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David Thiel Inner circle Western Canada...where all that oil is 4005 Posts |
I don't like hype machines...so this book, my seventh release, isn't going to get one. It's going to get...more of an experiment.
This is an invitation to FIVE people to pick up a pre-release copy my new book entitled "Crap I Think About." (Catchy title, huh? All the serious and important sounding titles were already taken...and besides -- I couldn't think of one more appropriate.) "Crap I Think About" has 31 chapters, is 171 pages long and features a Foreword by Richard Osterlind. I wanted this to be a different kind of book. There's all kinds of crap in it. Of course there are routines. But there's information on everything from how to choose the perfect volunteers for your effects to how to sell your act to fairs and exhibitions to what do do when the electron*cs fail to stories straight from-the-trenches stories about performing mentalism. There are also several short fiction stories about mentalism and mentalists. I share the true story of what happened the night I was literally a breath away from dying -- and specifically the kind of impact knowing what happens in those potential last moments can have on the performance of mentalism -- mine and yours. I share ideas for making book tests more powerful, dozens of ideas for doing co*d read*ngs better, a psych*metry routine with Route 66 postcards, routines and notes for pendulum users -- and performers who are thinking about using them...and...well...lots more. So here's the offer: Send me a PM if you'd like one of the pre-release copies of this book. There are two catches: 1) We can never have met personally. I'm not looking to stack up a pile of 'friendy' reviews. I hate it when people do that. 2) You agree to come back to this thread -- or wherever the mods choose to put it -- by December 8th and post your honest straight-up thoughts about the book for others to read. It doesn't have to be a huge review...just your honest opinion. The eBook officially releases on December 11th. My profound hope is that you will be as excited about this crap as I am. David
Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except bears. Bears will kill you.
My books are here: www.magicpendulums.com www.MidnightMagicAndMentalism.com |
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David Thiel Inner circle Western Canada...where all that oil is 4005 Posts |
Thanks! I have the five I needed. I appreciate all of the responses.
David
Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except bears. Bears will kill you.
My books are here: www.magicpendulums.com www.MidnightMagicAndMentalism.com |
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seamagu Special user 885 Posts |
Best if luck David. I really enjoyed the last book I got from you, I got a lot out of it. I'll keep an eye out for when you release this,
Regards, Séamus
I love post its
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Darby Loyal user Los Angeles 248 Posts |
Really looking forward to this David! You bring a refreshing, honest style to your books. (how's that for an un-requested 'friendly' review )
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David Thiel Inner circle Western Canada...where all that oil is 4005 Posts |
Thank you both! Having a wee bit of a think about this one. One of the reviewers so far said that he felt some people would feel there was too much storytelling in the book -- that people today were far more interested in routines.
There are currently 3 fictional stories in this book. There are also a number of "tales from the trenches" real life performance stories along with routines and information on the topics above. SO I am considering either: 1) Gutting the current book so it contains only the instructive chapters and routines and removing everything else OR 2) Releasing two books: one the "No Crap Crap" version (above) and the other one that would include ALL of the chapters Any thoughts about this would be most welcome. And thank you both for your very kind words. I truly appreciate them. David
Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except bears. Bears will kill you.
My books are here: www.magicpendulums.com www.MidnightMagicAndMentalism.com |
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IAIN Eternal Order england 18807 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 26, 2017, David Thiel wrote: feedback is always useful and healthy... however - if you feel that you have something you want to say and share, (and therefore important to you as a person) - then maybe don't mess with your initial vision/thought process...
I've asked to be banned
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innercirclewannabe Inner circle Ireland 1597 Posts |
I agree. If you feel that your thoughts were good enough initially to form part of your E book, then I don't think you should let any reviewers with an opposing viewpoint change this.
Reviews by their very nature will always be subjective.
Tá sé ach cleas má dhéanann tú sé cuma mhaith ar cheann.
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10585 Posts |
Release what you want as intended. Readers can always skip the areas that may not be of interest to them. If they are buying only for the routines, they are missing the point, purpose and value of the book in the first place.
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David Thiel Inner circle Western Canada...where all that oil is 4005 Posts |
Thank you all for this. I appreciate it.
