I’ve interviewed hundreds of local writers, and by local I mean primarily those who live in Southwest Ohio, but I’m generous in my interpretation: I also consider guests who live as far away as Cincinnati and Columbus to be locals.
Book publicists often contact me about authors hosting events in Cleveland and emphasize the “local author” aspect, and I explain that Ohio is big and Cleveland isn’t local.
People expect me to interview local authors. Why? Because they’re local! Local authors are great, but it’s impossible to talk to all of them.
For every person I interview, there are 12 I don’t interview, and I’m sorry about that. I do the best I can.
One thing I understand is that every book by a local author is the most important thing in the world. At least to them. Some local authors who read this column would love to be on my radio show. Maybe they sent me their books, but I’ve never interviewed them.
They’ve probably hated me since then.
Well, if you are one of them, I’m sorry it didn’t work out. I get dozens of emails every week from local authors pitching their books for reviews and interviews. I can’t possibly reply to all of them. I get an average of 100+ emails a day, not just about local books, but about other books too. Maybe I need a secretary.
If you email me and don’t get a response, don’t be offended. Did you send it again? In fact, many local writers assume that if I don’t respond to their emails, it means I’m not interested. Well, maybe not. I’m usually busy. It’s always a good idea to send a follow-up email.
Why didn’t I reply when you sent me your book? Did you follow up? Did you take my failure to reply as a rejection? No. I was busy and a follow-up email was necessary, even if your book was sitting in this pile. Did you get my book? Uh huh? Hint, hint.
When I get those follow-ups, I feel guilty and sometimes I do interviews at those times. Can you believe it? It’s true. Of course, I have said that I would decline the interview. But even in those cases, the author makes a kind of resolution, and so do I, despite the refusal.
I produce 100 radio shows every year, and of the 67 shows I’ve produced so far this year, 27 are what I consider to be local content.
As I say on the radio, thank you for listening.
Vick Mickunas of Yellow Springs interviews authors every Saturday at 7 a.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on WYSO-FM (91.3). For more information, see www.wyso.org/programs/book-nook. He can be contacted at vick@vickmickunas.com.