Author Interview Do's & Don'ts

[Kimberly Pickett]

Hello everyone. I'm about to do my first author interview for my blog, and just wondering if you have any useful tips for making it a success. Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Evangeline Han]

Stacy gave some very good advice! One more thing, at the end of the interview, always ask the author if he has anything else he would like to say. He might just surprise you!

[Evangeline Han]

Haha I just noticed that this thread was started in 2009.

[Gareth Wilson]

Other than the advice you already have, try and think of a question unique to yourself.  Something to make them think.  Plus with a book blog you can organise book interviews sometimes months in advance to help free up an authors time closer to publication date.  Its always a good thing to get as much advanced notice as you can of a forthcoming title so you can arrange your time accordingly.

[parchmentgirl]

I've done a handful of author interviews and one thing I always try to do is ask at least 2 in-depth questions about the book itself. I always read the book before making up my questions. I also try to keep interviews relatively short - 7-8 questions. I also recommend reading other blogger's author interviews to get ideas for good questions. 

 

You can see the interviews I've done here: http://parchmentgirl.com/category/author-interviews/

[Rusty Fischer]

HI Stacy, and congrats on your interview!!! I actually just blogged about this not too long ago over at http://zombiesdontblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/10-simple-ways-to-give-.... I hope they help and, of course, best of luck on your first interview:

10 Simple Ways to Give a Great YA Blog Interview

One great way to utilize social media and the rash of YA book blogs that have cropped up recently is to offer bloggers the opportunity to interview you; a real, actual YA book author.

An author interview is a great way for you to talk to your readers one-on-one, in as brief or as long a format as you wish.

The trick, of course, is going into a YA interview with the right spirit, treating it seriously, even professionally, and remembering the reader as you answer the questions.

Here are 10 tips to help you do just that:

1. Make the first move: Believe it or not, YA book bloggers will NOT be coming out of the woodwork to interview you. They are busy and, in fact, have many more interview requests from authors just like you than they have time to conduct. So it will be up to you to “pitch” yourself in a way that is appealing.


2. Come prepared: Have a dozen or more answers already on hand if a YA book blogger wants to interview you, but just can’t find the time. (Many of them are, in fact, young adults themselves and often have to juggle full school schedules with their active book blogs!) Also, don’t recycle interview answers; if you’ve already used them with another blogger, write different answers for each blog. Yes, it can be a challenge but it’s worth it in the long run.


3. Make it easy on them: Don’t insist on a face-to-face interview or, for that matter, a phone interview. This isn’t a Barbara Walters Oscar Special! All of my dozen or so interviews on behalf of Zombies Don’t Cry were conducted purely by email, so if that’s how the YA book blogger wants it and it’s not a big deal for you, make it easy on them and comply.


4. Be interesting: I know that book promotion can get routine, between blog posting and re-tweeting and Facebook friend-ing and all the rest, but an interview really IS a great way to help readers get to know you in a way outside of your book cover copy or website bio. So see it an opportunity rather than a chore and don’t sit down to answer your interview questions until you have enough time, energy and enthusiasm to be really fun and creative.


5. Learn from the pros: If you’re uncertain or self-conscious about your interview answers, compare them to those of your favorite YA authors. Search for “favorite YA author” + “interview” and read through a few first to see what other folks are doing.


6. Be brief: Make your answers short but snappy. I try to limit my answers to 2-3 sentences per question. I have a tendency to run on and on (ahem) so I find that this limit gives me some guardrails to stay within so that folks aren’t bored out of their skulls by the third or fourth question!


7. Meet your deadlines: Just because you’re giving a “free” interview and it’s actually work for you, don’t treat it as anything less than a professional obligation. If the YA book blogger wants to run the interview in early April, don’t wait until May to turn it in! This is wasted space for the blogger and a wasted opportunity for you.


8. Proofread: Not every YA blogger will be as careful, detailed or qualified with the editing of your interview answers as you may be. So proofread carefully before sending them in.


9. Timing is everything: The great thing about doing a great author interview is that it doesn’t have to be on the very day your book comes out to have an impact. In fact, doing an interview after your book has already come out is a great way to build interest when nothing much else is going on. The key, as always, is to have really great interview answers and spread the word about the interview once it’s finally up and posted.


10. Follow up on follow through: Finally, follow up AFTER the interview has been posted. Many times I’ll check in on an interview link days or even weeks after it’s been posted and find several new comments directed at me. It only makes sense that I answer them with a little follow-up on the blog once the interview’s done.


At the end of the day, being interviewed is one of the awesome perks of being a YA author.


Don’t get in the trap of answering every interview question the same but, instead, see every new interview as an opportunity to explore your answers more fully.


The YA blogger who posts it, and the young adults who read it, will thank you.


Yours in YA,


Rusty

[Evangeline Han]

Rusty, you gave some interesting points. Most times, I've thought that the onus is on the book blogger. But I guess, an author has a pretty important role to play too!

[Rusty Fischer]

Hi Evangeline,

 

I appreciate your commenting! I'm new here so sorry it took me awhile to write back. I think of pretty much everything in blogging/writing/authoring as a two-way street. To me, the blogger is doing me a big favor by posting my interview and, hopefully, sharing my writing style and personality with potential readers. I hope to return the favor by spreading the word about the interview once it's up and, beforehand, trying to be as creative and timely as possible with my answers...

 

Thanks for commenting,

 

Rusty

[Wendy Ewurum]

I'm in the same spot Kim so thanks for this thread.

[Lindsay]

I can only offer something so simple and common-sense that it is crazy!  When I recently interviewed an author, I made a priority of emailing back and forth a few times to establish a connection before I broached the question of "could I interview you?"  It just helps to establish some sort of rapport with an author first.  This of course depends much on whether or not the author is willing as well!

[Joseph Arellano]

Ask the questions you would ask if you were meeting him or her over a cup of coffee.  Here is an interview that I just posted -

http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/the-authors-perspect... 

 

Oh, one more thing - if you're curious about something, make sure to ask.  If you're wondering about it, your blog readers llkely will find it to be of interest.  Best, Joseph

[Georgia Ann Banks-Martin]

As an author I wish interviewers would start asking more about my current book, writng and craft issues, and how I came to be published.

At any rate I'm currently doing a Nuture your Books Blog Tour, since you are new to interviewing writers you might like to check out the listing below and consider becoming a tour host. I still a some slots open and would love to chat with you about my new book:http://nurtureyourbooks.com/vbtblog/?p=1172

GA

[KJ Mulder]

When doing an e-mail interview with an author, what is the best way to send them the questions? Personally I think putting the questions directly in the email makes it more hassle for the author to answer them. Would a separate file attachment (something like RTF) be acceptable, or even a wise choice?