Do interviews sell books?

When I was first released from federal prison, and as a complete unknown, I felt interviews about my seven years with Bernie Madoff would help promote my book and subsequently sales. Although I realized that Madoff would be the focus of any interview, I still felt it would help my cause.

Short of being on 60 Minutes—ha, ha, there are lots of ways to approach getting somebody to interview you. In my case if was the seven years in prison I spent with Madoff and the book I wrote about it. Nobody would have given a hoot about my writing a detective series, but Madoff had value. After all, anywhere on this planet people know about Bernie Madoff. What is important for others who want to be interviewed is to find your uniqueness.

?Right now, podcast appearances are one of the best ways to build name recognition and reach targeted readers as well as promote your book. But not all podcasts are equal. If the podcast has few subscribers, it will be like spitting in the wind. Sort of like that adage, “If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?” But if it is a popular podcast and you feel you would be a good fit, then make your pitch. You will if nothing else, be able to build experience in giving interviews. On the subject of podcasts, I am certainly no expert, but I have noted that legacy news, such as CNN, ABC, etc. are in serious decline. Perhaps because the American public is beginning to see through the propaganda, and therefore, podcasts are gaining in popularity. I would also like to give thanks to Kathleen Wilce, who is an actor and has her own worldwide podcast https://www.kathleenwilce.com/. Thank you for the interview in the summer of 2019, Kathleen.

?Next to consider is print interviews, magazines, weekly entertainment guides, which every major metro area has. I have noticed that they have been shifting more to online verses printing on paper and leaving them for free around town. They are basically all ads, but in order to claim being an alternative newsweekly, they do need an article or two. I will put the link here to ANN which is the national register. From there you can increase your database. https://aan.org/member-directory/ This is especially beneficial if you self-published a book. Since you do not have the support of a big publishing house, and you will be doing all the marketing and public relations yourself.

Author interviews are beneficial for authors to spread the word about themselves as an author and their new and previous books. But to be honest I have heard from many authors, that interviews do not really drive any book sales. My own experience has varied. I would like to mention, Seth Abramovitch, Senior Writer at The Hollywood Reporter, who was kind enough, when I first got out, to do an interview with me. It came out in April of 2017. Because the article was in a major magazine like the Hollywood Reporter, a dozen other magazines copied Seth’s article. I even found it in Vanity Fair, in their French Edition. And it did generate sales.

Marketing for self-published authors takes planning, organization, and consistent action. It’s hard work but is also a great way to build connections and relationships, which can be rewarding to you and your fan base.

And since you’re the one who knows your book from cover to cover, your backstory, your reasons for writing it, and who your ideal reader is, it’s your duty to put a plan in place to best connect with your intended audience.

If you want to make a living authoring your books, it is important to understand exactly what that means, and more importantly, how many books you’ll need to sell to reach your goal.

Next week I will have a special announcement concerning my upcoming situation.