by Gayle Bartos-Pool
Whether you’re self-published or have the backing of a big publisher, a writer still needs to get a short version of their own life story in shape for that occasional interview they might do for publication or even a live broadcast. If the person doing the interview knows his job, he will have handed the author a set of questions ahead of time, so the writer isn’t blindsided by a question. That’s professional. Sometimes the person doing the interview will ask if there are questions the writer wants asked because often the writer has a story to tell that the person doing the interview will have no idea exists. This will make the interview unique. That’s good for everybody, even the audience who will get to meet somebody with an interesting story. For the writer, that doesn’t mean only the story in the book he just wrote.
Recently I had the opportunity to do both a written interview and a live talk for a local show where I live in Ohio. The first interview was done by a fellow writer, Jill Amadio, who started out as a journalist for a British magazine before she wrote her first mystery featuring a gal who was a gossip columnist back in Britain who has to leave the country because she did too good of a job digging up dirt only to trip over a body or two here in the States. Obviously, Jill knows a lot about writing for a magazine. That book is Digging Too Deep. A great read.
https://promotingcrime.blogspot.com/2025/06/jill-amadio-in-conversation-with-gayle.html
She asked if she could interview me for a mystery magazine, Mystery People, published in the United Kingdom. This was fun. Working with the questions she first provided and adding a few of my own in order to tell my story, we came up with a good interview.
As writers, we need to get out in front of people and tell them not only about the book we wrote, but also a little bit about ourselves to let our potential readers know where we came from and maybe how we got the idea for our novel.
I have been doing this for a while, but it was only recently that I wrote my autobiography to tell people who I am. I learned a lot about myself. That’s why I recommend that everyone write their own story whether you write novels or do something normal…Sorry, I digress.
Having gotten to know myself doing my autobiography sure helped when I did these two new interviews. Not that I didn’t know who I was, but I needed to get organized. First, I wrote out basically what I wanted to say about my life and writing career. Then I wrote out a script like doing a movie. I had taken acting classes back in California when I wanted to write for television and/or the movies because I thought knowing what the actor needed from the writer would be a good idea. It was.
I wrote a script. I cut out stuff and added stuff until I had a fairly clear idea where I came from and how I got to be who I am. Then I rehearsed it. Two or three times a day. Even when I got into bed at night, I went over the script. As I walked around the house, I timed it. The televised event would be no longer than an hour. I made sure I could do all the aspects I wanted to cover in those sixty minutes. Then I rehearsed it a few more times.
The 54 minute interview is on the Avon Lake Library website: https://www.avonlake.org/communications-technology/videos?action=show&video=MjkwNg==
It was a challenge, but writers have to try new things in order to get our name out there so people know who we are and what we do. And, frankly, this was fun.
The written version for the British interview covered the highlights. The televised version was longer with some hand gestures thrown in to make a point and even photographs to add to the story. Those acting lessons allowed me to do the event without standing there like the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz before Dorothy came around. You cannot imagine the confidence those acting lessons gave me.
So, you writers might want to work on several versions of your story in case you’re asked to do an interview. Short ones and longer ones. It gives you a head start. And something else, it might get you interested in writing your own autobiography. You do have a story to tell.
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The Writers in Residence 
First, congratulations on the two interviews, which I look forward to reading/seeing. Second, you give excellent examples of how to prepare, but I’ll add another use for them – book launches. Your tip about rehearsing a presentation came in very handy at my last release party.
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As writers we do need to be ready whenever we have a chance to promote our work. I have short, medium and long versions of a written biography and have rehearsed my verbal story so many times, I could probably do it in my sleep…if I haven’t already. And we do learn things from each other.
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Wow. Excellent advice about being prepared to give our life story! And congrats on the TV and magazine interviews. You’re on the move … upward. In addition to acting lessons, didn’t you also do some meetings with Toastmasters? I remember the noticeable change in confidence in your presentations! No more nerves, dry mouths, and tight throats!
Thanks for encouraging us in preparation and in possibly even “writing” our own story for publication.
Great post!
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Bonnie did Toastmasters. I took those acting lessons earlier and that made getting up in front of people a lot easier.
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Excellent idea, Gayle. I do have a lot of snippets about myself and my life that I use in promotion, but I’ve not done a major autobiography about it all. And I’m prepared, sort of, to talk about myself but I most likely should make more notes about that too.
Thanks for putting more ideas about me into my head!
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Linda, You have done quite a lot of things in your life and that’s what makes for a good story to tell. Your dogs along add to the story you have.
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Very timely for me—I’ve been writing snippets of my life story (nothing organized) and you’re encouraging me to keep going. Looking forward to reading and watching your interviews. I may be the only one in this group who hasn’t heard your speaking voice.
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Do continue writing your life story, Maggie. I encourage everyone, whether they’re a writer or not, to tell their story for their family and for themselves to know who they are.
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Gayle – this is so very helpful. You really are an excellent teacher! Your careful preparation for interviews can make all the difference between getting great notices and attention for your books or being forgotten about… Those acting classes certainly paid off!
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As an actress, Rosie, you know how to get up on a stage, but telling your own story is the next thing you should do. You and Rick had some great memories together and you have added even more. A little bit at a time will get the job done.
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Gayle, love the insights you gave us into your life and your writing. thanks for the plug!!
Cheers,
jill
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Jill, the article you did about me was so very good. Thanks again for asking me.
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PS. Easiest way to approach an autobiography is first to create a timeline for each year of your life, jotting down the most significant moment, in brief, or that year. When I wrote the Rudy Vallee biog. I had a list of more than 80 years to complete!
jill
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I went through the 40 scrapbooks I had made over the years and that’s how had my timeline. But if you don’t have those, your timeline method would be perfect. My scrapbooks covered 75 years.
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