Book Trailers Uno

I’ve been thinking lately about book trailers and their effectiveness.

Book trailers are just like movie trailers. But for books. They’re little videos authors create to get you interested in buying their book.

I asked authors to send me links to their book trailers so I could post them and see what other people like or dislike about them.

I got a lot so I’ve broken them into uno, dos and tres blog posts. Would you take a look and tell me what you think of these?

David Lubar …

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB5zHpxpfNM]

Kathleen Guler …

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1ARPeU4Vw0]

Lynda Hilburn …

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAvTEWU1qN4]

Olivia Gentile … this one isn’t on YouTube so you have to go to her website. I think you’ll like this one. This is actually the one that got me started thinking about the topic.

If you’re an author with a book trailer tell me how you promote it.

If you’re an author without a book trailer tell me if you want one in the future.

If you’re a reader, what do you think about book trailers? Are they effective? Do any of these make you want to go out and buy the book? Would you ever seek out a book trailer? If so, how would you search?

0 thoughts on “Book Trailers Uno”

  1. The zombie book–the idea intrigues me and this is EXACTLY the kind of book I would buy for my fifth grade daughter. Graphics were good, but the music was wholly irritating to the extreme.

    Land Beyond–The music was better here, but it seemed like I was looking at a random collection of stock photos, so I couldn’t relate to a single photo as the main character. The details about the story weren’t specific enough to interest me.

    Vampire Psychologist–Everything came together well here. The trailer told a mini story, one that made me want to read the book. Isn’t that exactly what you want from a trailer?

    Rodeo–good trailer, except for the early close-up of a man’s denim-clad crotch.

  2. The use of stock photos bothered me to a greater or lesser degree in all of them.

    1) In addition to having the most annoying music, it really screamed homemade. And that’s a shame, because it sounded like an interesting book. I just couldn’t watch it all the way through with that music.

    2) The music here was good. It sounds like something I would read. In addition to using stock photos (some of which looked like promos for a Ren-fest), there was also a drawing for one of the characters, which just threw the whole thing off. And there’s a typo. It should be “foresee” not “forsee.”

    3) There are at least 3 different woman who are, I assume, representing the protagonist. And I don’t remember seeing any castles in Denver. But, again, an idea that sounds interesting and worth reading.

    4) Why does he give up fame and fortune to go home? How is his family making it tough for him to stay? Why does his rival want him dead? That’s a pretty extreme reaction. And if they are, and someone wants him dead, why does he? The description tells me nothing real about the story.

    I don’t seek out book trailers. And I’ve never decided to read a book based on one. I want good back cover copy that makes me go, “Wow! That sounds exciting.” Or powerful or thought-provoking or whatever adjective works for the genre.

    After looking at these, I would definitely opt for a professional to put together a trailer should I decide to go that way.

  3. Couldn’t watch any of them all the way through. They all looked homemade and it made the plots seem stupid. If you have to do it, I’d say go professional!

  4. I think the trailers look pretty good considering the resources available for these types of projects. I think it’s unrealistic to expect authors to spend hundreds of dollars by going “professional.”

    1. FYI … if these comments don’t quite match the trailers, it’s because I had an author ask me to take hers off the blog. She didn’t like people not liking it, apparently. Poor thing.

  5. To be honest, after reading some of the earlier comments, I don’t blame her or any of the authors who very kindly submitted their works for discussion. I came here hoping to participate in a lively conversation about the effectiveness of book trailers with constructive criticism and open minds. Instead, I found some pretty mean-spirited stuff. Think I’ll pass.

    1. I have to disagree, AS. I think this IS a lively conversation about the effectiveness of book trailers. Maybe I have a thicker skin, but I don’t see anything here that is “mean-spirited.” I think their opinions are fascinating … knowing what works for them is invaluable marketing research and any author would be wise to take heed. These are readers and book lovers who viewed the trailers and have given their opinion. It’s no different than folks articulating why they picked up a book in a bookstore, read the cover copy, and put it back on the shelf. Oh, and just so you know … all of these trailers are on YouTube for the whole wide world to view.

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