I believe it was in the opening pages of the Henry Hay "Magician's Handbook" that says, "To become a famous magician, write a book."
Unfortunately too many in today's world take that idea literally, resulting in hundreds of pieces of drek compiled by 14 year old kids (many of whom reside in 40 and 50 year old bodies) based on their two years of tinkering and three birthday party gigs they've recently done. The very reason why a good number of genuine workers out there are reverting back to yesteryear publishing modes and releasing their work to a very limited number of patrons at a rather steep price. For that matter there are eBooks out there going for over $1,000.00 each for this same reason; to keep the real magic close to the vest and out of the hands of the wannabes.
Elsewhere we have a thread about AGT to which I attached a couple of videos, one showing a spoilt child with lots of money tied up in big funny looking props that he hasn't a clue how to present. He's a 21st century "Illusionist" -- the sort of mentality we are finding all over the internet that basically says, "If I can buy it I can use it". . . an obviously selfish, ego-driven frame of mind that not only reveals the individual's disrespect of the craft in general but their disrespect of their would-be audience and YOU! Yes, every single person that claims to love magic; everyone here that believes they have the stuff needed for being a MAGICIAN.
ORIGINAL? That is to say, with all these "creative" folk hitting the scene, how many of them are actually "original" when it comes to their offering?
I've seen at least two effects being sold for a bit too much cash, that comes directly out of a 6th grade science class. . . I'm talking about classroom demonstration stuff that we all should basically know, that's been put on the market and made appealing by some kind of hip-slick & cool video footage the seriously obfuscates an actual presentation in such a way as to not tip what it really is. . . while magic merchants have skirted around things forever, they've also had the integrity to give you enough insight to allow those that are in the know to understand enough of the effect's workings so as to decide if or not the piece is practical to them; not so with today's dealers and "innovators" several of whom will lie blatantly to your face when you are making a serious inquiry about an effect you are interested in. . . and worse, not realizing your jerking around a major player in the biz because you're new to the game.
There's a whole lot of JUNK coming onto the market, most of which seems to be very elementary variants to established techniques that someone is trying to lay claim to, less the historic lineage behind said pieces. There are several noted personalities that roll their eyes when they hear of "New" and exciting Mentalism effects oozing out of the UK in that it seems no one over there reads or pays attention to basic history associated with the craft let alone one's obligation to give credit where it is due. I'm not saying this is true of all, but pay attention to niche elements and you'll find such patterns. But we must likewise bear in mind another very important point; if the person is young in years and has time to pen three to five eBooks annually, when do they have time to actually perform and work out their material?
Older gents can have said luxury in that we've had our day in the sun and can look back at things we did long ago and give them new life; we have the time as well as the resources, the most important of which is knowing who to speak with in order to validate information and give credit where it is due (if you haven't caught on, this is a big issue with me).
QUALITY is a big thing. You can produce a single eBook every 3-5 years that will gain more kudos & sells because it contains solid perspective, than you will pooping out those half-dozen compositions that are incomplete. I will point out however, some of we old guys poop out stuff that ain't ready as well. . .
My book EASY READING, while a solid concept, still needs a ton of "editing" and perspective set into it. This is the curse of being a writer however, the projects are never finished and always need certain additions, detractions, etc. in hind-sight. In this case, I am in hope of making those corrections in the not so distant future, but we'll not get into that just yet.
The more I sit here looking at this issue the more my head seems to swim in thought. While I still have much to say on things I think I'm going to just leave it here.