talkmagic.co.uk

hey all.
so having been doing my own magic for a while now i found myself drawn to inventing magic and have been doing so for some time now.
im looking at writing a book putting all my effects in there and some more old classic effects.
i am by no extent a proffesional performer but i'll stick my neck on the block and say my effects are. so i am in the process of putting my book together. it will be a compilation of many different effect coin, card etc
any idea's on what you would like to see in a new publication?
call it market research i would really like to cater to all tastes.

robjustrob wrote:any idea's on what you would like to see in a new publication?

100% original material would be nice. Will this be print or ebook?

the book is hopefully going to be printed i have a family member working at a printing firm and he can get me a great deal on a 300 page hardback but im gonna have to try get some places to stock them first.
but thankfully the minimum is only 100 i am not really in a position to gamble with my money its more for personal reasons.
1 i love my magic. 2 i always wanted to write a book.
as for the effects at current there are 18 original effects (mind blowing stuff) and some are takes on other effects out there but all have totally original gaffs and handlings. the card trick section is a bit thin because i dont want to reprint stuff we have seen in a thousand books like do as i do etc. thanks for posting

Let's get real for a second...

a.) The Magic world presently has more material in existence than any one person will ever be able to absorbe even if he/she were to specialize on one specific area alone.

b.) What is your experience level? How many YEARS have you been PERFORMING on a REGULAR (or semi-regular) basis?

c.) Who on earth are you? What can you do for me?

ANSWERS...
1.) You are a total and complete unknown. I'd be willing to bet that you have less than a full decade just reading and learning effects let alone any kind of performance schedule that could be seen as being "career" based and experiential e.g. it is highly unlikely that you have any kind of "cutting edge" insights about performance, variations on routines that haven't already been worked out and published, or sufficient foundation for cultivating what would be seen as seriously "original" effects.

2.) because a.) the market is over-saturated with stuff very similar to what you are proposing, and b.) no one knows who you are, and of course c.) you probably don't have insights and points of view that could aid others the creation of your own book and putting it out is quite simply no logical.

I know these are harsh words and a seemingly cruel point of veiw but I'm saying this for a reason and believe it or not, it's so as to encourage you in doing the "right" thing and in the long run, gain superior end results.

Take your more basic ideas, improvements, etc. and share them for free via the various eZines and magic publications. Do so on a steady basis and let your contributions build. This action not only protects your ideas when it comes to copyright and credidation, IT HELPS PEOPLE GET TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE (NAME RECOGNITION) AND WHAT KIND OF MATERIAL THEY CAN EXPECT FROM YOU (QUALITY, PRACTICALITY, ETC.)

This may not sound like a wise business move but trust me when I say that it is probably one of the wiser and better business moves you can make in that it ads to your resume and in so doing, your own sense of credibility. After a few years of doing this kind of thing and deliver solid, consistent material your books and effects will host a sense of being of greater value and people will be willing to pay more for what you offer.

I've written for VISIONS and other major eZines for over five years now. My readers trust me so when I tell them that this or that item is good, they buy it or, if I tell them to "beware" they run the other direction. Similarly, my readers pay well for my books because they know I am going to give them real world "working" perspectives and ways of approaching their Mentalism (in most cases).

The reason people like Kenton Knepper, Richard Webster, and even I can sell a book at $45.00-$75.00 on a somewhat steady basis is because we've earned that trust... the name recognition as well as an assumed understanding by our customers as to what it is we deliver.

The Moral of the Story Is...
You are young, new to magic and virtually unknown and wanting to invest a lot of money into a project for which there is no sense of demand. That's poor business planning! So look at what you need to do over the next 2-3 years to change that, improve your personal standing and in so doing generate the kind of insurance you need before making the investment of having a book printed and placed onto the market.

Hope you (and everyone else that's thinking in a similar direction) give this some serious thought.

You could always try submitting work to Abra magazine.
That should give you an idea of whether you're going in the right direction.

thank you for your comments and all are taken into account fully. but i think the premise for me writing this book is misunderstood. firstly i am not wanting to make money the reason this book is being printed is a personal goal that i will be accomplishing for myself. I am unfortunately a victim of cancer and will not have the luxury of living to become even a resturant magician. but this book to me will be something that will take the magic i love and have spent the past year and a half creating and make it something even if im the only person who reads it. to have it and say it was mine has always been a dream of mine. i have already promised 50 books to my local cancer charity store and that in its self to know 50 people would have bought my book is going to bring me untold joy.
so thats the depressing part out of the way.
i just want opinions on what would really work well and what fellow magicians would like to see. so when its finished i will know that i have produced a quality peice of work.

Sorry to hear about the cancer.

Why not have differnt sections to the book? Like maybe some basic sleights [for beginners] then move on to card routines for more amateur performers. If you sectioned the book it could be easier.

