Make your own magazine, and hold it in print
Create your own magazine about anything: yourself, your year, your travels, your family or someone you love. Start from a finished magazine design, fill it with your photos and stories, change every page you like, and we print a real copy and ship it to you.
- No design skills needed: the layouts are done, every page can still change
- Write it yourself, or let Dee interview you and draft the words
- A real printed magazine, not a file to print at home
Printed copies from $39.99
Can you really make your own magazine?
Yes, and it no longer takes a design degree or a weekend with scissors and glue. A self-made magazine used to mean one of two things: a photocopied zine put together by hand, or hours in design software followed by a hunt for a print shop that will print a single copy.
At dear, edition you create your own magazine from a design that is already a magazine: a cover with a masthead and cover lines, a contents page, features, interviews, lists and photo spreads. You replace the sample photos and words with yours, add, remove or move pages, and even mix in pages from other designs.
The result is a magazine about yourself or about the people and things you love, printed on coated paper and delivered. One copy is enough; every copy is printed only after you order.
How to make your own magazine in five steps
You can do it on a phone or a computer, in one evening or a little at a time: your magazine is saved as you go.
Decide what it’s about
A person, a year, a trip, a relationship, a project. One clear subject makes every page easier to fill.
Pick a design
Choose the magazine whose look fits your story. In the editor you can mix in pages from any other design.
Gather your photos
Upload from a computer, or scan a QR code and send them straight from your phone. Friends can add pages from one shared link.
Write it, with or without help
Type your own headlines and stories, or answer Dee’s questions, typed or spoken, and Dee drafts them for you to edit.
Check every page, then print
Page through the whole magazine, fix any word or photo, see the price for your address, and order. We print it and ship it with tracking.
Ideas for a magazine about yourself, your life or your people
Stuck on a subject? These are the magazines people make most often when they make their own.
Your year in review
Twelve months as one issue: the best photos, the numbers, the places, the people, the thing you’ll never do again.
The best 30 photos out of 3,000 →Your life story so far
For a 30th, 40th or 60th: a magazine about yourself, with the timeline, the interview and the photos from every decade.
From the group chat to a birthday magazine →A travel issue
One trip or a whole year of them: maps, tickets, the food, the wrong turns, written like a travel magazine.
A couple’s story
From the first date to today: the issue two people make together, or one makes as a surprise.
A magazine for your partner: from the first date to today →A family yearbook
Everyone’s year in one magazine, with a page for each person, the kids’ quotes and the grandparents’ favorite photos.
A baby’s first year
Month by month, one issue or a series of twelve, for the parents and the grandparents.
Your baby’s first year: a 12-issue plan →A graduation issue
The class, the teachers, the late nights and the inside jokes, as the yearbook you actually wanted.
A graduation magazine in 5 steps →A club, team or friend group
The season, the band, the book club or the group chat, with a page from every member.
Magazine designs to make your own
Every design here is a complete magazine, ready to fill. Open one to see all of its pages, then make it yours.
- Fashion IssueCustom Birthday Magazine
- Blush BoardCustom Photo Magazine
- For My Best FriendCustom Birthday Magazine
- Partners in CrimeCustom Valentine’s Day Magazine
- GradCustom Graduation Magazine
- BirthdayCustom Birthday Magazine
- Our Little Farm LoveCustom Anniversary Magazine
- WeddingCustom Wedding Anniversary Magazine
- Only One EmilyCustom Birthday Magazine
- For HimCustom Birthday Magazine
- Happy Birthday, My SonCustom Birthday Magazine
- Happy Birthday, My LoveCustom Birthday Magazine
- For DadCustom Birthday Magazine
- Happy Birthday, BestieCustom Birthday Magazine
- The Zoe IssueCustom Birthday Magazine
- To My LoveCustom Valentine’s Day Magazine
- Happy Birthday to YouCustom Birthday Magazine
- All About YouCustom Birthday Magazine
- For MomCustom Birthday Magazine
- The Leah IssueCustom Birthday Magazine
- Two Players, One WorldCustom Valentine’s Day Magazine
- Birthday ScrapbookCustom Birthday Magazine
- Happy Birthday, My DaughterCustom Birthday Magazine
- Love BookCustom Valentine’s Day Magazine
- Happy BirthdayCustom Birthday Magazine
- The Birthday IssueCustom Birthday Magazine
- Our HomeCustom Birthday Magazine
- Just BecauseCustom Photo Magazine
- Always, DarlingCustom Birthday Magazine
- Christmas & Year in ReviewCustom Christmas & New Year Magazine
What to put on the pages
Real magazines repeat a few page types, and they work just as well in one you make yourself:
- A cover with a masthead, one big photo and three or four short cover lines.
