Never judge a book by its cover

It's about halfway through the Art-A-Fair Festival. This is the summer long art show in Laguna Beach, California that I have been doing for many years. Over the nine weeks of this show I talk to quite a few people.

Some are artists, some are not. If I spend enough time talking to the person, and if I think it's appropriate, I show them my latest book, The Shy Artist's Guide to Answering Questions.

What has surprised me is who ends up purchasing one of my books.

There are many artists I know who could really use the information that I have compiled in that book. I watch them in action and I see how they respond to customers. I know they would benefit from using the information contained in even just one of the chapters.

Then there are other people who seem to be perfectly at ease talking. They have no trouble at all carrying on a conversation.

These are the people who often surprise me. When I show them the book, they flip through it. Maybe they skim through a chapter that catches their eye. And then they say, "I need this book. How much is it? Let me go get some money."

I was surprised by two such people this past weekend. One was a fellow artist by the name of Sandy. She is a beautiful and elegant lady who has no problems at all when it comes to interacting with people. And yet, she complained to me that she feels uncomfortable when it comes to talking about her art.

The other person used to be the manager of one of my favorite restaurants. Jason is now running his own business. Given all the experience he had dealing with restaurant patrons, I thought that he, too, should have no trouble talking to customers. Again, I was wrong.

It seems that no matter how skilled you are at talking to people, there are certain things that put you at a loss for words.

If you find yourself at a loss for words, using the techniques presented in The Shy Artist's Guide to Answering Questions can help. Get your copy on Amazon.