Happy Friday to all!
Thank you to everyone for another successful Are You Hooked. We'll do the blurb thing again at some point, and those of you who received feedback encouraging you to tighten or re-write will be welcome to submit your new, improved blurbs to see if they work better.
In the meantime, talk to me about book trailers. Are they selling books? Will you be using them for your own books? Have you seen any good ones that have actually encouraged you to purchase the book they touted?
Personally, I think the concept is great, but I've seen some really poor ones out there. Really poor. As in, did someone offer to do this for free so they could learn how to use the software?
Yeah, really poor.
So tell me what your experiences have been.
Book trailers? Those things on youtube with 5 hits, all from the author? No, I don't plan on using one. I plan on writing an aggressive book that will jump off the shelf, grab you, and force you to sit in a comfy chair with your mouth hanging open in awe until the very last page when you will be compelled to hunt me down and demand to know when the next book will come out.
ReplyDeleteAnd if I actually manage to write a book like that I'll let you know.... :o)
Thank you for the blurb and feedback session, it was fun :o)
I've only seen one effective book trailer. It was for Simone Elkeles's YA book, _How to Ruin a Summer Vacation_. The trailer made it clear that the book is chick lit, so non-chick lit fans probably wouldn't run out to buy it. But I can totally see teenage girls finding it hilarious, then buying copies for themselves and their friends. :)
ReplyDeleteFYI - I'm not a chick lit fan, but this particular story is unique and interesting.
The blurb was a great exercise, so thanks for hosting it, Authoress! :)
ReplyDeleteIn re: to book trailers. I haven't watched too many but I like the concept. I dunno how well I could do mine... (somehow, it seems, my demonic pals don't like being on camera) ;) but I have an idea for one I would love to try some day.
Mostly I think it could be an effective tool IF done well--just like anything else. I haven't seen enough to really comment further. Dial up, annoyingly, is NOT conductive to watching online video...
Someday.
~Merc
Thanks for the blurb showcase, Authoress. It was a good exercise for both participants and reviewers.
ReplyDeleteI've seen a lot of book trailers and it really does appear that in most cases, the author is the only one who thinks it's great. Most are about 3 minutes too long. A trailer shouldn't last more than 2 minutes, tops.
I think 99% of people making them are going about it the wrong way. Unless all they want is to announce their book is out, which is pretty much all these things do, why go through the trouble of slide shows, music, and ineffective text that scross across generic photos? That's so self-defeating.
If a book trailer is meant to help sell a book, it needs to be a commercial. For example, when you watch a commercial about Tide laundry soap, it's not so much about what it does (clean your clothes), but how it benefits you (brighter clothes make you look and smell great!). So I think authors need to approach the trailer as a selling tool, not a promo tool. Or don't bother.
Example: What do I care about one more Scottish hunk who saves his woman from the villainous whatevers? If that kind of book interests me, I'll read the blurb and make my decision from that. But if you show me a woman reading the book and then show how amorously she greats her husband/boyfriend and how quickly they shed their clothes and head for the bedroom... Now that's a benefit I wouldn't mind having. LOL! You get what I mean. My point is: Book trailers need to stop being redundant. Don't do the same thing the blurb does. Do something different!
For really effective book trailers, got to www.vidlit.com
Karen, I think you've hit it on the head:
ReplyDelete"A trailer shouldn't last more than 2 minutes, tops."
"I think 99% of people making them are going about it the wrong way. Unless all they want is to announce their book is out, which is pretty much all these things do, why go through the trouble of slide shows, music, and ineffective text that scross across generic photos?"
"If a book trailer is meant to help sell a book, it needs to be a commercial."
"So I think authors need to approach the trailer as a selling tool, not a promo tool."
I completely agree with everything I've quoted above. Recently, I was reading an agent's blog and came across an enthusiastic plug for a trailer belonging to one of her clients for a recent release...I clicked on it, and it was soooooo long....and soooooo not amusing (though it was supposed to be, apparently). I was underwhelmed, to say the least.