Writing Tip of the Week

Writing Tip of the Week

Random Thoughts on Podcast/Broadcast Appearances

*Appearing as a guest on a podcast is a great way to promote your book and yourself as an author. These programs can be a lot of fun for the host, the guest and his audience. They can also turn into a mess if you’re not careful. Here, in no particular order, are my random thoughts on the subject.

“How do I get on a podcast,” you ask. You can hire a publicist who is knowledgeable in this area to arrange appearances for you. A good publicist has connections to the right people and will probably have a good relationship with them. They can easily get you into places you’d have to struggle to enter. Pay for the programs the agent/publicist arranges only, not efforts to arrange appearances.

That’s not to say you are prohibited from going through the “enter here” door on a podcast. You can make your own connections. Research podcasts targeted to your audience and you will find numbers of podcasts catering to all audiences. Find the contact information for the programs and follow the contact requirements – usually an initial email. Be patient, courteous, and understanding in your contact. Also be brief. State the nature of your book, your credentials for writing the book, and close with a request for an interview. Don’t tell your life story or why the audience “just has to” hear your story.

Understand that the host has his own agenda and schedule. Often guests are booked many months in advance. Continue making contact, but don’t become a nagging author. You won’t make some shows. That’s part of the game. You will also be surprised at how interested some hosts are in helping share your story.

Know your stuff. If you have one book, you probably are well-prepared. If, like me, you have a lot of books and even a lot of books in a single subject area, it’s a good idea to go back through your material. For example, I do a lot of paranormal podcasts. If I had one book on the subject to my credit, I’d probably not worry about being fully prepared. However, I not only have half a dozen books on the paranormal, my books cover wildly varying aspects of the paranormal such as spirit contact, psychic detecting, and UFO contacts. I always review the books that address the topic of the upcoming podcast. You don’t want one of those, “Oh, what was that guy’s name” moments on the air.

Make a list of must-cover topics. These are the major points you want the audience to get. Sometimes this is pretty easy. Some hosts (I won’t name names) ask all those brilliant questions you hear because they require the guest to provide a list of questions for him. From the author’s perspective, this is great. You set the agenda. Providing such a list can lead to unexpected moments. I was interviewed by one of the “big guns” in the broadcast media who got to the bottom of the list and then without realizing it started over at the top. I provided the same answers as in the first run through, but made sure I provided the information in a different form. “Something I forgot to mention earlier was….” makes a good segue.

Annoying or unpleasant issues with hosts sometimes happen. Most hosts I’ve experienced are great people trying to do a good job of getting information to their audience. A few have a secondary agenda that may challenge your patience. For example, I was interviewed by a Canadian podcaster who tried to be “aggressive” almost to the point of rudeness in his questioning because, as he kept saying, he was a legitimate news “reporter.” He felt a need to show himself as a “hard charger.” Another host answered my log in call high as a kite. He could barely speak. He worked from a home office and was so drunk he had forgotten the interview. Luckily, the engineer at the studio he used jumped in and took over for a successful interview. Another and rather prominent host apparently had a medical issue during the show. I’d noticed his slightly slurred and slow speech early on. Near the end of the program, he broke the interview off and asked for my websites. After I rattled them off, the broadcast ended in a commercial break. The fifteen minutes left of my interview was replaced with the end of an older and pre-recorded program. The show had been running well and was getting good responses from the audience when all of this happened, so I wasn’t the problem. The moral of the story is to just be prepared as best you can for whatever may happen and tap dance your way through as best you can if you can.

Don’t try to fake it. Be true to your school. When you are asked a question you can’t answer, say so. It’s far better to be honest than to, as I wrote earlier, tap dance your way through answering such a question. You will get caught. Don’t do or say anything against your personal standards. Slipping like that is far easier than you can imagine. There’s a gut-feeling during interviews in which the interviewee wants to please the host and the audience, which can cause you to run off at the mouth in ways that ultimately are not in your favor. Don’t give in to what you consider unreasonable requrests. For example, during one of my paranormal program appearances I was asked to do psychic readings for call ins. I don’t do that sort of thing for many reasons. For one, I don’t do my psychic work for entertainment purposes. The host was politely non-plussed. During the next commercial break, the engineer tried to get me to read for call ins. I refused, politely, and explained why. The program went on, was a success, and I have appeared on the program several times since – no broken bridges because I did the right thing. Stick to your guns.

The occasional blessing will show up at surprising moments. I was interviewed about one of my books on spirit contact on one of the national programs. Near the end of the show when we were taking calls, a man said he had called just to say “thank you.” I’m paraphrasing, but he said, “I’m in bad health and have only a month or so to live. I was afraid of dying until I heard you speak. I’m not afraid anymore.” You live for moments like that.

And there are always the basics to consider before calling or logging on. Dress appropriately if you’re doing video. You don’t have to dress up, but look professional. Check the background of your office from the perspective of a viewer. Replace that Attack of the Nude Stewardesses from Planet Zythor poster with a photo of Mount Rushmore. Don’t try to be “articulate” or “wise” or anything other than your natural self. Many times people who heard the program or even callers during the program have stated how much they appreciated someone willing to speak without spreading BS on the subject. Pee before you go on. Drink plenty of water during commercial breaks. Cough of sneeze if you must, but don’t snort.

Most of all. Remember, you’re providing information and insights people want and often need to hear. Maintain your professional and friendly attitude. And enjoy yourself.

*When I write podcast consider I also mean broadcast or other media appearances.

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Quote of the Week: “The basic rules (in mountaineering) are: Push yourself all the way to the limit and then leave a margin for safety. There’s a kind of mixture of boldness and prudence in that. It breeds self-discipline. And the next rule is: No whining!” Gary Snyder

Recommended Reading: Crazy English by Richard Lederer

Check Out: https://www.georgeesewell.com/ (Thoughts That Go Bump in the Night)

I’ll Be Signing Books:

Arizona Author’s Association Holiday Book Fair (Green Valley, AZ) – November 30, 2024

I’ll Be Appearing: Spaced Out Radio November 7th

The Caffeinated Cryptid podcast live November 10th.

Shameless Self-Promotion:

YouTube/Podcast Appearances: Coast-To-Coast AM With George Noory; Tuesday Night Bri; Monster’s Lounge; Sasquatch Paranormal Podcast; Afraid of Nothing; Patricia Monna Talks with Pendulum Dowser Dan Baldwin; Journey Through the Gate: Old West Spirits with Dan Baldwin; Journey Through the Gate: Dan Baldwin Author/Psychic in the Superstition Mountains; House of Mystery Radio Show on NBC: Dan Baldwin Psychic Detective; House of Mystery Radio Show on NBC: The Psychic Detective Guidebook; Horsefly Chronicles with Julia & Phillip Siracusa: Dan Baldwin & George Sewell; Watchers Talk: Is It Possible to Communicate with the Departed?; X2RS: Speaking with Spirits of the Old West; Andy de Codes: Dan Baldwin; Vincent Zandri from The Writer’s Life Episode 851: Dan Baldwin; Rob McConnell Show: Dan Baldwin – The Psychic Detective Guidebook; Dangerous Thoughts; Generation X Paranormal, Generation X Paranormal; Typical Skeptic; Strategies for Living; Conflict Radio, The Energy That Surrounds Us; Shifting Paradigms in Medicine;

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