Writing Books

[MentalAlex]

Hey guys, I don't know if this is in the right place or not, but here it goes anyway.

Does anyone here have any tips or suggestions in regards to writing a book, or producing a video of an effect or group of effects?

I have been performing for quite a while now, and I have a few effects that as far as I can tell are genuinely mine, and have served me well for quite a while now.

I am in the process of writing a book, but also may be interested in producing a video of one of my more popular effects.

It's just that I'm a magician and a teacher, not a producer or salesman....

 

[Steerpike]

Well, we don't really have much to go on right now.

Could you give me a little background? What sort of effects are you looking to market? How long have you been using them? Are you looking for a smaller booklet, or a compendium of effects? Is there a specific niche of magicians who would be interested in this material?

 

[bicyclemagik]

Good post. This sounds interesting, and I hope you seriously have been doing this for several years, and it's not just some captainslaugher flourisher dvd type thing lol.

That's a pretty cool effect. My advice for writing a book: Buy 5 by D&D and go to the 'create a trick' page. Photocopy it 100 times.

 

[MentalAlex]

Well, my material is mostly mentalism, though not exclusively, generally focusing on minimizing props and maximizing presentation.

As an example, the effect I'm considering making a video about is a spectator as mind reader effect with cards.

One person selects and remembers a card, and another SPECTATOR is able, through a combination of intuition and body language, to figure out what card is being thought of.

Looks like real mindreading, and plays well closeup or stage, no pre-show work, done in real time, with a shuffled, BORROWED deck and nothing else.

As for the book, it would be a compendium of several of my effects, as well as a lot of the work I have done on style and presentation in magic and mentalism, definitely not a beginners book, but one that could help someone intermediate take their magic to the next level.

Hope this helps clarify the nature and skill level of my material.

 

[Steerpike]

At the moment, the only real advice I can offer would be to check out a book or two on self-publishing or getting published at all.

No doubt that the magic business does a couple things differently from those who print novels, but I imagine the industry operates in a lot more uniform fashion than some would expect.

 

[Chr!s]

My advice is...

If you are releasing a booklet, you're good to do it DIY, a little hard work goes a long way in these types of publications, and a lot of big names still home-make sets of notes, just out of ease of production.

If you are releasing a book, you may want to consider having a proof reader, somebody who can help you with the cosmetic values of the book- a binder, a cover artist, etc.

A DVD, i can't help you with, i've not had much contact with DVD's as of yet, but i'm sure if you contact Owen at big blind media, he will give you some good advice!

Sorry I couldn't be more help!

CL

 

[Medifro]

I advise you ( along with the above mentioned ) first of all, to get a knowledgble mentalist to look into it, to check on if the material is original enough to get published.

You can contact magicians in the magic cafe forum, or any other mentalists community. You don't want to be accused of "stealing material", even though you didn't.

Unless you are a knowledgble mentalists who knows a fair bit on mentalism, that is

Good luck.

 

[Deechristopher]

Hey Man,

Drop me an email to DC@DeeChristopherMagic.com

I'll do my best to get you on the right tracks and put you in contact with a few people.

Cheers,

D.

 

[Dylan P.]

well, i am not sure about writing a book on a trick itself but I am writing a fictional book on a serial killer. I am on page 86 in size 12 font on my computer. I think the most important rule to writing any book is to simply give a LOT of detail. for example.

"Now do a double lift."-lame.

"The double lift, as discussed in the previous section, is commonly used. at this point in the trick you must execute this move carefully to avoid exposing it to your audiance."-Great

You see how the second one was better. I recomend giving a lot of vivid descriptions as well as being clear.

Dylan P.

 

[BrianationX]

well, i am not sure about writing a book on a trick itself but I am writing a fictional book on a serial killer. I am on page 86 in size 12 font on my computer. I think the most important rule to writing any book is to simply give a LOT of detail. for example.

"Now do a double lift."-lame.

"The double lift, as discussed in the previous section, is commonly used. at this point in the trick you must execute this move carefully to avoid exposing it to your audiance."-Great

You see how the second one was better. I recomend giving a lot of vivid descriptions as well as being clear.

Dylan P.

LAck of descriptions are not always bad
You should considered who the book is aimed to
If its for advanced magicians then drop all those descriptions
they will think that you think of them as fools
Like Brian Tudor ShowOff vol 3
He essentially just shouts terms and names of cuts
If you dontk know them
then it isnt the Dvd for you
"Execute a OH rev While your left hand ....."

If its for begginres then try to include as much detail as you can
Dont overdo it either
readers dont like it when they are given the information like that

 

[Peter Harrison]

Before discussing tips for actual writing or filming, may I suggest you get all the material down in print in such a way that it is clear and understandable then send it off to more experience magicians. This isn't meaning to say that you are not experienced... but there will always be someone more experienced than yourself. Send them to some pros who you know you have a great knowledge of the history of magic. I've got a few friends who have libraries full of even the rarest material so I can always have them check to see what is and isn't original.

That is the logical first step. You don't want to spend a long time writing something to find it's already been done. Get it confirmed by several sources that the material is original then look into tips for writing.

Best of luck my friend!