I'm going to put the pressure on you, Jamie. As the owner of both IR and AIP, I feel like I have that right.

Only 170 days to go! Get a move on it already!

Nice read ...Waiting for it now ...ehehehe

Would be an awesome read!

You gonna have a Kickstarter for it Jamie?

I would soooo support this,


-J-

I am sure this will be top notch.

Wow, two "how too's" to look forward to.

Jamie's and Christopher's.

If the book is half as good as the insight given in 'Magic Friday'; it will be top-notch reading.

Thanks for all the support, gang!

I need it, lol. I know it might get tiresome seeing this thread over and over but this is the kind of pressure that I need to get this done. So let me say, "THANK YOU" well in advance for letting me do this. In return, after these six months, I hope someone can revisit this thread for years to come and see exactly how I did it and how they can do it, too. Fingers crossed!

So I guess I'll split new posts (from me) into 3 sections: UPDATES/QUESTIONS/PLANNING.

Let's get started!


UPDATES:

Feb.09-12

Pulled Dan Poynter's "Self-Publishing Manual" off the shelf.



I've had this book for a few years so it feels good to actually put it to use. One of the first things it explains is to decide on the size of the book you want your final project to be. As many of you know, I have quite a fairly large library, so I've been going through it looking for a size that I like and that I think will hold all the information I want to get across to everyone. Ironically, it wasn't a magic book that I chose as a template but rather a book that I bought in my twenties. I've always loved the size, the format, and the feel so I think it'll a great template for me to use. I want "The Approach" or "I'm Not An Actual Magician But I Play One In Real Life" to be be big enough for the value, yet small enough to throw into your close-up case:





Okay, now that I know the size and potential page count (just over 300), I measured the actual text inside the pages to see the margins...

14.5cm by 10cm is the actual writing area.

Next up: font and size. Comparing it to my template, I need about 10 words a line and 30 lines a page. I need something that is easy to read but that still inspires. My choice?



Alright! Now I can format the pages so as I go, so what I'm writing will actually look like the final work.

Lastly, Dan Poynter recommends designing the cover first to help keep you inspired. So I've emailed one of my best friends and the artist for all my releases. I'm super excited!


QUESTIONS

J-Mac: The links below the first ones work. I'm not sure what happened but if you look further down the thread they should work for you. I'm not sure this will be the narrative voice or not. What do you guys think? We're referring to these essays over here.

FrenchFryNecromancer: Approaching strangers will be a HUGE part of this work. It's something I feel I've really mastered over the years and am really excited to share what I've learned. I'm also including the one thing that I've never talked about before which allows you to approach groups without saying a word and have their interest immediately.

BatsMagic: You put some serious fear into me, lol. 170 days doesn't sound as long as six months!!

Judah Vee: I'll be doing an IndieGoGo (because I'm Canadian) for sure. Not only will this allow me to gauge what the actual interest is, but will also allow me to give some cool rewards to people who support early.


PLANNING

1) Clear out somewhere in the house where I can write every day. I'm not sure if I'll try to hit a time requirement (1-2 hours) or a word count (500-1000). If I did 1000 words a day, that would be 3 months until it's written. That might be my best bet.

2) E-mail my layout guy (he's been working with me for a while) and make sure he's up for the task.

3) Work with my artist for the cover.

4) Go to the post office and see how much it'll cost to ship (I'll take my template book) to try and nail down pricing.

5) Take this template book to a few printers in town and see the cost of printing.

Gotta get movin!

~jamie

Looking forward to reading this, Jamie! I've enjoyed your essays on Magic Friday.

You might also want to check out Tom Stones ebook on self publishing. It's at: http://shop.tomstone.se/

Best,

Jeffrey Korst

I'm a huge fan of magic friday. You come across as a really likeable guy. WIsh you all the best with this endeavour

Maybe your title needs to be just a tad longer.

I'm Not An Actual Magician, But I Play One In Real Life, And How You Can Too!

I like the style of your first post so I'm betting the book will be a good read. But will it make me a paid magician too? And how long will it take?

Just as you've set a goal and laid out a blueprint, (you have laid out a blueprint, haven't you?), to complete your book, will your book contain a blueprint to becoming a paid performer?

Do you have a Table of Contents yet? I want to know what else is in there besides approaching people. (Think I've got that one down.) I'm more interested in the chapter on performing for 2 hours at a gig where 5 people show up! LOL. I'll bet you needed more than 5 tricks!

Sounds like this is going to be great! Goid luck with the project Jamie

Dom

IndieGoGo..... Kick Starter..... It all means I am going to be sending you money Jamie!!!! LOL!

-J-

I will but a copy now! and I HATE pre orders, but for you bro its done. I have always liked your writing style, thoughts and all round positive vibes! I have never heard you b**tch or moan or dis anyones work or ideas and you constantly spread positivity!

