How to write and structure an interview style book

On the ‘Ask The Book Mentor’ webinars earlier this month, Sue asked:

“How do I write and structure an interview style book?”

There are three main ways to structure your business building book. This is one of them.

An interview style book was the format that I used when I wrote my first book, The Secrets of Successful Coaches. I arranged interviews with 11 successful coaches and wrote a book sharing their stories, experiences and expertise.

It’s also a relatively easy book to write. Here are five things that you need to consider.

1. You need to choose the right people to interview.

Choosing your interviewees is the first step.

Who do you want to learn from?
Who would your clients like to hear from?
Who is inspirational in your industry or business area?

2. You need to approach these people in the right way.

When I created the plan for my book, I wrote a list of the people I wanted to interview and simply asked them! For those who I already knew, I sent them an email or picked up the telephone to speak with them.

I also had people on my wish list who I didn’t know personally. So I looked at my network and who could connect me. I initially asked them for help with my project and then support with the book.

3. You need to ask the right questions.

My book stemmed from my NLP Masters Modelling project, so my initial questions were based on this. As I developed the book, I developed my questions to get exactly what my readers wanted to hear from my interviewees. As I was clear on my target reader, and the problems they faced, this was relatively easy to do.

4. You need to structure the book and write the content.

This is the trickiest thing to do.

When I wrote my first book, I identified themes and the chapters were based on these themes. I interspersed snippets of the interviews when they were relevant.

Are there themes that could create chapters of the book

Or would it be better to lay out each interview individually?

5. Then you need support from your interviewees to help promote the book.

The great thing about writing an interview style book is the support you can get from your interviewees once it has been published. This ultimately enables you to reach more people who will want to buy your book.

With my first book, I created a podcast series which supported the book’s launch. This featured some of my experts and other people who helped me to promote it.

The benefits

There are many benefits to writing this type of book.

The nuggets that your interviewees share will inspire your audience and grow your community and business by association.

You’ll be less emotionally attached to the material, so it will make the book easier to write.

And you’ll have great content that people will want to read – and a support network of people who will help you to market it.

What do you think? Will you write this type of book?