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Craft Chat Chronicles
Craft Chat Chronicles
From Fox News to Media Stardom: Emmy-Winning Paula Rizzo’s Author Branding Blueprint
Pull back the curtain on the fascinating world of media with Emmy award-winning television producer Paula Rizzo. Ever wondered how to land your dream media gig or nail that nerve-wracking TV interview? Paula lays out a roadmap with insider tips on mastering media appearances and becoming a media-savvy author. From her early days as a journalism student to producing award-winning content at Fox News Channel, Paula's journey is filled with passion for storytelling and practical advice for anyone looking to boost their media presence.
Discover the pivotal moment that led Paula from the fast-paced world of TV production to becoming a sought-after media strategist. She shares how winning an Emmy sparked a desire to help authors and experts shine in media appearances. Learn how to tackle common misconceptions about media engagements and the secrets behind answering questions like a pro, even in the most unpredictable live interviews. With Paula's expert guidance, you'll gain the confidence and skills needed to face media challenges head-on.
For authors dreaming of a powerful brand and compelling media strategy, Paula brings invaluable insights to the table. Explore social media tactics that align with your audience, and harness the potential of platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn. As you prepare for your media opportunities, Paula’s innovative strategies, such as her accordion method for crafting memorable soundbites, will elevate your on-camera presence. Whether transitioning from nonfiction to fiction writing or learning the intricacies of public speaking, this episode is your ultimate guide to navigating the complex media landscape with flair.
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Welcome to Craft Chat Chronicles, the go-to podcast for tips on crafting best-selling fiction. Here at Craft Chat Chronicles, we bring you expert interviews, insights and tips on writing, publishing and marketing. Join the conversation and embark on a new chapter in your writing journey. For workshops, show notes and more information, visit jdmayalcom. That's jdmayalcom.
Speaker 2:In this special bonus episode of Craft Chat Chronicles, we talked to Emmy award-winning television producer and media trainer, Paula Rizzo. Paula offers tips on pitching yourself to media outlets to get TV interviews. She gives you some media training tips to help you do better once you secure the interview, and she talks about her book Listful Living and gives some tips on productivity for authors as well. Paula writes a column a monthly column for Writer's Digest that gives authors tips on becoming a media savvy author, and today she chats with us about exactly that. So for some good insight and good information to help you do better on camera, tune in for this episode of Craft Chat Chronicles. Let's get chatty. What inspired you to pursue a career in television production?
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, I have always really loved visuals, you know being able to see things, and of course, I love to read. But when I was a journalism student, you had to take some classes that were outside of your you know, your main focus. So I was a print journalism major for a while and I thought maybe I would write for a newspaper or magazine and then they make you take a video class. And when I took the video class it just felt so much better to me. I was like it's quick, it's fast, it's to the point, it's in the present tense, it's done, it's over with. It was just very, I felt very drawn to it, and so that for me, ended up being the way in and I got an internship and then I worked my way through newsrooms in New York City and yeah, that's how it, that's really how it, how it really started.
Speaker 2:And how did you start your journey to becoming senior health producer at Fox News Channel?
Speaker 3:So I worked for years in local news. I worked at WPIX and CBS2 in New York and I would cover all the news, anything that would happen. You know news of the day kind of thing. And then I that gets a little bit tiring because you're there day after day. You know you got to make sure to hit all those deadlines and get everything done. And then you become sort of numb to the news. You know things happen and it's a terrible story for the world and you think, oh, but that's a good story for us because it keeps us busy and we get out there and we do things. It's kind of a warped thing but it does get taxing on you, you know.
Speaker 3:So a friend of mine, you know, went over to Fox and she was a health producer and she said we're looking for another health producer, what do you think? And I was like well, I mean, I've produced health segments before, you know, in my regular day and I never thought I would love it so much. So I ended up staying there for over a decade, becoming the senior health producer there, helping to run the team. And you know it was less of the day-to-day news and more features and more people's stories and being able to connect with people. I got to do a lot of really cool things go into ORs and interview doctors and see surgeries happening and you know it was a really, really interesting job. But also, you know, I worked with some really great people there and we had our own little unit. It was just the health unit.
Speaker 2:All we did was health and wellness and we kind of just got to do our day-to-day thing and it was great Love that Winning an Emmy is an incredible achievement.
