A Book and a Chat Host Barry Eva’s Dos and Don’ts for Getting on Internet Radio Shows

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

A Book and a Chat Host Barry Eva’s Dos and Don’ts for Getting on Internet Radio Shows

By Barry Eva

Back in February 2009, after appearing on a few radio shows, and with experience of running a couple of local TV shows narrating stories from my romance book as well as filming local karaoke, I thought… why not try your own radio show. Loving a good old “chin wag” as we say in England I thought it might be good fun, little did I know just how much.

Here we are almost three years on and over 400 shows later my show is still hitting the airwaves three to four times a week, proving it even more popular than I ever expected, and I love every minute of it…well almost.

My show I called A Book and a Chat which is basically what it is, anybody who knows me will tell you I am no literary chat person, I am not one who goes into styles of writing etc, I just love to sit and have chat, learn something and hopefully have some fun at the same time. As the show description goes…

“A Book and a Chat” has proved a hugely popular radio program with people of all ages. With two hundred shows already recorded, Barry’s format of “a chat over a cup of tea” has received nothing but rave reviews from guest and listeners alike. The writer of a successful young adult romance book “Across the Pond” Barry has himself appeared on a large number of radio and TV programs. “A Book and a Chat” is a program for writers, readers and bloggers, not so much a literary show, more like… let’s sit around have a cup of tea and a few laughs.” – Read what the guests are saying about the show at

http://storyheart52.wordpress.com/a-book-and-a-chat-blog-radio-show

I am very proud of the many, many comments I have received from guests, nearly all love the style and many have come back for a second third, fourth or even fifth time.

Firstly, if you are going to appear on the show, here are some “Does and Don’ts”

Radio Shows:

1: Don’t get overcharged

Appearing on internet Radio Shows is a way to get your name and that of your book to a worldwide audience, there are many radio shows around the blogosphere but be careful. I have read that some promotion companies are charging a lot of money (sometimes over $100) for a 15 minute interview, sometimes for which you are one of several guests.

Some shows are sponsored and are able to produce a show free of charge, though having to stop every five minutes for an advert might not be every bodies style.

I used to say check “Blogtalk Radio” for free however in 2011 they changed their format and now even I have to often charge a small fee.

I have tried to keep my shows free, however last year Blog Talk Radio started charging for shows in “prime time” or lasting more than thirty minutes. This has meant in many cases I’ve asked for a small donation of $10 for a first time guest, after that I don’t charge for subsequent visits.

I have always prided myself in producing a good show and unlike many other hosts doing it for free, just to put on one show normally takes about 3/4hrs of my time we pre work and post blogging etc.

I don’t ask for a copy of the guests book, and any I receive I donate to local libraries, so I guess the cost is less than a copy of the book, and I really hate to make this charge, but unfortunately I am being forced to do so to keep the shows running.

2: Make sure the show is the right format for you

There are plenty of different show and formats out there for you to appear on, some have multiple guests appearing in a general discussion type of show, others as with “A Book and a Chat” are one to one.

Some shows are very “Into writing” and go into the literary styles, format, dropping the names of authors might come easy to some hosts, as does in some cases using the show just to promote their own books. Other, such as my own show “A Book and a Chat” are a lot more laid back. As I advertise… “Not a literary show, more like… let’s sit around have a chat over a cup of tea…”

Listen to a few previous shows and make sure the show is a format you will enjoy being part of.

3: Is the show still running?

It’s amazing how many advertised radio shows when you check them out you find they might now have taken place for several months. Look for a regular show that already has a following.

4: Request an appearance ahead of time.

It’s no use in most radio shows contacting the host a week or two before your book comes out and you want to appear. I for one normally book up two to three months ahead if not longer. If there is a very interesting late request I do sometimes try and add an extra show, but as they say on the TV, “Book early to avoid disappointment”.

5: Contact the host before hand

Contact the hosts see if there is anything they want from you. Some hosts require copies of the books before a guest appears on their show. I don’t do that; I would never get a chance to read a fraction of them, however if I do kindly receive a copy I will always forward it to a local library etc.. hey you never know it’s another way to help get the guest name out there.

Ask if the hosts wants you to read from your book

Some show hosts provide questions that they will ask during the show, if this is the case be ready to provide answers and if possible interesting answers, I always believe a chuckle or two can only help market your book. If like my own show the it’s more freestyle, have a couple of notes about your book, answers to possible question a story or two always helps, and don’t forget to mention the name of your work as often as possible.

