The Right Questions

This week I submitted a query to a major magazine publisher for an interview article I had been working on a month or so. The article just would not come together until I had most of it written. I realized there were a couple of questions I needed to ask my subjects to complete it.

I interviewed them in person, and had a nice visit and got most of the basics. But I got so wrapped up in the story that it became more of a visit than an interview. The original interview lasted about an hour. The follow-up interview lasted about ten minutes, and I got more information out of it than the original and was able to finally pull the article together. When I did, the focus of the article changed, as did the target market and the magazine I chose for submission.

So what did I learn? 1) Stay focused. Remember the purpose of the interview. 2) Pay attention. Ask questions that cover more than the basics, that possibly take on another direction than you thought it would, based on other answers. 3) Try to get all the information the first time around but 4) Don't be afraid to contact the subject ONE more time for a follow-up but make it brief and to the point. More than once is annoying and unprofessional. 5) Write the darn thing!