Interview Tips and Tricks

Have you ever been in a play? One that had an actual run - you know - you had to show up and perform every day for a week or more and twice on Sunday? Did you learn how to approach the show and your character as something new each time for the sake of each new audience? Maybe your director or stage manager gave the cast The Pep Talk: "You've done this show a hundred times now between rehearsals and performance, but for this audience, it's the first time. Invest."

Interviews are the same thing. No matter how many you do, no matter how many times you answer the same question over and over again, it may be old hat for you, but it is new to the people reading about you. It helps to approach interviews as a privilege - something you get to do rather than something you have to do. Well. It helps me. Because I still haven't gotten over being tickled to death about someone else actually wanting to talk to the socially awkward geek girl. So yeah. I do have a list of suggestions for anyone undertaking interviews:

1. It's about the honesty of your story telling.
2. Be willing to tell your truth.
3. Be willing to be vulnerable and even a little bit afraid.
4. Your life and your process are only uninteresting to you because they're yours.
5. When all else fails, channel your characters and answer from their voices.

By now, everyone who reads this blog knows the story about my first ever writing project - the princess who was an expert swordswoman and horsewoman who could take down an entire ship full of pirates. Oh. And who had a black panther named Scott for a pet. (Yeah, I dunno. I was twelve.) Let's be honest, that's a pretty embarrassing story, but it's a rich story because most of us have these kinds of stories from when we were kids. Even if the particulars of my story are totally laughable (some of them are and I'm fine with that) everyone can relate.

Relating to people is the whole reason for interviews. It really is a question of being willing to open a vein and invite readers to come swim in the blood of your story (and possibly your life). If you're thinking about it from that perspective, I doubt you'll ever be bored. Terrified, maybe, but bored? Probably not.

PS. If you haven't read James' amazing post about his mother and what she taught him, you should. Because James went on such an eloquent and well considered political bender, I kick my soap box back under the table and sit back nodding in agreement with him. Fight for what you want, people. Not against what you don't. Where your focus goes, so too does your energy. And there are some bastages who do not deserve the tiniest mote of your energy.

Tricks to Remedy Stale Interview Questions

As an author, I've been the interviewee enough times to know that on a book blog-tour the same questions get asked a LOT. They start to feel stale pretty fast. With a new release coming soon and hoping to make some rounds on the blogs, this topic has been on my mind a bit.

The answers to standard get-to-know-the-author questions are what they are and they aren't going to change much. {Name, kids/pets, other interests, etc., etc.} There's got to be some mathmatical equation to note how much 'relatability' needs to be mixed with 'unique and fun personality' to create an ideal 'sell yourself' moment where you shine, because no one wants to fade into the background utterly forgettable.

I do not know this equation, I cannot tell you the secret. But I can tell you how to read more into a mediocre question. Good interviewers will ask questions that open the door to interesting answers, Example: When did you know you wanted to be writer?
Answer: Don't say 'since I was {insert age here} and leave it at that. (See below.) Insert a story. Maybe there was a big storm. The one where the electric had been knocked out and you were so scared, but your little sister was cuddling the dog and you didn't have anything to cuddle with for security so you hid under the covers with a flashlight and a notebook and distracted yourself by writing...and the next day, you re read it and just knew.

The tough stuff is identifying how to build up those questions that are answerable with one word. Example: How long have you been writing?
Answer: 25 years.  
       Short, sweet, and true. But it could be more. Can you, the storyteller, find a story answer? Maybe You know, when I overcame my phonics-troubles in second grade, I started putting together little books for my friends. About their dogs and cats being friends and going on adventures.

Something to remember, if you're doing a blog interview, most of the folks reading it will be followers of that blog who may be brand new to you as an author. Sure, some of your fans will go see what you said, but in all likelihood they already know you're a Trekkie with a big rottweiler-like dog. These fans are looking for the other information, about the new book. This is why I love KAK's suggestion from yesterday to leave an Easter Egg trail. You could even have a quiz on your website at the end of the blog tour and those who answer all the questions right are entered into a drawing...if you want to give readers a quiz to take that is.  Jeffe's post from Monday suggests keeping notes when drafting/revising your book, and that could help you build the trail.

For blog interviews done remotely, you often get the questions in advance. I'm guilty of having standard' answers prepared by cutting and pasting from a former interview. I've also considered putting some of those on a FAQ page on my website, so I can eliminate the less engaging questions by directing folks to the website, but why would I want to waste the space on non-necessary or non-engaging stuff?

For blog interviews done in person, I ask for the questions in advance so I can give consideration to what I want to say. I hate dead air time as much as anyone listening, and I don't want to sit there in silence hoping a lucid thought springs into my noggin. If I have had a chance to consider the question and the overall interview, I know where to insert my humorous story and where to be witty.

In the convention guest of honor one-on-one interview panel form, the lively author who can turn every question into a fun story is entertaining. Some folks are naturals at working the crowd. I do not count myself among them, but then I've never been a GOH or givven a live interview at a con.

That's all I've got right now, but I've enjoyed my cohort's posts so far and look forward to what the rest of them say as the week goes on.  Enjoy!!!

3 Ways To Spice Up Stale Interview Questions

You're about to launch your latest novel. You're booking blog tours, podcast chats, and vlog interviews. Somewhere after the fourth set of questions, you detect a pattern...or the Borg's latest conquest.  How do you keep from sounding like vinyl with a deep scratch? 3 Ways! (Erm, those too, if that's your thing.)

