A reader emailed me to say she had received a phone call asking her to be a guest on a radio talk show. Pretty exciting, right? Well, it was until they got to the catch.
The "producer" said they charge an appearance fee.
Wait a minute--when you appear on TV or the radio you're supposed to GET an appearance fee (sometimes), you're not supposed to pay one. Actually most talk shows don't pay their guests--but they certainly don't charge them, either.
It turns out this was a radio station where the program hosts pay to be on the air and, in turn, this host was trying to cover his expenses by getting his guests to pay to talk about their book or other project.
Is it worth it? Almost certainly not. First, most shows like that have a tiny audience. Sometimes it may just be the host's mother and close friends. Generally these shows are on at weird hours that stations can't fill profitably any other way because nobody's listening. And even if the show is on during prime time, how many people are likely to be listening to it rather than watching "Glee"?
I had an experience with this a few years back when I hired an dodgy publicist (of course I didn't know he was dodgy when I hired him). He got me onto a radio station for an interview, to show that he was earning his fees. Only later did it come out that he'd paid the host--and that it was a show with miniscule listenership.
If someone wants to interview you, the deal is that you provide information or entertainment and they provide the airwaves or the magazine space--no money should be changing hands. If you are offered a deal that requires you to pay, just say no.
(For tips on how to legitimately promote your book, see my book "Your Writing Coach," available from your local book shop or Amazon and other online and offline retailers.)