First, tell us about you

This section is all about getting to know you as a person. This is where the reader can get to know you and learn some fun tidbits of information about you. While most of this is optional, a good interview shines best with a little of the human touch to it.

[contact-field label="Your name (pen name is fine)" required="1" type="name"/] [contact-field label="Email (so we can let you know when we publish the interview)" required="1" type="email"/] [contact-field label="Where can our readers learn more about you and your writing?" required="1" type="url"/] [contact-field label="In which country are you based? We're in the UK ourselves." type="text"/] [contact-field label="Tell us a little of your personal backstory - for example, experiences, fandoms, or education that you bring to the story" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="May we have an image of you that we can use (link to the picture)" required="1" type="url"/] [contact-field label="Which authors would you say are your major influences?" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="What’s your favourite novel that you feel is under-appreciated?" type="text"/]

Let’s open things up to you. What else might our readers enjoy knowing about you? For example, your most embarrassing memory, something you wished you had learned sooner, your full and frank opinion on cheese, what you would change if you ruled the world, or your favourite dinosaur/pokemon/cartoon – we don’t judge here.

[contact-field label="Free writing space about you (optional)" type="textarea"/]

12 optional silly and fun questions

These are just some lively and irrelevant questions designed to bring a bit of character to what can sometimes be a dry interview process. Feel free to skip these if you wish. Likewise, please feel free to ask us to withhold your answers in the further information bit at the end.

[contact-field label="Writing music?" options="Yes,Sometimes,No" width="25" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Pineapple on pizza?" options="Yes,No,[skip]" width="25" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Foreign movies and TV?" options="Dubbed,Subtitles,Just nope" width="25" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Boxers or briefs?" options="Boxers,Briefs,[skip]" width="25" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Spiders" options="Kill it with fire,Shrug,Cute/cool/fine" width="25" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Video games?" options="Yes,No,[skip]" width="25" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Dungeons & Dragons?" options="Yes,No,What?" width="25" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Fan fiction" options="For it,Against it,Indifferent" width="25" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Cheese?" options="Yes please,Shrug,Hell, no" width="25" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Phone" options="Apple,Android,Other/none" width="25" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Ever been arrested?" options="Yes,No,[skip]" width="25" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Do you like peas?" options="Love them,Yeah, sure,No" width="25" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Feel free to expand on your answers or talk about yourself in some other way." type="textarea"/]

Your writing

Here we are going to talk about your writing, thoughts on writing, and related topics like that. For potential authors and new writers, this can be a goldmine of insights that they can mine to help them grow as writers. Again, this is mostly skippable but consider stopping to answer at least some of these questions to share your wisdom with up-and-coming authors.

[contact-field label="What first got you started with writing?" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="How is your writing published?" options="Traditionally Published,Self Published,Shared online,It is not (yet),Other (details below)" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="Other:" type="text"/] [contact-field label="How would you describe what you write?" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="What, would you say, are the most important elements of good writing?" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="Why do <em>you</em> write?" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="What kind of writer would you say you are?" options="A plotter, planner, architect,A pantser, discover writer, gardener,A little of both,Other: A chaotic mess or something that just will not be categorised (tell us more)" type="radio"/] [contact-field label="What is your work schedule like when you are writing?" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="What is your writing Kryptonite?" type="text"/] [contact-field label="What does literary success look like to you?" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="Who is the biggest supporter of your writing?" type="text"/] [contact-field label="What one piece of advice would you offer future authors and writers (or your younger self)?" type="textarea"/]

Let’s talk about your most recent book/story/poem

This is where we get to the core of the reason most authors give interviews – to promote a new book or work of some kind. The more of these questions you answer the more you are likely to engage new readers. When you can, go deep. This is your chance to really sell your book to new readers.

[contact-field label="What is your book called?" type="text"/] [contact-field label="What genre would you place it in?" type="text"/] [contact-field label="If you said, "if we liked these, we would like your book" what books, poems, movies, or TV would you mention?" type="text"/] [contact-field label="What is the blurb that goes on the back (or what would it be)?" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="Without too many spoilers, what does your central character want and what is stopping them from getting it?" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="How long did it take you to write it?" type="text"/] [contact-field label="Tell us what the major themes are that your work explores." type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="If your work was a movie, what rating would it have?" type="text"/] [contact-field label="Briefly describe the ideal reader for your work" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="How much of your own life experiences and personality do you think you included?" type="textarea"/]

Let’s talk about the highs and lows of writing. We all know that writing is not always easy. What parts made you fight and what parts flowed to your page like water?

[contact-field label="What was the hardest scene for you to write?" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="What part of your book was the most enjoyable to write?" type="textarea"/]

Some useful promotional questions. Images and good links can make an interview more enjoyable to read (and likely result in more sales). Be sure to tell us things others have said about your work – tweets, reviews, or whatever.

[contact-field label="Is there a picture of your book we can use?" type="url"/] [contact-field label="Where can people find or buy your book?" type="text"/] [contact-field label="This is available in the UK?" width="25" type="checkbox"/] [contact-field label="Available on pre-order" width="25" type="checkbox"/] [contact-field label="Are there any reviews of your work online that we can mine for nice quotes?" type="textarea"/]

Other & further reading

This is the ideal place to add anything not covered elsewhere. For example, a link to your “About Me Page” (read why that matters), your press information page (every author should have one), or your thoughts on something we did not cover.

[contact-field label="Suggest a question for us to add. Maybe give us your answer below?" type="text"/] [contact-field label="What else would you like to tell us?" type="textarea"/] [contact-field label="<strong>Additional resources</strong>. Anything that might help write about your book? Links, quotes, pictures, social media, etc. (optional)" type="textarea"/]

By submitting this form, you consent to us storing what you have shared and, at our discretion, using it to publish as an interview on one or more blogs. Furthermore, you indicated that you understand that publishing is not assured nor is the timing of that publication. No contract is created by submitting this form. Finally, you consent to be emailed when and if the interview is published to let you know that you can come and view it. This information will be stored in a UK server as well as Matt’s private email inbox. It will not be sold or shared or used for anything other than creating an author interview. Your submission is not guaranteed to be stored after use. Only share information you are happy to become public knowledge.

[contact-field label="Please feel free to send me follow-up questions." type="checkbox"/]