Offer readers ‘Interview with the Author Page’

Readers love to learn about the authors of their favorite books. You can help foster that love – and in doing so get them to purchase your next book – by including a page on your website in which you are interviewed.

The media also will appreciate the interview. From it, any intrepid reporter or blogger will be able to draw quotes, anecdotes and details to make their article or entry more complete.

A good way to present the interview is as a straight Q&A. Ideally, you’ll get someone to interview you, and then the interview can be transcribed, edited and posted. If you go this route – rather than simply write your own answers to your own questions – be sure to include the name of the interviewer, her credentials, and the date and place of the interview.

When posting the interview, place the questions or the interviewer’s portion of the dialogue in boldface. This will make identifying the author’s answers easier for readers.

Don’t worry about the text on this page running a couple of thousand of words. Any visitor to your website who opts to come to this page probably wants to read a long interview so that they can come to know the author better.

Possible questions that the interviewer must ask of the author for this page include:
All writers
• Why did you decide to write this book?
• What kind of research did you do for this book? What were you surprised to learn?
• What’s your next book going to be about? (ask this near the end of the interview)
• What question would you like to be asked that I and other interviews have failed to ask? (make this the last question)
Novelists
• How would you describe what the book is about?
• Ask specific questions about the main character or some unique quality of the book, something that a reader of the book would know about.
• Who has influenced you the most as a writer?
• I want to mention a few authors and ask you to share your opinions of them.
• Any advice for aspiring writers?
Nonfiction authors
• How did you become interested in the subject of the book?
• Ask specific questions about the book's thesis, getting the author to defend it.
• Ask the writer to share a secret or insider’s tip about the book’s subject.
• Ask the writer to comment on a recent news story that deals with the book’s subject.

Potential titles for this web page include “Interview with the Author” or “Q&A with the Author.”

Finally, include a picture of yourself (the author) on this page. A video or audio recording of you answering interview questions also is a good idea but not necessary (We are dealing with readers here, fortunately!).

Read a sample Interview with the Author page.

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