This editorial plan does not establish print order, trim dimensions or successful folding.
These checks use the worked example and its particular facts. With your own material, check your actual names, numbers, sources and rules; do not reuse the sample’s values as the answer.
Unsaved checks stay in this tab and reset when you reload. If you choose Save guide, its current example checkmarks are kept in this browser when storage is available.
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A few things to watch for.
Do not put printer sheet order in place of reader order. A later print layout needs its own checked production workflow.
An inventory label is not a finished illustration. Keep B as the supplied standalone caption text.