Interview Review Pt. 3: Tell Me a Story

You’ve agreed to do it. But now you’ve got the shakes. Maybe you feel like your going to faint. You’re going to do a LIVE interview. What were you thinking? What are you going to say?

If you’re like most of us, you’ve never been asked for an interview – certainly not one live. But if you are going to publish books then you should get used to being interviewed on the web, internet radio and regular radio.

Don’t let that initial flash of panic scare you. There are ways to prepare for an interview. It’s good for you to start thinking about what you will say. Michael Hyatt has shared some great tips on making just such preparation and it’s not so difficult.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of being interviewed on Tell Me a Story by Annette Rochelle Aben. I had a wonderful time on the Blog Talk Radio show where we discussed The Bow of Hart. This was my third interview so I had a level of comfort approaching this one.

I took time to listen to some other editions of the show and understood Annette’s approach to the interviews for her show. When I called, Annette gave me a rundown on the tone of the upcoming conversation. We were soon underway and had a very good time during the interview.

How did I do? Click on the link above and listen to it! But here’s my self-critique. I’m not an old-hand at interviews but I think this was my best one yet. The conversation went very smoothly as we thoroughly discussed the book. In fact, once finished I received a follow-up email from Annette with a suggestion that I do my own show. I don’t think I’m quite ready for that but it was a nice compliment!

Now for what went wrong. Really nothing was wrong with the interview. At the end, I had to deliver another ending pitch for the book. Speaking extemporaneously, even about your own book, is a little tough. However, the experience from the previous interview was good so I was a little smoother in the delivery.

Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events. You’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. Speaking of which, it is now available on Amazon – Kindle. Additionally, I have FREE book, What Is Needed is available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks and Smashwords & Amazon.