Speaker 3:How did that experience shape your career? It was very exciting. It was one of always those things that I wanted to do. It's the pinnacle of that job. So it was very exciting to be nominated and I had actually gotten to go to the Emmy Awards on one of the previous years when I was nominated but didn't win, so that was very fun. And then the year that I actually won, I was not working at the station anymore, I had left. So I literally found out via email the next day that we won. So it was a little anticlimactic, you know. It was like oh, oh, that's cool. I won an Emmy yesterday, that's cool. You know it would have been nice to be at the award ceremony with everybody and learn of it. But still very exciting. And you know that's something that you know gives you that pat on the back like you're doing it right and you're with a good team, and so I won that award. Oh gosh, I think it was like 2006 or 2007. And it was with the WPIX team.
Speaker 2:Awesome. What motivated you to transition from television production to media strategy and training?
Speaker 3:It was pretty natural Because I had written two books, or at the time I had written one book. Listful Thinking was my first book and I wrote that while I was still working full time as a TV producer and you know, I was thinking of what was my next move, like I knew I didn't want to be my boss, I didn't want that job and so I thought, well, what do I want to do? And a lot of the opportunities and the doors that working in television and being, you know, at the forefront of history and being able to work for, you know, these huge stations, a lot of the opportunity that it afforded me, also held me back a bit because I wasn't able to go and, you know, do as many speaking engagements or, do you know, a big book tour, whatever it was, because I was working full time. So I started to do some work on the side, you know, toe out there to do some some media strategy and training. And it was great because unfortunately I couldn't book everybody who pitched me when I was a television producer, because they simply weren't ready to be on camera.
Speaker 3:You know, and it really for me as a producer, I don't have time to coach them and train them and teach them how to do it. It's just a no. You know, hey, sorry, it's not going to work for us and I move on and I find the expert that will work. And you know it breaks my heart because it's like these are people who have spent a long time trying to, you know, learn a specific expertise or have a book or whatever it is, but they just weren't media ready. So I was like you know what, in my next, in my next life, I'd like to help people a little bit more to be able to get out there. Because, you know, it's one thing to get one opportunity, but if I'm able to help an author I work mostly with authors now but if I'm able to work with an author and help them to get their message out into the greater, you know, media landscape, then I've done my job. So it's nice to be able to use those skills and then to help people get their books out there.
Speaker 2:I love that. So when you're a producer and you talked about how some people didn't have the skills, what skills were you looking for?
Speaker 3:So I would always do a pre interview before you know. I would book them. They'd always have to have some experience beforehand, you know. So send me a media clip, a video clip or whatever it was. Not everyone had that which didn't sink, didn't say, you know, oh, you can't do it. But then I would do a pre interview.
Speaker 3:And being able to answer questions quickly and succinctly and on the fly is very important. And there were a lot of people who couldn't do it, you know. Or they would say, oh well, I'll find out. I don't know the answer to that, or I don't know. You know they weren't really as prepared as they could have been. And when you're working in television, if you're taping something and it's live, you can't say I'll go check it out, I'll go find it. You have to come up with something on the spot and not look nervous. So you know that just couldn't do it. For television it doesn't mean that they couldn't be on a podcast or they couldn't do a radio interview or a magazine interview or something that's a little bit different, but for TV it's a totally, it's a very on the spot medium.
Speaker 2:Love that, love that. So what common mistakes do people make when trying to get media attention? From your observation as a media strategist?
Speaker 3:Well, people think that they're gonna be fine, they think they don't have to practice and that they'll just show up and the words will simply come to them. And that does not happen. Unfortunately, it takes practice, and the people that you see on television and you know even on social media now who are doing these videos, they practice. That is not the first time they've done this. This is not the first time they've said it. Yes, it looks like they did it in one take, but for a lot of those people they did it multiple, multiple times. So that is one of the things that you know I work through with my clients is to say okay, here's some questions that you might be asked. Let's work on the answers that you'll give, but also not pigeonhole you that you have to answer that way every time, because if you're trying to memorize things and you slip up, you just it ends up very bad, because then you try to backpedal and try to get back to the point you were making and you can't remember. And I know that from working with reporters and anchors for years, because even reporters out in the field who are doing live interviews or live broadcasts, they don't memorize. You know they have bullet points in live broadcasts. They don't memorize, you know. They have bullet points in their head of what they want to say. So if it comes out a little bit differently, it's still natural and so that's what you know.
