Interviews don't have to be...scary.

Does the thought of asking someone for an interview cause
your tongue to hide in the
back of your throat? Does the thought of spending the night
sleeping with the family dog
you affectionately call Marmaduke appeal to you more than
asking someone for a few
minutes of their time? The fact of the matter is, whether
your writing an ebook, or an
article for a magazine, an interview with an expert who
specialises in your topic of
choice ads credibility to your writing and shows prospective
editors your willing to go the
extra mile to ensure that what you write is factual, and
that your willing to interview the
experts required to back up the research you’ve done. Are
you expecting your potential
interviewee to jump through your computer screen, scream and
shout, and make all kinds
of funny faces at you? And then scream...no way! It’s that
fear of rejection thing, isn’t
it? Do me a favour, grab yourself a size 12 shoe and stomp
on that baby! It’s therapeutic
an it’ll make you feel a whole lot better. Sorry to burst
your bubble, but 95% of the time
this won’t happen. They may say no, but you know what?
That’s ok. It’s their loss and
your gain. Chalk it up as a learning experience and move on
to the next person. Take
comfort in knowing that the majority of people will be
flattered that you have asked for
their expertise, and probably would be willing to help you
out. After all, their getting
good publicity by giving you an interview. It’s a win-win
situation for both parties. Just
make sure that when you do approach people about giving you
an interview that you
already have the questions that you want to ask them ready
before hand. It’s not
advisable to ask them 100 different questions, 10 or less
should be appropriate. Make
sure your questions cannot be answered with a simple yes or
no, after all you want to add
some good content to you project...right? Just make sure to
thank them for their time and
consider giving them a free copy of your finished product.