Book Video Trailers

The main difference between a movie trailer and a book trailer is that a movie trailer already has visual images to work with - clips from the film. With a book trailer, the maker (either the author themselves or a professional videographer) has to convert the written words into visual images. The trick is to convey a sense of what the book is about without giving anything away - and without really clearly defining what the characters look like, as most readers prefer to visualize what they are reading about as they imagine it themselves.

Most book trailers run from one to three minutes. They can be anything from the author reading a passage from the book, to an elaborate “mini-movie”.

Below, you will find links about this exciting new way of advertising and promoting your book.

Storyboard your ideas out. Since you only have a couple of minutes to work with, think carefully about the length of time each image or section of video or animation uses.

The first thing you want to consider is how to convey the idea of your book, and get people excited about it - excited enough to want to buy it!

Watch several book trailers at YouTube. Think about whether you want something simple, such as you, the author reading a passage of your book? If you are uncomfortable with the idea of dong a reading, take another approach.

Perhaps a video compiled of still images. Or a mixture of stills and video. Some trailers use animation. A musical background will add interest and emotion.

What method of changing from one scene to the next do you want to employ? Do you want to fade to black? Or use some kind of manipulation that gives the impression of a page turning, or a spiraled fade?

Think about good movie trailers, since most people are more familiar with those. What made you want to go see the movie? Did the intensity build as the trailer progressed? Did the music quicken, or become foreboding?

Here’s a good tutorial

Don’t trust your own technical skills? Try asking a friend who has experience making YouTube videos.

Maybe you could run a contest on your blog or website, offering a free copy of your book or a monetary prize for someone making a book trailer for you. Judge for yourself what the best entry is, or let readers decide.

You can even hire a professional.