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| Murder Must Advertise |
| Tips for TV Appearances In my job-job, I deal with the media, sometimes for stories we're trying to "spin" into something positive. At least Lisa's kind of TV exposure is designed to [be] positive. Here are some tips: - Dress in solid colors, with non-distracting clothing and accessories. I once had to go out and buy a doctor a different shirt because his narrow striped shirt was creating a moire pattern on the camera. - Determine what your key messages are. Think about what the questions might be and rehearse your answers. - Smile as often as is appropriate, and keep good eye contact with the reporter. Don't look into the camera. - For TV, you probably need to wear more make-up if you generally use light make-up. - While body language is great -- excessive or repetitive movement is not, such as rocking in a chair, or wild gestures. - Avoid phrases like "As I mentioned before" or calling the reporter by name. These make it difficult to edit the story. - If you are filmed as part of a story (rather than being the focus of an interview), the reporter is looking for good, short, emotional sound bites of no more than two to three sentences. - Bring copies of your book so they can show them in a cut away. - If you have upcoming readings, bring that information. I remember the book The Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book had a lot of good tips in general and about being on TV in particular (and I bought it after I was published). Good luck. I've been on good local TV and strange local TV (strange enough that I might use it in a book someday). April Henry is the Agatha award nominated author of the Claire Montrose mysteries, Circles of Confusion, Square in the Face, and Heart Shaped Box. | |
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