Speaker 3:People need to do that, but practice really it does help. I mean, you really have to literally say the words out loud. And a lot of times, especially with authors, they'll write out their words, which is fine and I think that's a really good. First step is to write out what your answers will be. But then you have to say them, because if this is something you're doing for radio or a podcast or television, you have to make sure that you can say the word literally. You know, I had for years I worked with an anchor who did not. We couldn't write especially into the script because he couldn't say it, so we had to say particularly or have a different word altogether. So these are things you wouldn't know unless you said it out loud. So it's little things like that that you really need to work through.
Speaker 2:I love that. How can authors and experts effectively pitch themselves to media outlets?
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 3:So first you have to see what the audience wants. So, looking at the publication or the broadcast or whatever it is, to watch it and to see, okay, what kind of segments are they doing, what kind of articles do they have on, you know, their front page or whatever it is, and who are they serving? Because that is who the gatekeeper cares about, right, so that's what the producer or the writer or whoever it is, that's what matters to them. So you want to make sure that you have that. And a tricky way to find out is to look at the advertisements. So if you look and you see, like, who are the advertisers for that show, who are the advertisers for that magazine, you'll know pretty quickly who the demographic is, who's reading that magazine, who's watching that show, because those advertisers spend big bucks to know exactly who those people are. So you want to know first who the audience is and then from there, I have a formula that I teach people on how to produce the perfect pitch, and there are three elements.
Speaker 3:It's called the hook, the twist and the takeaway. So the hook is why now? Why are we talking about this? Is it Valentine's Day? Did something big in the news just happen. Why is it relevant right now? The twist is how is this different than everything else that I've heard on the topic? Maybe you're going to tell me bacon is amazing for me. Cool, that's great. I'd love to hear that one. And then the takeaway is literally what do I take away as the viewer or as the reader that I can do tomorrow that will change my life? Like, how is this going to affect me? What can I do? What are those takeaway points? So, if you have, you know, the hook, the twist and the takeaway in a pitch, you're more likely to start a conversation with a writer or producer or whoever it is. That's, you know, looking for experts.
Speaker 2:Love that. What role does video play in expanding one's visibility and reach?
Speaker 3:Oh well, video is such a wonderful thing. I mean I obviously I've spent my whole career working in video, but I love it because it does make you know you're much more intimate with the person, in the same way that if you listen to a podcast you feel like, oh, I know them, they're in my ears. But when you see that person and you see the faces they make and you see maybe their expressions or how they, you know, talk about something, or their accent or whatever it is, you feel like you know them. You know. I mean it happens all the time. I'm sure people who are, who are famous and on TV people, come up to them all the time and feel like they know them because you have that, that sense of intimacy with someone. So it's wonderful for especially writers, because then the people who would be reading your stuff get to know you on a different level and then they get to trust you and then they get to like you and then they buy whatever it is you have to sell.
Speaker 2:Love that. What social media sites or strategies are must-dos for authors to help lift their profile and promote their work?
Speaker 3:Platform is a big deal for authors, right, especially nonfiction, but also now fiction too. It used to be the fiction. It didn't really matter if you had a platform. Now everybody cares about a platform everywhere. Whatever you write, you have to be able to promote it somewhere and get somebody to read it.
Speaker 3:And I always encourage people to do the social media platforms that you like the most, because there's so many out there and, of course, yes, tiktok, booktok really good, right, you want to have those out there. But if you don't want to do it and you show up halfheartedly, it's not going to really work for you. So, you know, I would take one social media platform that you really like, let's say Instagram or something, and put your whole heart into it. Really try to build that community there and then from there, you know, you can go somewhere else, like LinkedIn or something, also depending on who. Your demographic is right. You know, if you're writing romance novels, you know maybe LinkedIn is not the place to be. You know putting this stuff up there, but if you have a business book and you're a nonfiction author, definitely.
Speaker 2:So you have to think about you know who is the audience and who will best receive the how do you help clients prepare if they're going to do a video for social media or they're going to be in a on-camera appearance?
Speaker 3:Well, we talk through. You know the intention of the video and what it is that you want to get across. You know in this video or in this interview or whatever it is that you're working on, and then literally work on what will you say? How will you say it? And I teach people to come up with their sound bites in a way that I call the accordion method, and the accordion method is having a short, a medium and a long answer to any question that you're asked, anything that you want to talk about, because then you can condense it or expand it depending on how much time you have. So, if you're doing a video that's, you know, 30 seconds, you're going to give the short answer. If you have a video that's a little bit longer or you're doing a podcast interview, then you can give that big, long answer, but being able to have that at your disposal in your mind to say, okay, I only have 15 seconds for this. This is just the point that I'm going to make, so you really make an impact in a short amount of time.
