Book Trailers – Give One A Try

Book trailers? Why Not Give One A Try!

Book trailers are still relatively new to the publishing industry and most authors. It is difficult to find any information on what truly makes a book trailer good. It seems like “good” in this case should be self-evident, but there does not seem to be consensus anywhere on the web, either by authors or publishers, by book trailer producers, or by critics. Evan Staley, of EWS Films, put a trailer together for Life On Base: Quantico Cave that releases December 23, 2015. I think it turned out great.

So here go a couple of thoughts.

A book trailer should not:

• Give away the story. No spoilers.
• Create a false expectation for the reader. No fantasy if the story isn’t of that genre.
• Look like a car commercial. Don’t leave the viewer with that “what the heck what was that feeling.”

A book trailer should:

• Stir an interest in the book.
• Project the “feeling” of the story.
• Grasp the imagination of the viewer.

The Reading Agency offered a few tips that I think are useful when considering a book trailer.

• Write a script. If you plan to make your trailer, don’t wing-it.
• Start strong. Viewers will only give a couple of seconds of attention and click to another video.
• Keep it simple, but don’t summarize the story.
• Choose the music carefully and don’t forget about copyrights.

Take a gander at the trailer for Quantico Cave and leave a comment. Let us know what you think.