What do I need before the Interview
Someone is requesting you be interviewed on their….. podcast or Live on social media and you aren’t sure what you should provide them with.
Here are a couple of tips and tricks to have at the ready when you a request comes for you to be part of an interview.
First things First you should have a short 4-5 sentence bio that the host can use to introduce you to the audience. Often a host is going to pull a bio from your Goodreads or website and those are written in a longer form. It can be awkward to sit there while they read 3 paragraphs as to who you are as a writer.
What should you have an in short intro bio?
- Name
- Pronouns
- Basics of who you are: what you write, notable achievements, or where you are from.
- And one or two quirky personal details that help describe you as a writer.
- You also want it to have a personal enough feel to it that it will catch the viewer/listeners attention and create a connection.
Next you will need a list of your media link. This is going to be everywhere the audience can find you. You should always start the list with your website and your newsletter. (Even if you are newbie author start a newsletter mailing list asap). You should list your social medias in order of where you are most active. If you do 65% of your engagement on Instagram have that listed first. Another thing to consider is even if Amazon is not the only place you sell books you should absolutely list your amazon author page link. Amazon accounts for 67% of the eBook market.
Medial links are helpful especially if you are being interviewed on a podcast platform. You can request the show share your links in their show notes for that episode. If Instagram is your most active platform, you might request that the show tag you as a contributor in the Instagram post.
Depending on when and why you are being interviewed it is helpful to make sure you let your interviewer know pertinent details to what is relative to your appearance. This can be an upcoming release, series announcement, special sales or promotion, or publishing deal. This will help to make sure you are able to hit anything that is important for you to get out to the world. Taking time out of your family life or your writing time should be used to its full advantage.
The last thing to consider is a list of topics you prefer to not talk about. You do not have to talk about your personal or family life. You can keep the discussion to your books and your craft. Some author do not want to talk about their publishing choices Kindle Unlimited vs wide. Sometimes hot take topics like trigger warnings or muted covers can be off limited. Do not be afraid to set boundaries as to what is an approachable topic and what is no go for you. It is very helpful to the interviewer to know this in advance.
It is also ok for you to request a loose outline or discussion topics for the interview. If you are nervous about the interview this will go along way to help with those nerves. Some interviewers will tell you they like to wing it, if this is not something you are comfortable with it is ok to request the outline or turn down the interview.
If you would like help with compiling a media kit or working on skills for being interviewed on a live event or podcast platform this is something Bookcase Media can help you with. With a background in theatre production, education and broadcasting we have the skill set to help you. We can help you be prepared and comfortable in multiple settings.