Happy Thanksgiving!

White Coral, Dry Tortugas National Park, USA
Photo by Gail M. Pfeifer

Next week, we'll get down to writing that interview. Until then, best wishes for a wonderful weekend to all of my readers (I know you're out there:-).

Conducting an interview

Monarch butterflies on sedum.
Photo by Gail M. Pfeifer

If you've done your homework, as outlined in my previous posts, a few tips should do here:

à Show up or call about 5 minutes before your scheduled interview

à Introduce yourself and say a few words to make the interviewee, especially neophytes, comfortable

à Get down to business with your questions, and keep the conversation on time and on track

à Take careful notes, and restate what you’ve been told to be sure you have recorded your quotes correctly. Some journalists will tape an interview, with the interviewee’s permission. I rarely do so, as taking notes helps me attend to the conversation more carefully.

à Close with this question: Is there anything else you’d like to say for the record that I haven’t asked you?

à Thank the interviewee for his or her time and let them know you will call if you have any other questions. Let them know they can call you as well if they think of anything else they want to say.


Now, let's get down to writing!

Constructing interview questions

Getting the questions down

In my first question, shown below, I included a succinct intro to the topic that expanded on the deck (see my November 12 blog post):

“A television news program journalist asked if you were sorry you used the word “cure” in the paper, and a report about the Lancet article appeared in Science magazine regarding your use of the “C word.” Why is mentioning “cure” in the context of HIV research so provocative?”

This question was constructed to jumpstart our conversation. You can see how it’s open-ended, so there can be no single-word response—those tend to bring interviews to a dead end. I used the same technique to write questions 2 and 3. Read the whole interview here.

It pays to think carefully about question construction in this regard so the conversation keeps moving. If the answers you get to your questions are too vague or skirt the issue, don’t be afraid to push a little for more specific answers—politely, of course.

Any questions? 

Interviews: Developing your questions

The basic concepts

You don’t have to be an expert to interview someone on a topic, but you do need to do your homework to develop intelligent questions.

I suggest 5 solid questions for a 30-minute interview. In fact, 3 are usually enough if they are well-constructed open-ended questions and leave a lot of room for reply—whatever you do, do not use “yes” or “no” questions. I keep the last 2 questions in my back pocket in case I need them.

Often the reader needs a setup to understand what the interview is about. Thinking about the setup also helps me to narrow my focus and develop strong questions. So let’s start by looking step-by-step at the editor’s page interview I conducted and wrote for Contagion. We’ll begin with the deck, which is a short intro explaining what the reader can expect and why they should continue reading.

Here’s the deck on my deck: I knew that there had been a misunderstanding in the media’s interpretation of Dr. Margolis’s research results, and that became the springboard for constructing the questions I planned to ask. I was also knowledgeable about the direction of HIV/AIDS research at the time, because of the editorial content I worked on. That might not have been the readers’ experience though, so I wrote a brief deck to set up the background for the reader, and to focus where I would start my questions, as follows:

The deck: Dr. David M. Margolis and colleagues’ recent proof-of-concept study on depletion of latent HIV-1 infection in vivo created a bit of a media stir when it appeared in the August 13, 2005 issue of The Lancet. I asked our HIV/AIDS section editor-in-chief to discuss the fuss with us in lieu of his usual editor’s page. Our conversation took place by telephone and e-mail.

~Gail M. Pfeifer, RN, MA, Editorial Director, Contagion.

Read the pdf file online

So that’s the deck, and my next posts will take you through the questions, one by one. Ask me your own questions along the way.

Interviews continued: The setup

Setting up: Location and photos

Once you decide you have what you need for your interview—an intriguing topic, someone knowledgeable who will talk to you about it, and an interested editor, set up time to meet with the interviewee. (See my November 9 post on what comes first, the query to an editor or the knowledgeable person.)

