Watch This

There's a new blog called Magic Watch, which seems really promising to me. The first post includes a mission statement that I really respect:

Magicians seem to have a knack for taking a good thing and making it bad. The magic blog is a case in point. From a very promising beginning, established by the fertile mind of "Andy" with his Magic Circle Jerk, the enterprise has degenerated nearly to the point of collapse. Magic blogs aren't much fun to read anymore, and they certainly aren't very informative, ironically enough, about magic.

That's why I've decided to throw my hat into the ring, so to speak. I'm not arrogant enough to believe I have all the answers, or even very many of them. I do believe I can offer an unbiased look at magic bloggers and what they're doing, and hopefully evaluations of what's good and bad in magic without the usual cut throat rancor.

I come to you with no pretensions concerning my abilities; I'm not the best magician in the world, and although I'm a serious student of the art and a semi-professional performer, I don't earn my living solely from magic. So many magic bloggers attempt to paint themselves as highly successful magicians that I think this distinction is important. I'm like many of you. I do the occasional show, but for now the dream of becoming a full time professional has had to take a back seat to the realities of earning a living. Maybe someday.

These will be my opinions for what they're worth. Maybe along the way we can learn a thing or two.

The second post, Girl Magic, addresses me, my e-book, and this blog. He's asked me to respond to his post, so here goes.

There are three major contentions he has, so I'll address each in turn.

I can't help but wonder why, if you have a name in magic and are filming a television special, you would choose to sell something anonymously instead of using your real name. I don't know about you, but name recognition plays a role in the magic I buy, and I'm much more likely to buy something authored by say David Regal than an unknown, let alone an anonymous author. The only justification I can imagine for authoring a work and selling it anonymously is that the work isn't something you would want to have your name associated with. That's hardly an incentive to buy it.

It's a point well taken. I choose to write anonymously to protect not only myself, but all of the wonderful and talented magicians I work with and work for. I know many of the horror stories associated with criticizing another magician or his/her product, so I decided that, in order to allow myself the freedom to be as brutally honest as possible, I had to remain anonymous. My first writings on magic and girls occured on this blog and my first mention of the project was on Pagliacci as well. Therefore, publishing my book under my name (which may have increased sales of the book) would have also revealed my identity, potentially threatening my reputation and the reputation of all the people I work with. Would I have been able to sell more e-books and sell them at a higher price? Possibly. But the upside of this is that the readers get a professional e-book for what "such a small sum," as you note. I see that as a tremendous positive.

Another problem is that he's claiming an unverified expertise. Supposedly Girl Magic will help you be more successful with the opposite sex. Well, I think it's only fair to offer some assurance to the buyer that the author is successful with the opposite sex. For all the consumer knows, in reality Mr. Pagliacci has never had a date, let alone is proficient at using magic to meet girls. Of course this problem would have been avoided had he published the work under his real name and he really has enjoyed great success with the opposite sex.

As I wrote in my response to the first point, it's important to me to protect my identity. The connection between my blog and a book on magic and girls would have eventually been made, so I was forced to publish the book under my anonymous moniker. I have, in fact, based the book on much of my experience (which I've had plenty) and the experience of close, trusted friends who I've known to be very sucessful with women. Also (although only people who have bought the book know), some of the points are backed up data from psychological studies on attraction, another good source for learning about how to pick up women. Would I like to share real stories about how these techniques have worked personally? Yes, but then again, I may be revealing enough to give away my identity. Let's just say I've been very fortunate.

Even more of a problem, in my opinion, is that by buying the work the consumer is admitting that he's a geek, so to speak. I don't think anyone wants to buy a product that makes him feel bad about himself.

I completely disagree. Both Steve Pellegrino and Tim Ellis addressed this concern of your in their reviews of Girl Magic when they noted that the advice found in this book could apply to any social situation. Even if you're 50, married with kids, and have no desire to pick up women with magic, the routines taught in this book should be enough to warrant purchasing it. $5 for four solid routines right out of a professional repertoire? That's a pretty awesome deal. Besides, this book is also for people who want to improve theie game - not just for people who don't think they have game at all. Buying this book only reveals that the magician purchasing it knows a great deal when he sees it.

So there you have it.

The e-book (as I said in my last post) is still only $5 and will remain at that price until Wednesday, January 18th, at 12 AM, so purchase today! (Click on the PayPal button on the menu on the right to buy a personalized copy of the book.)