The JAMM, The Deck and Other Things

We're winding down on The JAMMS.

Issue 11, The Holiday Issue, comes out December 6th. Then the final issue on January 6th. 

I've been asked if there's going to be a "Collected JAMM" released at some point. If you mean a hard copy version, the answer is no. Although you're free to do whatever you want with the pdf files for your own use. I looked into the cost of printing a 300 page hardcover book with color images from pdf files and it was like $75-$100 per copy. If you want to do that, knock yourself out, Moneybags.

If you mean, am I going to collect them into one large ebook and sell it at a discount, the answer is also No.

I have some fundamental rules in regards to how I handle the commercial aspect of this site. One is that things will be released when I say they'll be released (whether that be a book, an issue of the magazine, or a post on the site). The second is that people who offer their support early on will never end up paying more for something than someone who came late to the game. If I had an extra box of unclaimed books and I wanted to get rid of them, I'd rather just set that shit on fire than offer them at a discount. 

I have been told by someone who is a genuine guru of internet marketing that I could likely double any revenue this site produces by releasing less expensive versions of the same product. In other words, sell a hardcover book with a couple bonuses for the hardcore fans, and then, sometime later, sell a significantly cheaper version—perhaps a soft-cover one, without the bonuses—for the casual readers of this site.

I don't doubt that would work. But if increased revenue was my goal, I wouldn't be writing a magic blog. The writing I've done outside of magic isn't often as enjoyable this, but it's much more lucrative and much easier than the time it takes to generate, test, and then write-up the ideas here and in The JAMM.

And that's the good thing about this. If writing about magic was my only option to support myself, then I'd need to appeal to a broad audience. The material and the writing would have to become a little blander and less experimental and that would ultimately be the death of this site. But because I have something to "fall back on" should this site go away, then I can just follow my whims. If there are enough die-hard fans to support it, then it continues, and if not, I go on to other things.

So that's why I don't take the casual reader into account when I think about how to fund this site. If appealing to them was a priority, the site would be much different and would probably suck.

So, no, there will be no Collected JAMM at a discount. $10/issue was the discount.

Also, if you want to guarantee you get the free Jerx Deck, then I wouldn't wait too long to purchase the full volume of The JAMM. It's hard to say how many are available because it kind of depends how many month-to-month subscribers who started after February are going to end up converting their subscription to a full-volume order (which would qualify them for the deck). We'll see. The artwork files for the deck are now in the hands of The Expert Playing Card Company who has substantially cut their minimum order for us. So there won't be many of this deck made and they'll never be made again.

And finally the silent auction for Stasia Burrington's original artwork for The JAMM #7 ends on Tuesday. See the post a couple of days ago for details on that.