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Updated November 12, 2002
Media Savvy #2
Tips to Prepare You to Meet the Media
"The Power of the Talking Point"
Don't go into an interview without having your own 'agenda,'
or Talking Points you want the audience to remember about you. Talking
Points give you power and can save you when an interviewer asks a question
you don't want to answer. (We'll discuss this more in Media Savvy #4
when we learn Listen, Respond, Bridge.) You should have at least three
Talking Points prepared before every interview. For an example, when
Charis Calhoun, RWA®'s Communication Director, has a press opportunity,
the three points she feels must be communicated 'involve debunking myths
about romance fiction.' Charis's three chosen Talking Points are:
1) These books are NOT all the same.
2) These books are NOT all about sex.
3) These books are NOT poorly written.
Before the interview, Charis takes time to confront these
myths by preparing reasoned responses she can use during the interview.
The following are her Talking Points:
- Those books are NOT all the same.
Romance novels are love stories. Think of how many couples you know
-- your parents, your colleagues, your friends -- everyone's life
is populated almost entirely with couples. If you were to ask each
and every couple that you know that age-old question, "So -- how did
you two get together?" Each and every couple would have a different
answer, unique to their circumstances. In short, there are as many
different ways for two people to meet and fall in love as there are
. . . people in existence.
Romance novels are all love stories -- yes. Romance novels all end
happily -- yes. But, just like in life, they are as diverse as the
characters and situation crafted by their authors. Each one gives
a distinct -- and, because it is, after all, fiction -- larger-than-life
answer to the question, "How did you two get together?"
- Those books are NOT all about sex.
Romance novels tell the story of the entire evolution of a couple
falling in love and remaining there. Readers watch the couple when
they first meet, when they first kiss, when they have their first
fight, as they meet and overcome challenges, and -- yes -- when they
make love. However, no more time is spent in a romance novel on the
love scenes, than, say, the dialogue scenes, or the scenes about the
characters' childhoods, the first kiss of the characters, or about
their first quarrel. For whatever reason, packagers and marketers
have honed in on the one particular part of most romance novels that
actually takes up a small percentage of the book: the love scene(s).
Actually, romance novels are no more about sex than they are about
meeting a soul mate, feeling acceptance for the first time, forgiving
cruel parents, realizing a person does, indeed, have honor, or being
unselfish for the first time.
- Those books are NOT poorly written.
Anyone who thinks romance novels are poorly written has not read Nora
Roberts, Jennifer Crusie, Laura Kinsale, Kasey Michaels, [insert your
own favorite here] -- or any romance novel lately. This is not your
grandmother's romance novel. The only way to disprove this one is
to encourage those who doubt it to study the sub-genre of romance
that may interest them and to get out there and give a current release
a try. Only the brightest authors are getting published today, and
the books romance has to offer can hold their own against any other
genre fiction -- against any other fiction.
Notice how many of her prepared responses could
be used as answers for other questions the interviewer might ask. Your
message may be different but remember -- before the interview, prepare
your message.
Three Talking Points and you are ready
to go.
Media Savvy is a column of quick tips to help
you prepare for the media side of writing.
It is written by RWA® members Morgan Chilson, Mary Burton, and Cathy
Maxwell. Permission to reprint this column is given to Romance Writers
of America® local chapter newsletters. Our thanks to Charis Calhoun
for the use of her Talking Points.
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