Guest Post: Liven up Your Stories with Interviews

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Cindy Hudson with daughtersCindy Hudson is the author of Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs (Seal Press, October 2009). She’s the founder of two long-running mother-daughter book clubs. Hudson lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two daughters. Visit her online at www.MotherDaughterBookClub.com.

Liven up Your Stories with Interviews by Cindy Hudson

You probably already know that good nonfiction often includes quotes from experts and other sources. Quotes lend an air of universality that the writer alone may not be able to portray. What may be less clear to you is how to find sources that will liven up your writing and give it credibility. Here are a few suggestions to help:

  1. Read books and magazines that quote experts like the ones you are seeking. When I was writing my guidebook for mother-daughter book clubs, I wanted to quote an expert in the field of mother-daughter relationships. I found my expert while reading an article about middle-school girls in Daughters magazine.
  2. Put out a call through your blog or newsletter. Relating stories from moms in book clubs around the country was also an important part of my book. Before I started writing, I collected email addresses of those who sent in book reviews or contributed ideas to my website, MotherDaughterBookClub.com. When I was ready to write, I made a list of the kinds of stories I was looking for then put out a request to subscribers of my newsletter. I also posted a notice on my blog.
  3. Talk to people you know. Chances are your friends and other acquaintances have a wealth of knowledge about many different professions, hobbies, and interests. Make a list of everyone you know, where they work and anything else you know about them to help you identify sources. If you don’t find exactly what you’re looking for, ask those with the closest connection to recommend others. I connected with a well-known expert on library book groups through the librarian at my local branch.
  4. Use social networking sites. Let your contacts at LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter know what you are searching for, and they may have ideas to pass along.
  5. Ask sources you’re already using. Chances are, they know someone else they can recommend you contact.
  6. Do a broad Internet search. I was recently reminded that you can find just about anything you are looking for by typing keywords into your favorite search engine and pressing the return key. You may even find unexpected results that will add an extra dimension to whatever you are writing.

Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book ClubsRemember to leave yourself enough time to connect with someone you hope to interview in person or over the phone. Even email interviews may take more time than you expect if your source can’t answer your questions right away.

9 thoughts on “Guest Post: Liven up Your Stories with Interviews”

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  2. I’ve found it’s helpful to broaden up what I ask an expert about…I’ll ask about the subject or slant of the article I’m writing about but I’ll also ask a few other questions in case I may be able to use them as an expert in another article(sometimes one I haven’t even sold yet). For example, if I was interviewing a YA author I’d ask her about the YA market but I’d also ask her about how she markets her book or social media in the hopes that eventually I’d have an article on one of those topics.
    .-= Jodi’s blog …May All Your Dreams Come True =-.

  3. I’m going to put this to use. It’s interesting how getting ideas like these can reinvigorate creativity, which is essential if you plan on writing/blogging often. Thanks

  4. Pingback: Ideas for Interviewing Experts for Articles | Mother Daughter Book Club

  5. Love this post—thanks! We live in a time where there is so much accessible information, and a trick is figuring out how to harness it. What I love about this post is that the suggestions are both global (hit the internet) and local (ask your friends!). You never know until you ask!

  6. @Jodi, that’s a great approach.
    @Jade, glad you found this useful. Let us know how it goes.
    @Denise, I agree. We do sometimes feel like we’re drowning in too much and don’t know where to begin. Then procrastination starts.

  7. Pingback: Writing Roundup, May 7 « Uncategorized « Jen's Writing Journey

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