3 Ways To Spice  Up Canned Interview Responses

1. Know The Audience
Before you agree to any interview, you should be a little familiar with host and the audience the blog/ vlog/podcast/broadcast attracts. The first reason is to protect you and your brand from unwittingly participating in something hosted by someone whose platform you find objectionable. E.g. after reading James's passionate and moving post yesterday, it is safe to assume he wouldn't want to participate in a Breitbart interview. The second reason is to know how to engage their audience. Is the audience a group of  12-16-year-old aspiring authors? Over age 55 multi-published hybrid authors? Is the program faith-based? Which faith? Reenactors who are experts in their era? SFF die-hards who can craft a 4-year college program over a midday MMORPG session? Straight-shooters? Silly gooses? All of this will tell you how fast and loose you can play with your responses, whether or not dropping an f-bomb will go over well, and if you're aiming for a top-gloss answer or a composition-of-dirt detailed response.

Oh, and the best way to get this info, is to ask the person soliciting your participation. They should be able to give you a paragraph about who their audience is, what makes the program unique, and if there are any topics from which you should steer clear and/or on which you should focus. Bonus points to the interviewer if they tell you the tone of their program. Triple points if they have a running gag on the site and let you in on it.

Note: Interviewers, make it easy for potential participants to say yes by including a paragraph that covers the details above when reaching out.

2. Crack a Joke & Be Unpredictable
Armed with your info about the audience, be brave, crack a joke.  To play it safe, don't pick on a person no matter the popular sentiment.  Feeling feisty? Offer a completely unexpected answer to a frequently asked question. "Where do you get your ideas" is pretty common. Try answering with something that contrasts the tone of the rest of your interview. "From Edgie, this super fat earthworm who lives under a polished rock two miles down the path from my house. Great guy. He's not really talkative, but the things he's seen..."

3. Create Your Own Easter Egg Trail
Readers who are true fans will check out your interviews in a variety of sources. Love those readers. Respect those readers. Show them your affection (and encourage them to follow) by including a trail of hidden gems that reveal a joke or--once amassed--a short story. E.g. The third sentence of the third question of every interview is a line that comes from a piece of short fiction. Because you're an expert craftsman, you know how to make that line blend into the legit answer of the original question.

Beyond everything, have fun with your answers. Oh, and be kind to everyone, including yourself.

How to Answer Interview Questions: 3 Tips for Both Pros and Newbies

Sunrise on the Ortiz Mountains the other day created dramatic and crisp pink highlighting on the fresh snow of the peaks. Quite spectacular.

Our topic this week at the SFF Seven is an interesting one:Remedies for Stale Interview/Podcast Questions.

It's timely for me because just yesterday I did a signing with my good friend Darynda Jones at Page 1 Books in Albuquerque for our brand new releases. These are fun events for us, because signings are always more fun with a friend, and we have a lot of enthusiastic readers who are excited to see us. (Mostly her, but hey!) It was standing room only (albeit in a small space), with the final count at 48 people. Which is pretty nice for a small bookstore signing.

This is the... fourth? signing we've done together. Something like that. And quite a few people who attend are regulars. Or they see us at other regional events. As usual, Darynda and I didn't plan any particular program. We asked the audience what they wanted and they called out, "Anything!" And, "You  guys are always great - whatever!"

Which doesn't really help, but makes for a nice shiny.

Then the events coordinator calls out in this fake, high-pitched voice from the other side of the stacks, "Talk about your books!"

Oh. Yeah. Right!

The thing is, we tend to forget a key truth doing events and interviews: for most of the people reading or listening, this is their first time hearing anything about us or our stories.

For me, in particular, when I started talking about my new release, THE EDGE OF THE BLADE, I had to recall that most of the people there had come to see Darynda and hadn't read any of my Twelve Kingdoms or Uncharted Realms books. Yes, some of my die-hard readers attended, but they love talking about the books regardless. Just because *I* feel like I have talked about the books a lot, that's not true of the people listening.

So that's Rule #1:

1. There are no stale questions. They're only familiar to YOU.

This is that syndrome where it's easy for kids to remember their one teacher's name, but less easy for her to memorize all thirty of theirs. So, even though it made be frustrating or eye-rolling to get the exact same question for the 4,739th time, the person asking hasn't heard the answer before. Respect that and give them your fresh and sincere reply. I find - very interesting, too - that my answers to some of them have changed over time. I discover new aspects of my self and my process that way.

2. Limit the types of interviews you do.

One thing I've asked for so far as blog tours online, etc., is that I prefer not to answer "canned" interview questions. A lot of sites and bloggers do this, because it's much less work. I don't blame them a bit! They make up a list of questions and send that to be filled in. However, once I've answered a particular site's questions, then I've done them. There's not much sense in doing them again, particularly since they're already discoverable online. Instead I ask for questions related to the book I'm releasing. Yes, this dramatically cuts down on the number of interviews I do, but it also focuses my own efforts.

3. Keep notes as you draft and revise a book

I try to do this, and do better on some books than others, but any time I ask a question online, crowd-sourcing information, or something amusing happens, I note it in a running document for that book. This provides a treasure trove of anecdotes to tell about the book. There always seems to be interest in the process of writing the book, what was difficult, what you might have borrowed from real life, etc., and this document will refresh your memory when you feel you've said everything there is to say. Even you newbies can start doing this and, believe me, later on you'll be glad you did!

So, old pros - what tips do you have? Readers, what do you love best in hearing authors answer?