Lights, camera, and action! The spotlight is on new authors who are often faced with a daunting task of answering difficult questions during book interviews. As we discussed in our previous post, certain mistakes made by book bloggers and interviewers can create added pressure and stress for these authors. To delve deeper into the issue, we conducted a survey where we asked 15 uprising authors a simple yet challenging question – ‘What is the question that bothers them the most during interviews?’ The results were eye-opening and shed light on the struggles that many new authors face in the literary world. So, grab your popcorn and get ready to discover the top questions that make new authors break out in a cold sweat.
It’s essential to acknowledge the challenges faced by new authors when it comes to book interviews. Our survey results highlight the need for interviewers and book bloggers to approach interviews with sensitivity and professionalism. We hope that our previous post and this survey will serve as a reminder to everyone in the literary world to be considerate and respectful to new authors. Remember, every writer has a unique journey, and it’s our responsibility to create a positive and welcoming environment for them to share their stories. So, let’s continue to support and encourage new voices in the literary world.
Lights out!
Note: This Post is created in association with Mili Das from Mili’s Writing Desk and Nisha Panjwani from The Book Inspectors. Both of them are not only avid readers but are in day-to-day contact with authors and help the authors in marketing their books, not only nationally but internationally as well. If you are an author, you can connect with them on instagram at The Lady Lives in Book and The Book Inspectors.
I’ve never done an author interview. But I could see how some interviews could be a disaster!
Very gracious authors! Interesting to see a number of the authors speak to how difficult it is to articulate their creative process. Excellent read!
It is really interesting to hear what makes authors squirm when being questioned! This is such an interesting read.
What a great insight into how they feel about interviews, and looking at their answers it is all common sense really
I am interviewing a writer next for my blog. I will surely keep these in mind.
yes, as a blogger. I will keep in mind to approach interviews with sensitivity and professionalism.
I love to do interviews, but it’s hard for me to approach someone I didn’t know.
What an interesting topic to write about. It’s quite fascinating what questions authors have to face, I guess it might be worth the publicity they get but I can see why they would sweating!
I think ‘what will the next book be about’ would be so hard. It puts so much pressure on the author to think on the spot!
That’s an interesting post.. Some questions are really annoying if they are too personal or off the topic
Rohit’s answer lol What is the next topic lol He is right, this question would be the most difficult to answer for me.
It is interesting to hear how these authors feel about interviews and how they respond. I suppose it all depends on what they’re being asked.
Good to know that the authors acknowledge this. Awesome read!
There’s some really great & encouraging advice in their answers! Like the fact that Mohit Achra wasn’t afraid to share his humbling sales numbers during his launch week. But it’s great to have a realistic perspective on what to expect!
I can understand why some of these would make authors nervous. I would not want to talk much about my personal life either!
Great insight to this topic. I have always remained professional and considerate when I have done an interview with authors and movie stars. I’ve seen firsthand how uncomfortable some of them have been with certain questions asked.
I so can relate to this. I hate public speaking and talking to strangers.
Ah, okay!! I do see how getting interviewed by someone who hasn’t read the book would feel like you were being slighted. What a good point to address.
I typically find new authors/books to read by searching for free books on the Amazon kindle or nook app. It’s a great way for new authors to be seen too especially if they write a series of books.
So cool to know what real authors think about as “difficult questions.” Wonderful survey!
It must be so tough if people keeping asking the same questions during interviews. I used to interview musicians and would try and read recent interviews so I could try and avoid commonly asked questions as they’d probably be bored of answering them x
This will be a huge help to raise awareness that we should be mindful when interviewing an author because it put so much pressure on them.
Oh, the nerves that come with book interviews! It’s fascinating to see the results of your survey, revealing the questions that give new authors sleepless nights. It’s understandable how certain inquiries can add pressure and make them break out in a cold sweat. As a reader, I appreciate the insights into the struggles authors face in the literary world.
Great article. I’ve never interviewed anyone or have I been interviewed. Great advice.
