Still Get Nervous Sometimes

September 5, 2008

One of the things you do as a freelance writer is interview people, at least for most types of writing. Mostly this is over the phone, sometimes via e-mail and in my particular case, on rare occasions I actually go to someone's home or office or studio and interview them.

When I first started doing this I was extremely nervous about it. After you do several hundred, you get over your nerves pretty quick or you find another way to make a living.

Because my last 4 to 6 weeks have been very research report intensive, I haven't done many interviews lately and I have 2 today, the first of which I recently finished. I was nervous prior to it.

And shortly after we got started, I chilled out and got into the swing of things.

When I'm calling or contacting someone about research for a novel, I tend to be more nervous because there's a greater level of skepticism and they often have odd expectations. 

Sometimes, when corporate PR and/or corporate communications officers get involved, you as a writer have a lot more hoops to jump through because they want to make sure their message gets out in a very specific way. God only knows what it's like for investigative journalists, but I don't do that type of work, I just want information, I'm not trying to dig any dirt.

Still, it helps to be prepared.

In fact, were I ever to give a seminar or teach a class on interviewing for journalism, I would give the following advice:

1. Be prepared by doing your homework.

2. Write down your questions ahead of time.

3. Always remember to verify name spelling, titles, credentials.

4. Check to make sure the batteries in your tape recorder are working.

5. Relax.

6. Listen.

7. And keep it short. I'm a big believer in not wasting the interview subject's time. And it's a hassle to transcribe an interview that goes too long (I don't know about you, but it takes me twice the time to transcribe the interview as it took to do the interview, so a 15 min interview = 30 min transcription--if the subject doesn't talk fast, mumble or have a thick accent or the subject isn't so technical I have to keep going back to figure out what the hell they're talking about).

I can't tell you how important #6 is. If you do enough interviews, and if you use your tape recorder as a crutch like I do, it's awful easy to let your attention wander. But you really need to listen (because sometimes your tape recorder dies mid-interview) because often you need to clarify or follow-up.

And yeah, I sometimes still get nervous.

So, I was thinking about this: Have you ever interviewed someone for a novel you're working on? If not, why not?

Then I challenge you: whatever WIP you've got, find an expert, someone who does what your character does, a cop, a spy, an accountant, whatever, or an expert on some aspect of your novel, espionage, carpentry, Byzantium history, small airplanes, rock and roll, and interview them. You'll be surprised what you learn, about  your subject and yourself.

Cheers,

Mark Terry