You have an author interview and you're totally stoked about it. I mean you get to converse and ask questions of an AUTHOR, a living, breathing, real book writing, celebrity-in-your-eyes and-not-some-ridiculous-celebrity-reality-tv-persona-person. (Yes, I totally went there.) So tell me how totally cool is that right?
It is pretty exciting, I know I've been there, and I still get fan-girly when I'm asked to do interviews. The question that is always on my mind when going into an interview is "What in the heck do I ask this author whose probably been asked about a million and one things already?" Don't know? Well neither did I, and to this day I still don't know really. So here's me helping you figure it out, and giving you the questions that I've searched for.
Note: Questions have been found all over the web by me to try and put them in a place for you. There are about 100 question here. :)
Note: Questions have been found all over the web by me to try and put them in a place for you. There are about 100 question here. :)
There are a number of ways to do interviews I'm sure, and everyone has their own personal way, or one way they prefer over another. Examples: Character Interviews, phone interviews, 1 topic interview, general interview (which is what theses questions are basically for), personal interview (in which I mean asking specific questions about the book the author wrote)
A few I prefer or have done
Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington (Personal Interview)
Shadow of the mark by Leigh Fallon (1 topic Interview)
The Bleeders by Michaela Haze (Character Interview where the author interviews the MC)
I think the one interview I remember the most is when I got to do a phone interview with Pam Langsam, author of Vegas Dazzle, it was fun and not what I was expecting. Although, I was unable to get it up on my site because I misplaced my spiral that had my notes in it. (I'm a loser I know.) I remember talking to her, my voice was shaky, and even though I had a set of questions ready (mostly generic) I still was unsure of myself, and how it would work out. I totally lived through it though!
GENERIC QUESTIONS (42 questions)
1.Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?
2.What are you working on at the moment?3.What’s it about? (*if relevant)4.What genre are your books?5.What draws you to this genre?6.Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?7.How much research do you do?8.Have you written any other novels in collaboration with other writers?9.When did you decide to become a writer?10. Why do you write?11. Do you write full-time or part-time?12. Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?13. Do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?14.Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?15.Do you write on a typewriter, computer, dictate or longhand?16. Where do the your ideas come from?17.Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?18. What is the hardest thing about writing?19. What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?20. What is the easiest thing about writing?21.How long on average does it take you to write a book?22.Do you ever get writer’s Block?23.How to get through the dreaded writer’s block?24. What are your thoughts on writing a book series.25. Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors.26. Do you prefer ebooks or traditional paper/hard back books when you read?27. Do you let the book stew – leave it for a month and then come back to it to edit?28. Tell us about the cover/s and how it/they came about.29. Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process30. What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?31. What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?32. Any amusing story about marketing books that happened to you?33. What’s your views on social media for marketing?34. Which social network worked best for you?35. Do you think that giving books away free works and why?36. What is your favorite motivational phrase.37. What is your favorite quote?
38. Where can you see yourself in 5 years time?39. What advice would you give to your younger self?40. If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?41. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?42. Where do you see publishing going in the future?
2.What are you working on at the moment?3.What’s it about? (*if relevant)4.What genre are your books?5.What draws you to this genre?6.Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?7.How much research do you do?8.Have you written any other novels in collaboration with other writers?9.When did you decide to become a writer?10. Why do you write?11. Do you write full-time or part-time?12. Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?13. Do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?14.Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?15.Do you write on a typewriter, computer, dictate or longhand?16. Where do the your ideas come from?17.Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?18. What is the hardest thing about writing?19. What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?20. What is the easiest thing about writing?21.How long on average does it take you to write a book?22.Do you ever get writer’s Block?23.How to get through the dreaded writer’s block?24. What are your thoughts on writing a book series.25. Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors.26. Do you prefer ebooks or traditional paper/hard back books when you read?27. Do you let the book stew – leave it for a month and then come back to it to edit?28. Tell us about the cover/s and how it/they came about.29. Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process30. What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?31. What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?32. Any amusing story about marketing books that happened to you?33. What’s your views on social media for marketing?34. Which social network worked best for you?35. Do you think that giving books away free works and why?36. What is your favorite motivational phrase.37. What is your favorite quote?