I wish you all the best!

Ash

Ash, I'm totally with you. It seems so rare that to find someone as wholly positive as Jamie.
I will be supporting through indieGoGo for sure.

Jamie, loving the for factor, but any thoughts on digital distribution as well?

You guys have NO IDEA how much your support means. No kidding. I don't even know what to say, really. Let's hope I know what to write, lol!

UPDATES:
Feb. 12-17

Well, I just spent an entire week learning how to format documents. Who knew it would take so much work?! Basically, I really wanted to write, and to be able to see what I wrote, just as it would appear in the finished product. So I had to measure my template book and translate that to WORD, which is the program I'm using. After countless hours of trial and error, I finally got it. So to those of you who are reading this in the future: I made a BORDER, then adjusted the MARGINS, then used the sliding rule to make the the text where I wanted it. I used 1.5 spacing to give it the look I wanted with a Baskerville 9 font. Then I added the HEADER and FOOTER, printed it, cut it out, measured it to the template book, and then went back to the Margins in order to fix sizing problems.

This is how it looks:




QUESTIONS:

rockwall: Will it make you a paid magician and how long will it take? YES, and DEPENDS. I'll be providing every bit of info I know but only the reader can make it work for them. Will this book contain a blueprint to becoming a paid performer? That's exactly what I'm hoping to do. Do I have a Table of Contents? A working one. I'll publish it in one of these updates.

CdnAndrew: An IndieGoGo will be in the works, for sure. As for an electronic format, I don't think so. The artist in me wants to have something for people to hold.


PLANNING:

I think I'll try and update once a week- every Sunday night, to keep me on track, motivated, and with good journal of how I'm actually putting this book together from start to finish.

Also, I need to decide on my narrative voice. I just wrote Chapter 1 today as a brainstorm to see how I like some different takes. I'll have to hammer it out soon. Here, let me post it here for kicks. Again, this was just a brainstorm from today...


__________________________________________________________________________

Chapter One.
“Be Awesome.”

It wasn’t dark in the restaurant, but it wasn’t exactly bright, either. It was one of those formerly rundown types of places that have been newly renovated while still trying to maintain the authenticity of a bygone era. Dark wood, with a bar on one side and “all day breakfast” on the other. Deep in the heart of Vancouver, it was still one of the best spots to get breakfast and, because it had booths, was the perfect spot to meet friends to talk about magic. I was there with Dave and we were talking about mentalism (his favourite subject), card tricks, and what it meant to make it in the magic world. It was during this conversation that he said something that would stick with me for years…

“If you want to get discovered, be awesome.”

I still think that’s one of the greatest pieces of advice I’ve ever heard. Be awesome. And that’s what this book is about. Well, in a sense. Because, to be honest, I can’t make you awesome. I can’t make you David Copperfield, either (trust me, I’ve tried it on myself). No, there are things that can only come from you. The hours of practice, the focus, the drive. These are all things that you need to bring to the table. I can’t bring them here for you. They’re just too heavy. But there is something I truly feel I can help you with. And that’s the tips, techniques, and tricks I use to share my awesomeness (we’ll learn more about the essentials of confidence, not arrogance, in Chater 8) with the world. So how are we going to do it? In chronological order, I reckon. Let’s start from the very beginning and take a look at exactly how I’ve gotten to the place I am today. A place of pure joy, happiness, and wonder. And keep in mind, this is a story of my journey. Yours won’t be the same. You’ll take different a different path. But, in the end, I hope to meet you in this same beautiful place. And even though I might not be on the same road, I’ll still be your guide. Just keep an ear out as I try and yell at you through the trees.


Why Magic?

Before we start, though, we need to answer a question And I think this is a question that isn’t asked enough. So sit back, take a second, and ask yourself, “Why have I chosen magic? Why not comedian, musician, or actor? What is it about this art that makes me think that people will want to see me perform it.”

Back in high-school, I always felt I was going to be a comedian. During lunches I would do mini-sets and would pretty much do anything to hear the sound of people laughing. It was what I lived for. After I got home from school, I would stay up late and watch Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show” and dream of one day sitting on that couch. For whatever reason, comedy just seemed attainable. Growing up in a small town, I felt like I would never be able to acquire the skills or opportunities to that any of the other guests had from the other arts. Acting? Los Angeles might have well been on the moon. Music? I would never in a million lifetimes have the money to record a demo tape. And magic? My absolute favourite? Well, that wasn’t even a dream. It was so far out of the realm of possibility that I couldn’t even gather the mental energy to imagine being a magician, let alone be one. I mean, seriously, how does one learn to fly?! But then something happened. Something that would change my life forever. I learned a card trick.

