Prepping Authors for Talk Shows: Part 1 - Booking

This is the first of a series I'll be doing this week on prepping authors for nationally syndicated talk shows. One of our authors, Wendy Kays, author of Game Widow will be taping a segment this week on the Dr. Phil Show, and I thought I'd walk everyone through the process of booking, soundbyte prep, networking, and segment follow-up.

Booking a national talk show

Since so many authors rightly dream of being on shows like Oprah and Dr. Phil, the latter reaching 6.4 million viewers daily, it's important to clarify how these bookings come about. Many authors assume these shows are pitched just like other national TV spots, with their publicist calling or emailing the producer with a segment idea. In most cases, this actually couldn't be further from the truth. Since anyone can email or phone in a story idea to these programs if they have a producers' contact info, these producers are getting bombarded with completely original, wholly inspired, absolutely exclusive pitches every day - so pitching alone, you see, is not what seals the deal. A helpful step yes, but authors, don't get mad at your publicist if their pitches to Oprah go unanswered - this is the most difficult booking to get, period. Even for celebrities. Even for politicians.

Ok, so how do authors get on those shows? Here are some tips that worked for Wendy Kays.

1. Have a hot topic.
Wendy Kays wrote a book on video game addiction - a huge story right now, especially since games like Second Life, World of Warcraft, and soon Spore are slowly seducing whole legions of gamers out there. Moreover, the title of her book in itself is not only punny and clever, but comes up frequently on Google searches when other game widows are looking for a resource. Never underestimate the power of the buzzword.

2. Start small and work up.
If you follow talk shows like Oprah and Dr. Phil, you'll probably notice that these shows don't often break news stories, but follow popular trends. This is why it is vital for new authors to get a platform established by allowing their publicist to start small (i.e., local) and work their author's name and book up through the media outlet ranks. Our own publicity efforts for Game Widow had just gotten underway when this opportunity arose, and one of those publicity events was with a small college newspaper who wanted to interview Wendy - which she promptly and enthusiastically responded to.

3. Have your website up and running well before the pub date.
Wendy's website was a crucial part of securing this booking. After hearing about the book, a producer from Dr. Phil found Wendy's site, which directed her to Wendy's publicist. She then called our office to invite Wendy to the show.

4. Make your website as informative and credible as possible.
There are two things that Wendy did especially right on her website.

First, she had links to her press materials, which help producers find out more about a prospective guest. These press materials also provided her publicist's contact info, making it easy for the producer to track us down.

Secondly, Wendy had done plenty of work on the front end to secure key endorsements for her book, and listed them on her website. This boosted her credibility, and also connects her to a wider network of experts on this topic whose names will now come up on Google searches for video game addiction. (Remember - TV producers are just like us, putting on their pants one leg at a time, and using Google). So while your publisher or publicist may help you with the endorsement process, it's always a good idea to start contacting prominent authors or experts with a similar field / book genre early on, ideally 3-6 months before your book pubs.

5. Clarify the nature of the interview.
If you're a book publicist, it's important to know just what role your author will be playing in the segment when a talk show producer comes calling. As you can well imagine, getting counseled on Dr. Phil for poor decision-making is not exactly the same thing as offering an expert opinion. Fortunately, Wendy's expert thoughts were just what Dr. Phil's producer wanted, so we were able to quickly establish everything Wendy needed to know to prep for the segment.

Hopefully this clarifies some of the mystery behind those elusive talk show bookings. It's a lot more back-to-basics than you'd think, no?

Stop by tomorrow for the next in our Prepping Author for Talk Shows series: Soundbyte prep.

Talk Show High School

AOL Television's widely publicized poll is making the rounds through the internet. We thought we'd provide a quick rundown of winners: yearbook style.


Best All-Around




Most Likely to Brighten Your Day




Best Hair

(Anyone else noticing a common thread?)


And finally...


Least Sexy

But we still love ya, Larry!

Other results? Diane Sawyer was voted the television host most likely to make a good president, topping Jon Stewart and Oprah, who tied. What a cabinet that would make!

See full results here.

For those of us in book publicity, the changing demographics dictating daytime TV are always going to affect our business. We would do well to take cues from the TV titans that are increasing their audiences. Is Ellen the new Oprah? Is her dancing the new "remembering your spirit?" What's driving the legions of viewers out there who are attracted to ladies like Ellen, Diane, and Kelly (besides blonde-highlight-aficionados)?

Media can breed more media

You might often hear PR professionals say, "Media breeds more media," which is a phrase used to describe how interviews, reviews, feature stories and other types of coverage for a client typically can lead to more media opportunities. I know from personal experience that the phrase rings true. Recently, a number of our clients have witnessed this media-breeding-media magic at work. Here are a few examples:

- Amy Currie, publicist for Michael Gilbert (The Disposable Male) got a call from MSNBC just days after Gilbert’s op-ed piece ran in the Christian Science Monitor.
- Vicki Courtney (Logged On and Tuned Out) was on FOX News shortly after her appearance aired on CNN Live.
- Philip Carlo (The Ice Man) was on The Montel Williams Show a few short weeks after his appearance on Larry King Live.

When our publicists begin pitching national media outlets for our clients we know the producers are going to ask for footage of previous interviews. Not only do they want to see the author's stage presence, but also whether they are entertaining and informative on the air. Previous interviews often serve as "pre-interviews" for additional opportunities.

In each of the examples mentioned above, authors were able to generate additional interest because of how well they did in their initial booking.

So, what can authors do to prepare to go on the air? How can you make the most out of each opportunity you get to interview about your book?

I always recommend that authors attend a media training workshop before their first interview. If you are working with a publicist, some firms even include media training as a required activity before they will begin pitching a client to top media contacts.

Why?

How an author does on the air reflects on the publicist as much as it reflects on the author. If a publicist recommends an unprepared author for a national television spot and they bomb on-air, who do you think that producer will blame? The publicist. Relationships between publicists and members of the media can be damaged if the publicist offers an unprepared guest or interview opportunity.

Most media training sessions involve sample interviews, sound byte development, tips for what to wear, how to prepare for an interview and variety other things. As an example of some of the nuances we cover in our media training, here are a few tips we go over:

- Bring two copies of your book with you to the interview. One to use on set as a visual during the interview, one to give to the producer. It's always a good idea to leave a signed copy of your book with the host when you leave the interview as a thank you. It's a small gesture, but shows your appreciation.

- If you have an upcoming signing or even you are promoting, bring a note card that lists the event details (who, what, when, where.) Hand it over to the producer before the interview and they might post the information on the station's website, or have the info appear on the bottom of the screen during the interview.

- To avoid slouching during the interview and to portray the best body language, try sitting in the middle of your chair verses against the back of the chair. This will help you maintain good posture and makes you look more engaged in your conversation with the host.

- Don’t wear a solid black, solid white or bright red outfit to a television interview because it will make you look either washed out or too dark, depending on your complexion.

Homework assignment: Watch at least five interviews this weekend and think about what you notice about the interviewee. What are they doing well? Where are they making mistakes?