Robin Jay, author of the book, THE ART OF THE BUSINESS LUNCH, is here with us today at Author Talks!Robin Jay is a past President of Las Vegas Women in Communications, and has served on the Board of Directors for several organizations including the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF) and The Advertising Community Talent Show (ACTS). She has written articles for Forbes.com, Hospitality Executive Magazine and What's On Magazine, and has also written ad copy for such clients as the MGM Grand Hotel and the Sahara Hotel & Casino. She has been awarded the WIC Electronic Media Award for Radio Account Executive of the Year. Ms. Jay enjoys playing golf, singing and is a gourmet cook. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with her dog Georgie.
You can visit her website at http://www.robinjay.com/ and her blog at www.robinjay.com/blog.
AUTHOR TALKS: Welcome to Author Talks, Robin! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
ROBIN: I am a professional speaker, award-winning author, consultant and trainer. These things all seem to go together. I am a 33-year resident of the Las Vegas , Nevada area.
AUTHOR TALKS: How long would you say you have you been writing?
ROBIN: I found a short story I had written that I sent to myself (a “poor ma n’s copyright”) waaaaay back in the 80’s….so I guess it’s been a long time coming. I can also remember submitting stories to Reader’s Digest when I was a kid. I didn’t begin work on “The Art of the Business Lunch” though until 2001.
AUTHOR TALKS: Has it been a bumpy ride to becoming a published author or has it been pretty well smooth sailing? Would you like to tell us how you became published for the first time?
ROBIN: It has been quite a roller coaster! Originally, I self-published my book. I hired a printer, an artist, a typesetter, and even a web ma ster. That was in December of 2003. I had resigned from my advertising job in November of that year. The printer I had chosen said that if I got my ms. to him by 12/31, I could ma ke my self-imposed deadline of 2/4/04. I had scheduled a luncheon for the launch that day. In June of 2004 I attended the BEA (Book Expo America ) in Chicago and found a distributor. Next on my list was finding the perfect PR person to help me promote my book. I found Bambe in NYC around August. She introduced me to three high-end literary agents that she knew and they all wanted to work with me! I was in heaven. The agent I chose recommended that I create a book proposal, since my self-published edition was only 24,000 words. He felt that I would have a better chance of selling it from a proposal, so another two months passed while I worked diligently on my proposal. Finally, in March of 2005, I got the call that my book had been sold.
At this point, my new publisher requested that I pull my original book off the shelves…so aside from selling it at speaking engagements I was not allowed to sell it anywhere. That was a costly year – with little income. I then had to double the word count at my publisher’s request. I had expected that, of course, as my agent had asked if I would be willing to double it. When my book came out from Career Press, at 55,000 words, it was finally the book I had always i ma gined it would be.
AUTHOR TALKS: Do you have an agent and, if so, would you mind sharing who he/is is? If not, have you ever had an agent or do you even feel it’s necessary to have one?
ROBIN: I went with Al Zucker man , founder of Writers House. He represents such tremendous authors as Nora Roberts and Ken Follett. I think it’s important for authors to understand all the differences between self-publishing and selling their work. I speak on this subject, in fact, with a presentation called “The High Cost of Selling Your Book.” You can’t i ma gine how much I’ve learned these last few years! It’s priceless infor ma tion. I enjoy consulting with authors and helping them in ways that I wished someone had helped me through all of this!
AUTHOR TALKS: Can you please tell us about your book?
ROBIN: I sold advertising (TV, RADIO & PRINT) for 18 years. Because of the nature of my work, I usually had a business lunch booked three or four days a week. Put that together with breakfasts, mixers and networking events, and it wasn’t long before my clients began calling me “The Queen of the Business Lunch.” When it came time to write my first book, I decided to write about that. I wanted to help other people by sharing what I know about building high-level business relationships by introducing a social aspect – usually lunch – into the relationship.
AUTHOR TALKS: Do you plan subsequent books?
