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Interviewing an Author: Dont Be Left Speechless
Joyce Carol Oates. Langston Hughes. Anne Sexton. F. Scott Fitzgerald. Nikki Giovanni. The names of authors (dead and alive) can go on and on. But I'll let you have first pick! You are in a room with some of your favorite authors. About ten of them. However, you are only allowed to invite one of them to Starbucks for a couple of chocolate mochas. Just you and your favorite author. It doesn't matter if the writer is deceased—use your imagination! After all, you're a writer, right? Oh dear, who shall it be? Should it be William Shakespeare with his purple pantaloons; Sylvia Plath who now vows to use an electric oven instead of gas; or should it be Maya Angelou and old playmates from her broken-hearted brothel? Finally, you have selected an author. You take him (or her) to Starbucks. You order the mochas. You sit down. As you open your mouth to ask the author questions nothing useful comes out. What's the problem? Often times we'll chance upon moments when we can interview an author. And, with technology nowadays, methods of research and brainstorming have changed slightly. 1. Research the Author Ask yourself, "Is the author self-published or published in a traditional publishing house?" Actually, does it really matter?! No. Why? Because you're going to need to treat all authors the same—with much respect. Be laid back, and in turn, the interviewee will become comfortable and open-up to you. After all, whether published or not, we're all human. Before the interview, however, use your investigative reporting skills and attempt to discover as much as you can about the author. Surf the Internet for any hidden agendas internet-published writings the writer may have. Not only do you want to know about the author's book, but the personal life as well. Find out what makes the author tick. 2. Research their genre and subject matter Does the author write poetry? Historical nonfiction? Dramatic nonfiction? Children's literature? Discover how easy or difficult it is to publish in that particular area of writing. Before you meet up with the author, you must know their genre, as well as the basic themes. If the author writes only historical nonfiction—what's their subject matter? Pre-civil war? Early African Slave Trade? Cuban artwork? Compare and contrast authors in similar subject matters. Learn as much as you can while you can. And, at the same time, be sure to formulate an opinion about the subject matter, whether it be pro or con. This will allow you to ask more in depth questions. 3. Don't Interrupt Remember to ask your question then shut up. This isn't a time for you to reminisce of your (waning) writing skills. This is moment for the author to be in the spotlight. Listen to their responses, and make sure that you have a rebuttal question prepared in the back of your head. After you are away from that particular topic, be sure to go to your next question. Though you may have your list of questions—it's okay to ask the questions out-of-order. Actually, I highly recommend to adlib the questions. This will make the questions seem a bit more unforced. In short, treat your interview as if it's just a regular discussion amongst friends. Above all, I highly recommend to record the interview. Before you display your trusty hand-held recorder, ask the interviewee for permission to record them. Keep and label all used tapes with the author's name, date and location of the interview. You never know when that once self-published novelist will become the next Best Seller. Edited by Jenny Wilson About The Author Stephen Jordan has five years experience within the educational publishing industry. Stephen was a freelance editor with such educational foundations as Princeton Review, The College Board, New York University, and Columbia University. Away from the office, Stephen promotes his creative writing with his home-freelance business OutStretch Publications and his artwork. Stephen holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees in writing and literature from Alderson-Broaddus College of Philippi, West Virginia Available for reprint. Please keep bio and all contact information when reprinting article. Contact author so he can keep track of where his articles are being used. Editor@OutStretch.net
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Your Viral Salesman - Your Marketing E-book
Introduction Viral ebooks are an excellent way to drive traffic to your website and one method that I am very fond of. Viral ebooks require you to do work one time and you can benefit from them multiple times over. They are a great way to grow your online business. With viral eBooks, the traffic and profits keep rolling in around the clock regardless of what's happening. Attracting 1,000's of eager buyers to your website using VIRAL eBooks is so simple, it may surprise you.
How to Stop Telemarketing Calls for Good
You come home from work after a long day, sink into the tub for a moment of reprieve and just as your muscles begin to relax ..
Inside Sales Training ? A Lucrative Commission Mystery Revealed
Inside sales training:
No Credit is Due: Bad Telemarketing
Just a few minutes ago I was debating what to write about this week -- something interesting, perhaps, or maybe it was about time to give some credit to snails, I thought. Then, by some random stroke of luck, fate or writer's lightning (a term I created just now), I received a phone call from a credit card company.
Generating Leads Through Telemarketing
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Building Cold Calling Confidence
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Cold Calling: Just Swallow the Frog Already! Part 2
So you are holding that ugly green frog in your hand, the one we call Cold Calling, and your boss says to eat it? How can one eat a green frog and even pretend to like it? Here are some tips on how to not only be successful in cold calling, but to also enjoy the process.
Sales' Dirty Little Secret - Cold Calling is the Down-and-Dirty Hardest Part of Selling
Salespeople hate to cold call. Yet their job is to find new customers. What everyone avoids talking about in the sales interview is that the salesperson must cold call to find those customers. It's sales' dirty little secret. If you require your salespeople to cold call and you want to train them to get better at it quickly, check out the new website www.SalesWebinarsOnDemand.com.
Interviewing for College in Style
Looking Good, Feeling Good
Businessman's Dream: No More Cold-calling
The business man's solution to bring prospects to his/her business. Video Prospector will make your phone ring with Prospects looking for your product or service.
Bullseye Interviewing
An interview is much like a blind date. You have sweaty palms, heart palpitations, shaky nerves and a preconceived notion of what could happen.
How Telemarketing Can Improve Your Business
Generating new business is one of the constant problems for any company. It can be expensive, but most of all it takes a lot of time and a lot of effort. One of the ways of generating new business and which has become popular in the last few years is to use telemarketing. However, the problem is that setting up an in-house telemarketing team is extremely expensive, and for this reason many companies are looking to outsource their telemarketing activities. This article will look at the benefits of hiring a telemarketing agency.
Interviewing the Employer
Of course job candidates are supposed to let employers take the lead during job interviews, but it's also very important to have some questions of your own prepared when the employer utters the fateful line "Do you have any questions?"
End Telemarketing With The No Call List
Most phone owners have been bombarded by unwanted telemarketing calls during an otherwise peaceful evening or weekend. The dinnertime telemarketer phone call has become so common it is a nearly universal concept in modern society. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been receiving complaints in the increasing numbers from consumers throughout the United States about the unwanted and uninvited calls to their homes from the telemarketers since the practice began.
Does Cold Calling Give You The Chills?
Some people are great at it. Calling strangers and people they barely know comes easy for them. They speak with ease and don?t take it personally when potential customers are rude, curse at them or slam down the phone in their ear. Some people are born to be cold callers.
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