It's not like I'm filled with writer's angst. I'm not. But there is a LOT of material in this one. When I released the Marketing Minded Mentalist editing was easy: anything that didn't fit under the specific banner of marketing mentalism got cut. If it muddied the waters, it got rewritten. It was very much the same for Windows -- which was all about how a mentalist can use Body Language. It either fits under that heading or it doesn't. But this book? Well...it really is loaded with crap I think about -- everything from marketing to routines to fiction about mentalists to what happened when I was doing a show in Inuvik and there was a bar fight...to what it feels like to almost die...to crap I was thinking about when I was watching a mentalist in Key West perform...to........you get the idea. I mean I don't have a job other than performing...so I have a lot of time and I use it to think about a LOT of crap. The other consideration? No writer worth his salt writes just for himself. He is writing for that SMIPITW ("Single Most Important Person In The World") which is the Reader...the person who has paid money and is devoting time to reading a book. So...while some of the stories I share may be things I personally really care about, I want the Reader to feel he has invested his time and money well. That's for real. I kept hearing "well...I liked the stories...but those guys who buy for the routines are going to be annoyed." It was making me just slightly crazy. And it's very hard to be subjective about something I am this close to. That's why I decided to set up a panel of people who don't know me and see what they have to say. Understand that I'm not asking them to tell me how to write...I am just trying to get a fix on how strangers feel about what they are reading. When you release a book (okay...when I do) it's like sending your kid off for the first day of school. You hope the other kids play nice. You hope that they really like him. Time will tell. Maybe there's room for Crap...Lite? David
Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except bears. Bears will kill you.
My books are here: www.magicpendulums.com www.MidnightMagicAndMentalism.com |
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Alan M Elite user California 433 Posts |
I agree with those above: release as intended, full crap. As Mindpro said it is easy enough for a reader to skip over stuff they are disinterested in plus your description in the OP explains well that the book is not just routines. You said you wanted this to be a different kind of book, so let it be.
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Darby Loyal user Los Angeles 248 Posts |
Release as is - but maybe alter the title:
Crap I Think About .... It ain't all about the tricks, and other musings |
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JesterAndrus New user 56 Posts |
Imho release it in full and be as transparent as you are here: Point out which share the stories have and how many routines they can expect.
Disappointment arises from false expectations and even if someone is not interested in the stories, he knew their share before the purchase. As Mindpro and Alan said, let them skip the parts if they really want to, but then they can't say they were surprised by the content. |
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Senor Fabuloso Inner circle 1243 Posts |
There is much we can get from stories about performing. I think you should leave them in and not worry about those who just want effects. I have also had a near death experience while swimming off Heraklion. I've never applied what happened to my performances but life has become clearer and what matters to me has also changed. I'd love if you shared just a bit of your story here David.
No matter how many times you say the wrong thing, it will NEVER be right.
If I'm not responding to you? It's because you're a TROLL! |
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David Thiel Inner circle Western Canada...where all that oil is 4005 Posts |
I'm happy to share some of it here.
In August last year I developed a number of clots in my lungs -- a series of pulmonary embolisms. The odd thing about these is that their effect -- in my case anyway -- was very slow. I started being aware of being out of breath more often...and the sense of not being able to draw a full breath. (People who have had asthma will understand. It's like taking a full breath...but not feeling like anything is getting in.) They strangle you from the inside. We were on our way -- my wife, grandson and myself -- to celebrate our wedding anniversary by cruising around Vancouver Island in our RV. All along the trip, my world was getting hazier and cotton-y. But it was happening by tiny degrees...just a bit at a time, like the frog put into warm water on a stove top. When we got to our hotel in Victoria, our room was on the second floor and as I climbed the stairs, the strain it put on my body was too much and that's where it happened. I had no idea it was going to happen. None. (This has led me to the conclusion that you never actually "know" when IT is going to happen.) As I climbed, my heart started pounding against my ribs, vision blurred...banging in my ears. I was breathing and getting no breath. It felt like something with claws was crawling around on the inside of my chest. The pounding got louder...and I could literally feel my heart banging against my chest like a clenched fist. That's when I knew without a doubt that I was dying. It was like I felt "life" -- whatever it is that animates us and makes us who we are -- draining out of me. It's hard to describe. My wife took me to the hospital that night and I spent four days there that I don't even remember. The doctor later told me that, when