‘Cause you wanna be a pro by the time you land your first big media interview!

I’ve been working in public relations on and off since 2005 and wrote a book on the practice, so I’m not playing when I say I know what I’m doing.

I started my career first seeing clients on TV, then training with them, to thinking I might do it better…so I did it for some of them! Here are some of my first province-wide interviews on CTV in the 2010s:

When I began working with authors in 2020, little did I know that my public relations expertise would come in handy when I started doing interviews myself after launching book #2 in 2022.

That’s when vegan and author clients alike started asking me to do publicity for them, thus my book publicity career came full circle.

Here are the 4 tips authors need to nail media interviews of any length and for any media platform:

1. Prepare an author media kit

If you have a website, this can be a page on that site that isn’t readily available to normal visitors. I have two media kits: one tailored to my second book, and a generic one that ends in /media-kit.

If you don’t have a website, a Google Drive or Dropbox folder will do. It doesn’t need to look fancy; it just needs to be functional. Your media kit should contain:

• Biography (short and long versions if applicable)
• Book cover image(s)
• Author headshot(s) in high resolution
• Book one-liner(s) and summary
• Endorsement(s)
• News release, including book launch date
• Book prices and links on where to buy
• Potential interview questions or topics
• Relevant points from your book that make it newsworthy
• Past media coverage, if existing
• Contact information, including social media links

Essentially, a media kit includes everything that a producer, reporter, interviewer/host, or writer/reviewer needs to create a story out of your book or interview you.

I won’t include what a news release is here, because you can easily find a template online and how to write one. Basically, it’s a story template with a headline (and optional sub-headline), quote from the author (you), and other information about your book, written as if it was a newspaper or magazine article.

Print and online outlets will often copy and paste parts of this news release, and podcasters might use it for their show notes.

You can have more than this in your media kit, but those are the basics. You don’t want to inundate folks with too much info, or they won’t use any of it. There are folks who still use Google Images to find your headshot from a decade ago.

I wouldn’t include your ebook in your media kit unless you’re okay with it being out there and free to download. I usually recommend media request it first so you can track who may be doing a story on you or the book.

When you have a media kit ready, it shows you’re expecting media coverage from your book and that it’s newsworthy. It also makes it easy for media who don’t have time to read your book to get the gist of what you and the book are about.

2. Anticipate interview questions

Notice how I included sample interview questions in your media kit? If you’ve done that, you’ve already done step 2.

This shouldn’t be hard to do. Here are a few questions to get you started:

1. What made you write this book? Where did you get the idea for this book?
2. What was the writing process like?
3. Tell us what the book is about (without giving it away).
4. Who is your book for?
5. Why did you write the book?
6. When does the book come out and where can people get it?
7. What are you hoping readers get out of the book?
8. Are you working on another book?

Especially if you are a newbie to interviews, listen to at least two episodes of the podcast you’re scheduled to be on. I like to do this if I’m not already a regular listener to get a feel for the host and their interview style so I know what to expect.

Anticipating interview questions is half the work in the next step:

3. Practice doing mock interviews

This is THE most important part of this post. Practice, practice, practice. And, it’s important to know what types of media outlets you might be interviewed for:

• Print (magazine or newspaper) – not live, usually 15 minutes max done by phone call, sometimes in person
• Online article – not live, usually 15 minutes done by phone or email (you have a deadline to respond)
• Radio/TV – usually live and 4 to 10 minutes max, done by phone, video call, or in-person in a studio
• Podcast/online show – not live or live and 20 to 60 minutes, done by video call

When you do interviews by phone for print or online stories, you don’t have to worry as much about being articulate. You’ll likely be recorded, but the writer/reporter will likely paraphrase you and use one or a few quotes from you in their story.

You’ll need to practice mostly for two types of interviews:

1. Live, short interviews, especially for TV
2. Long-form video or audio podcasts

Extroverts will do well in both types, but your challenge will be to shut up for #1. Seriously.

When I was asked to appear on Global BC to talk about Veganuary, I knew it was going to be about five minutes, so I’d only have time for a few questions.

I anticipated the top 3 questions I’d be asked: What is Veganuary? How can people start going vegan? Can you get all the nutrients you need on a vegan diet? And I practiced the hell out of them.

I once saw a woman on a TV show get cut off by the host/interviewer and show music because she just kept going and couldn’t stop. That’s why we practice.

