A Beginners Guide to Interviewing
Author: Mervyn Love

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 lets 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 interview 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
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 out), 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.


About the Author:

Mervyn Love writes on several topics including creative
writing. His website http://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:
http://www.writersreign.co.uk/WRac.html