Welcome back, Arrowheads! Recently, I asked my local county newspaper about doing an interview so I could publicize Can’t Beat the Heart of a Carolina Girl. It went better than I thought, though I found it terribly difficult to give thorough answers to the questions that were asked. I’ve always been shy, and like most writers, when someone asks me anything dealing with my books/WIPs, I have no idea what to say. So, in hindsight of my own interview, here are some tips to rock the interview despite your shyness:

Write Down Your Own Interview Questions and Answer Them Beforehand

This will give you a general feel of what you need to discuss during the interview, and what answers you can give to certain questions. But, remember to…

Review Your Answers and Bring Notes to the Interview

Not doing this was one of my crucial mistakes. Instead of reading back over my answers or bringing talking point notes, I attempted to commit everything to memory. Big mistake. The interviewer would ask a question, and I’d freeze up and have to think for an awkward amount of time before anything came out, and even then I didn’t word it anywhere near as eloquently as I had written it down.

Email the Interviewer the Talking Points You’d Like Mentioned in the Article

Another thing I should have done was email the interviewer a short list of talking points about my life, my background as a writer, and my book/WIPs. That way, when my verbal answers came out all awkward/crappy, she’d have another, better source to fall back on for writing up the story for the newspaper.

Bring a Physical Copy of Your Book, if Applicable

If your book is in a printed format, bring the book with you to the interview! Naive me didn’t think I’d need to, but I was asked to pose with my book for the story’s photo. Luckily, she had checked out my novel from the library, just in case. Which reminds me…

Dress Nice, There Will be Pictures!

A great rule of thumb is to dress cute, but comfortable. Sweatpants are a no-no. You want to look professional for this, but still maintain an approachable appearance. I wore a long cardigan over a striped T-shirt, leggings, and a scarf: something dressy enough for an office job, but also acceptable as casual wear.

Thanks for checking back in today! If you have any other Author Interview tips, please let me know in the comments!

-Allyson 😀