38. Where can you see yourself in 5 years time?39. What advice would you give to your younger self?40. If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?41. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?42. Where do you see publishing going in the future?
CRAZY/FUN QUESTIONS (62 questions)
1. Would your main character's crush win survivor by strength, by cheating, or not at all?
2. If your main character was put on a reality Tv show what would it be? Ex: survivor, big brother, bad girls club, DWTS...
3. If we Googled your name what would we see?
4. You were just given a yacht. What would you name it?
5. If you could have been told one thing that you weren't told when you were a teenager, what would you like to have heard?
6. You've just been hired to a promotions position at Kellog Co. What would you put in a new breakfast cereal box as a gimmick?
2. If your main character was put on a reality Tv show what would it be? Ex: survivor, big brother, bad girls club, DWTS...
3. If we Googled your name what would we see?
4. You were just given a yacht. What would you name it?
5. If you could have been told one thing that you weren't told when you were a teenager, what would you like to have heard?
6. You've just been hired to a promotions position at Kellog Co. What would you put in a new breakfast cereal box as a gimmick?
7. If someone made a movie of your life would it be a drama, a comedy, a romantic-comedy, action film, or science fiction?
8. If you were to create a slogan for your life, what would it be? (Example: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow, we all die.)
9. What would you do if you were the last person on this earth?
10. If you were a genie, what wish would you absolutely not grant?
11. If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be? (can't ask for more wishes)
12. If you could eliminate one thing from your daily schedule, what would it be and why?
13. If you wake up as (name any famous personality), what's the first thing you would do?
14. If you turn into your partner for a day, what would you do?
15. If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it?
16. Sitting alone in a big field, looking at stars, what do you think/feel?
17. If you were a professional wrestler, what would your ring name be and why?
18. If you could have an unlimited storage of one thing, what would it be?
19. Share one funniest, one silliest and one wackiest status you have put up on a social networking site.
20. Choose a movie title for the story of your life.
21. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
22. If I came to your home and looked in your refrigerator, what would I find?
23. If you can be a Disney character, who would you be and why?
24. If you had to endure one natural disaster (i.e. hurricane, tornado, etc), what would you pick and why?
25. If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be?
26. Three things I think will become obsolete in 10 years:
27. If you could mix three animals together, which ones would you choose to make the ultimate animal?
28. You have to wear a t-shirt with one word on it for the rest of your life. Which word do you choose?
28. You have to wear a t-shirt with one word on it for the rest of your life. Which word do you choose?
29. You win a million dollars, but you have to give half to a charity. Which charity do you pick, and what do you do with the rest of the money?
30. If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?
31. If you were a spy what would your alias be?32. If you were to be on a reality TV show which one would you be on and why?
33. If you could be anything in the world, what would you be and why?
34.If someone rented a billboard for you, what would you put on it?
34.If someone rented a billboard for you, what would you put on it?
35.If you had to be a teacher of something, what would you teach? (English is not an option)
36. What punctuation mark best describes your personality? Why?
37. Listener or talker?
38. If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?
39. If you had to be a flower, which one would you be and why?
40. What is your favorite commercial? What commercial annoys you the most?
41.What mythical creature would you want to be?
41.What mythical creature would you want to be?
42. You were bitten by a vampire, now what? (Or werewolf)
43. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?
44. If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
45.If you were written about in the newspaper, on the front page, what would the headline say?
46. Sing in the rain or dance in the streets?
47. What holiday would you invent to get a day off work?
48. What is the best thing you have dressed up as for Halloween?
49. Do you like your handwriting? (A possible sample)
50.What is the wallpaper on your computer?
51. At the beach would you rather play in the sand, or play in the water?
52. Do you think people should eat the fish they catch, or just let them go?
53. Do you scream on roller coasters? Do you lift up your hands?
54. Pen or pencil?
55. Would you rather see a movie at the theater or at home on DVD? Why?
56. Do you prefer card games or board games?
57. What is your pet peeve in traffic?
58. Can you fake any accents?
59. What would you do if you didn't have to work?
60. What's your favorite bumper sticker?
61. If you could have picked your own name, what would it be?
62. Can you daydream at night?
Great tip! Sometimes it's hard to come up with new interview questions!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Oh, I know I'm always wondering what do I ask these authors that they haven't been asked before.
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