Are you ever invited to participate in interviews related to the theme of your book? I have done dozens of interviews over the years and a number of them recently with regard to my latest book, Promote Your Book. In fact, my interviews are posted in blogs and at websites throughout the Internet.
Tomorrow, I’ll be interviewed by Penny Sansevieri of A Marketing Expert. I’ll let you know where and when it will appear.
One thing I always try to do when I agree to an interview, is to send them a list of possible topics and questions. Most interviewees appreciate the assistance and it gives you the opportunity to appropriately prepare.
It is always helpful to ask for their list of questions ahead of time, too. When I get a list of questions from an interviewer, I typically go through my book and tag pages related to the questions so I can flip to the statistics and material I might need in order to speak on the topic.
I love doing interviews—in particular, email interviews. Many bloggers post interviews at their sites. They send the interviewee the questions. You can think before answering and you can even respond at your leisure.
The most unusual interview I ever did was the time I was responsible for the whole show—there was no interviewer. And I didn’t know this until minutes before the interview would take place. Here’s how that happened.
I agreed to a telephone interview. The day before, I emailed the interviewee to check in and ask how I should prepare. They emailed me back on the day of the interview saying that they would call and introduce me and then I would take it from there. What? No one would ask me questions? It was up to me to fill an hour of air time on my own? This turned out to be a seminar rather than an interview. I had no idea until, as I said, minutes before the call. I quickly crammed, made notes, placed tabs throughout my book and that’s as ready as I had time to become.
As it turned out, all went well. I was sweating it, but I made it through. Had to pat myself on the back when it was over. It’s not every author who could turn that bag of lemons into an enjoyable pitcher of sweet lemonade.
Article-Writing Class at Ventura College
Don’t forget, if you live anywhere near Ventura County and you’d like to know more about article-writing for profit, fun or book promotion, sign up for my class. It’s Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 9 to noon at the Ventura College. http://www.communityed.venturacollege.edu