Authors, especially new authors, often ask what they need to do in interviews. While there are many resources available for professional media training, there are some basics you should know before working with reporters.
Here are some basic rules:
Know your book’s content – it's been a while since you wrote it, but you should know what's in it. Reread it if you have to, and know that anything in the book is on the table for questioning in an interview.
Plan out the top 3-5 messages that you want to convey. Practice them.
Plan out some techniques that will allow you to redirect an interview that goes astray. A journalist may ask something you are not really wanting to talk about. You can carefully turn the conversation around by saying something like "That's a really great question -- I will have to think about that a little more, but in the meantime I can tell you ..." and transition to a topic you do want to discuss.
Prepare real-life anecdotes and facts that illustrate your points. People are better able to connect to real world examples - success stories of clients/patients you've helped. It helps them envision their own issues and feel like you're talking directly to them.
Practice, Practice, Practice. On video, rehearse your interview responses until they feel natural and comfortable.
To this, I’d like to add a few essential pointers:
1. Mention Your Book: I can’t tell you how devastating it is to an author (and a publicist) when a great interview comes to an end and you realize you never mentioned your book. Hopefully, the interviewer will mention it, but they might not. Be prepared to casually work it into the conversation, for example, you could say, “When I was researching for my book, TITLE OF MY BOOK, I found there were three main things women do to ______.”
2. Be Prepared for an Unprepared Interviewer: Accept the fact that the interviewer may not have read your book and may not have a solid understanding of what you do. Even though your publicist sent your book along with a full press kit, the host didn’t read it and is only using the suggested interview questions -- a prepared list of questions that your publicist sent in advance exactly for this reason. Not all interviewers have the time to read your book prior to an interview. It’s up to you to make sure your work is presented properly, at least as best you can, given the constraints, and you can do so by offering information and references to your book (in a non-promotional way) so listeners know where they can find more information.
3. Practice Your Elevator Pitch: Your ‘elevator pitch’ is a 1-2 line description of your book that could be said in the time it takes an elevator to go from floor to floor. When someone asks you what your book is about, this is your standard, sound bite reply that you know so well it just rolls off the tongue without hesitation.
Practice some other sound bites, too. Things you can say in response to the most basic questions about your book. Actually record yourself saying them and playback the video/audio so you know what you look and sound like.
Here are some further tips on how to have a successful interview*:
Get Organized
Taking time to research the interview topic and media outlet is essential. Having a clear understanding of what the reporter may ask, as well as, understanding their target audience and publication is important. It’s also crucial to understand the topic that will be discussed and anticipate key questions. This will not only help you (the interviewee) feel more confident, it will also help the reporter appreciate the expertise.
Ask Questions
Before jumping in and answering the questions, it’s important to understand what background the reporter has and what information they are hoping to get out of the interview.
Know Your Facts
No matter what information is given during the interview, always make sure its accurate, and if the you don’t know the answer to a question, it’s okay. Let the reporter know that you will get the information to them after the interview, and then follow up quickly with the information.
Take Your Time
Staying calm and not rushing is key to a great interview. Taking time to explain details so the reporter understands what an interviewee is saying is important.
* Source: Ripley PR
If all else fails and you can’t remember a single thing, just relax, take a few seconds to compose yourself, and be confident. Lastly, did I mention, DON’T FORGET TO MENTION YOUR BOOK?!
Carina Sammartino is President of Parallel 33 Public Relations. Find her at www.parallel33pr.com.
For many years I was a publicist at one of the world's largest self-help publishers, representing dozens of authors, many of whom were regularly on the national best seller lists and had pretty high demands. What many people find surprising, however, is that it was the less experienced authors that were more difficult to work with. Not because they weren't pleasant (most were), but because they didn't understand how best to utilize my role and my time. So here are some tips on how best to work with your in-house publicist, who you should consider an incredibly valuable resource.
First, do everyone a favor and don’t let your first question be: “How do I get on Oprah?” Believe me, EVERYONE wants you to be on Oprah -- no one more than your publicist! But it important to have realistic expectations. Watch the show, see who the guests are recently and see if you meet the standard. Maybe you do, or maybe you need to keep working on your media platform first before Oprah’s producers will take notice.