- An editor’s letter: one page on why you made this magazine.
- An interview: questions and answers, with yourself or with the person it’s about.
- A photo essay: a few strong pictures across a spread, with real captions.
- A timeline or a map of the year, the trip or the relationship.
- Lists: top ten moments, best quotes, favorite places, things you learned.
- Letters to the editor: notes from friends and family, signed or anonymous.
- A back page: a quiz, a horoscope or a crossword about the subject.
Three ways to make your own magazine
There is more than one way to get a magazine of your own. Here’s how they compare.
| Compared | dear, edition | Design software and a print shop | By hand, as a zine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you start | A finished magazine design | A blank page or a template | Paper, scissors and glue |
| Layout | Done; every page can still be changed | You design every page | You cut and paste every page |
| Writing | Yours, or drafted by Dee for you to edit | Yours | Yours |
| Printing | We print it after you order and ship it | You find a printer and send the files | A photocopier |
| The price | Shown before you pay, printing included | Software, then printing and postage on top | Paper and copies |
If you love design, building every page yourself is half the fun. If you’d rather spend your time on the story than on margins and print files, start from a design and make it yours.
Size, pages and printing
| Size | A4 (210 × 297 mm) or US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) |
|---|---|
| Pages | 16 to 52, in steps of four, covers included |
| Printing | Full color on coated paper |
| Binding | Saddle-stitched or perfect bound, depending on the delivery country; the order page shows which before you pay |
What it costs to make your own magazine
There’s nothing to pay while you make and edit your magazine. You pay for the printed copy, by the number of pages, and the order page shows the total for your address before you pay.
Printed magazine prices by number of pages (United States, USD)
| 16 pages | $39.99 |
|---|---|
| 20 pages | $42.99 |
| 24 pages | $45.99 |
| 28 pages | $48.99 |
| 32 pages | $51.99 |
| 36 pages | $54.99 |
| 40 pages | $57.99 |
| 44 pages | $60.99 |
| 48 pages | $63.99 |
| 52 pages | $66.99 |
Standard shipping is free.
United States: we deliver there. The price above is what you pay.
All prices and options →Every magazine is printed after you order and sent with tracking.
Shipping & delivery
| Where | Delivery time | Shipping |
|---|---|---|
| TürkiyeOpen | Printing 2 business days + shipping 3 business days | Tracked, with a domestic carrier |
| Worldwide · 191 countriesOpen in 191 countries | Standard Printing 3–8 business days + shipping 1–12 business daysExpress Printing 3–8 business days + shipping 1–4 business days | Standard shipping is included in the price; express is priced at checkout. |
Business days from your order to your door, printing included.See every country and its delivery times
Questions about making your own magazine
Can I make a magazine about myself?
Yes. Plenty of people make a magazine about themselves: a year in review, a milestone birthday, a travel issue or a life story so far. Dee can interview you to draft the words, and you can change every line.
Do I need design skills?
No. Each design already has its layouts, fonts and page types, so you mostly swap in your photos and words. If you do like design, you can move, add and remove pages, change the words and the photos, and mix in pages from other designs.
How much does it cost to make your own magazine?
There’s nothing to pay while you make it; you pay for the printed copy. Prices go by the number of pages, starting at $39.99, and the order page shows the total for your address before you pay.
How many pages can it have?
From 16 to 52 pages, in steps of four, covers included. You can add or remove pages in the editor until it’s the length you want.
Can I print just one copy?
Yes. Every magazine is printed only after you order, one copy at a time, so a single copy is the normal order.
How long does it take to make?
As long as you like. Some people finish in one evening with Dee’s help; others add a page now and then. Your magazine is saved as you go, and nothing is printed until you order.
Who can see my photos and stories?
Your photos and stories stay private to your account and are used only to make and print your magazine. We don’t sell your data, and we don’t use your photos or texts to train AI models.
Your story, as a magazine
Pick a design, add your photos and words, and we print your copy and send it to you.
Start your magazine