Tips for Pitching Author Interview Pieces
And some things to consider before you pitch
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One freelancing piece that is open to writers at a variety of levels is the author interview piece. This type of piece, as perceptive readers may have guessed, involves interviewing an author in some way (often as a Q&A but sometimes in other forms).
I’ve written these for places like The Rumpus, Electric Lit, and Bustle. While I am not currently pitching many of these pieces (mostly because I’m focusing on other things like this Substack), I think they can be a good byline for some writers.
Upsides to submitting author interview pitches
You don’t need a lot of published clips to get a pitch of this type accepted. I had some clips under my belt when I started writing these but I don’t think that is a requirement and know people who have done them when just starting to submit/publish their work.
Guidelines for how to pitch/submit these pieces are often straightforward and posted on publication websites. Some forms of freelancing can feel like you need to know the secret name of an editor to pitch in order to get anywhere (which I think is sometimes less true these days), but it’s often easy to find straightforward submission guidelines for these.
These can be a good way to be a literary citizen and help you build relationships. If you are looking at publishing a book down the road, having a community of writers will be helpful for support, questions, and the occasional vent session. One way to help build community is to support other writers who have books coming out by pitching author interviews. This also gives you a chance to build relationships with an editor/publication for future pieces.
They can be a good way to get a clip in a goal publication. I’ve broken into publications like The Rumpus, Bustle, and The Millions with these types of pieces so they can be a good way to break in or check off a goal pub.
Downsides to submitting author interview pitches
There is a lot of competition. There are lots of books coming out all the time and publications that run book coverage are getting pitched by publicists, authors, and freelancers and there aren’t spots for everyone. So these can sometimes be hard to place.
The pay is frequently low. Author interviews (especially in the more literary publications) sometimes don’t pay at all or pay very little. If your primary goal is pay, then these may not be the best option for you. But if you have other goals like those mentioned in the previous section, they might be an option.
Tips for pitching author interview pieces
How to find authors to interview. I first started doing author interviews for authors with new books coming out that I had connections to through online writer groups. Once I published a couple of pieces I found that authors and publicists started pitching me to see if I would pitch an interview. But when you are just starting out, you can keep an eye out for new books on the horizon and if something interests you reach out to the author or the book’s publicist about getting an advance copy. Places like Substack and Facebook writing groups can be good ways to learn about upcoming books and most authors (who are not Stephen King-level famous) are trying to get coverage for their books so they are often happy to have you pitch something.
Start early. Most publications want to run author interviews pegged to a new book coming out and they typically want to run them around the time the book comes out. And it can take a while to get a reply to a pitch. This means you’ll want to get an advanced copy of the book as early as possible so you can start pitching well ahead of the pub date. There are some exceptions to this, but you’ll likely have more success/options if your pitch is tied to a new book.
Figure out the format. Some pieces run author Q&As (like these ones I did for Electric Lit or The Millions) and some do more of an article about the book and author with quotes interspersed like this one I did for Bustle. Reading submission guidelines and the publication to see what types of pieces they are currently running should help you select the best format.
Pitch the interview. The majority of the time for these pieces, I pitched rather than conducted an interview first and submitted the full thing. Some publications will take a full interview submission but I typically tried to stick with ones that take pitches. While I’ve had luck getting some author interview pitches picked up, I’ve also pitched author interviews and not managed to find a home for them. Because of this, I typically stuck to pitching when I was doing these.
Think about what will make your pitch stand out. As I mentioned, there are lots of books coming out and I suspect these pubs are getting lots of pitches. So just as with any type of pitching, thinking about a unique angle can help. I think I’ve had more luck placing interviews with humor writers because I am a humor writer and could pitch that angle. Also, if other people are pitching author interview pieces for the same book, I try to ask the author what pubs have already been approached so I can avoid duplicating them. Sometimes you can also just find a unique approach to a book piece — I pitched Livability a list of authors recommending the best places to read their books and they took it. So sometimes thinking of a unique approach or format can work.
What publications run author interview pieces?
There are lots of them out there, but I think this list that Adam Morgan put together is a pretty good one to start with.
Spend time reading the publication before pitching. Some publications that run book coverage lean more literary and some more mainstream. So spending some time reading the publication and looking at the types of books they cover will help you target the appropriate place.
You can also look at where other freelancers who’ve done these types of pieces have placed them to get ideas for pubs to pitch. I keep an eye out for these in writing groups I’m in and sometimes look at freelancer websites to see where they have published author interviews.
Pay attention to coverage other new books are getting. When a new book comes out that is similar to a genre I write in or might want to interview an author for, I sometimes take note of what coverage the book is getting in different publications. This can be useful for potential author interview pitches and also places to pitch your own book if you have one coming out. Following authors on social media (or even better signing up for their newsletters) can help with this.
What do I include in a pitch?
I have a basic pitch format that I use for most pitches (which I talked more about and gave an example of here).
For book-related pieces in particular, I think you’ll want to cover the basics about the book (title, synopsis, author, when it is coming out) as well as what you plan to talk about in the interview. I try to brainstorm some questions before writing the pitch to help inform it.
A few other things
If you are looking for more example pitches, I just started a paid subscriber benefit that includes some more pitch examples which you can check out here. I am putting them behind the paywall in part because I think they make a good paid subscriber benefit and in part because I don’t want to share them with the entire internet/AI training machines.
Have other questions about pitching or writing author interview pieces? Feel free to ask them in the comments.
Thanks for reading Humor Me, a newsletter featuring funny stuff and writing tips. In case you’re new here — I’m a humor writer and freelancer whose work has appeared in New Yorker Shouts, McSweeney’s, Real Simple, and more. I’m the author of a humorous advice book for introverted parents that would make a great gift for the new or expecting parent in your life. Find out more about me at julievick.com.
I know a guy with a book coming out next summer...
As always, incredibly helpful. I don't think I ever would have made it this far if not for the resources you have provided fellow humor writers. Thank you!