The phone rings. It’s Ruby Perky, a researcher for Sixty Affairs Tonight wanting to discuss your possible appearance on the show. You’ve been writing for years. Your new book is about to come out, possibly your best yet. The timing is perfect. So why does the power of speech suddenly dessert you, and you stammer like an idiot?

First, realize you’re not alone. Most writers are more comfortable asking questions than answering them. Chances are the graceful, poised author you saw on TV last week also felt dry-mouthed and uncertain. She just hid it better, and you can, too.

After being interviewed by most of the top TV presenters, and appearing on shows from The Today Show to Kerry-Anne Kennerley, I’ve picked up a few hints to make your media experience more comfortable and useful to your books. Because let’s face it, promoting your book and making yourself more valuable to publishers is the only reason for putting yourself through this.

GO TO THE SOURCE
Few people are born with media skills. Politicians and top business people get coaching on being interviewed. Such courses are open to the public, but can be expensive. Or you can study at the best school available, the media themselves.

Watch a few episodes of any show that conducts interviews. Is their approach chatty and informal? Serious? Short or long? Do they cut to footage filmed beforehand while the report continues over what you’re seeing? How are people dressed? What kind of furniture is on the set? This isn’t trivial information. It guides you in choosing what to wear on the show. A short skirt might be better suited to a sofa than a high bar stool. I’ve been interviewed sitting on both.

YOU'RE ON NEXT
Regardless of the medium, the process is usually similar. You’ll be approached by someone like Miss Perky from Sixty Affairs Tonight. Her job is to assess your potential for the show, so treat her call as an audition. If you’re not able to switch to “interview mode” right away, say you need a few minutes to finish something, and you’ll call right back. Suggest you’re on a crucial deadline or writing a hot scene. Note down her name and phone number, and double check both before hanging up. Use the next few minutes to compose yourself, remember the name of your current book, and grab a glass of water. Then call back.

From then on, treat the call as you would the interview. Smile down the phone to brighten your voice, and pitch your tone low. Be ready to say how long you’ve been writing, how many books you’ve written, and what you’re currently working on. Plus the inevitable: where do you get ideas? Practice making your answers short and relevant, and have a few amusing anecdotes ready to illustrate your points. Nobody will care if you repeat these in the interview itself, as long as you avoid saying, “As I told you before.” The viewer or listener is hearing the story for the first time.

The APPEAR formula
Approach, means the preliminary phone call from a researcher or journalist. From the moment they identify themselves, treat everything you say as “on the record.” Never say anything, even in fun, you wouldn’t want on air or in print.
Prepare
Prepare. This is listed twice for good reason. Just as preparation is key to good public speaking, so with any media appearance. Read over your own work to refresh your mind, write out “sound bite” answers to the questions above. Try to sum up your message in a couple of short, sweet points. Other questions you might prepare to answer include: Are you a romantic? How do you define romance? What’s your most romantic experience? What’s your typical writing day?
Enthusiasm, Energy – smiling down the phone energises your voice, try it. Project enthusiasm for your craft. It’s a given that you love writing romance, so prepare to say why. I say I’m a sucker for a happy ending. Keep your answers short and positive. Never repeat back a questioner’s negative words. For example, if you’re asked, “But don’t these books glorify rape?” it’s better to say, “I don’t agree. My books celebrate love as it can and should be.” If you fall into the trap of saying, “They don’t glorify rape because…” the negative words attach to you.
Advocate romance. As well as promoting your novels, you’re a spokesperson for romance. Hopefully, you believe in romance and happy endings, and can quote romantic experiences from your own life. The truth is always preferable, but can be stretched or moulded to suit the occasion. Not all writers will agree, but I will never be involved in situations that send up romance writing, such as conferences where a romance will be “written in X minutes” then the “hilarious” results read out. I don’t even send up romance in private. Guaranteed the one time you do will come back to haunt you, and your readers will be slow to forgive you.
Return invitations. I’ve been interviewed by Ray Martin three times. Kerry-Anne Kennerley four times. Hopefully this means they see me as good value for their shows, which is your aim. Presenters want to fill airtime with lively, though-provoking, often controversial subject matter, and are looking to you to provide it. They’re not doing you any favours. Next we’ll look at some of the nuts and bolts of surviving the interview experience.

THE NUTS AND BOLTS
We looked at the interview from the moment a researcher identifies themselves to you, to preparing for the big day. Now the date has been set. You’re being promoted as an upcoming guest on the hot talk show, Sixty Affairs Tonight. You’re in survival mode.

First up, don’t panic. You’re the expert on your subject – romance novels and all things romantic. The interviewer sits in the place of the viewer or reader, and asks the questions he/she thinks they want answered. For radio or television, you can usually go over some of the questions the interviewer will ask, but don’t let this lull you into a false sense of security. It wouldn’t be the first time an interviewer has thrown out all the prepared questions and gone off on some tangent of their own.

