As fortune would have it, I shared a book signing table with Darby Harn, one of the guests of honor at ICON 49.5 earlier this month. Beginners like me can learn about selling books from watching a more experienced writer like Darby. In the interview below, you’ll read how his writing career stalled at one point, but he persevered. From that experience, he offers two profound words of advice—two—for aspiring authors.

Darby Harn is the best-selling, critically acclaimed author of Dea...