How to Do Radio Interviews Right

by James L. Rubart

Want to sell more books when you do a radio interview? I have a few ideas that might help.

Long ago, and not so far away, I was on air at a radio station where I did interviews. So the modicum of wisdom I have to offer comes from having been on both sides of the microphone.

And yeah, you’ve probably heard most of these before, but it never hurts to go over the fundamentals:

• The interview is NOT about you. This is an easy mistake to make, since you’re the focus of the show. But you’re not the focus of the show. Or at least you shouldn’t be. Who is the star of the interview? The host. It’s their show. They are always the star. Make them look good. Give them the respect they deserve. Follow their lead. If they want to do the Tango, and all you know is the Waltz, don’t stop. Keep dancing and do your utmost to with their flow. Or said more succinctly: You better be ready to go with their style, not expect them to match yours. Mirror, mirror, mirror.

• The interview is NOT about you part II The only other person the interview is about is the listener. Which leads us to the third point:

• Don’t bore them or their audience. Bottom line: whether it’s Howard Stern on one side or Rush Limbaugh on the other, good radio show hosts understand they are providing entertainment to their listeners more than anything else. So they want guests who can entertain. 

Here are some specifics on how to be intriguing to listeners:

• Vary the volume of your voice
• Vary your pacing
• Vary your sentences length. (Some of you are saying, “Just like I do in my novels?” Yes, that’s exactly what it’s like)
• Have some fun, interesting, stories ready to be told
• Be controversial or,
• Be funny or,
• Be encouraging, or,
• Inspire them!
• Just don't bore them

Practice! A bad radio interview is far worse than no radio interview at all. I was about to do an interview a number of years ago and there was an author on just before me. She talked in a soft monotone voice and didn’t say anything remotely interesting.  I felt for her because it was obvious she’d never been coached on how to be on air.

People would listen to her and figure if her books were as boring as she was, they weren’t worth picking up. My guess is most of you have first readers, or critique groups for your writing … you need one for your radio interviews too. Ask them to listen and tell you what worked and what didn’t. Get a friend and role play. Go wild (this will be difficult at first) and record yourself in a mock interview. Listen back and do a self-critique. This alone will take your interviewing skills miles ahead.

Elevator Pitches Aren’t Just for Pitching Editors and Agents If you’re doing a ten minute interview, there’s no time to ramble on for two or three minutes each time you answer a question. There isn’t even time for thirty seconds. You have to learn to answer in quick sound bites.

Remember that 25 word pitch for your latest book? Think 25 words for every answer. Now don’t misunderstand. This is a GUIDELINE, not a rule. Sometimes you need a longer amount of time to give a coherent answer. But I hear far more authors go on too long than answer with responses that are too short.  Hosts appreciate a concise answer.

I did one recorded interview where my longest response wasn’t more than fifteen seconds. When we were through, the host said, “Wow, thank you much! It’s rare that we get an author that keeps from talking in long run on sentences and it makes it so hard to cut up the interview.

Have fun. I know, you’re saying, “after all the To Dos you just gave, we’re supposed to have fun?” Yep. Because in the end, most people won’t remember a lot of what you said, but they’ll remember if you had fun, if you laughed, if you were passionate, if you made them think. 

If they remember those things, they’ll probably be sold on you. Which leads to being sold on buying your book.

Is that it? No, there are a number of other points we should talk about. But we’ll save them for another column down the road because I’ve already gone on too long. And I know you are just dying to start practicing. 

James L. Rubart is the best-selling, Christy award winning author of seven novels as well as a professional speaker. During the day he runs Barefoot Marketing which helps authors and publishers make more coin of the realm. He lives with his amazing wife in the Pacific Northwest and loves to dirt bike with his two sons, hike, golf, take photos, and still thinks he's young enough to water ski like a madman. More at www.jameslrubart.com

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Getting Bang for your Promotional Buck$

As a former entertainment publicist, I’m a big proponent of the importance of marketing and promotion. But when I moved from promoting actors and their shows to promoting myself and my books, the game changed in a big way. I found myself feeling very unfamiliar with a concept that was so familiar to me. So I started talking to the professionals – from readers to booksellers to agents – and asking them where to start. Those conversations helped me create a list of five important tips to always keep in mind when PS rolls around. [PS = Promotion Season for a new book]

I.                 Effective Social Networking is KEY

What happens in Vegas stays … on Facebook, Twitter, youtube...