This is so important & imperative, thank you for taking the time to gather this and highlight it. Another one is how to deal with writers block. Everyone deals differently, no ones going to have a magic answer to help the world.
This was very insightful and something I’ll keep in mind for interviews in the future. It’s nice to know about the kinds of questions people prefer to be asked versus what they’re just always asked or makes them uncomfortable!
It was interesting reading these questions. I reflected on this and learned a lot!
This is a great list of authors I have not seen before.
Great insight !!
The authors’ perspectives on interviews and their reactions are fascinating to explore, and it seems that their responses vary based on the questions they receive.
Not a bad problem to have, in my opinion! Congrats to each of the writers for having a book published. It’s a huge accomplishment.
Very interesting to see what makes people tick. I love that this was posed in a way they were able to open up about it.
loved the idea and the content of this post; but the best part for me here is that i am now aware of so many authors i did not know before and am going to look for their books..
This is a really great and very informative article to read. I’m gonna share this with my friends!
These author interviews sharing their most dreaded questions was quite an eye -opener. True that, the audience should try not to drag their private lives or the cost of publishing etc. to a meet-the-author interview.
Very well penned. Book bloggers or anyone who is interviewing should be mindful about what they are asking and what is the purpose of that question. By no mean, it should be a disrespect or towards the author. Interview should be to know about the book and the writer and being judgemenental.
I loved the theme of your post and it was so interesting to read different author’s thought on what make them uncomfortable during an interview. I feel personal questions are most awkward and it can make any authors feel uncomfortable during an interview.
This is something very different that I am reading today. Authors often face such questions from curious budding writers or authors. Just like when toddlers throw questions for parents, and parents are stuck how to answer them:)
I’ve never published anything, so I’ve never done an author interview. But after reading this, I can see if your not careful they can go wrong super fast. Good info to know! Thanks so much for sharing!
As authors I would have thought they have tons to saw when interviewed. But I guess some questions are harder to field than others. Super interesting to read about something I’ve never really thought about before.
I like the question “how do you come up with the plots and twists.” It is something that seems to just come as you write.
Very interesting article. Irrelevant questions are always annoying
Haha, I may try some of the questions the next time I go to a book release day or interview.
“Why do you only write about one topic”? This is one question I never like responding to and yet, it’s so valid. Hopefully, I will be able to respond to it as the years pass by.
Great insight ! Loved the article and after reading I came to know about a lot of authors ! Thank you for this article
I would think being asked personal questions during an interview would be unnerving!
I really loved this article and read about the author’s interview, Thanks for sharing this with us which gives great details about the author.
That’s cool you got the authors to open up and be vulnerable to share these with you!
I’ve not interviewed a book author before, but I have reviewed books I’ve read. I think personal questions happen when the writing is emotional and has impacted the readers in such a way? Also, if the theme of the book is personal tragedy, I think you’d have to expect being asked about yours.
As an aspiring book author, I enjoyed reading this.
I 100% agree with you Moni about these questions which make the authors answering difficult and personally I interviewed a few among this list and got to understand the uneasiness in answering few questions. I just loved this post…. well done Moni
Interesting question and equally interesting, insightful answers. Personal questions can indeed be quite awkward. While it’s natural to be curious about the personal lives of their favorite authors, it’s important to respect boundaries and prioritize the discussion around their work and creative process.
i really liked priyadarshini’s and kanchana’s responses here, even with slightly differing ways to how they might respond to questions.. While i have not interviewed any author recently, i try to keep the books they have written in mind as well as read up about them (bio/etc) to get a list of interesting and fun questions whevever relevant/possible
It’s great to get answers from so many authors, so interesting to know more
It’s interesting to read what authors get asked and what makes them feel uncomfortable.
What a terrific and varied set of answers you got! It’s interesting how some authors truly get bothered by some questions and others are like ducks with water. I even learned from some about their processes. Thank you for sharing these answers. I truly enjoyed this piece!
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