Speaker 3:What other things does a media strategist work with their clients on? So a lot of things have to do with the background If you're going to be doing videos at home. What does that look like? What is your lighting? What are you wearing? You know, are you comfortable doing your own makeup? You know your equipment. What sort of things you know do you have? There's a lot of really great equipment out there, and we learned this through the pandemic Right. Everybody's sort of up to their game on video. But still now it's about tweaking that and making sure that it'll work for a broadcast environment or, if you're going to be doing your own videos, making sure that that works really well, having people be comfortable with their tech.
Speaker 3:You know, I've done my job. If somebody gets a call out of the blue or a media place and says, hey, we want to interview today, and the person jumps in their chair, it's all set up, all their lighting is good to go, and they do the interview and they feel confident, I feel like then I've done my job. Because that, I think, holds a lot of people back. Sometimes the tech oh, I don't have the lighting right or I'm not sure about this or whatever so that I like to be able to sort of hold your hand. Make sure that that is not a concern, because we just want to worry about what you're going to say.
Speaker 2:Love that. I say love that entirely too much.
Speaker 3:Well, and that's it too. You get to know your safety words. That's it. I mean, mine is so. I say that a lot in the beginning. Okay so, or because you get to know and that's part of media training too is that you're talking with somebody and then you're very conscious of it, and the way that you do it is to just stop talking, literally give yourself a breath, and then just move on. Don't say anything and just move on. It takes training, it takes time. I still do it, but it does help.
Speaker 2:I've seen your YouTube show. It's very good. Oh, the production on that is spectacular too. I love your intro.
Speaker 3:Thank you. Thank you. I use a platform called StreamYard and I had a friend of mine who I worked with for years. He was an editor with me at Fox. Actually, he produced the introduction for me. So I have my little intro and all my little things. But yeah, the StreamYard is really awesome because it really it makes it look professional. I was so happy when I found it because you can do it from home.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about your workshops and your public speaking engagements. What topics do you cover? If someone were to bring you in to do a public speaking engagement? What are your go to's?
Speaker 3:of your go-tos. Okay, so for media training, I do you know how to? Uh media training for authors? Uh, also, how to get and keep media attention. So those are the two topics that I typically talk about, and I also have started to talk a lot about productivity for authors as well.
Speaker 3:So the two books that I have listful thinking and listful living are both productivity books. So up until this point I've always sort of kept things separately, you know. But now I'm kind of bringing everything together because it's all me and I end up teaching a lot of my clients productivity tips on how to produce better videos or how to consistently create an editorial calendar, Like these are all things that I used as a producer to make myself more efficient, that I can teach, you know, to anybody, but also to, especially to authors. So I do have some productivity trainings that I do to productivities for authors, and then you know how to, how to use lists to be more productive and successful, better strategies for working from home, working for yourself, for entrepreneurs, and things like that. And so, yeah, I love to be able to put all that, all that knowledge and all that stuff together to help people be less stressed out At the end of the day. I just don't want people to be stressed about things.
Speaker 2:Tell me a little bit about your online course Lights Camera Expert.
Speaker 3:Okay, so that course has been retired, but I have a new course.
Speaker 3:Oh, I'm sorry, that's okay. I have a new course. It's called media ready author, and that course is what it sounds like. It helps authors to get media ready and we um dive into. You know your soundbites and what you're going to talk about how to, how to answer the question what is your book about? Which is like the hardest question that authors can be asked.
Speaker 3:Uh, and then you know setting up your background, making sure all your light is good, making sure that you feel confident on camera, and then talking through how to be your best self while you're selling your book, because it does. It's not natural to sell, you know, for some people to sell something, so to talk about how to genuinely get your book out there, how to do book events and all of that. And the course is self-study, so people can buy the course and then go ahead and take it on at their own pace. But it comes from all of my trainings with clients, one-on-one, so I found myself doing the same training from the beginning, you know, and then I was like you know what? I should systematize this and I should put it in a course, because not everyone can, you know, hire you one-on-one, and so to make it accessible to more people. I've put it in this course Media Ready. Author.
Speaker 2:Love that. Can you give us five quick tips from that that can inspire people to want to sign up?