I attended a webinar recently that was hosted by Thomas Umstattd, Jr. of Author Media, and one point (which he reiterated in his article in the Winter issue of the ACFW Journal Magazine) that really grabbed hold of my attention was how important it is to differentiate between your PERSONAL Facebook page and your PROFESSIONAL one. My reader page on Facebook has become a pretty awesome way of building my readership. My personal page is where I can share private information, musings and opinions that I might not want to share with the general reading public. Unfortunately, I didn’t discover the importance of keeping them separate until well after I’d combined them, so raking through them for separation purposes has been a long, slow and somewhat painful process. So if you’re just starting out, let my experience shout at you on this subject.

II.               Understand Branding

What it does and (more importantly) doesn’t mean

I know this is a somewhat hot button issue for a lot of writers, but I am a firm believer in finding that one thing that you’re good at writing – and more importantly, what you’re called to write – and focus on that. Cluster bombing by writing a historical first, then trying your hand at suspense, then jumping with both feet into the YA market is not going to cement that all-important relationship with your readers. Experience has taught me that readers may love the way you write, but what they really connect with is your specific manner of storytelling. More often than not, that includes a love of your genre that will result in devoted readers.

III.           Learn the Art of Crafting Press Releases

Ready, aim, and shoot at a direct target

During my 15+ years as a publicist, I probably wrote at least two or three press releases per week. That kind of active experience teaches you something very important: Know your audience! It wasn’t uncommon for me to craft several different versions of a release for one specific event, and then send them out to the most appropriate outlets. I had a pretty uncanny track record for stories being picked up by entertainment news outlets for just that reason. Recently, author Erica Vetsch (we’re represented by the same agency) reached out to me for some help on designing a release for a very specific event, and I completely tore her first draft apart and revised it specifically for the news outlet she had in mind. A few days later, she let me know how thrilled she was at the results.

IV.            Cultivate Word of Mouth

You tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends, and so on…

Making a personal connection with readers is imperative. A few great ways to do that is to reach out to book clubs, do interviews with various bloggers, conduct contests for autographed books. Think of book giveaways – even a large one, to a full book club, for instance – as an investment in your future. Sort of like a Marketing 401k. 

V.                Come to Terms with the Importance of Book Trailers      

Hit ‘em where they live and give ‘em some eye candy

There’s been a lot of debate out there about the value of developing a book trailer for a soon-to-be-published novel. Again, I went to work and talked to a lot of people so that I could form an opinion on this subject. 

“An amateur-looking trailer can backfire and work against you, so carefully consider how you’re going to approach it. Then do your best to use your trailer in every way possible.” –Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent (Blog post dated 2/3/10)

“One thing is certain: publishers want trailers to sell books. And a trailer, which can live forever on YouTube or Vimeo, might just be the gift that keeps on giving…” –Edward Nawotka, PublishingPerspectives.com (Blog post dated 3/24/11)

“When an in-house publicist has 3-5 minutes to convince a retailer to invest in a particular book, nothing speaks louder than a well-done, 90-second book trailer.”  --Maegan Roper, Publicist (formerly of Abingdon Press)

“It's becoming less and less common to buy books by their cover. It's more about showing eye candy to reel them in.” –Filmmaker Chris Roth  [LA Times article by Richard Verrier, November 9, 2011]

The dilemma here was that I don’t generate the income to match a lot of the prices being charged out there for the good ones. Fortunately, I had a friend who was in school studying video production and I sent her a dozen trailers that I thought were amazing. She allowed me to collaborate with her on a couple of my book trailers, and she’s grown it into a business! She’s very reasonably priced; in addition, I’ve known her most of my life! So if you’re thinking about a book trailer, feel free to contact Marian Miller of MarianCreates and tell her I sent you.

So there you have it! My five best tips for getting the most bang out of each of your promotion bucks. 

  # # #

Sandra D. Bricker is a best-selling and award-winning author of laugh-out-loud romantic comedy for the Christian market. Her most popular series (that started with Always the Baker Never the Bride) will conclude this spring with Always the Baker FINALLY the Bride, which is now available for pre-order at Amazon.

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Author Interview ~ Gina Holmes

Gina Holmes is the bestselling author of Crossing Oceans and the newly released novel, DRY AS RAIN. She's the founder of Novel Rocket, (formerly Novel Journey), a registered nurse,  wife and mother who makes her home in Southern Virginia. You can learn more about her at www.ginaholmes.com 

Your debut novel hit ECPA, Amazon, PW and CBA bestsellers list (some throughout the span of a year!) For several weeks Crossing Oceans was the #1 free kindle download and then stay in the top hundred for a long time.

Beside the commercial success, your book was a finalist in every major Christian book award, including: Christy, ECPA, Retailer’s Choice, Carol Awards, and won RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice and an INSPY. Does having that kind of success put the pressure on for your second book?

