The latest way to promote your book is with a video. Book Trailer (TM) is a trademark of Circle of Seven Productions. The Book Trailers (TM) are similar to movie trailers. Both are meant to build interest in a book and get people to buy it. With a book trailer, the author or a professional videographer has to convert the written words into visual images. You want to convey a sense of what the book is about without giving anything away. Most book trailers run from one to three minutes.
Author and marketing expert M.J. Rose has been using book videos to promote her books since 2001 because, “The impact of imagery is greater than the impact of words.”
I noticed an increase in sales for my chick-lit mystery, A Fiery Secret, soon after my book trailer was posted on various sites. Since I didn’t have any other promo at the time, I have to assume the trailer generated interest in my book. I hadn’t wanted to pay a few hundred dollars for a professional company to make a trailer, so thought about trying to create one myself. Fortunately, my friend Allie enjoyed making hers so much that she offered to make mine. She wanted to show her appreciation for the help and support I had given her when she first became a published author. I gave her the text, photos and music for the trailer. My book trailer cost $16.50 to make. The music cost $14 and I paid $2.50 for a photo I used. When Allie made hers, she got her music for $6. Windows Movie Maker isn’t hard to use in making your book trailer and is free.
To give you some idea of how much time and effort it takes to make a trailer, Allie said she spent 10 to 12 hours on her first one, but some authors said it took them longer to do their first ones. Be prepared to spend time looking for music and images. It took me a lot of time to find free or cheap photos that fit my story and to find the best music for a mystery.
By the way, you can burn a disk with your different book trailers as a promo item to give out at conferences.
If you are interested in making a trailer, here are some links and suggestions:
Creating Multi-Media Slide Shows
I downloaded royalty free images from . and check out https://www.istockphoto.com/index.php. Another good one is https://www.bigstock.com/. They have free and inexpensive images.
https://www.sounddogs.com/ – They have a great variety. Some clips are really pricy and some much cheaper.
https://media-convert.com/ – free online conversion site if want it in a specific format.
Spots to place your book trailer:
Your blog and website are good places.
Check out . Preview the Book is a relatively new site that’s hosting trailers. You can upload your own or they’ll make one for you if you want. Right now, they are offering free hosting for a year. You get a page with your book info and the trailer, plus they will also design a banner for you at a minimal charge.
If you want to take a look at my book trailer, here are links to view it:
My website
YouTube
Preview the Book
I wrote the text in first person since A Fiery Secret is in first person.
Diane Craver enjoys her life with her husband and six children. Her books, No Greater Loss, A Fiery Secret, and Never the Same are in print and ebook format. All three are published by Samhain Publishing. Diane’s book, How To Run A Profitable Preschool Without The Hassle, is available as an ebook and in print. Other books (which are in print) include The Christmas of 1957 and Celebrating And Caring For Your Baby With Special Needs. To learn more about Diane and her writing, visit her website & blog at: https://www.dianecraver.com and https://www.dianecraver.com/blog