Spirituality for Badasses and 21 Days blossomed out J. Stewart’s life as a spiritual seeker, finder and teacher. He teaches based on his direct experience, twenty-nine years of interaction with numerous nonduality-advaita-zen-unorthodox teachers, his ongoing education / certification in modern mindfulness and a degree in communications / engineering from Syracuse University.
He has been interviewed by Rick Archer on Buddha at the Gas Pump, was the meditation editor of the mind/body/spirit blog All Things Healing, was a board member of Sevenoaks Retreat Center (a nondenominational spiritual retreat center in Madison, VA) and is the owner/founder of a tech design -install firm called Charlottesville Audio Visual Services.
J. Stewart Dixon has been a very creative individual for most of his life. In addition to two self-published books, he has written and produced a rock musical, has two professionally produced and recorded CDs with his former band Alchemy and has dabbled in abstract art.
He lives in central Virginia with his family. When he’s not working or creating he can be found cavorting with the fish, bears, and bald eagles on the local rivers with a fly rod in his hand.
Visit his website at http://www.spiritualityforbadasses.com or connect with him on Facebook.
INTERVIEW
Thanks for letting us interrogate you! Can you give us a go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?
I didn’t know until I was 52. When I published Spirituality for Badasses on Amazon and it went to #1 in 9 categories, went on to win some awards a few months later, and then paid my mortgage one month. At that point I said- hmmmm??? - I like this.
Tell us (we won’t tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be? I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?
If you think you can do this work without the work part- don’t even start. It’s 25% writing, creativity and fun and 75% hard work, marketing , PR and sitting a computer desk all day.
Which route did you take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the nitty gritty low down on what’s that like?
I’m self-published and wouldn’t have it any other way. More control. More creativity. More profits. Screw the big 5 major publishers – they only publish people who are already famous with reality TV shows and who are related to the Kardashians. Yuck.
What’s the snarkiest thing you can say about the publishing industry?
I just said it. Screw the big 5 major publishers – they only publish people who are already famous with reality TV shows and who are related to the Kardashians. Yuck.
Tell us for real what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your book written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?
My wife just said to me yesterday (after going through our financials) that I’m spending more money than I’m making, which I was well aware of. I think she’s shitting bricks right now. But we have savings, my book is doing awesome and I have more to offer and more to come. I ain’t worried, but I still have to convince my wife.
What was the craziest or insane thing that happened to you in the book publishing process?
It went to #1 in 9 Amazon categories. It won 2 Global book awards. I had a fan send me a photo of her reading the book on the beach- that fucking rocked.
How about the social networks? Which ones do you believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?
I got kicked off twitter. So screw you twitter.
I use facebook and I occasionally get shit from my fans because I do. In the book I advise readers to remove social media from their phones– as a way of creating some space in life. So- they mistake this advise with getting rid of social media entirely. I have social media, just not on my phone- but on my computer in the basement. I control it. It doesn’t control me. Win-win.
Book sales. Don’t you just love them (or lack of?)? How are you making the sales happen for you?
Facebook ads have been the only method for consistent sales. I neurotically check my sales every day. I sell about 50-75 copies per day. I worked very hard to achieve this.
What is one thing you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?
I just quit my day job!!!! Yahoo!!!!!! (I actually celebrated this at a small party about a week ago and it was awesome.
Okay, too much sugar for you today! Here’s a nice cup of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch the waves roll in. Now…can you tell us what you love about being a published author and how all those things above doesn’t matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you wouldn’t have it any other way?
Well, I’m a self-help author. When I get quotes/reviews like these for Spirituality for Badasses my heart swoons and I jump for joy:
“This book has changed my life and I'm not even halfway through it yet”- Celene
“It isn’t often that one book can make me smile, bring me to tears and make me think… thank you & congrats!-“ Henri
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