Loves Book Trailers Here are Three

I love book trailers! And in a nice piece of serendipity, I happen to have a new one for my latest Best Seller, Star Cruise: Marooned, just off an exclusive reveal at USA Today:




My first ever book trailer in 2012 was purely a treat to myself because it was like a mini scifi movie of my book  Wreck of the Nebula Dream. I think everyone knows my fondest dream is to have my books made into movies or TV, so this video was the next best thing at the time LOL. Some of the stock photos have since been used a zillion times for other authors' book covers and trailers so I won't include the Wreck video here. (It's at  https://youtu.be/0oA3NpmxTZI )

When I was ready to have a couple trailers done for my historical fantasy series set in ancient Egypt, I had to find a new provider, since the first person had moved on to to other career pursuits. I'm not at all tech-y so there was no question of my doing a video by myself. My new contractor wanted me to be much more involved in all the choices, but the collaborative process was fun, selecting just the right stock music and finding photos to try to fit the mood (and represent the hero and heroine). We had lively conversations and unusual challenges, such as electric lights in an otherwise great photo of an  ancient tomb! I certainly looked at a LOT of stock photos of people and places. We did several book trailers together. Here are two:




For my latest trailer, the one at the top of the post, I went with Circle of Seven Productions, in part because my individual contractor had pretty much stepped away from the trailer-making, and also because I'd seen a topnotch trailer for one of Christine Feehan's books, Viper Game, that really impressed me. I also like the idea of working with a company whose primary focus is making book teasers and trailers, not a sideline to their higher priorities. I was fortunate enough to work with the same producer at CoS who did Ms. Feehan's trailer, Michel Miller. I love the result on Star Cruise: Marooned. I'll definitely work with them again. Another advantage from CoS is that they include other distribution channels besides youtube in the fees.

I'd love to have them make a full-on live action book trailer for me but that's way above my budget at this stage.

So why do I have book trailers:
1. They make me happy. Plain and simple.
2. They're excellent promo tools, not in and of themselves but because it gives me something else to tweet relating to the books, Share on FB, add to my Amazon Author Central page, my blog...two have been recommended on USAT/Happily Ever After. (Full disclosure, I am a biweekly contributor there with my SciFi Encounters column.)
3. With several of the books, I definitely saw an upswing in sales after the trailers were revealed.
4. A video always has that potential to go REALLY BIG and viral....

I heard what fellow Word Whore Marshall said on Thursday, about book trailers "lacking any sense of the filmic language" and "trailers are not good advertising for what books really are..." I respectfully submit that different folks have different standards, I also think a good book trailer does do what a movie trailer does - it distills the essence of the story and makes you feel you really want to read that book or see that movie.

And further, in this multimedia world we have today, I think it's a good idea to use the video to promote the written word. It works for me!


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The Question of Book Trailers

So, I've had people ask me, "What do you think about doing a book trailer for Thorn or Murder?"

And on some level, my reaction is intrigued.  This shouldn't be a surprise-- I have a degree in Film & Video Production, and I have a tendency to visualize things cinematically.  I could come up with the idea for an engaging video that would entice the viewer to the ideas behind the books.

Here's the problem:

I don't have the means to execute that video in a way that would match the level of professionalism that I hold my work to.  But more importantly, it wouldn't be a trailer for the books.  It would be a trailer for an interpretation of the books.

Let me unpack both of those here.  First the level of professionalism.  This a real problem with most book trailers out there, even the ones made by publishing houses, simply are not professionally done in the slightest.  I've watched many book trailers, and upwards of 95% are completely lacking in any sense of filmic language.  They are not visually interesting or engaging in the way a cinematic work should be.

Filmic language?  I'll explain. Imagine, if you will, a novel that opened with text that went like this.

Ummm... so, there was, you know, this... and I didn't, but... I, you know, each time I, it's just, and THIS GUY was all, you know, THERE, and I couldn't... but really, we should just... see, if you, like, KNOW, about everything that he totally, I mean NOT EVEN WITH HIS SHOES. Like, what?  Like, really, what?  And, um, maybe, then, we could, but then there's NO NOT EVEN and I had to... umm.  Wait, I'll tell... I, there... never mind.  You know...

And this goes on for twenty pages.

That's what sixty seconds of poorly made book trailer feels like to me.  

And other people profess this as a GOOD IDEA to promote your novel.

I have seen-- multiple times-- people give the advice to make a book trailer using stock photos and royalty-free music to craft your trailer. I need to tell you, this is TERRIBLE ADVICE.

This is like advising someone to write a story by copying-and-pasting sections of prose from public domain sources.  Sure, it's not violating anyone's copyright, but that doesn't create something unique that tells your story.  

On to the second point: Book trailers are not really good for advertising what books really are.  Movie trailers work because they take parts of the movie and distill it to, hopefully, it's most enticing.  Book trailers take something that is, at its core, not book-like, and try to use it to show the book as enticing.  

That said, I have a fine example of a book trailer that IS effective-- and that's because it does everything I'm talking about correctly.  It uses filmic language effectively-- it's always active and engaging.  It also uses the text of the book itself-- thus enticing with the actual content of the book-- and then uses the visuals to enhance the ideas of the text.

