Book trailer?

RhodaD'Ettore

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Those were magnificent trailers. What most impressed me was the sparse, precise writing. I've been researching some 'trailers' produced by some vanity pubs, and those are just verbose overlays of the jacket copy, with abstract backgrounds. Nowhere near the same category.

^^^^ mine are like that... but i did them myself for free with GIMP and OpenShot Video Editor. Does it make a difference? I don't know. But I tried it. Some places they are linked through youtube, and some places they were uploaded directly.

When i become more popular i will spend money on better theatrics.. you must learn to walk before you can run.

I have found that what works well for me, is using a tagline. I picked a quote that one of my reviewers loved:

"If God be good, Mr. Landon shall burn in the eternal flames of hell. If God be bad, he shall suffer much worse."

The response is always: @#$# What did that guy do that was so horrible? Then they get interested.
 

Kimber

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I've done one for each of my novels and haven't spent much money--usually $20-$30 on music (which can be done cheaper/free, I've recently figured out) and a few bucks on photos. None of them have gotten many views, but they were fun to make. :) A little time consuming, but at least I'm getting faster. I've also learned that shorter is better and I try to keep it under a minute.

Here's my most recent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBF5EZ2Qcrk

They may not be Hollywood-worthy, but I don't believe they've hindered my sales.
 

Marlys

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When I did a trailer for my second book, I used music licensed under Creative Commons for free use with attribution, and my own dolls. It got a pretty good response, and I think generated some sales. It's always hard to pinpoint where interest comes from, but from what I remember that book sold quicker than the previous.

Yes, dolls--check it out here if you're curious. :D
 

Undercover

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When I did a trailer for my second book, I used music licensed under Creative Commons for free use with attribution, and my own dolls. It got a pretty good response, and I think generated some sales. It's always hard to pinpoint where interest comes from, but from what I remember that book sold quicker than the previous.

Yes, dolls--check it out here if you're curious. :D

Oh, wow, I gotta kick out of it. Like the beard on Ken's face. lol

I think everyone should post their book trailer here. I don't think we have a thread dedicated to that.
 

dantefrizzoli

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To be honest I think it depends on the audience and who is viewing the trailer- so make sure the audience seeing the trailer is generally interested in that genre. I personally would be captivated by a trailer similar to the one you describe but like I said, everyone is different. Good luck!!
 

RichHelms

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I teach workshops on writing book trailers. On my website is I have analysis of 34 fiction and 8 non-fiction trailers along with several how-to articles and details on trailer arcs, LEAD timing and strategy details.

I have been studying trailers and while I agree most are boring there are many excellent examples.

http://booktrailer101.info
 

MarkEsq

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My first book trailer was picked for "trailer of the week" by Shelf Awareness, which was cool.

It was a little different, not the usual routine of blurbs and dramatic music, pics flashing in and out. I tried to tell a little story, and did so again with my second trailer, uploaded yesterday, that previews my new novel.

As I describe it:

Not your average trailer, this one previews the fourth novel in the Hugo Marston mystery series by showing how the books are created.

But let's not dwell on who forces whose kids to write what.

A prequel to the series, THE BUTTON MAN is set in London, England, where Hugo Marston is head of security at the US Embassy. He's assigned to protect a couple of movie stars, who've received death threats. But before he even meets them, one turns up dead in a graveyard....


Here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu-ChOZ56Cg
 

Old Hack

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Mod note: by all means discuss trailers, their making, uses, and effects, here; but don't use this thread to promote your own trailers and books. There are other places at AW for that. Thanks.
 

stevesouth

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So far, my trailer has been viewed 50 times, with no increase in sales. It's only been up for a few days, though, so I probably need a longer time frame to judge if it's really having any kind of impact on sales.
 

CaoPaux

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The above's mighty blog-spammy, but it's a lovely Sunday morning and I'm feeling charitable: merged with our existing How to Make a Trailer thread.