Interviewed by a Pro: What Did I Learn?

Recently I had the opportunity to be interviewed about my Young Adult novel, Own the Scrawny, on “Connie Martinson Talks Books,” a small but influential author interview program airing on various local stations across (and beyond) California, and on PBS in New York. This is my second appearance on the program. (You can watch it here)

A selfie with Connie

According to her Wikipedia entry, Connie’s program has been on the air since 1979. She’s almost a required stop on most book tours; her program has featured fiction and non-fiction authors including Maya Angelou, Ray Bradbury, Al Gore, Rosa Parks, Gore Vidal, Studs Terkel, and Joyce Carol Oates. A then-unknown Barack Obama appeared on the show in 1995.

Connie also features relatively unknown authors, too—that’s where I come in. I happened to be working at a studio where she taped some of her shows a couple of years ago, and took the opportunity to ask her if she ever featured indie authors. I told her about my first book, My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain, and she asked me to send her a review copy. Naturally, I had one on hand and gave it to her right away. A couple of weeks later, she told me she loved the book and invited me on her program. I was ecstatic.

Panel Discussion at the Santa Clarita Public Library

I’ve had the opportunity to make other media appearances since publishing my first book, but “Connie Martinson Talks Books” featured my most in-depth interviews, and a great opportunities to build my audience.

What have I learned from the experience? 

Connie’s interviews aren’t typical media appearances; she reads the book. She knows the book. She knows character names; she knows plot lines. In fact, she even stumped me on a question or two. Connie’s not the sort of person that simply invites authors on her program to fill time—she’s interested and enthusiastic. Though I was much more relaxed the second time around, both interviews left me with one important lesson: prepare. 

Having written the book isn’t always enough. My mind is already working on my next book; I’m not necessarily as familiar with one currently in release. Reviewing the book before an interview; perhaps even creating a cheat sheet with names, events and quotes would be helpful. It's worth considering some behind-the-scenes insights into how the book was conceived, and the sources of inspiration for characters, locations and themes.

Helping interviewers share their enthusiasm is my prime mission during any public or media appearance. Finding champions—people who "get" my books, as Connie does— is both key to building awareness of my work as an indie author, and building my skills as an author-entrepreneur.