Become Interview-Ready in Two Minutes a Day
How I media train my reluctant, ADHD self, one question at a time
I’m well aware that launching my debut novel — like launching any type of product — will require media appearances.
Lots of them.
Podcasts, blogs, YouTube channels, you name it — the more interviews, the more visibility for my upcoming book, and the better its chances for success.
That would be exciting, if it weren’t for a tiny problem: I’m a terrible self-marketer. Talking about my book and my writing feels awkward; I fear my stress is showing, and that makes me — you guessed it — even more edgy. On top of that, I might forget what I wanted to say and go on endless tangents (thanks, ADHD!), or even lose focus during the interview and miss the question (did I mention ADHD?).
No! — quivers a small, inner voice in my belly — I can’t do that. It’s scary, unexpected, and requires smiling when all I want to do is hide.
Not fun.
Yet, necessary. And so, I determined to use the time I have until launch — while still writing the novel — to prepare. But how?
What to do?
Any indie author who has scoured the internet seeking launch guidance knows how easy it is to lose yourself in advice. However, now and then a worthy idea comes your way.
In one such quest — intended to give me an excuse to avoid writing, of course — I came across an interesting suggestion: film yourself talking to the camera daily for thirty days. You’d be struck — said scores of videos — by how much your confidence and video-deftness improve.
Makes sense. If talking to the camera feels intimidating, practicing it within the safety of privacy might help tame the fear. But what would I talk about — aloud, to myself — every day for a month?
A lightbulb lit in my head, illuminating the words in neon: practice something useful; something like being interviewed about my upcoming book.
Why do it?
Earlier in my writing journey I arranged my first ever podcast interview. Despite the introduction above, I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to the lovely Ad on “Their Story Their Voice”.
The experience was lovely, but also helped me realize I was utterly unprepared for interviews of the book-launch type.
I, for one, have experience both as a lecturer onstage and as an interviewee on camera, but only concerning non-personal topics. Tackle me with questions about philosophy, education or ADHD — I can readily explain what I know. Indeed, most of this podcast interview revolved around living with ADHD.
In the last few minutes of our conversation, Ad asked me about my book. We agreed on this beforehand. I knew I was supposed to say a few sentences about how I ended up writing a fantasy novel inspired by ADHD, and what it’s all about. And, of course, I knew my book inside out, so all set, right?
No.
Putting myself at the center of attention was a distinct experience from any I have had before. It wasn’t about what I know; it was about what I do, what I create, about me being me.
I was utterly unprepared for this.
Why is it so hard?
Besides the need to see yourself in a harshly objective way and communicate this effectively, as well as spotlight yourself while remaining approachable and authentic — it is simply a new set of skills. It’s always a good idea to experience important new things at ease, before jumping into cold water.
Firstly, technical issues need addressing: getting used to looking into the camera, rather than at the interviewer (or yourself, in the practice technique I’ll elaborate on next); adjusting the lighting; volume of speaking; camera and audio quality — all require attention well before the first interview, but can usually be tackled within a few days, at most.
Some aspects that require longer training include:
- Body language: Do we look bored? Enthusiastic? Do we cover our mouths when speaking? What can we do to fit the way we come across to our needs?
- Formulating ideas: Putting our private notions, thoughts and emotions into words takes practice. We may not have even shared them before, which means we haven’t articulated them clearly and concisely.
- Becoming the topic: Speaking of ourselves the same way we would about our expertise may be an overwhelming idea. It requires learning to think from our audience’s point of view. For instance, being too humble might come across as boring (why would the audience listen to someone who seemingly finds themselves bland?); but appearing self-centered doesn’t help, either.
In the frighteningly busy time called “book launch”, stopping to blink is a luxury. Taking the time to prepare in advance will help us reach the actual interviews experienced and confident, ready to face various situations.
How to go about it?
I settled for a daily camera practice, predicting possible interview questions and responding to one or two each time.
Except, I now had to think up thirty to sixty topics that might come up in future interviews on my yet-unfinished book. Oy vey.
And did I mention I have ADHD?…
The overwhelm threatened to kill the whole idea, until I remembered ChatGPT. And Gemini. And Claude. And Perplexity.
I wouldn’t trust an AI engine with important answers, but it can certainly generate questions. And so, conjuring as many PR “story angles” as I could think of, I queried each of these engines:
Give me a list of 100 questions I might be asked in a podcast interview. I will be interviewed as the author of a cozy fantasy novel inspired by ADHD. It is my debut book. I’m 54. Before writing, I was a homeschooling mom and an academic (I have a PhD in philosophy). My characters are Jewish.
Your math is correct. I now have a list of 400 practice questions. And yes, some are sillier than others, but let’s be honest: that happens occasionally in real interviews, too.
The Journey
I was done with most of the technical tests and adjustments in the first two days and found a solution that worked, with my phone sitting serenely on a tissue box. While not recommended for actual interviews, this is a perfect — and ADHD-friendly — arrangement that I can stick with for two minutes each morning. It is enough to produce something worthy of critique and growth.
By Day Six, I finally realized the morning coffee wasn’t enough. My dry throat demanded water to speak clearly without coughing.
The Enlightenment
It took ten days for me to finally get comfortable sitting every morning in my chosen position, talking to myself on camera. The Bizarre turned normal, and I could finally watch and listen to myself with fresh eyes, judging my appearance.
This gave rise to a revelation: I was supplying literal answers to questions, rather than enticing reasons to take an interest in me and my writing. Yes, I gave the facts in reply to “What inspired you to write cozy fantasy?”; “Can you tell us about the main themes in your book?” or “How does your Jewish heritage play a role in your stories?”, but none of what I said conveyed neither the enthusiasm with which I think of these issues, nor the exciting ways in which my writing approaches them.
For instance: I was unaware of the “cozy fantasy” subgenre when I began writing… well… cozy fantasy. This is mainly due to the term only gaining popularity later, and yet I find this a rather amusing story. However, it says nothing about my view of the ADHD brain as a sort of wonderland, that enchants no less than it makes life difficult, and of the warm atmosphere and the magical feel of the story. These facts, while perhaps less funny, would hold greater appeal for my prospective readers.
Worse: I heard myself say “I only feature one Jewish folktale in the book.” Sigh. This was supposed to be marketing! In fact, alongside featuring cameos of foods from various Jewish traditions, the book vividly brings to life a beautiful and funny Jewish folktale in one of its subplots, which corresponds magically with a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale and an Aesop fable in a whirlwind of cultures and subplots. Now, isn’t this much better? True, too!
Going forward
This is my conclusion, two weeks into this experiment: writing is not the same as speaking.
Deep, huh? I bet you’re gasping, reading this!
Seriously, however, I am content to have identified a first problem with my appearance. This is an important first step in my journey to become a confident, engaging podcast guest, while accomplishing my marketing needs. These skills will further help with other sorts of interviews, media appearances, live events, etc., both online and face-to-face. I believe this kind of marketing experience may even help in personal relationships, helping us present our case more attractively to those we hope will accept it.
My ideas for how to improve further rest on harnessing my writing abilities, which surpass those of speaking about myself and my writing. After putting these theories to the test, I hope to share satisfactory conclusions with you in a later story.
Will you try this two-minute daily challenge yourself? If you do, with or without ADHD, with or without a tissue box, I’m curious to hear what you’ve learned. Please share in the comments!
Curious about cozy fantasy inspired by ADHD? All details, plus a gift story, await here!
