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SO ASK YOURSELF, ARE YOU READY FOR THE PRESS?

Preparing for TV or Radio Interviews – Tips for authors / filmmakers

Getting an invitation for an interview is thrilling and a great opportunity for you to reach a new audience. I am a freelance journalist and I’ve gathered some tips which will help you make the most of your interview. Remember, media journalists have short attention spans and their editors have even shorter ones. News is fast and if your story doesn’t grab them or they don’t think it is appealing enough for their audience, your interview might be buried in a slush pile or only shown briefly on their website or paper. If it is a radio interview, you only have literally minutes to capture the attention of the interviewer and their followers. If you do not come prepared, you could bore them to pieces or they can ask you candid questions that will catch you off guard.

Be prepared for your interview

See how my interview landed on the homepage of Digital Journal in the screenshot below. Not all articles make it on the top of the entertainment pages, much less the homepage of the website so YES, this is a big deal. More exposure on the main homepage means more people will see your interview and share it with others. So when you are being interviewed… BE PREPARED!

Interview tips to help you work the interview to your advantage

Bring notes with you and highlight the points you want to tackle Sometimes the interviewer will steer you away from what you want to focus on so be prepared to drive the ship Ask the interviewer before the interview, if you can plug your website address. You want to make sure listeners know how to contact you. Think of something your book can tie in with the local news or interest. This will ensure that listeners can relate to you and listen to your topic. Be controversial. Just make sure you have your rebuttal points in front of you in case callers ask you tough questions. You don’t want to look ignorant on the topic when you cannot answer their candid questions. Don’t SELL your book, your film or your project. Talk about everything around your work, yourself, your work and if you can tie your work to something in the news or to an event or local interest, then do it. Memorize your one sentence book or film synopsis or business pitch. YES – One sentence only! I interviewed an author once and she went on for 15 minutes about her book. That part of the interview ended up on the editing floor which was unfortunate since it was the only air time she had to plug her own book.

Time is money…

Remember, you only have a small window of press time. Take advantage of it and come prepared. Carry your notes with you ALWAYS because you never know who the person you are sitting beside on the plane is. It could be an entertainment journalist like me. It’s sometimes in casual conversations that you find your chance to share your expertise and if you pique their interest, they might say “so tell me about your work”.

See if you can answer these interview questions

Here is an interview I just did http://digitaljournal.com/ article/363605 . Check out the questions I was asked and see if you can prepare to answer them for yourself.

Hope this helps you be prepared for the Press especially when your book hits best seller status.

Connect with me

• Twitter: @write2film

• Official book website: AmongUs.ca

• Official book trailer: YouTube channel – AR Films

• Amazon author page • Facebook fan page • Author blog • Digital Journal profile • GoodReads author page