he saw the x-rays, he was surprised I was still alive because I should have been dead. Odd to explain but dying was at once terrifying and at the same time quite gentle. There comes a time when you just give up. There is nothing you can do...so you just quit fighting and free fall. You just wait to die or not...and the struggling body you are moving away from feels...well...irrelevant. There's a lot more to the story, of course. But that's what happened. Since then we have taken a home in Victoria -- right across the street from the ocean. I can't work like I used to because of the damage to my lungs and heart -- but I can still maintain a solid performing schedule as long as I am careful. All our lives, my wife and I have wanted to live by the ocean...and we are doing it. Many of the things I used to do that I didn't want to do -- or clients that were a pain in the butt -- or chasing every show? I don't do that any more. It's literally a waste of life to me. I'm getting all the shows I want, anyway. What really struck me so powerfully -- as people on my Facebook page around that time know -- is that you really can't relate what a change of attitude nearly dying makes in the way a person thinks about life in general until it happens to you. When you say stuff like 'every day is a gift' and 'Why spend one second longer doing what you don't want to be doing...because I can state with absolute authority that our seconds ARE numbered' -- people roll their eyes. And I get it. So I've quit talking about it unless someone asks. It's been over a year. On Saturday I was walking across a parking lot past a place that was setting up to sell Christmas trees and I suddenly and unexpectedly got that sharp Christmas tree scent and it made my heart jump (in a good way) because it just felt so good to be alive, smelling that smell, on a snowy morning in the Christmas season. Hopefully that doesn't sound corny...but it is what most days are like for me now. Later -- after I'd recovered -- I started thinking about what that experience meant to doing mentalism...and I came up with several things that DO make a difference -- to me anyway. Thank you for asking, Senor. Now you know. What was your experience like? David
Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except bears. Bears will kill you.
My books are here: www.magicpendulums.com www.MidnightMagicAndMentalism.com |
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j100taylor Inner circle 1198 Posts |
Well I am on page 73 of 172 - which puts me at the end of David's harrowing near death experience.
For those counting - no effects yet! But if you like David's writing (and who doesn't) then you will enjoy this e-book. I am a hobbyist and am getting a lot of vicarious insights into what it's like to perform mentalism for a living. It makes me both jealous and thankful that I have a 'real' job at the same time. Thanks David for releasing this very personal book.
Lakewood, Ohio
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Senor Fabuloso Inner circle 1243 Posts |
My story came by accident while swimming with my friend Denada. We swam out past the break and were caught in the waters current pulling us further and further out to sea. Both of us are strong swimmers but we had gone gone out so far we could hardly see the shore line. We had to get back but had already used so much energy getting out to sea that getting back seemed insurmountable. But we pushed our way about half way back and felt like we couldn't go any further. We rested by just laying on our backs floating. Interesting how the calm comes over you. For me it was like a dream and not real at all. We decided to take turns holding each others suits and often the water would wash over our faces. We went under several times and I don't know how we made it to shore but we did. After some time we held each other crying and laughing at the same time.
Before that day I thought I was invincible and that I had all the time in the world to do everything I wanted. I also took chances often. Today I play it safe. You might say out of fear but it's more than that it's out of respect for the life I have and been given. I don't want to die but when I think about death I remember the calm that came over me and I think it will be peaceful? Thank you David for sharing a bit of your story and if I can just say something a bit preachy? Live everyday as if it were your last as one day it will be.
No matter how many times you say the wrong thing, it will NEVER be right.
If I'm not responding to you? It's because you're a TROLL! |
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John C Eternal Order I THINK therefore I wrote 12938 Posts |
You could have called it Crap I do.
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Ray Bertrand Inner circle Ottawa, Ontario 1452 Posts |
David Thiel does not stand still in real life nor does he do so in this book filled with musings from his mind and soul. If you are purchasing this book simply to learn a few "tricks" you will undoubtedly be disappointed. There is some good commercial material, but there is much more. If you wish to delve into the philosophical waxing of a learned performer, you are in the right place. David shares his fears, thoughts, challenges and victories culminating with the person he is today. Some of his ramblings I found hilarious, (but then again, I have a sick mind). David's writing is solid. His years of performing in real life show through in the narratives he openly shares with the reader. David is not afraid to give credit where credit is due. He speaks highly of those who have influenced his style of performing over the years. He shares his vulnerabilities about his near death experience. He pays a touching tribute to "an old friend".