6: On the Day of the show

Some shows require you to be in a recording studio, others like my own you just dial into a number which the host will supply and chat for however long the show last.

Make sure you have the correct number and time zone! Despite putting this in bold type in my show instruction it’s amazing how many there still are who do not read that the show is EST and arrive two or three hours late for the show.

If the show starts to lag and yes there are a few hosts out there that seem to struggle with some guests, be prepared if need by take over the show a little perhaps even ask the host a question.

7: Advertise

Before and after the show, advertise share it with your social network, link the show to your web pages etc. I for one always offer my guest not only links to the show but an mp3 file of the show that they can use.

8: Follow Up

It is always nice as a show host to receive an email from your guest, even if it’s just a few lines. I am still in contact with many of my previous guests; some have been on the show seven or eight times now.

9: Follow Up Information

It still amazes me how there are still authors that do not have a presence on the internet. If you do not have a web site, and to be honest these days setting up a basic web site is easy and inexpensive, at least have a blog with your book details.

Minimum should be, a brief bio on the author, synopsis of the book, where it can be purchased, how to contact the author. There needs to be some way of providing more information to follow up an appearance.

9: Enjoy Yourself

Above all, don’t worry, enjoy yourself, it’s your book, let the world hear how proud you are of it and what a great piece of work you have produced.

During the over four hundred shows I’ve learnt many things, met some wonderful people and laughed a lot. I can honestly say there has only been one show I struggled with, and that was one of the early shows when I had a guest who had written a book about banking and high finance. I asked him one question and then could not get a word in for the next 25 minutes not understanding half of what my guest was talking about.

I have had some very famous guests on the show during these last two years from Emmy award winners such as Louise Shaffer, to authors such as Steve Berry who have 72 million copies in print throughout the world. I love to involve the YA Bloggers, as I call them the “Sham Wow” of print throughout the world. I love to involve the YA Bloggers, as I call them the “Sham Wow” of YA literature as they soak everything up. I have made it a point to include bloggers as guests on the show as well as many debut authors. After all they might be debut authors today but they could be the stars of tomorrow. The Class of 2K10, 2K11 and now 2K12 YA debut authors are always great to have on the show, and it’s been fun to follow their rise to “fame and fortune” (okay we can dream)

There are a few drawbacks in having what sometimes has been five shows a week, the jokes and anecdotes tend to repeat themselves, but I always try and make the chat flow and love to laugh as anybody who has listened will tell you. Many guests are what can only be described as “scared” when they first call in and we chat before the show starts, but as I say to them, it’s honestly just a chat over a cup of tea (in my case English PG Tips), and so many have told me afterwards how much they enjoyed the easy going format and style, that they were completely at ease.

I love the various styles that can appear on the show, learning about people’s fights over illness and abuse, historical novels about periods in history, Leaning about floods, disasters, love and laughter, the eclectic mix of shows not only keeps me looking forward each week to the next show but I hope my listeners as well. I have made many friends along the way learned many things, about the art of writing as well as telling a good story.

One good sign as to how the show is being enjoyed is the way the time seems to rush by for all over them, this I very soon realized and started running some “one hour specials”, which again people have enjoyed.

I have in the last three years covered subjects from abuse to life coaching, from Picture books to historical fiction. I have within three days covered a multi-million selling author such as Steve Berry, to William Link whose name might not be one you remember straight away until you realize he and his late writing partner wrote all the Colombo series, Murder She wrote and so much more. To be followed by a local author who had written some small books of stories about famous horses which were being sold on local “tack” shops.

During this last few years I’ve had on my show Werewolf’s (yes really) to film stars, multi selling authors to ones with their first book, abuse to humor, peoples to pets, tears to laughter. I’ve had them all on A Book and a Chat and hope to have many more over the years yet to come.

Barry Eva, also known as “Storyheart”, was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, England, moving to USA in 2000. With his whit, oratory, and old-fashioned English charm, Barry is a much sort after both as a presenter and interviewee on radio and TV. Barry now lives in Connecticut.

