[MyMagic] Two Trends

Meir’s Muses
MyMagic eNewsletter #775
August 21, 2019

As I was spending around twelve hours preparing this week’s pdf download, I started thinking about how the magic publishing world changed since it became easier to self-publish and also how the latest trend of selling instructions that show you how to make and build your own gimmicks and props is evolving.

Both of those trends relate to this week’s release, and I will explain how. It is Mike Bornstein’s first set of lecture notes which contains 83-pages, 106-illustrations and more than 20 routines.

The Publishing Trend:
Until the advances in computing and printing it was almost impossible for a magician to publish their own book.

You had to first get a publisher who was willing to make a major investment in the book. The costs of writing, illustrating, typesetting, printing, binding, advertising, etc… were huge.

The way you went about it is to first contribute your routines to magic magazines to build up a reputation, you then put together a set of lecture notes with your best material, try to do a bunch of lectures based on the notes and if everything goes well and you get lucky those notes could turn into a book.

You don’t believe me? Take a look at people’s early lecture notes from that time and compare them to their first book… almost all the same stuff.

This came to mind because Mike’s Lecture Notes contain some of his best stuff with cards and bills. Even his most stolen routine; The Floating Dollar Bill.

The DIY Trend:
DIY stands for Do It Yourself. Have you noticed that lately, many of the magic companies (not me) have been selling you a business card or sticker with a web address, some paper, thread, magnets, and other odds and ends and telling you how to build what you supposedly just bought?

I remember Art Kahn trying that in the 1980s with some wood products you had to assemble and paint yourself. The venture failed miserably. But now it has become OK and allows the dealers to save a lot of money on labor. Funny thing is that now some of them are advertising how long it will take you to make the trick you just bought. I guess it is because people complained that some items could take weeks and hundreds of dollars in supplies and tools to build.

This trend reminded me of many of Mike’s gaffed bill tricks. They were all DIY since they used real money and you had to make it using the currency of your country and the denominations you preferred. Although Mike did make up most of them using real bills when he sold them at lectures.

The current/next trend is for everyone to have a 3D Printer at their home and you won’t even get the magnets and paper. Just an emailed program you load to the printer and it will print the 3D prop for you!

But until then…

Lecture Notes of Mike Bornstein:
These lecture notes are larger than many books. They contain 23-routines on 83-pages, with 106-illustrations. It is a mix of some really fine card routines and many quick tricks with paper money.

Most of the money tricks could easily turn into DIY instructional video downloads. I wish I had the time to do that. But hiding them in a book (pdf) will allow you exclusive use of the magic.

I am offering an introductory discount to Mike’s Notes that will expire next Tuesday.

Get the pdf now: HERE.

Rafael Benatar:
The three Rafael Benatar video downloads are now available as a bundle. You can get his: Elegant Card Magic, More Elegant Card Magic, and Elegant Cups & Balls for one low price.

That is more than three-and-a-half hours of very elegant magic and the technique and thinking that makes it seem elegant.

Get the video set: HERE.

At the moment both of the Mind Games Reloaded shows this weekend, at the Smoke & Mirrors Theater in Philadelphia, are on pace sell-out. If you were thinking of going please act now before it is too late.

For more information and tickets go: HERE.

Wanted to also tip you off that on Sep. 13-14 in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey Penguin Magic will be holding one of their MAXX Conventions.

I will be there with a booth (it’s only 5 miles from my warehouse, how convenient) and they are currently selling introductory discounted tickets to the convention. Register now: HERE.

Until next time,

Meir

PS: Don’t forget to visit, follow and like the MyMagic facebook page where all of these newsletters are being archived. Go: HERE.