How to Prepare for Your Interview

Welcome to Author Hour! Very soon, you’re going to have the best audio summary of your book, which you can use to promote your ideas and stories for years to come.

Here’s a video message on how to successfully prepare for the show:

Your Interview Checklist

You must be on a desktop or laptop computer — NOT your cell phone or iPad. The site we record through (Zencastr) is not optimized for mobile.
Highly recommended: Use a professional USB microphone (like this). This is STRONGLY advised for optimal sound recording. Your computer’s built-in microphone is not the best quality, and audiences strongly favor great sound. If you don’t have a USB microphone, then headphones
(wired, not wireless) will suffice.
Does your computer have fast, reliable internet / Wi-Fi? If your connection repeatedly cuts out during the interview, we will need to stop and reschedule. You can test your speed here.
Are you recording in a quiet space? Don’t be outside, in a noisy cafe, driving in your car, or around barking dogs or crying babies ???? This is an audio-only call, so don’t worry about your outfit, hair, or lighting.
Are you minimizing echoes and feedback? Wear headphones rather than listening through your computer’s speakers. Don’t be in a room with lots of windows.
Have you downloaded the most recent version of Chrome? Firefox will also work for our recording, but not Safari.
Chrome works best
Have you silenced your phone and all notifications?
Have you checked your calendar for your unique Zencastr link? Your link will go live a few minutes before your recording. From your computer, you’ll just need to click the link and go to the page. That’s it!

NOTE FOR CO-AUTHORS: Your Zencastr link contains BOTH your names, as in the image above.

The Interview

Pretend we’re at a café. I’ve got your book in front of me, and I’m just asking you questions about it. You’re casually answering me, engaged in an enjoyable conversation, and you’re allowing space for questions to flow (rather than giving a speech about your book).

The interview process will take 1 hour. Remember to relax, have fun, and enjoy it!

Authors often ask what they should prepare prior to coming on Author Hour.

The answer is simple: nothing.

We have found that the most engaging—and, thus, effective—interviews are the ones in which authors are able to forget about the mic and settle into a natural conversation. It’s from this place that listeners will get to know who you are and what you’re all about. With so many options available to readers, the human-to-human connection is a big driver in book sales, and conversation is the best way to accomplish that.

In the course of the conversation, you can generally expect to talk about yourself, your background, and your book. All of this will be done in as organic of a way as possible, and there are absolutely no trick questions.

So, pull up your mic, get comfy, and let’s chat!

By being a guest on Author Hour’s podcast, you agree to allow Scribe Media to record, distribute, and disseminate the podcast in any manner. You also agree to allow Scribe Media to retain rights to the produced media for potential future use in speeches, books, and in all other publications.

After The Interview

Please let us know if you have an ideal publication date for your episode to go live. While we cannot guarantee it will be ready in time (average time in post-production is 2-3 weeks), we will do our best.

When your episode is on iTunes, we will email you a link, which you can share with your family, friends, readers, and colleagues.