ROBIN: I have already contributed to two anthologies, which, by the way, are a great way for anyone who wants to be an author to get started! Instead of penning 55,000 words or more, you simply write a chapter! It’s the easiest way to have a book to share if you are a speaker or a business professional, plus you can help more people than you ever could with just a signature book. The day an anthology is released, hundreds or thousands of copies go into each of the contributing author’s hands. They begin distributing it to their friends and clients. It puts your name and message out there to people who might otherwise never learn of you or have the chance to read your writing. It’s really a brilliant concept.
Also, I just received confir ma tion TODAY that a chapter I submitted for consideration has been accepted into the Chicken Soup for the Soul series! The book that will have my chapter is “Chicken Soup for the Wine Lover’s Soul.” The chapter I wrote is about how to order wine when out with clients. It’s very important for business…and it’s an ideal tie-in for my business lunch book.
As fabulous as anthologies are, I still want to write more books. I think my next one will be a book to help people find the courage to grow as individuals. I have been pursuing and living my dream for more than four years now and I know I can show readers how to find the courage to move toward their own dreams. I also am very interested in quantum physics. I believe we are all connected and that we need to foster more love in the world. Oh, and – of course – I dream of writing a piece of fun fiction.
AUTHOR TALKS: Are you a morning writer or a night writer?
ROBIN: I am an anytime writer! If pressed, I would have to say I find my best groove around one or two in the afternoon. By then, I have sorted through all waiting e- ma ils (urgent ones, anyway!) and any essential business. I’ve gotten several calls out of the way. It is then that I find a great focus. Sometimes, it’s 4 or 5PM before I realize that all I’ve had all day is a piece of toast around 8AM. It’s great…that I become so engaged in what I am doing that time just slips away.
AUTHOR TALKS: Any final words of wisdom for those of us who would like to be published?
ROBIN: I must quote Stephen King on this one. He said that if you want to be a writer, (published or otherwise), you need to do two things: read a lot and write a lot. It’s true. You have to know what else is out there and you have to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to ma ke progress. It can be intimidating to think to yourself, “Okay….I’m going to write a book.” If you keep stalling, try thinking, “Okay…I’m going to write a page!” As my daddy says, “If you write a page a day, at the end of the year you will have a book.” It’s great advice.
AUTHOR TALKS: Thank you for coming, Robin! Good luck to you and happy sales!
ROBIN: Thank you so much, Dorothy. I appreciate you and this opportunity to share some thoughts with other authors.
ROBIN: I am a professional speaker, award-winning author, consultant and trainer. These things all seem to go together. I am a 33-year resident of the Las Vegas , Nevada area.
AUTHOR TALKS: How long would you say you have you been writing?
ROBIN: I found a short story I had written that I sent to myself (a “poor ma n’s copyright”) waaaaay back in the 80’s….so I guess it’s been a long time coming. I can also remember submitting stories to Reader’s Digest when I was a kid. I didn’t begin work on “The Art of the Business Lunch” though until 2001.
AUTHOR TALKS: Has it been a bumpy ride to becoming a published author or has it been pretty well smooth sailing? Would you like to tell us how you became published for the first time?
ROBIN: It has been quite a roller coaster! Originally, I self-published my book. I hired a printer, an artist, a typesetter, and even a web ma ster. That was in December of 2003. I had resigned from my advertising job in November of that year. The printer I had chosen said that if I got my ms. to him by 12/31, I could ma ke my self-imposed deadline of 2/4/04. I had scheduled a luncheon for the launch that day. In June of 2004 I attended the BEA (Book Expo America ) in Chicago and found a distributor. Next on my list was finding the perfect PR person to help me promote my book. I found Bambe in NYC around August. She introduced me to three high-end literary agents that she knew and they all wanted to work with me! I was in heaven. The agent I chose recommended that I create a book proposal, since my self-published edition was only 24,000 words. He felt that I would have a better chance of selling it from a proposal, so another two months passed while I worked diligently on my proposal. Finally, in March of 2005, I got the call that my book had been sold.
