Magazine interviews in your spare time

**Interested in becoming a freelance writer for magazines with health, fitness, and nutrition, articles? start with: 12 Hints for Magazine Health Writers. ***

If you’re writing part time around another full-time job, one of the questions that comes up is how to schedule interviews for your health stories. Everything else you need to do — research, write, edit — can be done in your spare time. But how do you schedule interviews while you’re at the office?

This is a challenge, but not as big as you might think. Health writers typically interview three kinds of people for stories.

1. Experts — the MDs, PhDs, and others with letters after their names. Most of your interviews will fall into this category. These people tend to have tight schedules. But they are often willing or even happy to speak early in the morning before work, on their lunch break, or after work. Just give them plenty of time to pencil in your 10-20 minute interview.
2. “Real People” — the nonexperts you use as anecdotal leads or to illustrate a particular health condition. These are the second most common interviews health writers do. The good news here is that these people almost always prefer to speak on the weekends or after hours.
3. Associations and corporations. Whether it’s the American Heart Association, or a corporation that makes healthy dog food, these people are the ones you’ll need to speak with during office hours. The good news is that most of your articles won’t need these people to weigh in. When you do need them, the interviews tend to be short. You’ll probably only need a quote or two. Sometimes you can even email the questions and get an email back, or can schedule a quick follow-up call on your break.

For all types of interviews, consider where the interviewees live. If you’re writing an article for a national audience, you can schedule the interview during office hours on the other side of the country when you’re off work. The trick to make all of this work is to schedule your interviews as soon as you get the assignment. That will give you the wiggle room you need to work around everyone’s schedule.

Happy Health Writing,

Kathy Summers