My Favorite Place on Earth: How'd You Snag the Interviews?

To compile his new book, My Favorite Place on Earth, Jerry Camarillo Dunn Jr., interviewed dozens of famous people -- from Natalie Portman to the Dalai Lama -- about the places they loved most. He'll be guest blogging about his experiences here for the next few weeks. Click here for recent posts.

A reader on this blog emailed me (jerry@myfavoriteplacenatgeo.com), saying he plans a celebrity-oriented project and asked what I'd learned from writing My Favorite Place on Earth. So here are some tips on how to recruit famous people to work with you

1) Don't send stock letters that are obviously going out to dozens of other celebrities: "Dear (your name goes here), I love your movies. Please take part in my book. Or please send me an autographed picture/your Academy Award statue/your first-born." For My Favorite Place on Earth I researched everyone I invited, so that in my request letter I could mention places they'd traveled, charities they support, activities they enjoy, and so on. I hoped this personalized approach showed my serious intent and my sincere interest in them- especially compared to a dashed-off, "Hey Generic Famous Person!" approach.

2) Have a worthwhile core question, and pose it in a way that will spark the person's interest and inspire him or her to get involved in your project.

3) Flattery is okay, as long as you really mean it. I'm sure celebrities (and their publicists) can smell insincerity and opportunism from ten miles away.

4) When possible, try to connect with famous people through a personal contact. When Julia Roberts turned down my request (sob!), her publicist explained: "To be totally honest, I get tons of requests for Julia each month, and she rarely does anything. If she does agree to do something, it is for somebody that she has a relationship with."
Like most of us, I have few personal connections with the famous. So I found listings for their offices, managers, publicists, and personal assistants. An online service at www.contactanycelebrity.com offers a free seven-day test-drive - enough time to get a lot of research done!

5) Persist. If you don't get a reply to your request, write, email, or telephone again. Sometimes it took me months - and in a few cases, a year - to set up an interview. Think of it as a treasure hunt, with a possible big prize at the end.
Eventually, your project may come to life, and you'll find yourself talking with admirable, famous people about worthwhile things. For me the process was enriching and a lot of fun.

To learn more about the making of My Favorite Place on Earth, please visit this blog regularly and visit www.myfavoriteplacenatgeo.com. Thanks!