| This article is re-printed by kind permission of Writers' Forum
Magazine � Peta flirts her way to a book deal - then doubles it! � Tell the world �I�m a sunshine person, come bask in my rays,� not, �I�m a black cloud to be avoided!' That's the message from Peta Heskell who believes the world would be a better place if we all smiled more and flirted with each other. It's certainly worked for Heskell who has progressed from founding Britain's first Flirting Academy to writing two books on the subject. Putting on his best smile and maintaining full eye contact, Douglas McPherson decided to chat her up... |
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One of the interesting things about talking to authors is that everyone seems to find their own route to publication. Peta Heskell's was as unconventional as any. Having founded Britain's only Flirting Academy to teach people the fine art of flirting, the blonde self-help trainer says, "I was just surfing around the net when I came upon the HarperCollins website. They said contact us, so 1 sent them a really vague e-mail that just said, �I�m doing classes in flirting. I'd like to write a book. How about it?' "I got an e-mail back basically saying this is not the way we do it. Get an agent, get a book proposal... all the usual things they tell you. "Then, about a month later, the senior editor of the dating/romance section called me up and said, 'I've just had an e-mail print out put on my desk and your message caught my eye.' After another month she passed me on to Carole Tonkinson in the Mind Body section and she offered me a deal." Heskell was more than pleased with the offer but, luckily, before accepting, she ran it past her friend, the agony uncle and author Phillip Hobson. "He said, 'You can get better than that and if you want me to I'll get you a better deal for a percentage as your agent. So he got me double the deal!" Having first submitted an outline and sample chapter as requested, Peta says it didn't take her long to write her first book, Flirt Coach, which was published by the HarperCollins imprint Thorsons. "If you're writing a self-help book you should already know what you're going to say and you shouldn't have to spend months and years researching it. "What I've learned about writing is that for me it's best just to let it all out and then go back and get rid of it. So for two months I literally vomited out everything - 180,000 words. Then I cut it back to 60,000. "The other thing I learned was the difference between writing a book and speaking at a seminar. I'm very outrageous when I speak and I don't pull any punches, but I do it with a lot of nice energy and a big smile on my face. But my editor slammed her pen through some of the writing I was really pleased with because she said. The reader can't see your smile and they can't be present in your energy -this just sounds really toxic" Flirt Coach has been described as a best�seller which, according to Heskell, means sales of around 17,000 to date. The book was certainly successful enough for Thorsons to commission a second, more condensed book called The Little Book Of Flirting, out this autumn. "There's some new stuff, but it's basically a cut-down version. The good thing is it's going to be on sale from October through Christmas at front of house rather than in the Mind Body or Psychology section. So hopefully people will think, Ooh, that would be a great Christmas present" In both books (and a third is already well under way), Peta treats flirting as far more than a romantic technique. Rather, she sees it as a way of charming your way through every kind of encounter, both social and professional. �
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The idea of flirting your way to success may be regarded by some feminists as undermining years of campaigning to be judged purely on their ability to do a job. Peta insists, "It's not about using your sexuality to get somewhere. It's about generating a feel-good feeling in yourself first and then in other people. "You can take it to a sexual level if you want to. But what I'm saying is: be the sort of person who is fun, who has that little bit of a giggle in their voice, and that, as much as your ability will get you places. "To give you an example, if Paul and Clare can both do the job and Paul is fun to be with and Clare is really uptight and earnest, a lot of people will say let's give the job to Paul because we like him." Flirting may also seem contrary to the rules of political correctness - and a dangerous game in a workplace rife with claims of sexual harassment. Again, Peta sees things differently. "I think political correctness has, to some extent, been a big curse on the office classes. Sexual harassment will exist no matter how you legislate. But the fact is we're sexual beings and the most fun places I've worked in are where people have been having a few naughty exchanges. Basically, it's bloody good fun." She warns, however, that flirting will only get you so far without the professional ability to back it up. Don't expect, for example, simply to flirt your way to a publishing deal. "What makes a good self-help book is personal examples, and also exercises that people can go away and practise, rather than just telling them what to do. The ones that annoy me are the ones that say this is the way it is and if you follow these rules this is what you'll get. "I think you should be wary of setting yourself up as a guru. Because people don't like perfect people and they'll do everything they can to pull them down. So you need to show you're human, you have faults and you're down to earth - that you've come across some ideas that you're sharing with the reader and it might be right for them and it might not be." The Little Book Of Flirting, by Peta Heskell, is published in October by Thorsons price �4.99. If you fancy a lesson in flirting, call Peta Heskell on 0700 4354 784 or e-mail [email protected]
Peta Heskell
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