It has been suggested that perhaps a forum for the discussion of magic publishing be included in the Cafe, I agree.

From trick creation, to marketing, it's no easy task, believe me. It is hoped that this forum will become an invaluable resource for anyone attempting the risky and sometimes costly pursuit of bringing a trick, book, dvd, or other such item before the world of magic.

This is an area which I am very interested in.
I compiled and published one book (the Card Mondor autobiography) on CD Rom, will have an ebook of tricks published shortly by someone else and am spending much of my non-magic time promoting and selling electronic books on a variety of subjects.
I would be happy to provide any information I can after I have had another

I only have one book (so far) to my name, "The Collected OORT" (which I'm the editor and primary contributor). And I also publish a quarterly newsletter for professional cold-readers.

While I don't pretend to be an expert by any means, I would certainly be happy to share my experiences in the field of self-publishing.

Banachek and I have a partnership called "Magic Inspirations" since 1989. Together we have published Psychokinetic Time, Psychological Subtleties, and Peek Performances among others (audio/video tapes and CD's, too). I'd be glad to offer suggestions to whomever asks and for whatever my comments might be worth.

yours,
Scott

I'm very excited about the recent addition of this section to the site. Thanks, Steve and everybody.

Now, I just need some ideas that don't suck!



Chris

My pleasure Chris!

Good, I've been hoping for this.

Sable

My Gosh!
Scott where did you find Keller's imps?
Jason

There is a new magic inventor/maker here in town. He has ask the age old question: How do I protect my inventions and what do I do if I get ripped??

Any help out there

I am glad. I need information on publishing my upcomming book!

Advice needed!!

I have created a gimmick that allows the mentalist to perform the perfect book test. I have made only 2 of these, and use them exclusively in all of my shows. The reaction it gets is amazing because the effect is simple and flawless.

Question is, how do I make it available commercially?

Any thoughts from experienced inventors?

I am the owner of Leaping Lizards Magic publishing, and we publish both magic and mainstream new age/ self help books.

I'm happy to offer any info advice I can.

A most valued thread. Many Thanks Steve.
Fantastic idea!

My advice to anyone bringing forward any effect to the magic world...

*Make sure it is protected in every possible way.
*Make sure you are comfortable finally letting one of your babies go.
*If ever in any joint venture and contracted with another party, be very sure you are happy with the terms and conditions of the agreement before signing and moving forward.

Finally,
Be at peace with everything, every step of the way.

Thank You all for this forum, I hope it will help many. (mainly me ;>)
I have recently created a gimmick for use with the M5 or PK Pro, the driving force behind this gimmick is the fact that I do walk around and street magic, and during the summer months with short sleeves and no table it is very difficult to utilize my M5. I tried many different things to hide my gimmick- cigarette pack (not very PC now), hollow deck, etc... of all the things I tried the hollow deck held the most possibilities. The only problem was in order to do a card trick I had to switch decks. So I developed my own gimmick to solve this, You start clean, pull out a deck and causally show both sides, then take the cards out and perform any card trick you like.... at any time set the cards down and perform your favorite PK effect. To clean up you simply put the cards back into the case and pocket the case. It really is that clean. Now that I have developed this I don't know who to talk to about marketing it.??? I believe this would do best as a DVD teaching how to make it and some suggested routines. (similar to The Art Of Card Splitting) It is easier to make than splitting a card and does wear out so I feel this would be the best and most fair way to market it.

Sorry I got a little long winded there.

Who would you suggest I present this gimmick to for marketing, Or even just general advise from a Pro who uses the M5 in his or her act?

I know this has been a L O N G post so I wont torture you any more, Any advise would be greatly apreciated.

Sincerly,

Gerald Dupuy

I'm also at the "Let's get this to market" stage and I think a forum discussing how to go about it, how to protect yourself is just what a lot of use could do with.

Anyone doing anything,, I have an idea also, don't kknow what to do
supra

I've been designing a bunch of t-shirts for magicians. One set is for the "card-revealed-printed-on-the-shirt" routine, with lots of interesting characters. Another set is magician humor. The third set is generic magic images. I'd like to contact dealers about them, but first I'd like to know more about how these types of items generally sell. Anybody have experience with shirts?

Thanks!

@MrGreggy , hum I like your idea ...

I have published two books under the publishing name of Magic Mouse Publications: Timeline of Magic and Theatrical Magic, volumes I & II of Magical Renaissance: A Modern Wizard's Grimoire. Both were published under my stage name, Malaki Dracwin, as the author and author.

The main problem I am facing is that someone thought it would be a great idea to republish my book on the internet. These books are only supposed to be available through me (Magic Mouse or Wizard's Workshoppe) or Steven's Magic Emporium. What method would you use to deal with this situation? I do not mind if they publish a taste of the book, but to offer the entire text for free, without a single reference to the author's name goes beyond the pale. I have managed to get two sites to stop displaying my book, when they decided to not publish my name attached to it. It took 10 years to research and write the Timeline of Magic. I'd hate to not benefit from all of that work, or worse, someone ELSE benefit from MY work.

Short of hiring an attorney, what would you suggest?

Hello
I have a new effect been working on it for a long time and I really want to know something concerning selling and advertising and pricing the download and also who should I go for and what rules should I take into consideration.
Thank you in advance wish I get some help here