David invites us to go on a trip with him. Sometimes, a trip of the mind. Other times we are driving down Route 66. David's revelations are solid and will sometime make you ask; "Why didn't I think of that?" But you didn't. David did. This is a solid, entertaining book. It delves into the mind of the performer as well as the volunteer. A solid piece of work. Thank you David Thiel for allowing me the privilege to review your work. I feel honored. Ray
Mentalism in Ontario.
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Jay Jennings Veteran user Scottsdale, AZ 332 Posts |
You could include more than one Table of Contents. One that's for the whole book, one that's for people who just want routines and tricks, one for just theory, one for all fiction, etc. Everything is still there, but you've given folks a map that will take them to what they're most interested in. And it doesn't change the book itself.
Jay
Mystery arts articles and thoughts: https://ExclusiveMagic.com
Free video crash course for numerology readings: https://LoShuNumerology.com |
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Shaukat Regular user 123 Posts |
I want to thank David for sharing his work with me. I have read over 100 Pages so far and I want to share my thoughts. I'll continue reading and share more in a couple of days.
This eBook is like a journal to me that covers David's thoughts on many different topics. It's very well-organized and well-written. I am going to briefly share a few things. David, of course, shared everything in great detail. David takes us on a journey and shares how he got into magic. The trick that got him into magic, I am sure every reader will instantly know what it is. It was fascinating to read how it challenged David's intellect. David then discusses how our audience may take our effects and why they may conclude that what they saw might just be real. David shared his own presentation for this particular trick and I think it's much, much better than how it's normally performed. If I ever perform it, I'll definitely use David's presentation. I hope you won't mind David. He talks about his very first Paid Show. I was surprised to read how many times he practiced when he learned a trick. He had a polished show. He was prepared. But, during his first show he discovered something that made him dissect every trick. He didn't want to be like every other magician. David talks about Cold Reading. He doesn't teach cold reading but he shares real-world performance tips. I am not into cold reading, but it was nice to read his excellent tips. He talks about the importance of connecting with people. He loves it and shares a lot of quality tips. He talks about CT. David has mentioned CT quite a few times here on the Café. But, in this ebook, he shares how he likes to present it and why. He doesn't teach any version of CT. He talks about presentation. He shares a story later in the book. I love this type of stories. What happens is that David visits a town to perform a show. A guy tries to mess him up. The way David wrote it, it seemed as though I was the performer. I thought... How would I get out of it? Well, David not only turned the tables with his skills, the guy was really impressed and told the audience how he tried to mess him up on purpose. David shared his thoughts on Q & A. Again, he doesn't teach it. He talks about what he does and why he doesn't use a certain aspect of Q & A. He has drawn a line... and I fully agree with him. Some may not. Again, I am briefly covering everything. David shared a lot of great information. Now... Let's talk about one of the fictional stories. David presents himself as a volunteer and shares his experience. After the story ends, he shares practical tips for Audience Selection and Audience Management. He talks about Fair Bookings. David shares fourteen and a half things that you must keep in mind. If you want to work fairs, you will get solid, tried and tested advice here. David discusses how a Real Minder would read minds. He then talks about the importance of Process. It made me think that a fun-process can significantly elevate an effect. Back to Fictional Stories... In another Fictional Story, David writes how a skeptic becomes a believer. Method is not discussed here : ) but if you have been into Mentalism for some time, you will know what it is. Most people don't like this method, but it was a lovely story and I liked how it ended. David shares his own stories too. I have already talked about one above. In another story, he talks about the joy of performing for children. There are many, many other things that David shares in this book. David doesn't just Love Mentalism, he Lives it. Suggestion ========== I was going to suggest to David to have the eBook double-spaced. But, as I read it, I got used to the style. Plus, with double-spaced, the book will go up to 300 or more pages and those who like to print out their eBooks might not like that. It was a joy to read David's thoughts... and I want to thank you once again David for sharing your valuable thoughts with me. |
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