Instead, start a conversation with your publicist by telling her (sometimes him) all the wonderful things YOU have planned and what YOU are going to do to get your book out there -- explain your vision for your book. Remember, your in-house publicist is supporting many, many authors. With the current state of publishing, in-house publicists are handling more work with less resources, much like the media they are trying to reach, so the demands on their time are great. Do your best to provide them with everything they need, and in a timely manner. Check in with her just enough, but not too much. Publicists love all of their authors, especially the ones that make their job easier by providing the right information at the right time!
Here are some ways you can help: if you see a breaking news story that you would be a great resource for, send your publicist a short paragraph explaining why you are the perfect expert on the topic and ask if she can send it on to the media you want to reach. The easier you make it for her to do her job, the more she can do for you. Did you get interviewed on a newsworthy topic and forget to tell your publicist? That’s a no, no! There’s nothing worse than finding out through Google alerts that your author was on CNN talking about the topic you have been pitching all week! Let her know in advance if you have some media lined up, so she can support you by further promoting the appearance and letting all relevant parties know (marketing, sales, other media, etc.).
Lastly, listen to your publicist. If they have experience, they know how best to position you and your book. If you strongly disagree with what they are saying, talk about it and try to come to an agreement but don’t just tell them you know best and disregard their expertise. They are there to help you, and want to sell your book – be kind.
If you are looking for more focused attention and someone who will spend a lot more time working on only your book, that's where an independent publicist comes in. While I very much appreciate the years of experience and skills I attained as an in-house publicist, I started my own business because I wanted to be able to work more closely with authors, and really give them more individual attention so we could achieve greater results. It's important to know how to work with both an in-house publicist and independent publicist in order to get the best results possible. Despite some myths out there, there's no conflict with having an outside publicist - they usually work with the in-house staff very easily and the in-house publicist appreciates having the extra support.
Carina Sammartino is President of Parallel 33 Public Relations & Literary Services. Find her at www.parallel33pr.com.
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I hear this question a lot, and there is no simple answer. Every publicist is different, as is every client and every project.
There is a large scale for the cost of PR services, mostly dependent on the type of campaign you are planning. For example, are you hiring someone to launch your book at the time of release? Then you’d typically hire a publicist 6-9 months in advance of the release. Or has your book already been out a while and you need someone to keep the publicity and marketing going? Then you might hire someone for a year to sustain the momentum from your launch but in a lesser capacity.
Common practice is to hire someone and pay them monthly, with a contract in place for the number of months on the project. But many publicists have varying structures to accommodate a client’s needs. It is really a matter of what you want, what your goals are, and the level of experience of the publicist.
When you hire a publicist, you are paying for their contacts, their relationships, and their skills. It is not always true that a large PR firm can get better results or is more expensive than an independent publicist. Independent publicists might be able to give you more one-on-one attention and have long standing relationships with the media with whom they work very closely. Again, it is up to the preference of the client: some like having a big PR team of people representing them, and some prefer a close collaboration with just one person.
There are many other factors to consider, such as:
Will there be a tour to support? Are you traveling to many cities and hoping to secure media coverage in each one? Do you need help booking events?
Are you expecting to be on every national morning show and in the major newspapers around the country? Or are you a first time author just hoping to get as much local and regional coverage as possible?
Do you have anyone on your team already supporting you? Or do you need your publicist to do everything including writing your articles and blog posts, booking your events, accompanying you to events?
Do you need additional service such as social media management, podcast promotion, etc?
As you can see, there are many factors to consider when it comes to estimating the amount of time that will go into a campaign, which ultimately determines the cost. And again, a larger firm may or may not be more expensive than a smaller agency.
Bottom line, for a full PR campaign, you can expect to pay anywhere between $4,000-$7,000 a month, depending on A LOT of variables. It's best to have a 30-minute conversation with a publicist up-front, explain your goals and get a good feeling for the people who will be working on your campaign. PR is a very personal relationship and you want to feel like the person representing you understands and truly supports your work.
Carina Sammartino is President of Parallel 33 Public Relations & Literary Services. Find her at www.parallel33pr.com.