Location: The best interviews are in person, because the environment will provide you with some clues, perhaps some discussion points to put the person at ease if needed, and allow you to take photos if permitted. Telephone interviews are the next most acceptable—and likely the most common way—to conduct an interview these days because of time constraints and busy schedules. E-mail is okay in a pinch, but it’s not ideal, because the further you remove yourself from the person, the less flexibility you have for getting into deeper questions that might be triggered in a phone or face-to-face conversation.

Glacial ice, Alberta, Canada
Photo by Gail M. Pfeifer

Photos: Always have the person sign a permission form allowing you to take a photograph for publication before doing so. You can get an official form from the publication you are writing for. Prominent folks usually have headshots they can send to you. Digital photographs must be high resolution (350 dpi or better) for publishing purposes, so bring a camera that allows such settings if you are taking the photos yourself. You want the photos you submit with your article to be crystal clear.

Time: Plan to take up no more than 30 minutes of the interviewee’s time at his or her convenience. Be prompt with your arrival or phone call and plan your Q&A for that time frame. (See the next post on Q&A development.) But—and this is important—allow extra time if the interviewee needs it. Even initially reticent interviewees are often excited about what they do and may talk more than you expect. Tapping into that excitement may bring you the best quotes. I’ll talk about developing questions my next post.

Interviews: The query, the interview, and writing the story: Part I

What comes first?

You remember the old chicken-vs-egg saying. Well, interviews present somewhat of a what-comes-first dilemma: do you query the editor with an idea first, or do you make sure the interviewee will give you the time to ask him or her questions? A lot depends on the person you have in mind, so think it through. It really can go either way, depending on your network and contacts.

For example, if you plan to speak with First Lady Michelle Obama on what she thinks of the nurse’s role in health care reform, you had better be sure that landing an interview with her is within your ability to do so before you query an editor about his or her interest in publishing it.

On the other hand, if you want to interview a colleague you work with about an issue, and you know they will talk to you about it, then go ahead and query the editor. As you decide what to do first, keep in mind that you do not want to get a reputation for promising an interview article and not being able to deliver it.

Here is an example of an interview I conducted with my HIV editor-in-chief, David Margolis, for Contagion, an ID review journal I worked on in 2005. Take a look and I’ll go through the interview process in more detail in my next few posts.

Author guidelines

Blue heron takes flight. Stone Harbor Point, Stone Harbor, NJ.
Photo by Ralph S. Pfeifer

When writing anything for submission to a newspaper or magazine, look for author (aka writer or manuscript) guidelines first, and follow them to a “T.” Most, if not all publications have them, even for letters to the editor, and they’ll give you a lot of useful specific information.

If you are reading this blog, you’re likely Web savvy, so visit the home page of your target newspaper, magazine, or journal, and look for a link to “author,” “writer,” or “manuscript” guidelines. If they are not immediately apparent, use the search box or peruse the drop-down menu options, and you’ll be sure to find them.

Guidelines will offer you the specs for preparing the manuscript, citing references, what style guides are preferred (American Psychological Association [APA style], American Medical Association [AMA style], etc. They often include the content the publication is looking for as well, such as continuing education (CE) articles. Separate guidelines for specific departments and tips may also be provided. And you’ll learn what kinds of articles they accept: essays, interviews, etc.  These are all helpful to read before you start writing, and they are essential for polishing your paper before you submit it.

Here are some links to author guidelines for the American Journal of Nursing, Nursing Spectrum CE articles, and Advance for Nurses, to get you started. I have written for all of these publications as well as for lay and trade magazines, such as Clay Times and Ceramics Monthly. I’ve always found guidelines indispensible for getting published. They show an editor you read and care about the quality of the publication, and if your article is accepted, they make the editor’s work much easier down the road. Once you have that kind of writing reputation, you’re more likely to get further work.

Key summary notes on query letters

à Research the publication you want to write for.

à Address the editor by name if at all possible.

à Keep them short, professional, and to the point.

à Include what you want to write about and why there is a need for such information.

à Highlight why you have the expertise to write on this topic.

à Include your contact information.

à Proofread your letter and e-mail cover note; typos could get your query tossed.

My next post will be on the importance of author guidelines: how to find them and how to follow them.