ARH – We are pleased to welcome Dusty White as our Featured Author for this week. 

DW – Thank you. It is an honor and a pleasure to be here, in fine company.

ARH – Please tell us a little more about yourself.

DW – Well, I like chocolate. But that is like saying I like pizza. It is something of an obsession with me, a Venusian thing. I am a professional psychic astrologer, tarot reader, and so on; tens of thousands of clients, nothing new here. Some people are mechanics, some are lawyers—I am a teacher. I actually teach professional psychics how to evolve to the next level and how to reach states of consciousness and communication they did not know existed. I am here to help. That’s really about it.

ARH – How did you get started as a writer?

DW – Napkins! I have been scribbling notes on napkins, usually at Denny’s, since my early twenties. That evolved into scribbling on notepads: ideas for books one day, philosophical concepts, diagrams, it always annoyed my friends. But to tell an embarrassing story, I was lying on the couch (I just love a good comfy couch) one night and I heard a voice that I knew was not my own—in my head of course—say “write this down.” I was just at that blissful point where sleep was one second away and had no desire to write anything down so I grumpily fumbled in the dark for a pad of paper that I knew was on the giant ugly coffee table and a pen. I was writing down astrological information, which is no surprise as I was a psychic to the stars in Beverly Hills at the time. Can I say that job is more glamor than money? Ugh! Anyway, so I realized I was halfway through the page and the information was coming at me so fast I would write off the edge of the page.

So naturally I started writing in much larger letters so that I could trick this mysterious voice into letting me go to sleep when I ran out of room at the end of the page. When I did reach the end of the page that voice said clearly “go to the computer,” which was across the living room. I stomped over to the computer table, plopped down like a petulant 5 year old, and jabbed the power button on the computer so hard I hoped to break it (and get to sleep). Pretty much the next thing I remember I was (once again) complaining, this time about it being so bright. I leaned over to the left a few inches and got a face full of the rising sun. Some jerk had left the curtains open and I was wide awake now. I scrolled though about 40 pages of text I had written in a zombie trance and saved it before angrily stomping back over to the couch in a vain attempt to get a few hours of sleep if I went to work late.

I got home after work that day and raced over to the computer to see what it was that I had written. A few minutes later I jumped up and excitedly shouted, “I am writing a book!” My roommates shouted back to me, “You’re blocking the TV!” Three months later I landed a publishing contract. It was a good thing I wasn’t sleeping in bed that night.

ARH – Tell us more about The Easiest Way to Learn the Tarot – EVER!!

DW – I have been studying the tarot since I was a kid. I learned by reading some old books and it was hard. First they wanted you to learn the “major” Arcana, which made no sense to me. The images were all so stagnant. A bunch’a guys sitting in thrones. I just could not resonate with them. Sure they looked cool, but it was very off-putting to have to memorize key words and archaic concepts when first picking up a deck. I learned the tarot the hard way and it took years. The more tarot books I read the more frustrated I got. Finally I just decided to write a book and make it really easy. I started with some basic exercises that allow you to pick up a deck and just look at the pictures. After all that is why tarot decks have pictures on them instead of long lists of key words and paragraphs of explanations. My book is easy because you learn to see with your own eyes first. I have a dozen basic exercises and tarot games that you learn first. Just you and the cards. You compare and contrast what you see, blend cards, get inside the cards and ask the people what they are doing and why. But it’s a workbook, so if you read it, you will need a pencil. Just because it is easy does not mean there is no homework.

At the end of the book are the usual “traditional card meanings” but also 78 workbook pages just in that section where you get to write what the cards mean to you—not just what they mean to some dead guy who wrote their “official meanings” in the 1800’s. I made the book fun because if it isn’t fun people will just go play a video game or watch Harry Potter again. But one other thing: From the outset I designed the book to be truly interactive. Everyone who owns a copy of the book is allowed to sign up at the forums at advancedtarotsecrets.com and get free teaching from me—just in case they don’t have a tarot teacher in front of them, holding their hand. We play the games online and do the exercises in the forums. I have also added a tarot podcast, video lessons, and a private chat room where students can grill me for answers, or play go fish with the tarot—all of this is free by the way—please don’t think I am selling something. It is my job as an author to make sure that people learn the tarot, so I have added all of those things (above) as a free ongoing bonus. If my students don’t master the tarot then I have failed as an author.