You can see how I did in that TV interview below. I stumbled at the end, but mostly because the interviewer showed me their timer clock before we started, and I saw it counting down from 30 seconds near the end and was freaking out in my mind.

Practicing for long-form podcast interviews is easier. You usually have more time, and I recommend 2 to 3 minutes max per answer. These are conversations, so it’s fine for you to elaborate more on what you’ve been asked, especially if a podcast host asks you to share a story.

When I work with clients, we do a mock interview, and I time my clients’ answers. I tell them afterward if they went on for more than 3 minutes because that’s when people tune out. You want to hear two people go back and forth, not a keynote speech. Again, extroverts find this really hard to do.

As an introvert, I do better with podcast interviews, even if they’re live. I’m in the comfort of my home and just more relaxed. There were about two interviews I can remember being nervous about. On the first, the host was an extroverted community leader, but he did ask for five case studies to review from my book, so the conversation flowed naturally.

On the second, I wasn’t used to the podcast’s discussion about animals being sentient; I’m not an animal rights activist. But that ended up being one of the more interesting interviews I’ve done because I got to share that I was part of the NXIVM cult at one point, and the host was interested in that facet.

Introverts will also need to practice for short live interviews, but so long as you’ve anticipated questions and got your talking points pretty nailed down, you will do well. Introverts (anyone, really) can come off relaxed on TV even if you’re freaking out in your mind. Remember, you’re just talking to the host, not the hundreds of thousands who might be watching live.

If you are going to be filmed live in studio, try to wear neutral colours and not all white or black. I pushed the edge a bit by wearing an animal print! Always pick in-studio if you have a choice between live online video or live TV. It just looks better when you’re having a 1:1 conversation in front of a host; I’ve seen folks lose wi-fi on online interviews and that’s a lost chance to promote yourself and your book.

Try to match the body language of your host if you are appearing with them, but if you don’t think you’ll remember this, it’s not a big deal.

4. Pro tips for online video interviews

If you’re dancing because most of your interview requests are online and long-form, pay attention to these tips. You still want to appear like a pro.

Pro video tip #1: Proper lighting

First, if your computer is in a dark room, consider using a light. If you’re appearing on video, you need to be well lit or it’ll seem like you’re always interviewing at night. That’s fine for horror authors maybe, but not everyone.

If you wear glasses, an external light source in front of you will show up in the reflection of your glasses. So take them off if you can, or try to angle the light higher (not lower) so the reflection isn’t visible in your glasses.

Pro video tip #2: Look at the camera

Practice looking at your camera, not at yourself. This will be hard at first, but it’ll become a habit over time. It will look like you’re looking at the viewer and not down somewhere random.

Pro video tip #3: Eyeline at top 1/3 of the screen

Finally, your eyeline should be at the top 1/3 of your screen. This is a trick I learned from my clients at UpMedia Video back when we were all doing Zoom calls during the pandemic. News anchors are all shot this way, as are most actors in Hollywood movies.

If your eyeline is at the halfway point on screen, mostly your head will be visible. And if your eyeline is in the bottom-third of the screen, only your head will be visible and it will look like you don’t have a neck or body. Not flattering.

Worst case, your camera is below eye level (if you’re on a laptop that’s flat on a table) and it looks like people are looking up at you. They’ll be able to see up your nose (no joke), and if you have a double chin (and hey, we all do once we hit 30) it will be visible from this angle. Angle down is the rule. Never up.

It’s good practice to jump online a few minutes before your interview‘s scheduled to begin and make any camera adjustments if necessary.

Pro video tip #4: External microphone

This really depends on what kind of microphone system you have set up. If you’re a podcast host, you’ll already have this. One of the first podcasts I was invited on recommended getting an external microphone, which is what I use every time I do a podcast interview now. Sometimes my audio is louder than the host’s!

The easiest way to test how good you sound is to start a Zoom meeting, hit record on yourself talking, and then play it back.

While earbuds have pretty good podcast audio quality, I don’t recommend them as you can forget to charge them and/or if the wi-fi goes down for a bit, they can shut down. Whereas if you’re using an external mic that’s always hooked up, the audio may still be intact even if the video goes down.

There you have it, authors. Nail these tips and you’ll be prepared for every interview you do and get more experience that will make you attractive to bigger media outlets.

Need a ghostwriter, editor, or marketer to help you publish and market your book so you can get it in the hands of readers? Read more about my services here and contact me if you’re ready to begin!