Marketing a book is a difficult
task. Author interviews are an important part of any marketing program. Are you
prepared to make the most of that opportunity? In my National Crime Fiction
column for Examiner.com, I cover both seasoned and debut authors. What I’ve
realized is that many new authors—no matter how well they write—have no idea
how to prepare for a press interview or how to answer questions in ways that
help to sell books. Here are a few tips to make your interviewer’s job easier
and improve that article about your book.
Two tiny pieces of marketing material are some of the most
difficult to create and are also the two things used in most interviews. Those
two pieces of information are the tag line and the short summary.
The tag line should be fewer than ten words and should give
people a reason to read your book. It might be funny; it might inspire fear.
But, whatever your tag line is, it should be something hard for readers to
gloss over. For my debut novel, Photo Finish, my tag line is, “Hawaii, mystery,
and trouble that never looked so good.”
That tag line tells an interviewer that the book is a
Hawaiian mystery and that it’s either humorous or on the lighter side. Readers
wondering why trouble would look good will likely read on for more information.
For an interview, the tag line sets the tone immediately and gives your
interviewer words to use when referring to the book.
I ask every author to provide a summary of their book so
that the article would include a direct pitch from the author. But, instead of
authors sending in something short, some were the equivalent of a book synopsis
more suited to pitching an agent or publisher. Complete? Yes. Helpful for the
interview? No. Here’s why. The longer the summary, the more it will read like a
to-do list. When your interviewer is short on space, he’ll look for places to
cut—and he may not cut the same to-do items that you would. In an author
interview, don’t give details, evoke emotion or the reader’s imagination with
the old “less is more” philosophy.
Some writers seem to think that evoking emotion means
whipping out the adverb/adjective bucket. Or giving their expectations. For
instance, something like, “This dynamically written novel concludes with a
massive battle of epic proportions between good and pure evil that will leave
readers breathless and terrified.” Twenty-four words. To tell me what? “Good
and evil collide.” Sure, this is an exaggeration, but the point is that if the
writer provides me with a lengthy and/or flowery book summary, I must distill
that down for the article. Quite frankly, I’d much rather copy/paste a
well-crafted summary of fewer than 25 words than create my own for a book I
don’t know. Believe me, you’ll be better served by creating a 25-word summary
and including it with your interview responses than having someone else do it.
Then, you’re ready when asked, “What’s your book about?”
Another of the questions I usually ask relates to the theme
or story goal. Some authors have told me they don’t make an argument. Instead,
they write for entertainment. Others know just what their theme is and love
being asked. I’ve even had authors tell me they only write to entertain readers
and then give me their argument.
Whether it’s a petroglyph on a rock wall or words on the
screen of an e-reader, communications is all about getting a message from one
person to another. And that message has a purpose—or goal. The goal of this post is to help authors
improve their press interviews. I’ll bet your story has a goal. If it doesn’t,
why did you bother writing it?
When you’re asked for an author bio, what the interviewer
really wants to know is how your background qualifies you to write your book.
For fiction writers, this can be difficult. For instance, Jane chooses to write
about a serial killer, but Jane’s a retail clerk—not a cop, not a serial
killer. Her closest encounter with the law was a speeding ticket five years
ago. But, what drove her to write the story? If we go back to the story goal
mentioned above, what can she draw on? How about something like, “Jane has
always had an interest in serial killers and how their minds operate. She’s
studied the profiles of…”
That’s the boilerplate stuff you’ll need for an interview.
There will also be “personalized” questions. The personalized questions your
interviewer asks will be designed to pull out more information that will make
your book sound appealing or interesting. For instance, when asked why she
wrote A is for Alibi, Sue
Grafton once quipped that she did it because she wanted to kill her ex-husband,
but was afraid she’d “bungle it.” That answer is sharp, concise, and funny. Aim
for that same level of quality and you, too, can have interviews that sell
books.
Check out Terry Ambrose's book Photo Finish!
Wilson McKenna’s newest tenant is hot, gives great
hugs, and just saw a dead body being thrown from a
plane. McKenna’s not one to get involved in other
people’s problems, especially those of a woman half his
age, but before he knows it he’s volunteered to find the
plane and its owner—and found more trouble than he’s
ever seen in his life. He’s uncovered an island drug ring,
pissed off a sociopath, and set himself up as the victim
in a beautiful woman’s con that could cost him his life.
Photo Finish is available at a download site near you!
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008NQJD8S
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/207417
Terry’s website:
http://terryambrose.com
Photo Finish Landing page:
http://terryambrose.com/photo-finish/
The McKenna Chronicles:
http://terryambrose.com/mckennas-blog/