This is where Parv’s Law comes in. You don’t have to answer the question you’re asked. Any politician knows this and uses it ruthlessly. Say you’ve settled with the researcher that you’ll talk about a romance writer’s take on Valentine’s Day. But the headlines are full of a judge handing down a light sentence to someone convicted of date rape. The interviewer springs on you a question about “forced sex” in romance novels, and asks if you think this contributes to the acceptance of date rape as less than criminal. This actually happened to me on Four Corners.

Instead of stumbling and stammering, you say, “That’s an excellent question.” Always a good way to buy yourself time to think. Then you talk about how modern romance novels have evolved so the relationship is always consensual, and in fact the heroines in your books often take the lead. Give an example from your work if you can, then keep talking until you’re too far from the headline topic to be dragged back. All the interviewer wants is good content. Provide it and they won’t much care what ground the interview covers. Interviews going off at tangents sometimes make for the liveliest viewing.

The same rule applies to press interviews. If the journalist strays onto ground you’d prefer not to cover, start to deal with the question as above, then move smoothly onto your choice of topic.

Decide beforehand on only one or two key points you want to make. Although the interview may seem interminable, most last for only five or ten minutes, so you won’t have time to make more than a couple of telling points. When I was promoting I’LL HAVE WHAT SHE’S HAVING, my non-fiction book on real-life romance, I settled on the C.A.R.E. formula – communicate, attend, remember and experiment. Discussing this aspect was more than enough to fill an interview, and the formula was easy both for me and the audience to remember. I also prepared an example from my own romance, when I was away for Valentine’s Day and arranged to send my husband a card every day for a week. This kind of anecdote is simple, memorable, and gives the audience a snippet of advice to apply to their own romances. Always a worthwhile aim.

LOOKING GOOD
For TV, most of the “dress for success” rules apply. A jacket looks good on men and women, but be guided by your research beforehand into what others on the show tend to wear. In any case, avoid small checks, stripes or patterns that can “strobe” or appear to jump around on camera. Test your chosen outfit sitting and walking, in case you are asked to walk onto the set. In most cases, you’ll be caught already seated, with a microphone clipped to your lapel, the reason a jacket is handy.

Place a chair in front of a full-length mirror and check yourself from all angles. You never know where the camera will be pointing. Does the outfit fall into flattering lines, and cover you adequately? Sitting forward in the chair with feet crossed at the ankles makes you look more poised and alert. After you’re “miked”, tug your jacket down so the collar doesn’t bunch up, and arrange your outfit for maximum comfort, then try to forget what you’re wearing and focus on the interviewer. Treat the interview as a conversation between the two of you. Even if there’s a live audience, ignore them and the hovering cameras, then look at and address the presenter. He or she has the advantage of being able to read their questions from an autocue. Ignore this, too. Try to smile and relax, no matter how you feel. Talking more slowly makes you sound calmer and more authoritative. When the presenter winds up the interview, stay where you are until someone removes your microphone and leads you off the set. Don’t feel slighted if ignored by the presenter, who is probably already preparing for the next segment.

Always allow yourself to be professionally made up for television. This applies to men, too. You may think you look strange, but it makes all the difference to how you look on camera. When my husband appeared with me on Ray Martin’s show, I don’t know which was harder, convincing a former crocodile hunter to do the show, or to wear pancake make-up. Studios have hair stylists if needed, but I prefer to do my own. Pay attention to detail. No five o’clock shadow for men, and no large jewellery that clanks when you move. Microphones can be very unforgiving.

HOME AND AWAY
Press journalists often like to interview you at home. It’s preferable to meet somewhere neutral, a café, hotel lobby or library where you feel comfortable. This stops the journalist making gratuitous notes about your private life, and keeps you in control. When you’ve had enough, you can exit gracefully. In your home, it isn’t so easy. I’ve had TV crews spend all day in my house to obtain three minutes of footage. This involved a major house clean beforehand, a fortune spent on cut flowers, then having bookshelves rearranged, my office disrupted and in one case, the living room turned an interesting rosy pink with studio lighting.

For photographs, I’ve been asked to pose in a hot tub with a glass of champagne in hand. Don’t romance writers work this way all the time? Shots of me pounding a keyboard don’t have the same appeal. So back to the café or hotel lobby.

The one question authors get asked more than any other is, “Where do we get ideas?” I’m still looking for the definitive snappy, quotable response. American author, Lawrence Block, tried saying he subscribed to The Idea Book, a magazine loaded with plot ideas writers could buy, but too many people believed him, so he had to stop. If anyone knows a clever way to answer this question, please share it with us, so we can have it ready for our next interview.

Valerie Parv ©2007