ARH – Why did you choose to self publish?  What kind of response have you received?

DW – In 1994 one of the first things my (then) publisher did was hand me two large boxes field with 3-ring binders. I was told these boxes contained the latest information on book marketing and that if I did not study this they would drop me within a month. This was before the internet was a big thing so we had to learn the hard way—very slowly. I read so many stupid manuals I ended up hating book marketing, but I found out so much about the publishing industry that I could probably write three books on it. After my second book was rejected I got frustrated and started looking into self-publishing. I found my salvation with Booksurge Publishing which was later bought by Amazon.com and then closed down when they merged it with their own business: “Createspace.” I loved Booksurge and I miss them terribly, not that CS has been bad to me at all.

Look: I get a whopping 35% royalty on all books sold through Amazon.com and a fat 10% on anything sold through bookstores. I don’t have to pay any money to my publisher, there are no fees, no books I have to buy. If I want to buy my own book I can get one copy or a hundred (or ten thousand, but what would I do with those?) and the most I pay is four bucks (for an 8”x10” 342 page book—it really is a brick). I don’t want to come across as a commercial for Booksurge, or, well, now Createspace, but unlike vanity press I never had to invest hundreds or thousands of dollars to get published. My royalties are five to seven times what I would make at Simon & Schuster or Random House. I can pay the rent with my royalties alone! Oh and I get paid monthly. I can go online and see how many books I have sold, and where, 24 hours a day. If I need to fire off a review copy I can click click click and voila a book is sent from the printer the very next day. I can even call my publisher any hour of the day and whine if I am not happy.

Back in 1994 this was impossible. I loved my old publisher but this is amazing! It is obscene how good I have it as an author. Back in the old days we used to have garages full of books, or in my case, my first few hundred books were printed at Kinko’s. With your first book it is an adventure to stay up all night Xeroxing books and spiral binding them, but it gets old pretty fast. All I have to do now is write—and promote; and let me tell aspiring authors something. No matter who publishes you—you have to promote. No one is going to do it for you unless you pay them a LOT of money, and even then I have heard horror stories time and again about first-time authors wasting tens of thousands of dollars and getting screwed. Looking at this from a purely business point of view, I was in the black from my very first book sale. Compare that to starting up a restaurant ($500,000 and up) or any other business (at least $50,000+). IMHO being a professional author is the way to go. Now, if Llewellyn drives up to my house with a dump truck of cash then Carl is going to be my new best friend. Until then my distribution is handled, my printing is handled, accounting—I am automatically on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, and in Baker & Taylor every time I finish a book. My editor is the only one who can stop me from publishing a book, and in my world, she is “God.”

ARH – What inspired you to write this book?

DW – Oh, sorry, I answered that above. I teach professional psychics. I teach beginners. I felt we needed a book that anyone could use, even long after I am dead and not trolling the forums looking for people to help. I just wanted to stand the book world on its ear by building a better mousetrap. I dunno if I succeeded, but people seem to really love this book, and how humbling is that?

ARH – Do you have more writing ideas for the future?

DW – OMfG. How long do we have? Okay, Aphrodite’s Book of Secrets is a book on the real magical laws (remember that “Secret” book? Hogwash written by amateurs and marketers. You wanna know “the secret”? The LoA is hardly “the law.” The “Law of Attraction” is really The law of attraction and repulsion, which is an aspect of the principle of psychic magnetism (remember kiddies, this is where you heard it when motivational gurus start preaching this stuff after they read this). Furthermore, there is the law of microcosmic response (you might have head the term “As Above, So Below” at one point), the great and mystic law of cause and effect—mystic because, well you have to read ABoS and I will explain all of this and how to do it and I will help you teach it to others so you can make money teaching REAL secrets of effective prayer and magic. Are we out of time yet? Okay, then there is Astrology For Witches which was supposed to be done this year but I got sidetracked by the new divination deck I am finishing up after 19 years of hard labor (and research). The Easiest Way to Learn Astrology—EVER!! is actually in progress right now, but again, the deck, and some tarot book support for my students has center stage in my mind right now. Magical lunar calendars and a few other projects are in que, but all waiting for the deck to be done. I just write. I create, therefore I am. I am not really fun at parties and I am a lousy dancer. I just like to create, so that’s kinda what I do.