At this point, my new publisher requested that I pull my original book off the shelves…so aside from selling it at speaking engagements I was not allowed to sell it anywhere. That was a costly year – with little income. I then had to double the word count at my publisher’s request. I had expected that, of course, as my agent had asked if I would be willing to double it. When my book came out from Career Press, at 55,000 words, it was finally the book I had always i ma gined it would be.
AUTHOR TALKS: Do you have an agent and, if so, would you mind sharing who he/is is? If not, have you ever had an agent or do you even feel it’s necessary to have one?
ROBIN: I went with Al Zucker man , founder of Writers House. He represents such tremendous authors as Nora Roberts and Ken Follett. I think it’s important for authors to understand all the differences between self-publishing and selling their work. I speak on this subject, in fact, with a presentation called “The High Cost of Selling Your Book.” You can’t i ma gine how much I’ve learned these last few years! It’s priceless infor ma tion. I enjoy consulting with authors and helping them in ways that I wished someone had helped me through all of this!
AUTHOR TALKS: Can you please tell us about your book?
ROBIN: I sold advertising (TV, RADIO & PRINT) for 18 years. Because of the nature of my work, I usually had a business lunch booked three or four days a week. Put that together with breakfasts, mixers and networking events, and it wasn’t long before my clients began calling me “The Queen of the Business Lunch.” When it came time to write my first book, I decided to write about that. I wanted to help other people by sharing what I know about building high-level business relationships by introducing a social aspect – usually lunch – into the relationship.
AUTHOR TALKS: Do you plan subsequent books?
ROBIN: I have already contributed to two anthologies, which, by the way, are a great way for anyone who wants to be an author to get started! Instead of penning 55,000 words or more, you simply write a chapter! It’s the easiest way to have a book to share if you are a speaker or a business professional, plus you can help more people than you ever could with just a signature book. The day an anthology is released, hundreds or thousands of copies go into each of the contributing author’s hands. They begin distributing it to their friends and clients. It puts your name and message out there to people who might otherwise never learn of you or have the chance to read your writing. It’s really a brilliant concept.
Also, I just received confir ma tion TODAY that a chapter I submitted for consideration has been accepted into the Chicken Soup for the Soul series! The book that will have my chapter is “Chicken Soup for the Wine Lover’s Soul.” The chapter I wrote is about how to order wine when out with clients. It’s very important for business…and it’s an ideal tie-in for my business lunch book.
As fabulous as anthologies are, I still want to write more books. I think my next one will be a book to help people find the courage to grow as individuals. I have been pursuing and living my dream for more than four years now and I know I can show readers how to find the courage to move toward their own dreams. I also am very interested in quantum physics. I believe we are all connected and that we need to foster more love in the world. Oh, and – of course – I dream of writing a piece of fun fiction.
AUTHOR TALKS: Are you a morning writer or a night writer?
ROBIN: I am an anytime writer! If pressed, I would have to say I find my best groove around one or two in the afternoon. By then, I have sorted through all waiting e- ma ils (urgent ones, anyway!) and any essential business. I’ve gotten several calls out of the way. It is then that I find a great focus. Sometimes, it’s 4 or 5PM before I realize that all I’ve had all day is a piece of toast around 8AM. It’s great…that I become so engaged in what I am doing that time just slips away.
AUTHOR TALKS: Any final words of wisdom for those of us who would like to be published?
ROBIN: I must quote Stephen King on this one. He said that if you want to be a writer, (published or otherwise), you need to do two things: read a lot and write a lot. It’s true. You have to know what else is out there and you have to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to ma ke progress. It can be intimidating to think to yourself, “Okay….I’m going to write a book.” If you keep stalling, try thinking, “Okay…I’m going to write a page!” As my daddy says, “If you write a page a day, at the end of the year you will have a book.” It’s great advice.
AUTHOR TALKS: Thank you for coming, Robin! Good luck to you and happy sales!
ROBIN: Thank you so much, Dorothy. I appreciate you and this opportunity to share some thoughts with other authors.
