> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.andrewliptak.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Mailbag: on interviews - URL: https://www.andrewliptak.com/interviews-authors-promotional-research-journalism/ - Published: 2026-08-27T14:15:21.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-27T14:15:21.000Z - Description: How I do interviews - Author: Andrew Liptak - Tags: Mailbag, Journalism One of the things that I like doing with *Transfer Orbit* is speaking to people about their work. That's usually authors, but I've also interviewed other creative types over the years. This week, I’m at WorldCon, where I was invited to speak with Anand Gandhi about a project he’s been working on, the Maya narrative universe, and interviewing has been on my mind lately, as I have a couple that I’ve conducted and which I’m in the process of transcribing and getting ready for publication. In recent months, I’ve posted a handful of interviews: [Adam Rowe](https://www.andrewliptak.com/adam-rowe-scifi-art-new-book-announcement/), [Ray Nayler](https://www.andrewliptak.com/ray-nayler-mountain-in-the-sea-scifi-book-author-interview/), [Ann Leckie](https://www.andrewliptak.com/ann-leckie-ancillary-justice-radch-science-fiction-book-interview/), [Thomas Elrod](https://www.andrewliptak.com/thomas-elrod-franchise-science-fiction-storytelling-author-interview/), [James S.A. Corey](https://www.andrewliptak.com/james-sa-corey-expanse-captives-war-faith-of-beasts-scifi-book-interview/), and [Annalee Newitz](https://www.andrewliptak.com/annalee-newitz-a-wall-is-also-a-road-scifi-book-cover-reveal/) ([and a whole bunch of others](https://www.andrewliptak.com/tag/interview/)!), and it brought up a question in the TO Slack channel: > Nick G.: “I am curious, when you set out to do an interview like this do you do a bunch of looking into other interviews with the person to know what questions they have been asked before? Or is repeating common questions not a concern?” I was going to type out a quick response, but when I started thinking about it, I realized that there wasn't a quick answer, because there are lots of different approaches and ways to prepare. So, here's how I approach things. My first step is to do some groundwork to prepare. The extend of that will depend on the type of interview. For a shorter, reported piece that's about news or an announcement (like what I did for the news about [Subterranean Press winding down its operations](https://www.andrewliptak.com/subterranean-press-scifi-fantasy-genre-publishing/)), I'll reach out to the folks involved, usually via email or with a short list of questions that I come up with based on the story in front of me. I'll start with whatever the origin point of that news is: an exclusive on a news site or a press release, then read up on any contextual things that might come into play. For a longer, feature-style interview or piece (like any of the ones that I linked above), I'll do a bit more research. Generally, that has me looking up other interviews, profiles, any news-style articles about said subject, and other things in that vein. When I'm doing this, I'm looking for a couple of things: getting an idea of where said person might have come from, but also their work style, what influenced them, what their approach to their story is, and so forth. I'm also looking for things like questions that they've been asked before, so I don't tread over already-worn ground, but also to see how those questions are asked and how they're answered. I also work to read whatever material they have is relevant: whatever novel is most recent or the subject of said piece, as well as short stories, essays, blog posts, and social media posts, because that gives be a good idea of where they're coming from in their own words. While I'm doing this, I'm jotting down questions. I've got a notebook that I'll be taking notes in while I'm reading something (some of the time) – this can include anything from notable lines to questions as they occur to me, to things that I'm noticing about the text that I might want to come back to. I'm not always great about this step, but I'm getting better at it. --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/d7/2cd7d323-e6ed-4666-8092-07e380dbdf2a/content/images/2026/06/IMG_0727.jpeg) My questions for Katherine Arden at Bookstock, May 2026\. Image: Andrew Liptak The next is the questions themselves. When I interviewed Katherine Arden at Bookstock in May, I stumbled onto a format that I've since adopted for other interviews that I’ve conducted since: I start with a notepad and write down 3-4 topics that I'd like to speak with each author about. I don't have an established set of these topics, but they generally include starting with someone's background, one about a specific title or work that they've most recently come out about, and then some others that typically drill down into some deeper topics about creativity, storytelling, technology, and writing, or whatever else is notable. For Arden's interview, I had ones about her background, her approach to writing (and how her background in studying languages figured into it), how she leans into history for her work, and her novel *The Unicorn Hunter*. I recently interviewed Matt Dinniman for a longer feature-style piece (stay tuned?), where I asked about his background, the *Dungeon Crawler Carl* series, the publication of that series, and his approach to writing. Usually, I'm figuring out a larger theme for whatever it is I'm writing that comes out of that text, and from there, I'm establishing those buckets for those questions. I reserved four pages in my notebook, one for each category, which I then began dropping questions into. As I'm reading a subject's book or doing background research on them, I've started jotting down the questions as I thought of them, in whatever order I'd get them. Some I'll cross out, some I'll modify, and others I'll use arrows to rearrange them. Because Arden's interview was on stage, I wanted something that I could hold onto so that I wasn't trying to remember all the questions off the top of my head and keep myself organized. As it happened, I'd found several sheets of really nice paper in my office (I think they were leftover scraps from some sort of book project? Or packing material for a box of books? IDK, but it's great paper) and ended up taking my