ARH – Are you planning to self-publish again, or do you have a publisher interested?

DW – I like working with Amazon. Let me share a little secret with you. I think Amazon is positioning itself to become the #1 publisher in the world, and that means digitally and in print. They have the infrastructure and the distribution down. In fact just earlier today I got a notice that my kindle books are now available in France and Italy. Would I work with a “big 5” publisher or even Llewellyn, Weiser, or US Games? I am an author. I would marry them and have babies. I write books. If a publisher actually “got me” and fell in love with my crazy style of giving every ounce of life I have to my readers and could get behind that I would sign in blood. But Ben Franklin was self-published (back when it was laughed at and “uncool”) and he is my all-time hero, so I think I am in good company at the moment.

ARH – As an author, what do you think is the most important piece of advice that you would give an unpublished writer?

DW – NEVER STOP WRITING! Tell your husband, wife, boyfriend or dog that you will give them attention later. Don’t even try to argue with your cats; they will just sit on your keyboard as you try to type. If someone says you suck, tell them THEY SUCK and just keep writing. Historians ever decide greatness. If you actually do suck, just keep writing. It is better to get your words out of your skull than to go crazy having them bouncing around inside your head thinking that no one loves you. Just write—make time to write. There is no excuse more important than writing; and if you get stuck I have a book called How to Write a Great Book in Just Under Two Weeks! It’s not for sale. It is free. I use it myself to get past writer’s block. I could easily sell the information in that book for $700 a pop. I have seen it done. I only tell you about this book because I want you to get your words out and feel better about yourself. Now, as to publishing: writing and publishing are two different animals. The moment you get an idea for a book start stashing away money in a coffee can for the best editor you can hire. You want to find an editor who knows your style but will cut you (physically) if you try to publish poorly written crap. You want an editor who is hard as nails, someone you can really hate, but someone who is so good they can help you find your voice and tighten up your work until it squeaks. Only then should you allow anyone to see it.

From there you can get an agent (very hard, but don’t be afraid—just study, there are some great books on how to get published) or you can DIY it. Whatever you do, DON’T hand over your life savings to anyone who promises to publish you for a fee or make you famous if you just give them money. You need to do the basics: blog, build a site, write reviews for other books, send out review copies every month. Always ask people for honest reviews of your book. Do not ask for 5-star reviews on Amazon. Don’t pay people for reviews. Write the best book you can and only then let people read it. Honest reviews sell books. Paid-for or scam reviews give you a reputation you will never live down (“the internet is forever”). Write a second book. Write a third. The best way to sell more books is to write more books. Don’t buy into the publicity guru’s hype machine and don’t try to take shortcuts. Solid promotion works and it keeps working for years. You will get there if you just do these things.

ARH – Where can we go to learn more about you and purchase your book?

DW – You can read some of it free at Amazon.com, and probably also barnesandnoble.com, or you can head over to AdvancedTarotSecrets.com and see the home site for it. If you want free tarot lessons just head over to EasyTarotLessons.com and sign up. It takes 30 seconds and you get the tarot podcast, article and blog lessons, interviews with famous tarot experts. In fact I just interviewed Mary K. Greer—tarot goddess—and my very bestest-ever Tarot BFF Kipling West). Me? I am available by phone if you really want to learn the tarot fast. I just want people to learn this stuff and become the best readers in the world. That sounds hokey, but it’s the truth. That is the long and the short of it. I am here to help.

ARH – We appreciate you spending some time with us today Dusty!  We wish you continued luck with your future writing endeavors.

DW – Thanks for having me.