INTRO

Cards: The beginning
Cards: More difficult
Cards: Advanced

Coins:The beginning
Coins: More difficult
Coins: Advanced

Other objects: The beginning
Other objects: More difficult
other objects: Advanced


You could include 'Gimmicks Worth Buying' or 'Other books worth buying'


Don't try to include everything though

Ok, you have shown a new light to this action that was not previously known. Not to step on your dream however, you still have certain realities to deal with; inexperience and limited knowledge being primary.

Now, before the fiddles come out and start playing sad songs you need to know that I'm dealing with several chronic conditions myself and spend the greater majority of my life in a wheelchair, so let's not go down the sympathy path as I attempt to do for you what others do for me... KICK YOU IN THE BUTT AND TELL YOU TO STOP FEELING SO FATALISTIC

To be very honest with you I wouldn't waste my time on the magic community I'd create a book/video type project that teaches magic to other young people living with a chronic disease that shows them how you have used this as your own form of personal therapy; how it let's you break down barriers, meet people and share part of your world with others and more important, how it makes you feel good and optimistic about yourself... HOPE IN A BOX so to speak.

I'd create the concept and get some legal help in setting up a trust so that the sell of that product delivers X amount of money into a trust that benefits other people living with cancer and interested in the performing arts or the use of the variety arts as therapy. Such a venture establishing your name in the public's mind but in the anals of magic history as well. It would still be a personalized project akin to what you are talking about, but it would allow you to deliver a far more encompassing sense of accomplishment/contribution that would have greater longevity.

I really think you could make something like this work from both, the media and business level. I have no doubts, even if you did limited performances and got them on tape, that you would make a powerful impact on the minds and hearts of other persons that share your circumstances health-wise as well as their family & friends.

Know one very important (yet cruel) truth however... magicians could care less what you give them. They won't remember your name in the morning unless they see it in a continual barrage of ads and internet forum hype. So go for the public that will remember and who will support you in ways that go beyond frat-boy polocies and politics.

I agree with many of the things being said....however, if I understand you correctly, you are trying to do something for your "own pride, joy, and legacy!" Is this correct?

I don't think you should ever let anyone stand in your way, tell you what you can or can't do.......try telling someone who was unable to read and write at age 30 that they shouldn't write a book about their story when they are 35 due to limited reading and writing expereince is out and out crazy....sometimes the greatest books (fiction or non-fiction) are from those that are telling a story that is much greater than the text itself!

I applaud you and your efforts....with this said, please PM when you get a book into print, and I will SERIOUSLY CONSIDER purchasing a copy...

There's a gap in the market!

Magic for the blind.
Magic for the deaf.

Etc

saxmad wrote:There's a gap in the market!

Magic for the blind.
Magic for the deaf.

Etc

Ehemmmm... 99% of magic tricks can be performed for the deaf. Some of them might need an interpreter for sign language, but many deaf people can lip read and also a lot of tricks don't need words.

But what I mean is: Most magic is visual, so I disagree with deaf people needing special magic. On the other hand, magic for blind people is a real challange! I have a blind friend that is very active, has a trained dog so he can go out walking. I was organizing an event the other day, where we had a former singer of The Platters performing and I took him over to my friend's table, just to "proof" that he was not on a CD. (My friend liked that a lot!)

But please don't catagorize blind and deaf people in the same section. Quite a lot of people raise their voice when talking to my blind friend and some even ask his wife: Do you think he would like a cake?... instead of asking himself about it. The point is, sometimes people don't think correctly.

The idea concerning the blind people is good... I'm not critisizing that!
So... any ideas for "Blind Magic" ? (Hands on magic)

Let me make a new topic.

robjustrob wrote:im looking at writing a book putting all my effects in there and some more old classic effects.

Great idea, but let me warn you. It's a h*ll of a job!

I have a friend that is a working professional magician here in Iceland. He got this same idea a few years ago and it's been fermenting in his belly untill last year, it finally got published. It was a huuuuuuuuuuge effort! He took all the pictures himself, because each page has up to 7 or 8 pictures for explaining the tricks. He got someone to do the layout and design (as I was busy with other work) and then he got me to do the cover. All this he brought to a publisher that then published the book. You see, writing, photographing, doing layout and design, plus cover isn't all. You have to have a publisher that is willing to publish the book and make money come back for all the hard work and effort and time spent in creating it.

This book is 48 pages plus cover... and that is quite a task. It includes almost 30 tricks, most of them aimed at kids and for weeks he did nothing else than to work on the book.

At the end, it was a big success. It was published around this time last year and was in the 4th seat of children's books around last christmas, following Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl and Captain Superpants.

So, if you are going to write a book to be published, be sure to have a lot of time to spend on it and a lot of effort to put into it.
Make a draft, show it to a publisher and the best of luck!