TURNING POINT
A career-changing moment or experience
The fine Art of
Selling Your Book
When I had been an NSA member for six years, I was present- ing “The Fine Art of Small Talk” to audi- ences about 70 times a year. I was thrilled that my speak- ing income enabled me to support my two children. Yet, financial pressure and the volatility of a professional speaking career always loomed. Audience members asked me repeat- edly, “How can I buy your book?” My pat answer was, “I don’t have one.” Finally, I realized that a book was criti- cal to future earnings. I already had a built-in marketplace, so I embarked on my book publishing journey.
After at least 10 rejections from literary agents, I was frustrated with
the time-consuming process and no
reward. Instead, I jumped with both
feet into self-publishing and learned all
of the mechanics from ISBN, to text
and cover design, distribution and PR.
By the time I was done, a book was
born! I sold in the “back of the room”
and managed to secure shelf space for
The Fine Art of Small Talk: How to
Start a Conversation, Keep it Going,
Build Rapport and Leave a Positive
Impression at Barnes and Noble,
Borders and Books-A-Million across the
country, along with lots of hits in local
and national media.
In the first year, I earned enough
to recover costs and turn a profit—
enough profit that when St. Martin’s
Press phoned to ask if I would consider
“traditional publishing” and offered
$25,000, I declined the offer. If I had
received the offer two years earlier, I
would have danced a jig and thrown
a party. Later that week, St. Martin’s
Press called and doubled the offer.
Again, I declined.
Then, St. Martin’s press asked the
magical question: “What would it take
for you to come on board with The
Fine Art of Small Talk?” With this last
offer in hand, I decided to find out just
what it would take for me to take my
book the traditional route. I learned
that literary agents are easy to land
with an offer in hand, and a new book
journey began.
My self-published title was pitched
to all the big publishing houses and a
bidding war ensued. The result? A two-book deal with Hyperion Books in the
mid-six figures! My self-published book
became The Fine Art of Small Talk in
2005, and The Fine Art of the Big Talk:
How to Win Clients, Deliver Great
Presentations and Solve Conflicts at
Work was released in 2008.
The lesson learned was an old one: Do
not take “no” for an answer. Forge ahead,
especially when you know you have an
audience that believes in your work. A
book project can seem overwhelming,
but if a mother balancing a business and
family can do it, anyone can.
Debra Fine, a former engineer, is an internationally recog- nized speaker, conversation guru and best-selling author. Fine’s books have received
excellent reviews in USA Today, The Library
Journal and Entrepreneur Magazine. Her
recent media appearances include The Today
Show, CNN, The Early Show and NPR
Morning Edition.