Barry has also become a very popular radio show host with his show “A Book and a Chat” on “blogtalkradio”. The show which started in February 2009 has had well over 300 guests ranging from bloggers to best selling authors, being in such demand he now carries out three to four shows a week with a booking list many months ahead. More information can be found at

Radio Blog: http://abookandachat.blogspot.com

Humor Blog: www.laughithoughtmytrouserswouldneverdry.blogspot.com

Across the Pond Blog: www.acrossthepond-storyheart.blogspot.com

Blog Talk Radio Show: www.blogtalkradio.com/across-the-pond

Book Site: www.across-t-pond.com

Amazon Reviews: http://tinyurl.com/o7sokp

Email: Barry Eva at knight2k4@hotmail.com

Award-Winning Book Publicity Company Since 2007

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR, BLOG TOUR & BOOK PUBLICITY ENDORSEMENTS: NICE THINGS PEOPLE SAY ABOUT PUMP UP YOUR BOOK

NEW! "Thank you Dorothy for a lovely tour! Thanks so much for the graphics and wonderful trailer!!"Avery Sterling, PRECIOUS BURDENS

"I just wanted to thank you for everything. You ARE the queen. Your are so personable and professional. Your graphics soared beyond. They are beautiful. It was a pleasure to work with you."Jude Hopkins, BABE IN THE WOODS

"THANK YOU for all of these graphics!!! That was a valuable added perk of working with you on the VBT! Thank you for all the work you put into those, and into the organization and follow-ups on the tour itself. It's been a pleasure working with you, Dorothy!"Allyson Rice, The Key to Circus-Mom Highway

"Oh, awesome!! Thank you so much! You ran such a lovely tour. Those images are great, I look forward to using them and will miss seeing the regular postings on Twitter ;-).
I really appreciate your steadfast and ongoing support. It means a lot!!"Palmer Pickering, MOON DEEDS

"Just wanted to send you a quick note to say thank you again for the amazing blog tour and to tell you that we will be adding the tour to Mark's author website in the next few days. We will of course be recommending your company to other authors we know. And when Mark's next book is out, we will use your services again." Kirsten Grenside on behalf of Mark Grenside, FALL OUT

"Thank you for all the great, creative, work you have done on behalf of my book. You are
a special lady, as a kind hearted woman and a professional."
Maria Andrade, DEFIANCE AND REDEMPTION

"Everyone did an excellent job. The blog pages were beautiful, and the trailer was so clever and funny. Thanks for sending these lovely "souvenirs" from my tour. I will be able to use all of these posts on Twitter. I enjoyed this so much and look forward to my next tour!"
Irene Woodbury, HONEYMOON ROULETTE

" I am delighted with the results of my recent tour with Pump Up Your Book. Dorothy is meticulous and professional, presents beautifully laid out pages, maintains constant contact with the client, and gives more than expected value for money. In a nutshell: you get what you pay for and more on top! I will certainly be using Dorothy’s services for my other Regency romance books.”
Arabella Sheraton, THE LORD BLACKWOOD REGENCY ROMANCE SERIES

"Thank you so much for The Shadow of Atlantis tour. I've really enjoyed all the posts and seeing my book being promoted. I will definitely come back to you with another of my titles!"
Wendy Leighton-Porter, THE SHADOW OF ATLANTIS

"Thank you so much for the great job on the book tour! Pump Up Your Book was a driving force in the launch of THE PILATE SCROLL!"
M.B. Lewis, THE PILATE SCROLL

"Thank you ever so much - it was a fun tour. I will continue singing your praises to my fellow authors. And grateful for the images, I will put them to continued use."
Kathleen Shaputis, HIS KILT DROPPED HERE

"I appreciate you and your hard work. Thank you for creating these awesome images for my book and allowing me to use them. I am very thankful to have them!"
Joni Ankerson, TO KILL OR BE KILLED

"Thank you for an Amazing Virtual Book Tour for Son of a Soldier! I really appreciate all the work you put into it!"
Aiken Brown, SON OF A SOLDIER

"Thanks so much for getting ANNA INCOGNITO out there and reviewed and shared with so many people. It was great to see it on so many twitter feeds!"
Laura Preble, ANNA INCOGNITO

"Thank you so much for such a fantastic tour! You did an amazing job getting it together so quickly, and I couldn’t have been happier!"
Lena Gregory, GRAVE CONSEQUENCES

"Thank you so much Dorothy! I appreciate your hard work. Love the graphics!"
Jennifer Chase, FLOWERS ON HER GRAVE

"This has been one of the best things I’ve done as an author. Not only am I getting the word out about my books but I’m learning about my own work and my readers along the way. I love it!"
Elysia Strife, A PROMISE IN ASH

"Today my blog tour ended, with another great review which made me end the tour with a big smile! What a fun way to end this incredible 4-week tour. I will surely miss it. I want to thank you for arranging it so well and for being there for me whenever I needed. Thank you!!!"

