Hiya Gang!

I think it's about time. I've lived with myself for 38 years (I've been a great roommate!) and have learned a LOT about myself. For example, here's three things I know for certain:

1) I love magic, magicians, and want us all to do well.

2) I can eat 19 bags of Oreos without complaining (on the day).



3) I am unable to write anything if I'm not given a deadline. Let's hope I don't have to write my own obituary one day.


So this post directly relates to number 3 (the deadline, not the obituary which will hopefully come waaaaaaay later).


I'm writing a book. There I have publicly declared it!


But, knowing me as well as I do, that's not enough. Heck, I mentioned this book (here on the Café) 2 years ago!! So...

I'm writing a book by August 1st.

There, that's better. Another key to getting things done is to publicly announce them, so that there is immense pressure from your peers (you guys) who, if I don't actually do it by August, have full license to post nasty comments, mention my lack of amazing hair, and force me to eat 19 bags of Oreos.


Now that we've got that settled, we should talk about a few other things. First of all, what's this book about? Secondly, why do I think I'm qualified to write it? And, lastly, why on Earth am I writing a post about writing a book instead of just going out and doing the %#&ing thing.


WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

"I'm Not An Actual Magician, But I Play One In Real Life"

or

"The Approach" (Simpler title.Hmmm. I can't decide.)

is going to contain every single thing I've learned about being a working (i.e. paid) magician. EVERYTHING.



Here's the thing. A lot of people believe in something called "scarcity" which basically says that there's not enough room at the top for all of us. That all of our goals cannot be pursued at the same time. I, personally, do not believe that for one single minute. I rage against scarcity every single day of my life by trying to help people achieve their dreams and do what they've always wanted. And that's what I want all of you to do. I want every single one of you to become the absolute best magician the world has to offer. Aren't I afraid that's going to hurt my business? Shouldn't I be worried that people will like you more than me? That you'll take away money from my table?

NO WAY! And this is something we're going to talk about in the book. We can all do this. We can all send wonder. We can all make money and people happy. All of us. Think of music- is there only one band? Is there only one song available? And just because there are choices doesn't mean people won't have their favourites who they listen to again and again. And that's my goal. To help make you become that favorite song.

How will I do that? Well, I can tell you that I can't make you the next:

1) David Blaine

2) David Copperfield

3) David Beckham


(I've included this pic to give you an idea of what I look like in case you've never met me or seen my Magic Friday show. A lot of people get us confused. Me and Becks, not me and Magic Fri...never mind...)

BUT, I can tell you how I've learned to (and before I continue, the "I" is very important here. These are real world lessons that I've taken away. I'm not saying it's the only way, but these are thing that have gotten me to where I am today):

Approach groups of people without fear.

How to get paid (and knowing how much to charge) for doing so.

How to write contracts (I'll be including what I use, in the book).

How many tricks are needed.

What kind of effects work best.

How to deal with hecklers.

What to say in e-mails.

What to say on the telephone.

Is a stage show needed? If so, how long?

How to set up a room.

How to perform for 2 hours at a walk around gig where only 5 people showed up (true story).

What to wear.

My one secret that I've never shared, that allows me to approach people, without saying a word, and have their rapt attention.

You get the idea.


WHY DO I THINK I'M QUALIFIED TO WRITE IT?

This is the great thing about the Magic Café! It provides proof- a quick look shows that I've been a member since 2004. That's 9 YEARS! And if you read any of the early posts you can see how naive, impressionable, and lost I was. And that was while I was working gigs already! The reason why I'm qualified to write this book?

Because I've made every mistake you could ever make. Twice. I've:

Not known to send a contract: lost $1500)

Gone to the wrong event: made $400

Performed a glass of water production (with a goldfish!) for an audience that was approx. 2 city blocks away ("What is he doing up there? Who cares?! Pass the Oreos."): lost a client

Amongst hundreds of others. But I've learned from them. From ALL of them. Ten years working at anything will make you knowledgeable on the subject at hand, no question. But I honestly feel I'm ready to teach the subject. If this was university (I actually teach MAGIC 101 at the University Of British Columbia, by the way, fun!) I would be a doctor by now. So now it's time, I feel, to share what I've learned.