Speaker 3:Sure, of course. So I think one of the one of the best things that people get out of that is to really just push themselves to do it and to do it before they think they need it. And a lot of times people will say, oh, I'll do media when my book comes out. And I always say, well, it's too late actually, and I mean it's never too late, you can still do it. Obviously you want to, but you want to have done it before, and the reason is is because you want to learn yourself what are those filler words that you're saying, what is the best lighting that you have? You want all of this worked out beforehand so that you feel really confident and collected and also so that you can do it a few times. You know, pitch yourself a few places or do a podcast interview or do something, so that doesn't, it's not as scary when the stakes are super high.
Speaker 3:I started doing media for a blog that I wrote about list making when I was a producer. That's how this all started, that's how my first book came about and all that. And I thought you know what, if I don't start doing media interviews, I won't. I won't be legitimate. Honestly, you know you want people to think that you are the best expert for that, so that would be. You know, a big one for me is to start before you think you're ready, even with your platform and all of that, to really get yourself out there.
Speaker 3:But yeah, you know, the course dives into what to say, how to say it, how to practice, how to prep, you know. And also a big one is when things go wrong, because it happens, you know. Somebody asks you a question you don't know the answer to. Something happens, to the connection, something happens in the studio, whatever it is, and so it's nice to think through. I'm always like let's think of the worst case scenario and go through what, what you would say there, and so it's nice to think through. I'm always like, let's think of the worst case scenario and go through what you would say there, and even thinking and preparing for, okay, here's questions. I actually don't want to answer, but if I am asked these questions, how will I address it.
Speaker 3:Very good, very good. What advice do you have for aspiring public speakers? Well, I would say, you know it's very different speaking in person than it is speaking to a camera, and you do need both skills, you know. So I would say, try to do as much speaking in person, at least at first, because I find it actually to be a little bit easier, because you do get a warm, fuzzy environment with people, you know. You get to see their facial expressions, you get to hopefully see if your jokes connect.
Speaker 3:You know, when you're doing video or you're doing your own webinar, you're like oh man, I don't know, did anybody think that was funny? I don't know, I can't see anybody because it's a webinar, you know. So you really have to just be your own audience for that. So that can be a little bit hard. So I'd say, you know, start small, start, you know doing in-person stuff and then go from there. But look, I love video, I love webinars and all of that too. So people can embrace that and it's nice because people can do things from anywhere. Now, you know, it used to be especially for media or things like that. You had to be in New York or you had to be in LA. Now it doesn't matter where you are.
Speaker 2:See, I stopped myself from saying it that time. I wanted to really bad.
Speaker 3:I know I saw, but you did it Well done. You're a good student.
Speaker 2:What should authors avoid saying or doing during a media appearance about their writing?
Speaker 3:Okay. So you should never say, oh, it's in the book and not answer the question, because then you're leaving the person hanging and a lot of times authors will think, oh, but then they don't want to buy the book. It's not true. Give it away. Tell them everything about the book They'll want to. A lot of times people think, oh well, they might not want the book. There's already another book like that out there, or whatever it is. It's like look, people who buy books don't just buy one book, they're not buying one diet book, they're buying all the diet books because they're interested in that topic, you know. So really, give away your best stuff. And then they'll say, hey, if they're giving all this stuff away for free, I'm just dying to see what else is in the book. So never say, oh well, it's in the book. You have to read the book. I mean you can tease that there's more in the book or that you have a case study in the book or whatever it is, but answer the question. Give them something.
Speaker 2:I love that. How can authors effectively convey the heart of their book in a short on-camera segment?
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh right. So this is the hardest part. And on-camera segment oh my gosh right. So this is the hardest part. And it comes from practice. It really is that accordion method coming up with that headline and thinking like a journalist and thinking, okay, if I only have 10 seconds to tell people what this book is about, how will I structure that? So think about what a headline looks like in a magazine or what it looks like in a newspaper or whatever it is, and convey that. Get that out there as fast as possible, because a lot of times what happens is, especially with writers we're used to writing, you know, write the whole thing and then write a conclusion at the end. What I want you to do is take that conclusion and stick it at the front. That is the headline. Have that start and then, if you have more time, you can go through and answer and give a little bit more, give an example or whatever it is how does an author identify the most newsworthy part or the most compelling angle of their books?
Speaker 2:I don't think most authors think like media strategists, so how do they know what their headline is?