Miri Leshem-Pelly, SCRIBBLE & AUTHOR

"I think you did an excellent job last time, thank you!"
Shami Stovall, KNIGHTMARE ARCANIST

"Just wanted to thank you for the book tour. :) You did a great job. :)"
Suzanne M. Hurley, THE TEDDY BEAR EYE CLUB

"I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful virtual tour in August for Brimstone and Water. I was very happy with the amount of attention given to the book and to me. I am mentioning it to friends on line that haven't gone to the site yet to be sure and take a look. Thanks for all your work."
Sharon House, BRIMSTONE AND WATER

"Thank you for running my book promotion for BlackJack. I am so pleased with the reviews that came in and appreciated all you did. My sales have improved from being around 800,000 down to the 200,000 on Amazon and hopefully dropping still. I will definitely be contacting you for a promotion again."
Christine Donovan, BLACKJACK

"You’ve been a joy to work with, and I’d do another tour with you in a heartbeat. Overall, it was an excellent experience and a good value. I’ll be sure to look you up when it’s time to release my next book."
Michael Allan Scott, GREY DAZE

"Just wanted to thank you for putting together a great tour for You Won't Remember This. I think the author was pleasantly surprised and overall very pleased."
Bacon Press Books

"Dorothy, thanks so much for another great VBT!!! The Twitter-Party was a new feature this time that I particularly enjoyed. I will continue to recommend PUYB to my writer-friends, because you are simply the best!!!"
T.M. Wallace, WINTERGARDEN

"Thank you for a great blog tour for my “Depression and Your Child.”
I’m in the middle of my third book and will definitely call on you again when it’s time to market it."
Deborah Serani, DEPRESSION AND YOUR CHILD

"Your hard work and professionalism hasn't gone unnoticed. When I release my next novel(s), I will definitely use your service. I have already recommended you to several authors."
Ashley Fontainne, GROWL

"Thanks for a very good experience with Pump Up Your Book. Fighter Pilot's Daughter has sold out of the first printing (still available as POD on Rowman & Littlefield's site, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.). My editor at R & L says there's a very good chance the book will come out in paperback in the summer. He asked me "Did you hire a publicist or something?" I told him about you, and he was impressed."
Mary Lawlor, FIGHTER PILOT'S DAUGHTER

"You are amazing Dorothy and I love what you do to get the spirit of our books out to the world. Thank you!"
Lee Papa, TEMPLE OF ALL KNOWING

"I can't believe the response this book is getting! I am so very thrilled that she liked it!!! You are THE BEST, Dorothy, for hooking up this amazing tour with all these stunning reviews! This was the book I was going to keep under my bed forever and ever and now WOW. I can't believe this is happening. It's like a dream come true!"
Madeline Wynn, DAUGHTER OF THE FALLEN

"Just wanted to say I'm appreciating your tweets so much. This is really helping my book sales, and I'm telling writer friends about you."
Mary Lawlor, FIGHTER PILOT'S DAUGHTER

"Thank you SO much!!!! I had a blast on the tour and appreciate all the time the bloggers and reviewers spent promoting Ash to Steele:)"
Karen-Anne Stewart, ASH TO STEELE

"When it comes to looking for a virtual book tour coordinator, Dorothy Thompson of Pump Up Your Book Tours is simply the best. I have tried several virtual book tour coordinators and have even set up a book tour on my own, but none of them were as successful as my tours with Pump Up Your Book Tour, which has the combination of expertise and experience needed to get the author the results they need. On this latest tour, TWELVE TO MURDER made it up to number three on Amazon! Thank you, Dorothy!"
Lauren Carr, Best-Selling Mystery Author of Mac Faraday, and Lovers in Crime, Mysteries

"Thank you again for all of your help and support for my recent book tour. You were so supportive and responsive, and I enjoyed working with you. It was a great tour and I really enjoyed it, especially when my book hit the top 100 in the two subcategories! That was awesome! Thanks for "pumping up my book!""
Monique Roy, ACROSS GREAT DIVIDES

"Thank you for another amazing tour, Dorothy!! I loved the sites I had an opportunity to visit and the people I met along the way. I even made a few new friends and found wonderful supporters that I'll never forget - I promise! The exposure you gave my book was absolutely unbelievable, and I can't think of a better way to welcome and expose an author's new creation to the literary world. Happy New Year to all your readers and may your success continue to grow. "
Kaylin McFarren, BURIED THREADS

"Thank you for a great virtual book tour. I thought it went really well and it was great to have a wave of PR that flowed through the two month period of my book release. I'm working on my next book - and will definitely reach out to you when it comes time to market! You were a delight to work with and really made me feel looked after. As I've mentioned before, I just don't know how you do it all."
--Deborah Serani, DEPRESSION AND YOUR CHILD

