• Building a Literary Life
• Who Is This Book For?

GETTING STARTED - KNOW YOURSELF - Where Do You Want to Publish Your Interviews?
• How and to What Degree Are You Engaged in the Literary Arts?
• Why Do You Want to Interview an Author?
• What Has Kept You From Interviewing an Author before Now?
• CHOOSING THE AUTHOR - Your First Interview • Use Your Connections • Use Your Credentials
• MAKING CONTACT WITH THE AUTHOR - Through the Publicist or Agent • The Query Letter
• Deconstructing The Query Letter • Developing a Query Letter Template

THE REAL WORK BEGINS - CONDUCTING THE RESEARCH - Researching the Author
• Ongoing Research • COMPOSING THE QUESTIONS - The Role of the Interview Questions
• Remember Your Audience
• Types of Questions and Suggestions • GETTING IT ALL ON PAPER - Step One: Brainstorm • Step Two: Flesh Out Your Raw Material • Step Three: Put the Questions in Order
• Step Four: Make Sure You've Covered Everything • Step Five: Get Feedback • Composing the Questions: Generative Exercise • Composing the Questions: Checklist
• Interview Question Dos and Don'ts

LET'S LOOK AT THE PROS

TIME FOR THE INTERVIEW - CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW - How to Present Yourself
• In Person, Phone, Email • Equipment and Other Technical Issues
• Your Role as Interviewer
• Using Your Road Map - TRANSCRIBING THE INTERVIEW

REFINING THE INTERVIEW - EDITING THE INTERVIEW - Staying True to the Author's Voice
• Use of Slang or Curse Words
• Including the Author in Revision
• Working with the Editor - THE AUTHOR'S BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE - The Straightforward Author's Biographical Note
• The Narrative Author's Biographical Note • The Narrative First-Person Bio
• Deciding for Yourself - THE INTERVIEWER'S BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE - MULTITASKING: HOW MANY INTERVIEWS IN THE FIRE AT ONCE?

PUBLISHING THE INTERVIEW
FINDING THE RIGHT PUBLICATION - Create Your Submission Hit List • Where to Find Publications
• To Multiply Submit or Not to Multiply Submit
• Offer an Exclusive Look
• Why Query First? • The Writer's Guidelines
• Getting the Query Right
• Deconstructing the Query Letter • Query Letter Dos and Don'ts • The Fine Art of Patience
• The Inevitable Rejections • Working with the Editor -
COPYRIGHT ISSUES

KEEP YOUR INTERVIEW WORKING - FOLLOW-UP - FINDING NEW USES FOR YOUR INTERVIEW - Reprint Rights
• The Art of the Author Profile

INTERVIEWING OTHER CREATIVE PEOPLE - Putting These Principles to Use with Other Artists
• Example: Inside the Actor's Studio • Example: Writer A. M. Homes Interviews Painter Eric Fischl • Example: Interview with Screenwriter Max Adams

THE AUTHOR INTERVIEW IN OTHER MEDIA
TELEVISION BROADCASTING - Format
• Target Audience • Commercial, Public, and Cable Television • Television is Visual--How Will You Look? • Improving Your Interview Skills by Watching TV Interviews - RADIO BROADCASTING

THE ART OF THE AUTHOR INTERVIEW IN THE WRITING PROGRAM - THE M. F. A. PROGRAM
Program Models
• Program Ideas – THE UNDERGRADUATE WRITING PROGRAM - Beginner Program Ideas

FINAL THOUGHTS AND INTERVIEW TIPS - REJECTION AS INFORMATION - COMMON PROBLEMS - Lack of Preparation • Disorganization
• Inarticulate Questions • Inappropriate Questions • Interview Is Too Faithful to Spoken Event • Too Much Analysis • Self-Promotion by Interviewer
• Too Muc Commitment to the List of Questions - WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE OUT OF TIME • APPENDIX: THE HISTORY OF THE AUTHOR INTERVIEW • George Plimpton and the Paris Review • The Interview as an Evolving Form
• The Future is Now