Plot the scope of your book and its intended audience. For the purposes of this article, let's say you want to write a book that will teach teenagers how to break into the film industry. Decide what types of jobs would be the most interesting to them, such as screenwriting, cinematography, costume design, makeup, special effects, set construction, acting and directing.
Identify who would have the most knowledge about the subject matter. If the focus is going to be on screenwriting, for instance, line up interviews with screenwriters, script consultants and script doctors, studio readers, agents, authors and instructors who teach the craft of screenwriting. The majority of these will have their contact information available on the Internet.
Compose a short, polite, professional email or letter to each. Introduce yourself, provide a brief summary of the book, why you're writing it, and who the publisher is, and respectfully request their participation in an interview. A little flattery doesn't hurt, but don't go overboard. Provide them with a choice of doing the interview in person, over the phone, or via email. Tape record all interviews done in person or on the phone. As a professional courtesy, ask them if they'd like to see the writeup prior to publication.
Decide whether the interview format will be strictly Q&A, or whether you will assimilate their replies into a combination of narrative and direct quotes. A narrative, for example, would read like this: Steve decided the only way he was ever going to get on the lot would require speed and cunning. "I stuffed my best suit into a bag, threw it over the fence, climbed over after it, and changed clothes in the first men's room I found." Whichever format you choose, use it consistently throughout the book.
Verify interviewees' references to specific dates, places and names. If there's an inconsistency, ask for clarification. When it comes to their perceptions and interpretations of events experienced by others, however, the quotes they provide reflect their personal viewpoints, and are not necessarily a statement of pure fact.
Storyboard interviews before writing the introductory, transitional and concluding text that will tie together all the information. What this means is that you'll assemble completed interviews in the order that makes the most sense in terms of a cohesive and progressive package. If you're writing about how to become a screenwriter, for example, you'd open with the interviews from the professors and book authors, because these lay the groundwork for formulating ideas and learning script structure. You'd then move on to interviews with screenwriters, followed by script doctors and consultants, and finish with agents and studio readers. If you're interviewing individuals who all do the same function, such as directors, your strategy might be to cluster them by the genres they're best known for, such as romantic comedies, epics, horror. If the content is primarily anecdotes, then group their comments under headings such as "My First Time," "My Favorite Project," or "What Was I Thinking?!"
Create a chapter template so each chapter will have the same "look." For example, you may want to open every chapter with a famous quote that relates to the content the interviewee addresses. Perhaps the opener will be a brief biography of the person interviewed, or it could be an anecdote or experience of your own. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it's the same setup for each chapter. In addition to chapter introductions, decide how to wrap each segment and segue to the next. If, for example, interviews have been incorporated in the context of a how-to book, the final page of each chapter could be a list of bullet point summaries, or a postscript comment. Another possibility for a how-to book is to end each chapter with a short homework exercise so readers can apply the expert's advice to their own projects or circumstances.
Include a thank-you to the interviewees on the dedication page.