In a post today ( in BBC News ), discusses the government of India’s strong interest in returning to the expansion levels of yesteryear. With a former growth rate of around nine percent annually, India’s latest growth rate has been around 6.5%+ recently. Actually, 6.5% looks great compared to many countries around the world for [...]
Introduction
First comes the book, and then comes the show. Learning how to write a book alone is a step-by-step process. You can successfully publish a quality, desirable book following a project timeline, but when it comes to publicity…whoa! The world of publicity is like the “Wild West” of publishing (and this is how an author feels sometimes…longing to get back to writing). In the previous “How to Write a Book” article, I described how to create an online media kit. Creating this online media kit is work, no doubt! Now, let’s get that online media kit onto “the street” in search of media interviews.
Every day, more than 10,000 guests appear on radio and TV talk shows across America. More than 90 percent of the author guests DON’T have household names. Many people love to be on radio or TV…in fact, I’m convinced many authors write a book just so they can be on radio or TV.
Talk show hosts and their show producers recognize that authors are, for the most part, interesting people with a message to share with listeners or viewers. An author’s book is often the entre onto a show. Hosts and producers are cautious about including authors in their show because many authors are not well-prepared to appeal to the show audience.
A producer or show host will invite an author on a show to impart knowledge, illustrate something or share an interesting story. Nowhere in the “guest description” does it say “sell books.” Before you are a guest on your first show, listen/watch interviews on as many talk shows as possible to see how “coached” authors handle interviews. Media coaching is big business and well worth some level of involvement for each author.
Guests who “commercialize” about their book are quickly phased off the show segment and never invited back. Guests who are interactive, fun, informative (translation: makes the host look great and gets the audience involved) can’t leave the show set or get off the phone without the producer booking a return appearance. Show producers have private bulletin boards where they exchange information (very candidly, I might add) about guests…”this person was great,” “this person was a dud…”you get the idea.
For example: Rarely, if ever, say “In my book…,” “In chapter nine of my book…” Instead, say something like, “Earlier this year, my research found that 22 percent of drivers in the United States drive in some level of sleep mode…” Or, “Before I started cooking with saffoil, I thought it was okay to use. However, after reading many studies on saffoil, I have found saffoil is dangerously flammable and…” For great drama, if you are in the studio, you can have a mock kitchen on set (TV) or hot plate (radio) and demonstrate how saffoil catches on fire…producers love this kind of excitement and controlled drama. Viewers sit up in their chairs and listeners turn up the radio when you involve some controlled drama. Be creative and “fun” with your material.
Some authors are “booked” on shows by publicists working for publishers (very few authors in this category). Some authors hire a publicist to “book” shows for them and pay based on the national ranking of the show (the more listeners/viewers a show has, the more it costs to be booked on the show). My favorite approach is to develop a database over time while increasing level of experience on my part, handling details myself or seeking the help of my spouse, intern or individual in the office with free time.
Unless an author is struck by lightning and lands on a national show the day his or her first book comes from the printer, I recommend starting small and gradually building to the national shows. Two reasons for this:
a) Experience in front of a microphone or TV camera definitely helps. When conducting media interviews, an author HAS to feel comfortable and relaxed…emotions come through the airwaves. No substitute for experience.
b) Make mistakes on the local shows where it’s perfectly okay to “pick yourself up,” dust off your awkwardness in front of the microphones and learn for the next interview.
As an author progresses from the local to the regional to the national shows, the level of expectations for professionalism of the author grows, too. This is not taking anything away from local radio or TV shows because there are some high quality, interesting local shows…everyone in media knows ambitious authors are working their way up the media ladder and accept this “local to regional to national” model.
On every interview, an author should learn what worked, what went great and what bombed during their segment. On one of my first TV interviews, the interviewer was wearing the usual earpiece (to listen to the producer/control room for instructions) and a lapel microphone. The interviewer started to talk while the camera was on me and I was speaking. I paused briefly because I didn’t know what was happening. She was talking to the producer about the next question to ask, not talking to me at all…but the camera was on me and my microphone was “on.” Thankfully, my “pause” was not overly conspicuous, but I sure learned to separate myself from all the commotion going on around me in the studio while “on camera.”
In my next “how to write a book” article, I will cover more nuances about being a radio and TV guest. In the meantime, check out the sources below to get a “feel” for the “personality” of the talk industry. I have met with individuals from Talkers Magazine, William Gordon and Alex Carroll…all have something valuable to offer an aspiring author.
Mike McCann
Mike-at-GlobalBusinessCafe.com
Tags: author, how to write a book, online media kit, radio and TV, talk shows
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