Planning a Successful Interview

You like people, you like talking, and you like getting out of the house. Great. You're practically an interviewer already! All you need now are these few handy tips and guidelines to get your first interview in the bag and off to a publisher.

Your Plan of Campaign

Yes, you do need a plan, a simple common sense plan like the one that follows. Write these points up into a checklist on Word, print it and tick each item off as you complete it.

1. Choose your subject

How do you go about finding a suitable subject who has an interesting life, or something interesting to talk about? You may have a friend or acquaintance who fits the bill. You may have read a local news item about a celebrity or personality that strikes a chord and think an article on the person involved would be popular.

2. Choose your publication

Before you interview anyone it's sensible to decide which magazine or newspaper you are thinking of sending it to. This will help you work out what questions to ask to please the readership of the particular publication.

3. Contact Interviewee

Contact your prospective interviewee by letter rather than phone. On the 'phone their reaction may be an immediate 'No', but a letter let you explain your request, and will give your prospect the chance to mull it over before deciding, hopefully, that they want to go ahead. Your letter should be polite and cover how long you expect the interview to take (one hour is good), which publication you intend sending it too, and an assurance that they may read the article before you send it off.

4. Follow up

If you have heard nothing after a few days, that's the time to pick up the phone. Ask if they've had chance to consider your request and if they have any questions or concerns. This is your opportunity to allay any fears they may have.

5. Arrange a meet

It's generally best to do the meet in the interviewees home where they will be more comfortable. Arrange a time and date and, if you plan to take a recorder with you, ask again if they mind being recorded.

6. Prepare Questions

Take time to think up some thoughtful questions based on the readership of your targeted publication. Write these in your notebook, and don't trust to memory.

7. Your Interview Kit

Take with you a notebook or legal pad, sharpened pencils with integral rubbers (not biros - they run), a tape recorder, if you have one, plus spare batteries (important), and your list of prepared questions.

The Interview

Break the ice and lead into your first question obliquely if you can. You will find that one question will often spark others, but don't stray too far from what you have prepared.

Make brief notes using only a phrase as a mental marker for later. Interviewees can be unnerved if you are frantically writing down every word. You need to give them your full attention as much as possible.

When you've finished, thank them profusely and ask if you can send them the article so they can correct anything you may have got wrong.

Conclusion

When the article is published contact them again to say 'thank you' and, if it seems appropriate, ask if they know anyone else who has a story to tell. If you've done a good job this could lead to other articles and keep you on the interview trail.

Mervyn Love writes on several topics including creative writing. His website www.WritersReign.co.uk has a mind-boggling array of resources, articles and links to keep any writer happy for hours. Subscribe to the WritersReign Article Writing course here: www.writersreign.co.uk/WRac.html

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