This is a guest post from a magician named Andrew Mayne.  It made me laugh out loud and I just had to share it with you.

I have spent a significant amount of my career working alongside magicians as well as performing magic myself (3 years as Octavius at Caesar’s Magical Empire) and this guy hits the nail on the head.

I think the same thing can be said about most talent competitions and about most types of performance, whether its acting, singing or whatever.

Enjoy – and let me know what you think of his perspective. -Kahlil (at) gigsmacked (dot) com

I get a lot of email from aspiring magicians who see America’s Got Talent as their chance at success.

I try to give good advice, but there’s three things I never say directly to any one person because I don’t want to hurt their feelings.  Magic is filled with dreamers.  Unfortunately, most of these dreamers have no idea how to turn those dreams into reality or are willing to do the work.

Here are three things everyone who is thinking about trying out for America’s Got Talent needs to know:

You’re not special – they ask everyone to audition

If you get an email from the company that handles booking for AGT asking you to audition, it’s because they found your email address and not because they think you have a chance of winning.  You haven’t been “discovered”.  They did a Google search for “magician” and your name popped up somewhere.

The job of the company that books for this show is to get as many bodies in the door as possible.  99.99999% they know are absolutely horrible.  They love to book train wrecks.  They won’t tell you this, they’ll flatter you and think you have a chance.  But you don’t, because…

You’re not good

All of the guys you’ve seen on AGT are professionals who have decades in the business.  Most of them have worked Vegas and some have even headlined.  They worked hard to get where they are.  Have you worked steadily as a professional?  Would you have to turn down shows and take a huge financial risk if you went on?  If you answered “no”, then you’re not going to make it.  If you said “yes”, then here’s the last reason you’re not going to make it…

Your act is too damn slow

The single number one enemy of good magicians with good magic is that their material is TV unfriendly.  All the really good variety television acts have something happening every 15 seconds.  Every video I get sent to look at with almost no exception is way too long.  These people have no sense of time.  On TV this is deadly.  A good illusion done at a slow pace by a mediocre magician is worse then a fast paced mediocre illusion. Faster is better.

So now that I’ve said this, I’m still going to get email from hopefuls who think they are the exception.  No matter what evidence reality is offering you, you’re going to ignore it.  And sadly, I’m going to be too polite to tell you the truth.  And for that I apologize.  Break a leg!

Agents and record label execs can only sell what you bring to the table.  Here’s how to bring more to the table.

A consulting client of mine recently told me that he was moving to LA and asked me if I would advise him on his strategy:

‘I’m gonna move to LA, get a waiter job and start sending headshots to agents, hoping I get ‘discovered’ by taking lots of classes and hanging out with lots of actors.’

‘That will probably lead to a record deal and I might even dance and do some voiceover if I have time.’

Another client told me he wanted to be a famous singer and then move into films and television and wanted me to coach him on the process of making that a reality.

Sounds simple enough, right?  Wrong.  Here’s why:

Step #1:  Pick a talent or genre you are world class at and stick with it.  Not many people (less than 5%) are world class at more than one thing and the more focused you become on your specific talent the more focused attention you will receive from industry.

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Step #2:  There’s no such thing as being ‘discovered’. There are people out there looking for the next big thing but don’t count on them finding you by accident.  If they do, consider it an accident.  In the meantime, discover yourself.  Create something that will make you stand out – something that plays to your strengths and is so good you can’t be ignored.

Step #2.5: Once you create that something, COLLECT INFO from your audience.  Information is power.  Having lots of fans on Facebook, followers on Twitter or having a massive e-mailing list is more valuable than a ’slammin’ demo or an acting reel.  The power of social media means that having a huge fan base gives you an upper hand when it comes to getting the attention of those who write the fat checks.

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Step #3:  Know what an agent is looking for.  It’s more than looks and acting class.  Every agent has to figure out how much time they need to put into a client to get a return on their investment (you).  If you walk in and all you have is head-shots and botox you’re not going to get far.  How do you get them to invest in you?  Refer to steps 1, 2 and 2.5 and repeat often.

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As a mentor of mine so eloquently put it:  ’On You’

Kahlil (at) gigsmacked (dot) com