I try not to think too much about it. I didn’t expect that kind of success but am very grateful for it. I had a lot of pressure on me on this releasing novel, not because of the success of the first book, but because, unlike the first, I didn’t have all the time in the world to write it. Some books flow smoothly, this one I had to yank out like a bad tooth. I faced multiple rewrites, some of them pretty major, all while trying to promote my all important first novel. I was still working full time, mothering, running Novel Journey (now Novel Rocket) and all of that, so this was a tough tough book for me to produce.

Tell our readers about your latest release, Dry as Rain:

I'm a really bad pitchman so I'll just repeat the back of the book copy:

Behind every broken vow lies a broken heart.

When Eric and Kyra Yoshida first met, they thought their love would last forever. But like many marriages, theirs has gradually crumbled, one thoughtless comment and misunderstanding at a time, until the ultimate betrayal pushes them beyond reconciliation. Though Eric longs to reunite with Kyra, the only woman he has truly loved, he has no idea how to repair the damage that’s been done.

Then a car accident erases part of Kyra’s memory—including her separation from Eric—and a glimmer of hope rises from the wreckage. Is this a precious opportunity for the fresh start Eric has longed for? Does he even deserve the chance to find forgiveness and win back Kyra’s heart . . . or will the truth blow up in his face, shattering their last hope for happiness? A richly engaging story of betrayal and redemption, Dry as Rain illuminates with striking emotional intensity the surprising truth of what it means to forgive.

You can read the first chapter HERE. 

"Holmes grabs the reader with a unique storyline about infidelity and what it truly means to forgive after betrayal.  By looking at the situation from a different angle, the author provides a great deal of food for thought and contemplation." RT Book Reviews – September, 2011


Library Journal says, "Fans of emotionally packed domestic fiction will love it."

This novel feels so much different than Crossing Oceans. Why did you choose to take such a different path?

I didn’t intend to write something completely different and I think it feels that way because of the characters telling the story. In Crossing Oceans, Jenny was our narrator and she was a melancholy, all woman sort.

In Dry as Rain, we have Eric, who is a man’s man and doesn’t think in flowery language and descriptions so it would have been wrong to write him that way. While both books have a heavy subject matter, Crossing Oceans was much more so. You can’t get heavier than dying, so it was bound to be more emotional, no matter how I wrote the next book.

But, my genre seems to be relational drama which both are and I like to pepper in a quirky cast and that’s true of both books.

You took a lot of chances in this book. First writing first person from a male’s perspective, secondly to have the protagonist someone who does a lot of things that aren’t very Christianly, like cheating on his wife, drinking, lying, etc. Are you afraid this might hurt your sales in the Christian market?

Afraid? No. Concerned, sure. While I don’t personally have a problem with Eric drinking a beer, the rest I have a problem with too. The thing is Eric’s a nominal Christian at the beginning of the book, lukewarm about his faith like many who call themselves followers of Christ. This is his journey though and he doesn’t end up where he begins. I wanted to tell the story as truthfully as I could and at the end of the day let the chips fall where they may.

What happened to your long time website, Novel Journey?

www.noveljourney.blogspot.com is now www.novelrocket.com You can get to it by either address but we decided on an overhaul because we wanted to drop the blogspot address and just have a dot com. The guy who owned Novel Journey didn’t return our emails to sell so we had to do something a little different. This turned out to be a good thing maybe because we’d been chewing on broadening the site for some time. We’ve got some exciting changes now, the most notable is the addition of “Rocket Pages” a sort of Craig’s List for writers to find the services they need to launch and sustain their career.

What’s going on with you personally?

Well, I’m blissfully married, mom to two, stepmom to three, and owner of 2 dogs and a fish. I bought a guitar and hope to start fiddling with that soon and just writing a lot. Nothing too exciting over here but that’s the way I like it. I’m the happiest I’ve been in my life. I’ve accomplished many of the dreams and goals I’d hoped to and I always tell my husband, if I died today, I’d feel I lived and full and rewarding life. Not that I’m looking to die just yet.

What are you working on now?

I can’t give the title yet as that’s a work in progress but it’s a story very close to my heart. I’m more excited about this one than anything I’ve ever written. Hopefully my publisher agrees and you see it on the stands in the next year or so. That’s really all I can say for now.

Tell us something we don’t know about you.

I’ll tell you a few. I thought I was afraid of heights until I bungee-jumped and loved it. I’d love to skydive for the first time in the next year, white water raft and get at least a little skill on the guitar. My husband is a talented songwriter. My kids are the sweetest in the world, (yes, the world!), and I love to get my hands dirty. That should do it. Thanks for having me!

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