Decide on the topic for which you'll become the expert everyone seeks. Then follow these steps, and expect to devote more time than you anticipate. Do your homework first!
Interviewing:
People LOVE to be interviewed, but keep it 10 minutes or less.
Do your homework first. You'll get five questions asked -- if you're lucky.
!!! Have them ready before you dial the number !!!
Interview the experts - the ones who know about the subject you want to write about. A journalist is known by his/her Rolodex of contacts.
- Ask, "Who KNOWS?" "Who is the expert?"
- Systemize your questions; entry level soft. Prime the pump.
- Expect to talk to the EXPERT 5-10 minutes on the phone. Don't be caught unprepared!
- Ask fast, effective questions only.
- If you're going for pertinent information that is only available from this one person, try for a personal interview.
A good guide for asking questions in their order of importance in an interview session is ranked by the amount of time you'll have:
- "Quickie" = #1, #2, #3. (Five to 10 minutes.)
- "Leisurely" = #3, #4, #1, #2, #5. (Fifteen to 30 minutes.)
- "Unlimited" = #7, #8, #5, #6, #4, #3, #1, #2, #9, #10. (Thirty minutes, upward.)
- If you have lots of time - Save the hardest and most controversial questions for last.
Researching:
Look up books on the subject, in the library and online. To learn who are the EXPERTS, read the bibliography (generally in the back of the book)
Ø Make lateral researches to related fields.
Ø Target the TOP LIST OF EXPERTS in their FIELD. Then contact them with a prepared list of questions.
Ø Create a BRANCH of who knows what about your topic.
Ø To get an interview with the expert, ask the potential publisher of your piece to put you in touch with "..........." (who you've found in the bibliographies).
Ø Gain wisdom about EXPERTS by beginning with the least expert you know. Paul Garfinkel says, "I raise my level of intelligence exponentially."
Ø Bounce your questions from one expert after the other. Example, "So and so says... what do you think?"
Ø Get point and counterpoint so your story can reflect it..."Dr. so and so says.. (otherwise)."
You, the writer, become a chameleon, glomming onto gathered wisdom, and assimilating each scrap of knowledge you learn from each expert.
BUILD ON THE KNOWLEDGE BASE YOU'RE BUILDING... to the next higher-level expert until you, then, are The Expert!
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