Like I mentioned, this book is your guide. So I need you to contribute. I’m yelling at you through the trees here, so take some time (you deserve it!) and answer:

What was the first trick you ever learned?

Who taught it to you?

How did it make you feel?


Before we get to where we’re going, it’s important to know where we came from. That’s just the way maps work. And I can tell you that my answer to the third question is why I’m here today. Because the feeling had was a new to me. It was a feeling of need. Not to see more, but a need to show it to someone. I had to share it. I wanted other people to have the feeling I had. Of wonder.

That said, there were many other emotions associated with learning that first card trick that day. One was power. The power of knowing something that no one else knew. The power of secrets. The power of proving to someone that we’re smarter, better, and have more hair (in my case, not always true). And while we often can’t control how things make us feel, we can absolutely control how we intend to make others feel. And “being awesome’ isn’t about making others feel less awesome or less powerful. It’s about bringing up the average of everyone around you. To put it in real life terms, no one is going to hire you or want you to show them magic if they think it might make them less powerful. So we need to suppress certain emotions while emphasizing others.

People want joy. Remember that. If you love performing magic because it makes you feel powerful, then there are some more emotions you need to go and search out. And those emotions are to be found in your audience.

RECAP:

Don’t ever, under any circumstances, be yourself.

People don’t want to see me in my pajamas, eating Oreos, and watching Dai Vernon DVDs. Nor do they want to see me being smarter than them. No, they want someone they trust to walk into their event and make everyone have a great time, even if they don’t want to. They’re paying not for me, but for the very best of me. So that’s what I am at all times. To quote a former coach of mine, “You’re not a champion some of the time. When you’re a champion, you’re a champion all of the time.” And champions, although powerful, don’t make you feel bad. They inspire. They bring wonder. They’re awesome.

So let’s truly champion ourselves and our art. Let’s show some people what we’ve got.


__________________________________________________________________________

Hmmm, not sure how that reads. As I get more of the actual info I want to convey on paper, I'll be able to work on my voice a bit. Okay, that's all for this week!

~jamie

Jamie, so far, I think it's great! I like your style and it's fun to read. I also like that "Be Awesome". Great advice.

OK, so although you may have a blueprint pretty well laid out, I'll tell you the questions that I want answered. You see, I perform weekly in a restaurant. I've also done family shows and a few corporate parties. Oh yeah, I've done some free shows for senior centers. But what I WANT to do is corporate parties, strolling magic, maybe even a tradeshow. What other types of events should I be prepared for? How about a sales event? Do I need a different set for each type of show? What type of set? How many tricks? What do I need to be prepared to do if someone wants me at a private party?

Can't wait to get your book Jamie.

Thanks,
Mike

Thanks for the answers, Jamie. I will certainly have your book in my collection, I just have very limited (read: no) bookshelf space at the present; digital means I can have lots of books and not take up any space. I appreciate the feel and look of a good book!

Jamie,

I love your AIP bottle and Magic Friday show.
Best of luck on writing the book. It sounds very awesome!
I will definitely get a copy when it's out.

Dave

Jamie - I really like your writing style. It comes across as if we were sitting with you in one of those booths you mention, and you're letting us in on your private thoughts and experiences. My only advice would be to keep it at that level. Share your experiences, your lessons learned, and how you personally have overcome obstacles. If you do that, you really don't need to explain how we can apply that to our lives. It's enough just to get inside your head and follow your growth towards success.

Thanks guys! And great advice!

I'm off on vacation for a bit, so there won't be an update next week.


So far~

MISTAKES:

Haven't gone to the printer yet to get a ballpark of how much it's going to cost to print the book.
Haven't gone to the post office with my test book to see how much it would cost to ship worldwide.
NEED, NEED, NEED, to get a wordcount requirement done EVERY DAY. Period.


Successes

Chapter layout- done.
Cover design- in prgress.
Formatting- done.
Happy with conversational voice and writing direction.
Various chapters started.


It seems like I've done most of the hard layout type of stuff and now we're down to the actual writing of the words. As a writer, this is the fun part and I'm excited to see the words flow. I just need to keep on it every day. Here's a couple of the ideas that will have their own chapters:

Practicing Small Talk- 100 times more important than your false tr%^^f&r. The difference between, "How are you guys all doing tonight?" versus, "This must be the trouble group! But you all look great. Hey, tell me a story about that shirt!"

Hecklers- A line I use if someone interrupts (I don't really get heckled, in the sense of of someone yelling at me): Him: "It's in your pocket." Me: "Stop! Hold the show, am I being heckled right now? This has never actually happened before. (laughter) I think I'm supposed to say something here. Who'd heard a good heckle line?"

What I ALWAYS keep in my sock: a %^^# &&##* &*#*#*#6

_____________________________________

Thanks for joining me on this adventure!

~jamie