My First Television Interview

Because of being one of the speakers at the Booked for Lunch fundraiser, I was invited to be  on the Author! Author! segment which is part of Sun City's Channel 79 News and Views. The segment was filmed Friday, March 4, 2011 and will air Monday and Tuesday, March 14-15, 2011.

Preparing for the Interview

I was given the following notes to prepare for the interview:

·         After introductions, name of the book or books, type of book and a brief synopsis
·         When did you decide to write a book?
·         How long did it take you to research/gather ideas?
·         What was the best part of writing and what was the worst part?
·         How many times did you edit or re-write?
·         Did anyone else help you with the book?
·         How did you get it published?
·         Last thought...

Although I received the notes six weeks in advance, I didn't look at them until the day before the interview. By now, I've talked about the book enough to know I do better if I speak from my heart rather than from notes.

Meeting the Interviewer

The interview was held in the Sun City Oaks in what used to be a restaurant. When I came in they were finishing with another interview so I waited quietly until it was over. I was greeted by Pattie Fludd who said she would be the reporter interviewing me. She talked to me briefly and went over the questions with me again. She had not read the book, but knew it was a Christian novel.

The cameraman was about 10 feet in front us with the director sitting in a chair next to him. Behind them was a table with five or six people in what appeared to be a meeting of some type. I wondered if the sound from there would affect the interview, but when the cameraman held up his hand everything got quiet. When he lowered his hand the interview began. No mike check. The cameraman wore earphones and we weren't live, so I suspect they would have restarted if needed.

The Interview

I looked toward the interviewer mostly, but once I held the book up for the camera. I also noticed the positive looks from the director from time to time. The only surprise for me was when Pattie asked what the worst part of writing the book was. Even though I hadn't worked on the questions, my memory was that she was supposed to ask what was the best and then what was the worst. So, when she asked about the worst, I changed it to best and what surprised me was I said the best part was when the characters came alive for me. I then answered her question about the worst part by saying it was getting it published.

When Pattie asked if I had any last thoughts, I talked about how to buy a copy of the book.

The whole interview lasted less than fifteen minutes and I had much more I could have said.

Events for Authors

Last week I had the opportunity to speak at a fundraiser called Booked for Lunch which was sponsored by the Assistance League of Georgetown Area. The 250 or so attendees paid $20 for a box lunch and an opportunity to hear the authors speak. There were three other local authors there who I knew from the San Gabriel Writers' League. We were given tables at one end of the hall to exhibit and sell books. The doors opened at 11:30 so there was time for the attendees to view the books before lunch began.

After lunch, the authors spoke for 15-20 minutes each. After the first two did their presentation, there was a break which meant another opportunity to talk to the authors and purchase books. Finally, after all had talked, there was time to sell books once again.

I sold a few books before lunch, but most of my sales were after I told them about the book. Several people bought more than one because they knew someone who would like to have it. I didn't presume they wanted it autographed, but most asked me to sign the book. One came back with a book purchased earlier and got me to sign it.

The other authors had multiple books for sale. I only had one. One of the others sold out and took orders for more books than I sold altogether. The book in demand was A War of Her Own, by Sylvia Dickey Smith, a novel about a woman in World War II. This author also took credit cards while I could only take cash and checks.

In addition to the poster I have of the book cover, Celeste suggested I take the framed awards the book has won. I think this helped. I also handed out bookmarks. I made a special sign showing the price of the book and the sales tax. The resulting price was $10 to make it easier to make change.

One person said she would love to read the book, but she prefers Kindle books. I told her it was available on Kindle and for only $5.99. I gave her a bookmark to remind her of the book's name, and she asked me to autograph it. The next day, Kindle reported a sale. For future events, I should include a sign or poster announcing the book is available on Kindle and iPad as well as other eBooks.

I wasn't sure about what to say when it came my turn to speak. Of course I had planned for it for weeks, so I don't mean I was not prepared. At other events, I vary my presentation to match the audience. This time I decided to talk about why I wrote Where Love Once Lived and how I studied novel writing to make it happen. I then read to passages from the book. I read the beginning of the book up to the point where Karen leaves the classroom to go to the book mobile, and the section from Brian's viewpoint where he and Liz leave the school. I thought this audience might enjoy meeting Liz, but the comments I got later indicate they also liked what I said about writing.