As I have said before, every author who has done reasonably well selling trade books for a general audience knows that what drives sales is not the outstanding quality of a book — lots of terrific books go nowhere in sales, and others that are truly lousy end up being bestsellers — or in advertising. It’s all about media attention. When it comes to radio, one of the very best, top-flight programs to land is Fresh Air with Terry Gross. I don’t know this for a fact, but someone has told me that the show has 4.5 million listeners. That’s a lot.
I have been on Terry Gross six times now, and have enjoyed it immensely each time. She is absolutely fantastic as an interviewer. She’s smart, insightful, and curious. She knows how to ask the right questions. She knows how to direct a conversation. She lets her guest talk. She makes her guest feel comfortable and free to discuss openly the important aspects of the book s/he has authored. It is a great experience. And it makes a huge difference in sales. If the point of writing a book is to get people to read it, interviews such as those that Terry Gross gives are absolutely spectacular.
I did my sixth interview with her on April 7, two weeks ago, on How Jesus Became God.  Here is the interview, in case you have not yet heard it.

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