Magic or Genii Magazine Product Reviewer

Nov 25, 2007
220
0
39
Hey everyone,

Seeing my stack of Magic Magazines sitting in the corner that I have't had time to read through, I was wondering how a "average Jo or Jo gal" like myself could contribute a review of the many amazing and not so DVDs on magic and lore for review through the Magic reel as it were on the Magic magazine site. So how does the average magical Joe or gal, become or submit a DVD review for these Magazines?
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
Hey everyone,

Seeing my stack of Magic Magazines sitting in the corner that I have't had time to read through, I was wondering how a "average Jo or Jo gal" like myself could contribute a review of the many amazing and not so DVDs on magic and lore for review through the Magic reel as it were on the Magic magazine site. So how does the average magical Joe or gal, become or submit a DVD review for these Magazines?

Usually to become a reviewer you have to do it for free for a while and become known to the right people. You could probably contact them and ask, though, for a more specific answer.
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
Generally, the people submitting reviews to MAGIC and Genii are established names in magic. Looking over the last few issues of Genii, the reviewers are John Lovick, David Regal, Eric Mead, David Oliver, Dustin Sinett, Jamy Ian Swiss and Danny Orleans. All of whom have extensive knowledge and experience. Get the knowledge and experience. Then the rest will come.
 

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
3,637
471
46
Louisville, OH
David is right. You have to be one of the bigger names in magic that has been in the game for the past 20-30 years. Its not a position that they just let anyone jump into and submit a review. One of my good friends Tom Craven writes reviews all of the time. He gets things shipped to him by tons of magicians to review. He used to have a column called Craven's Haven in the old Linking Rings. He has been in magic for 50 years.
 
Dec 18, 2007
1,610
14
64
Northampton, MA - USA
When it comes to such sources and even the lesser known publications like Linking Rings, it really tends to be a political beast; there's a collection of guys that have known one another for some time and they lend support to one another, which makes it very difficult for an outsider to get in . . . difficult, not impossible.

Do reviews for eZines and get your name known; it's going to take a couple of years and consistency. The big issue is that you must have a serious sense of knowledge when it comes to how certain things that are older & similar work; you must be able to filter submissions in order to weed out bits that are basically reinventions of the original wheel -- trust me, there's hundreds of them. Same is true when it comes to the abundance of impractical systems; a prime example of this is CRUSHED which I find to be very impractical for today's market situation but more so, it steps over another line that has seen my wrath more than a few times; I'm talking about how 5th grade level science experiments are being marketed as "new" tricks -- Crushed & Spin are two such bits that I'm aware of, I'm confident there are more.

The other reason you need to have solid knowledge is so you can reference earlier sources and when applicable, name the people and effects that a new release has "borrowed" from.

Being a reviewer means brutal honesty and not pumping hot air up people's skirts. Just because someone gives you a copy of something doesn't mean you are obliged to give it an automatic thumbs up. I've torn many popular pieces a part because of certain shortcomings tied to them. It would not be fare to the people relying on your review, to not know the positive as well as the negative points, especially when it comes to more expensive odds & ends.

Being a reviewer is not an easy task.
 
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