categories and writing the questions down fresh on each card, 10-15 minutes *before* the interview. I've found that taking a couple of quiet moments and jotting these down all at once is crucial for me: it gets me into the right head space for going up on stage and talking with someone before a crowd, but it also helps me figure out what questions are really worth asking, how they might flow together, and importantly, make them legible so that I can read them in the moment. I tend to over-build my interviews: I don't think that I'll get to ask them all (I think for Arden's interview, I probably got through 60-70% of them?), but while there are specific ones that I do make sure I ask, they're to be treated like a guide or suggestion, rather than a strict map. With the questions jotted down, it's then time to conduct the interview. --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/d7/2cd7d323-e6ed-4666-8092-07e380dbdf2a/content/images/2026/06/IMG_7263.jpg) John Scalzi and myself at the Green Mountain Book Festival in October 2025 Image: Shelagh Connor Shapiro Those first two answers largely address what Nick was asking. The next part of the process is the interview and transcription itself. I prefer to talk to someone when I interview them. Email is the easiest and quickest way: jot down a handful of questions, and send it off. I did this for years, and would often let my subject know that I'd likely have a series of followups, which would relate to their answers. That's fine: it's good for being on a deadline, but when I'm speaking with someone, I really want to get their thoughts as they're thinking of them, in the moment. There are a couple of reasons for this: chiefly, when you're doing it by email ahead of time, you have time to rehearse your answers and jot them down in a way that's well thought-out, detailed, and ultimately flattering to the subject. There's nothing wrong with that – I don't generally like to think and answer questions on the fly, especially when I have to dig back into my memory for something that I wrote about years ago. But rehearsed interviews can be really boring, and I don’t necessarily want a rehearsed sales pitch, but their authentic self coming through. (This usually only happens when I’m working through a company’s PR person, which sometimes is a reality.) Secondly, I like to conduct interviews as a running, natural conversation, ideally with a back and forth that starts with a question, and with followup questions that dig deeper into their answers. I like the way those interviews flow, because it feels less rigid, and it gives me an opportunity to see where my questions lead and how they're answered. It allows for us to jump to different topics and questions that I might not have thought to ask, drill down on some detail that they've mentioned, or ask for clarification on something. I think there's a lot of value in asking questions in the moment, because you get a human response from one's subject. You don't just get insights into the answer of the question, you get insight into *how* they approach the questions and *how* they answer it, which can be just as interesting as the answer itself. Once I've conducted the interview, the final step is to prep it for publication. In the instances where I'm writing a report or feature, I don't need to clean it up all that much: just format it for my notes, then go about writing, and refer to the audio file if needed. When I'm recording my interviews, I'll use my phone – iOS has a neat feature now where it'll generate a transcription of your conversation from an audio file. The transcript that it puts together will require cleanup, but they're generally pretty good. When I'm publishing a straight Q&A, I'll listen to the entire conversation and correct the transcript. I'll also do a search for some usual suspects. I tend to say "You know," and "um" and "uh", which I can go through and delete with a little bit of work. I'll also keep an eye out for duplicate words and other things like that, and clean them up so it's a little more readable. But I try not to really mess with the conversation or to clean it up where it's overly polished. I tend to cut down my long-winded questions to get to the point, but for the subject, a reader has an expectation that when they're reading an interview, what they're saying is what they said – you need to know what the intent of their answer is, as well as the tone. I'll leave in run-on sentences, and will try and keep any artifacts – an abrupt stop or laugh – to maintain the tone of the conversation, and when I make adjustments to something or swap out a word for clarity, it's indicated, usually with brackets. That way, the reader knows that there's been some alteration, but it's clear where that alteration took place. Once I've gone through that process, there's the final edit: a read through to make sure that there's nothing out of place, place the pictures, write an introduction that frames the interview appropriately, and then there's the final button click to publish it. 🎙️ Want to read the interviews that I've conducted? You can find them grouped on the [Interview](https://www.andrewliptak.com/tag/interview/) tag, but here are some notable ones that I think went over well: \- [Ray Nayler](https://www.andrewliptak.com/ray-nayler-mountain-in-the-sea-scifi-book-author-interview/) \- [Ann Leckie](https://www.andrewliptak.com/ann-leckie-ancillary-justice-radch-science-fiction-book-interview/) \- [John Scalzi](https://www.andrewliptak.com/john-scalzi-interview-burlington-vermont-scifi-old-mans-war/) \- [Brian Staveley](https://www.andrewliptak.com/brian-staveley-empires-ruin-fantasy-interview/) \- [P. Djeli Clark](https://www.andrewliptak.com/murderbot-martha-wells-network-effect-fugitive-telemetry-interview/) \- [Martha Wells](https://www.andrewliptak.com/murderbot-martha-wells-network-effect-fugitive-telemetry-interview/) --- I see a lot of value in doing interviews in this way: I'm endlessly curious about the nature of creativity and the creative process, and I think the best way to get those insights is to ask the people who're having them! Pop-culture journalism is rife with thinly-reskinned press releases and speculation based on "what makes sense", and this is a way to get information straight from the source. Hopefully, they're as interesting for folks to read as they are to conduct.