"I just wanted to let you know how wonderful I felt my book blast went for Be Careful What You Wish For in the month of August. So many emails and contacts that I would never have gotten. The publicity was just phenomenal!"
--R.K. Avery, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

"Just wanted to touch base with you and extend a huge thank you for the wonderful and successful book blast you arranged for Love Vindicated for me. I was very happy with your services and will be passing your name and brand along to some writer friends with a stellar recommendation. Again thanks and I look forward to working with you again in the future."
--Lila Munro, LOVE VINDICATED

"Thank you so much for all your hard work in putting together the virtual book tour for The Sixth Power. I appreciate it so much."
--Carol Nicolas, THE SIXTH POWER

"Thank you SO MUCH for such a great blog tour!"
--Sandra D. Bricker, ALWAYS THE BAKER, FINALLY THE BRIDE

"Wow - you are absolutely fantastic. Can't believe how lucky I was to find you :)"
--Jo Sparkes, THE BIRR ELIXIR

"I just wanted to let you know that tonight Steven Manchester's Twelve Months became The Story Plant's first #1 Kindle bestseller. This couldn't have happened without you. Barb's cover is an absolute showstopper, Sue's copyediting boosted the overall work, Jackie's proofreading kept all of us honest, and Tracee Gleichner's blog tour started what has become an avalanche of great reviews."
-- Lou Aronica, STORY PLANT

"Blog tours have been the most effective promotion I’ve done. Dorothy Thompson and her company Pump Up Your Book are the greatest. I’ve spent money with other promotion companies that advertised packages then didn’t deliver the service they advertised, inflated their audience and reach and point blank falsely represented themselves. Dorothy has been a Godsend, and by far, her services are the best promotional endeavors I’ve invested in thus far."
-- Alicia Singleton, DARK SIDE OF VALOR

"I didn't realize that there is a place on amazon that you can see your stats for foreign sales; mine are really good and I believe it is your tweeting service. I think I might have found the key to successful self-publishing when I found Pump Up Your Books."
-- Suzanne Jenkins, PAM OF BABYLON SERIES

"Dorothy Thompson helped promote my book, Gringos in Paradise: Our Honduras Odyssey. Taking part in it was so much easier (and less expensive) than the travel schedule I was hving to keep doing on my own. She set up everything, coached me through my part, and I found my book and I promoted it all over the Internet. It definitely increased my book sales."
-- Malana Ashlie, GRINGOS IN PARADISE

"Dorothy was not only a lot of fun to work with but she helped me get the word out about my book. I would recommend her to both debut and experienced authors."
---Deborah Woehr, PROSPERITY: A GHOST STORY

“Dorothy is a firecracker promoter. She is skilled at finding the most visible placements in promoting your book with unmatched enthusiasm.She is creatively talented and a wonderful person to have on your team.”
--Kathy Holmes Eckardt, REAL WOMEN WEAR RED

“I invested in a three month virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Books promotions for my noir thriller, Moonlight Falls. Not only did the marketing campaign work wonders for spreading the word about the new novel, in the very last month, on the very last day of the tour, Moonlight Falls became an Amazon Kindle bestseller!”
–Vincent Zandri, MOONLIGHT FALLS and THE REMAINS

“I’m so pleased every day when I look at Google Alerts and see our titles all around the blogosphere, so thanks for that!”
–-World Ahead Media

“This has been a wonderful experience. Dorothy Thompson and her whole team are very committed to each author, take each author’s tour very seriously, and work towards maximum exposure in the right places. This is the best book promotion expenditure I’ve made in terms of return on investment. I highly recommend Pump Up Your Book Promotion.”
--Phyllis Zimbler Miller, MRS: LIEUTENANT

"I used Pump Up Your Book promotions a few months ago for my novel, Nephilim. My publisher is a great person, but when it comes to promotions, she encourages authors to do that on their own. Enter Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book. I had 8 reviews of the book and was featured as a guest author every day of the week at various websites during the month that I used her company. Amazing! She secured everything for me which was really nice and I didn't have to do anything but write a few blogs or answer interview questions. I would use Pump Up Your Book again in a heart beat!"
--Mary Ann Loesch, NEPHILIM

Visit here to find out what others have to say!

Follow Us!

Click on image to see who’s touring in December!

Book Mockup Graphics for $49!

Click on image to find out more!

PUYB Book Trailer of the Week

Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir

Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

-- Sheila Roberts, Author of Winter at the Beach