Aside from more than ten years of working knowledge, I also like to think that I'm okay at the actual art of writing a word or two. I've been published in numerous magazines (magic and otherwise), on blogs, and have had my work featured on the inside tags of clothing. Strange, but true. If you'd like to get a feel for my work, you can check the latest issue of MAGIC Magazine for my piece on Daniel Madison

or any of these (Bill Abbott and Jay Sankey were a couple of my other favourites). As a writer, there is no greater feeling than seeing your words in print- especially on the cover!

Also, this post here, will give you a feel for how the book will read.


LASTLY, WHY ON EARTH AM I WRITING A POST ABOUT WRITING A BOOK INSTEAD OF JUST WRITING THE *&#^ing THING?

And this is the weirdest answer of them all:

Because I won't lie to you. Period. This has been the way I've always lived my life. I've always wanted everyone around me to be awesome! And, for some of you, you may want to write a book yourself in the future, so I want to document EXACTLY how I'm doing it. That's what this post will provide- kind of like what I did with THE VAULT, I'll talk about the process and how it's all coming along, step by step, so that it might help you one day achieve your own writing dreams. I'll be updating this post along the way with every detail of how the writing's going, what marketing I'm doing, everything.


Well, that's enough for now! Like I just said, I'm never going to lie to you. This book is not going to turn you into the next Blaine, Copperfield, or Angel. It's not going to get you your own TV show or make you billions.



But I can tell you what the information I'll be sharing has done for me:

1:I have zero debt.



2: There's a Ducati in the backyard (my dream since I was a kid) that was paid for with money I've made from performing magic tricks.


3: I get invited to the greatest parties in the city because they want me to be there. I'm part of that equation.

+

=


and, MOST IMPORTANTLY,

I've made friends and memories that will stay with me long after all that other stuff is gone. And I'll have done it by doing something I absolutely love.



I hope you will join me...

Your pal,

Jamie D. Grant
http://www.SendWonder.com

Looking forward to this!

Sign me up.

Sounds interesting

Sounds good Jamie.

One quick note: All the links to your essays in the linked post you provided are dead - no actual links there; just " http:/// ". Are the essays still available? Or did you just want us to see the titles?

Thanks!

Jim

Oops - the post below the first one has the correct links!

I'm in!
Sounds great!
Wish you all the best for this project...

Glad to see you are setting a date for your book.

Side note: I hope the largest section of the book focuses on "Approach groups of people without fear."
I think that is the most interesting topic!
(In fact, I would buy a book that were written on that topic alone.)

Looking forward to this. By the way, the Daniel Madison article was great. That certainly teaches you how NOT to get into magic.

Jamie!
I am a HUGE fan of your work. Heck, I climbed over the rail of Taipei 101 for you man!
I would by any book you put out, even if it was "Jamie Grant does needlepoint"
Can't wait!
James

Put me on the list. Looking forward to it. August 1st !

I'm in too jamie.

I'm strictly a hobbyist magician these days. Many moons have passed since I did magic for money. But I'd still be very interested in reading this book.

And hey -- if Jamie delivers so much as a four-page pamphlet before the end of 2014, he'll be doing better than Rudy Coby.

You know I'm in, JDG!

Thanks!

Jim

Can't wait!

I will be reading this...Bring it on!

Awesome!

Great stuff

Not bad at marketing either, I'm looking forward to it

I'm looking forward to this. I enjoy books that aren't just anthologies of tricks. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your ideas on approaching groups, orchestrating memorable moments for your audience, and dealing with the business side.

Hey Jamie,

Sounds really interesting! I'm in, too.

Cheers

Nikki