If you want to make a book trailer, then devote some time to learning the fundamentals of filmic language, the same way you would written language before writing a book.  For a good crash course of those fundamentals, check out Tony Zhou's "Every Frame A Painting" video series. 

Do Book Trailers Work?

Amusingly enough, this week's topic might again fall to Veronica, as the most experienced with the topic - Book Trailers: Yes or No?

I have exactly two book trailers - both that other people made for me. One my friend made as a gift, above, for ROGUE'S PAWN, the first in my Covenant of Thorns trilogy. And the other I paid a reader/fan to do, below, for THE MARK OF THE TALA, first in my Twelve Kingdoms series. I like them fine. They're fun. Do they work?

Meh. I dunno.

The idea is that they should work like a movie trailer, to generate excitement for the book. The problem is that movie trailers are, obviously, assembled from actual clips from the movie itself. For a book, the images must be created. Depending on budget, the images can be video or still. (Mine are the more cheapie option, of a series of still images, which I don't think is as effective. Even if you cough up for video, we all know that the movie is just NEVER as good as the book. That's with multi-million-dollar budgeting and doing the whole book.

All that said... can a short trailer capture the essence of a book? Probably not.

Can it get far enough to entice a reader? Maybe.

But, so far, my experience says it's not worth the money.



Oh! And my new contemporary erotic romance comes out tomorrow! 

Under Contract

Read an Excerpt

The kinkier the sex, the higher the price tag…
Ryan Black has admired Celestina Sala from afar for years, her lush body and sensual nature calling to the dominant in him. For just as many years, Celestina was off-limits—married, proud and self-sufficient. But all that has changed, and now Celestina is in debt and in need…and available. Ryan proposes a contract: he’ll pay off her debt if she gives herself to him in bed, yielding control in exchange for the pain and pleasure he’ll bring them both.
There are words for women who take money for sex, and none of them are nice ones. Celestina never thought she’d have to sink this low, but giving up control sounds more enticing than ever before. And suddenly it’s not about having to give in to Ryan. It’s about wanting to.
But when Ryan’s dark past comes to light, they may both be in over their heads. The terms of his contract say her body is his…but her heart may be another story.
One thing is for sure—now that Ryan has Celestina, he can never let her go.

Available July 13, 2015

• Kindle
• Barnes & Noble
• iBooks
• Kobo

 

And Sometimes There's No Dialog

This week I'm going to share a video -  my shiny new book trailer for Magic of the Nile, which just went live yesterday.

Now Magic of the Nile isn't completely off-topic. Here's a short excerpt from the book, where the conversation in a non-action scene is definitely carrying some double meanings. Tyema the High Priestess and Captain Sahure spent the evening attending a festival together and she never told him who she really was. But now he knows. The temple scribe doesn't know any of this and has already tried to defer Sahure from meeting with Tyema until the following day, to preserve the precious schedule. (Petty bureaucrats existed in all ages!)

She caught her breath as Sahure sauntered in, resplendent in his full uniform, the golden falcon badge prominent on the leather straps crossing his broad chest, scarlet cloak swirling around his legs. He was even more handsome than she’d remembered. He bowed, “Good morning to you, my lady.”

            “And to you, captain.” With great effort, she kept a smile from forming on her lips. Unfamiliar heat pulsed in her core and she suppressed the urge to shift her hips in response.

            “I appreciate your seeing me today instead of tomorrow,” he said, staring at her with narrowed eyes.

            Oh, I couldn’t wait till tomorrow. Tyema remained regally seated in her chair with an effort, curling her fingers tight against the desire to touch him. “I’m sure your business is urgent.”

            “Indeed, I’m here at the command of Pharaoh, very pressing affairs.” He raised his eyebrows and gave a sideways glance at the scribe.

            “You may go, Jemkhufu,” she said, following Sahure’s line of sight.

            “But, my lady, what if notes need to be taken?” The scribe was startled, his eyes opening wide and his mouth hanging open. Tyema never met with anyone alone, other than the god Sobek, so she wasn’t surprised by Jemkhufu’s reaction. Swallowing hard, the scribe glared at Sahure while questioning her order for privacy again. “Are you sure you won’t need me?”

            She tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair. “I’ll call you when we’re done.”

            The scribe gathered up his tablets, rolls of blank papyrus and sharpened quills in an untidy armful and backed from the room, closing the door. She heard him complaining to the guard about the unscheduled audience interfering with the day as the portal closed.

            Before she could say anything, Sahure was standing in front of her, his arms caging her in the chair. “And I thought Theban ladies played games,” he said. “Imagine my surprise this morning to see that the high priestess of Sobek was none other than my little waif from the previous evening. She whom I thought to be Ema was in reality the legendary and rarely seen Tyema herself.”

            “Waif?” Tyema couldn’t decide whether to be amused or insulted. True the plain dress wasn’t the best garment in her wardrobe but surely it didn’t give such an insignificant impression?

            “Were you laughing at me the entire evening?” His tone was cold. “Did you enjoy your masquerade?”

            She put one hand on his chest, trying to push him away, but under her fingers his body was solid muscle, an unyielding wall. “I’m sorry, I didn’t set out to deceive you.”

            He stared at her for a long moment before releasing the chair. He backed up a step. Hands on hips, he asked, “Then why the lie?”

Why indeed? Here's the trailer: