If a cat is biting you, what do you do to stop it as it's happening?

when my cat was growing up (she is now 8 years old) she would lay in my lap and start rubbing up against my hand and then all of a sudden bite me. What worked for her was when she did this I would grab her by the scruff of the neck (kind of like a mother cat would do) and say no several times. she eventually would start licking my hand instead of biting it. just be patient.