Fiction Notes

Book Trailers

The Best Info About Book Trailers

I’ve followed the book trailer phenomenon for a couple years and wanted to do a post. In 2003, it was just beginning; in 2006, there was lots of experimenting; in 2009, it seems here to stay and writers should take it as a given that they need a book trailer for trade books. Here’s some of the best about book trailers from around the web.

The Book Trailer Manual


  • 42 Sites for submission
  • 14 Ways to approach content
  • 10 Ways to combine audio/video
  • 5 Case studies
  • Much more. . .

CLICK HERE to Learn More.

How To Create a Book Trailer

  1. The Book Trailer Manual
  2. Book Trailers Squidoo
  3. How to Make A Book Trailer — Easy And Free
    EHow has step by step instructions for making a trailer with Powerpoint.
  4. The Making of a Book Trailer. A four-day account of an author making her own book trailer.
  5. Animoto.com. Animates still pictures.

    6. Articles or Posts about Book Trailers

  6. How Will Your Book Trailer Upend Readers’ Expectations?
  7. In A World … Where Books Are Hyped Like Movies A 9/2008 National Public Radio article, with links to the audio.
  8. Book Trailers that Matter
  9. Every Book Needs a You Tube Video From CamCorderInfo.com. Of course, the Camcorder people would recommend book trailers; yet, the article is fairly balanced and has lots of links to new info.
  10. What Can You Do with a Book Trailer? by Karen Dionne (billed as the “new Michael Crichton”) write a general article about trailers touching on where to share them and best practices.
  11. Book Trailers Coming to Bus and Mall Billboards, buses (one company already busted!) and more links.
  12. Book trailers might be overkill. 2009 post: How do you make your video stand out? It’s about finding interesting ways to tell a story.
  13. Book Trailer Videos. A general article.
  14. VIDEO BOOK TRAILERS: Coming to a Library near You!
    When kids make book trailers they are more engaged with the story.
  15. Book Trailers, a great way to promote your children’s book The downside of trailers: less imagination needed.
  16. In-Transit Viewing of Book Trailers – A Potent New Book Marketing Venue. Kids watching book trailers on the school bus.
  17. Book Trailers: The Key to Successful Video Marketing. From Poets and Writers Magazine.
  18. New York Statewide Summer Reading Program
    Featured book trailers for teens from their reading program.
  19. A Survey of the Imperfect Art of the Book Trailer. The marriage between book jacket blurb and the video – review of 7 trailers.
  20. Trailers for Sale or Rent . 2007 optimistic look at the impact of book trailers on children’s books from PW.
  21. Watch Before Reading: Art-House Book Trailers. Book trailers are interpretive, rather than plot-focused.
  22. Promoting your novel: How to make a book trailer. Author Brenda Coulter poss her experiences making a trailer for her book on Gather.com
  23. What makes video trailers for books effective? (5 keys) Over 1 million views of a book trailer!

    24. Ongoing Series about Book Trailers

  24. Book Trailer Tuesday. Another regular posting on trailers.
  25. Video Wednesday.Scholastic column which presents a book trailer each Wednesday.
  26. Fuse #8 Productions does Video Sundays and sometimes features Book Trailers.

    27. Where to Display Book Trailers (Besides YouTube and Facebook and Good Reads)

  27. BookTrailers.net
  28. Bookscreening.com
  29. ComicBookTrailers.com
  30. Blazing Trailers
  31. The Red Room Where the Writers Are
  32. Books Toolbox: 50+ Sites for Book Lovers
    From Mashable, this post lists many more social media sites about books.
    33. Click for more information.
    Featured List: 42 places to submit your book video trailer.

    Book Trailer Production

  33. Circle of Seven Productions: Book Trailers
  34. JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm
  35. Moving Stories Book Trailers and Book Videos
  36. WritersDirect.net
  37. Author Bytes
  38. Living Jacket.com

    39. Book Trailer Contests

  39. Book Trailer Competition for High School Students
  40. Authors Promoting Authors
  41. Fantasy Book Reviews
    This UK site has a yearly Book Video Award
  42. Outsourcing the Book Trailer Production to Your Fans. Authors Megan McCafferty and Lynn Messina ran book trailer contests for teen girls – a great example of a trailer contest.

    43. Are Book Trailers Effective?

  43. Publishing Monday: Are Book Trailers Effective? This author is charmed by trailers.
  44. Are Book Trailers Effective? This post quotes the Wall Street Journal: “”There is scant evidence . . . that the average book trailer actually has much impact on book sales.”
  45. Book Trailers Work! From LatinoLA!

    46. Lesson Plans

  46. Lesson plan for Book Trailers. (pdf). References to NCTE/IRA, NETS and CTLanguage arts standards.

Darcy Pattison

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28 responses to “Book Trailers”

  9. […] Find Out What Your Customers Want Again, for children’s book authors, it’s hard to use social media to find out what tweens and below want because they either aren’t online, or because their privacy must be strictly kept. For teens, educators, librarians and the general reading public, it might be easier. For example, I’m currently running a poll about what you might like to see in a book about book trailers. Take the one-minute poll. […]

  11. I’m looking for someone who has had some success using a book trailer to promote their book. This is for a book I’m revamping/expanding for Allworth Press.

    Thanks in adveance for your recommendation.

    Patricia Fry

  12. On September 27th School Library Journal will ask its readers to go to slj.com/booktrailerawards2010 and vote for their favorite video trailers that promote books and encourage reading in the first annual School Library Journal’s Trailie Award. The primary purpose of these awards is to recognize the important role that video plays in bringing readers to books as well as the wonderful creativity of the producers.

    In recent years publishers, authors, librarians and fans have used short videos to encourage the public to choose a particular book to read. Similar to viewing a trailer for an upcoming film in a theater or a film’s website.

    For the Trailie Award, voters will be asked to select the best video in six categories: publisher/author created for Elementary readers (PreK-6), publisher/author created for Secondary readers (7-12), student created for Elementary readers (PreK-6), student created for Secondary readers (7-12), adult (anyone over 18) created for Elementary readers (PreK-6) and Adult created for Secondary readers (7-12).

    There will be four nominations in each category, selected by a committee of librarians. The winners will be announced at the School Library Journal Leadership Summit on the Future of Reading on October 22, 2010 in Chicago, IL.

    Only videos produced between January 1, 2006 to July 1, 2010 are eligible for consideration. To suggest a video please send an email to SLJbooktrailers@gmail.com. Include the name of the video, the video’s creator(s), the author and the title of the book that the video is promoting, the URL for viewing the video, and no more than 200 words about why this video would turn the viewer into a reader of the book. Anyone is free to suggest the title.

  26. In recent years publishers, authors, librarians and fans have used short videos to encourage the public to choose a particular book to read. Similar to viewing a trailer for an upcoming film in a theater or a film’s website.