Speaker 3:Very interesting. No, and sometimes there's a blind spot there, which is why it's helpful to work with other people or have somebody basically tell you like this is the most important or most interesting part, and you're like, oh, you're kind of blind to it, right? It's like beware the curse of knowledge. It happens a lot with experts because they think, oh, doesn't everyone know that? No, not everyone knows that. That's actually very surprising.
Speaker 3:So part of it is having conversations or beta readers or people that you know, to say, hey, actually this was really compelling. And sometimes you get so surprised I mean, this happened to me also as a journalist too I'd be like, oh, people are going to love this segment, it's so, and no one cared. And then this other segment that I was like, eh, let's see what happens. People loved it. So sometimes you get surprised, you know, but you just have to try and work it out and do you know, testing and see how people react to different things and different parts of the book or different themes and things like that. Sometimes it takes a little bit of that.
Speaker 2:What inspired you to write Listful Thinking and Listful Living? How did your publishing journey start I'm sorry and what inspired you to write this?
Speaker 3:My love of lists, I did not realize that not everyone loved them as much as I did. No, that's not true. But everyone loves lists. I feel like it's a very nice connector. Um, but people were not necessarily using lists the same way I was. So, as a producer, I was using them constantly. You know, I couldn't, I couldn't meet my deadlines without them. And then I realized that I wasn't using them at home as much and things were falling through the cracks, surprise, surprise. And I thought, well, I didn't want to use them because it felt like work, it felt like too much structure. But the truth of the matter is that actually helps you to be more creative and helps you to get more things done.
Speaker 3:And I started a blog because I had a friend who's a very accomplished writer and I had said oh, I think I'm going to write a book about lists. And she said why don't you start a blog first, write down 50 topics and if, after the 50 topics, you're still interested in this topic, then you can think about writing a book proposal or something. And I was like, okay, that's a good, that's a good plan. And so that's what I did to start. And then I still have the blog. Now it's 10 plus years later and that became the book later, and that became the book.
Speaker 3:Listful Thinking was my first one, which will be 10 years old in January 2025. And then the second book came out about five years ago in 2019, is Listful Living. And Listful Living is more of a workbook, so it's more of something where you can sort of create your less stressed life and use your own productivity style. Because what I found is that people often are looking for the answer what's the right pen to use, what's the right paper and I'm always like it doesn't matter, it's what works for you. So you have to figure out your own personal formula for that.
Speaker 2:Can you share a productivity tip that people can learn? Well, one of the many they'll learn from your book.
Speaker 3:Sure, well, I again. You know I look at everything as a journalist and how things worked for me in news, and I still use these tactics to this day. So I make my list at night. It is my shutdown strategy. It's the last thing that I do before I leave my desk every night and I look through the following day and everything that I have the time and the resources to do goes on the list.
Speaker 3:So this is important because a lot of times we'll put everything on the list and we'll think, okay, well, this has to get done, this has, but do you have the time and do you have the resources to actually do that? Because otherwise you're setting yourself up for failure and at the end of the day you're going to look at that list and be like, oh, I didn't get anything done. So I like to make a daily list that is very targeted. I basically am setting myself, I'm giving myself a boost right from the beginning. I know I can get these things done, and a lot of times it's also about altering how you write it. So sometimes you know you're never going to write right book. You can't do it in one day. It's not going to happen. So to be very specific about. You know, write the outline, or write chapter one or interview so-and-so for this or whatever it is. That's really helpful too, because it does help you to feel, get that sense of accomplishment and move something forward, especially when it's something big like writing a book.
Speaker 2:Love that. What are you currently working on? What are you currently working?
Speaker 3:on. So I just finished a novel actually, and I am in the process of querying agents because I do have a nonfiction agent, but she only does nonfiction. So I've started that process which is, you know, I hadn't pitched an agent in many years so, as things have changed, I had to sort of learn that process. So that has been fun and also interesting, because then it gives me new perspective for my own clients. I do work with nonfiction and fiction authors, but just thinking through sort of like, okay, so how could you get media for fiction? How is it different? How do you position yourself a little bit differently?
Speaker 2:So it's been a good what have you learned so far about the differences?
Speaker 3:I mean it's. It's just much harder. You know, fiction is much more difficult unless you have some sort of nonfiction hook in there that you can, that you can pull from, uh, you know, and that you feel comfortable talking about a lot of authors. I just did something for Writer's Digest. Actually, I spoke at the conference and there's a lot of fiction authors there and I talked about media and what to talk about and actually a bunch of them came up to me afterwards and they were like we're so glad that you told us to start before.
Speaker 3:We had the book, which was number one, but number two went through and tried to figure out for some of them what were some of the nonfiction topics that they could talk about within the book. So even if you're like a fantasy writer, you could, if you were interested enough, do research and find out what reading fantasy novels does for someone you know, for their psyche, for their soul, for their stress levels, like whatever you know. You could find that out and then talk about that and that is a good way to sort of segue into. Oh, also, I'm a writer of this genre, you know, because you're getting people interested in that topic. It just is a different way of thinking, but it takes a little bit more. It's not the same like if you write a health book. It's like, oh good, you can talk about matcha green tea and you know better ways to whatever. Like that's. It's a kind of a slam dunk. It makes it a lot easier.
Speaker 2:How did you like doing the conference?
Speaker 3:I loved it. So I had done the one the year before, but it was I'm in New York, so it was in New York. So it was easy, you know, for me. Uh, this year I I went to um, they had it in Ohio and it was great. It was just a very different vibe than New York. I know they usually have it in New York, but it was I don't everybody like connected so well. It was such a like really really good group. All the speakers were were really awesome and I couldn't. I was like I love this, I want to stay here forever. It was really nice.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. So tell me a little bit about your fiction piece that you're working on.
Speaker 3:This is the hard question what is your book? What genre?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:It is commercial fiction and it is the unlikely store, unlikely friendship of a man at close to 90 and a woman in her twentiess. And the way that they meet is because she accidentally pushes him off a train platform when she's trying to steal his wallet.
Speaker 2:Oh, that is good I love that. You know they kind of go on this little journey together because they realize that they both maybe could use the other one's help with some things it makes me think of and they're not similar, but so I don't know why but it makes me think of that sandra bullock movie where the guy was like in a coma and she pretended to be his fiancee but then she fell in love with his relative.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for some reason I don't know why it makes me think of that oh my god, that's so funny.
Speaker 3:I loved that movie. I haven't seen that movie in so long. Yeah, while you were sleeping.
Speaker 2:I love it Exciting, exciting. How's the querying process going for you? Have you started yet? Are you about to start? You're still researching. I started.
Speaker 3:You should see my spreadsheet. It is a work of art. It's pretty beautiful, uh, but it I started in April. So now here we are, in December. I've had no offers yet, but I have gotten 11 requests, 11 full requests for the book. So you know I've had a lot of agents express interest. Um, of those 11, there are still two who have it. So I'm like my fingers and toes are crossed. That you know, maybe, but I still do send every once in a while to some others. You know, it's just like a, a research project. I'll I'll see a new author and I'll be like, oh, I wonder who their agent is. Let me look them up and see if they're open to. You know, do you, do you write as well? Fiction, nonfiction, yes, media, it's the same thing. It's like you have to be very specific about what you who's doing. You know, young adult, it's never going to work for them. You know it's like a waste of everybody's time.
Speaker 2:Very true, very true. How can someone contact you to book a speaking engagement or a private consultation?
Speaker 3:So if you are interested in media training, you can go to speakwithpaulacom and fill out the questionnaire there and if it's a fit, I can reach out and we can talk about. You know what it looks like to work together. I'm on social media LinkedIn and Instagram are the two that I work with the most, and then what else? You can just email me. You know, paula at paularizzocom is also a good one.
Speaker 2:Where can people find your books and your classes and workshops? I guess that'd be on your website.
Speaker 3:Yes, on my website. And then I do have a free giveaway for authors. It's the 10 media questions every author needs to answer and that's at PaulaRizzocom, slash 10Q, and that is literally the questions that I go through with my clients and I'm like, okay, here's what they're probably going to ask you, let's go through them and make sure you have an answer for these.
Speaker 2:Is there anything that you wanted to promote or anything that you wanted to talk about that we haven't covered?
Speaker 3:No, you did a great job. There's everything's in there. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. It was great talking to you, great you too.
Speaker 3:Getting to know all about what you're up to and, if there's, anything I can do to help or you know your books out there. Whatever it is, I'm always excited to help authors.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. You have a great day. I appreciate it.
Speaker 4:That wraps up today's Craft Chat Chronicles with JD Mayer. Thanks for joining us. If you liked the episode, please comment, subscribe and share. For show notes, writing workshops and tips, head to jdmayercom. That's jdeyercom. That's JDMeyercom. While you're there, join JD's mailing list for updates, giveaways and more.