{"id":5234,"date":"2011-06-24T10:30:17","date_gmt":"2011-06-24T05:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/?p=5234"},"modified":"2014-12-23T17:14:02","modified_gmt":"2014-12-23T11:44:02","slug":"the-book-trailer-lament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookbuzzr.com\/blog\/the-book-trailer-lament\/","title":{"rendered":"The Book Trailer Lament: Can Authors Achieve High Production Values on the Cheap?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guest Expert: Laurel Marshfield<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Does Dan (The Da Vinci Code<\/em>) Brown need a book trailer? Well, no. Dan Brown does not. He\u2019s got two ever-so-suspenseful and special-effects-filled Hollywood movies based on his most popular novels. Novels that sold millions of copies, worldwide, before<\/em> they were ever adapted for the big screen.<\/p>\n

But few authors are Dan Brown.<\/p>\n

The Book Trailer Dilemma<\/strong>
\nBook trailers are for authors whose books have yet to be made into blockbuster Hollywood movies. Also for authors whose novels have<\/em> been made into movies (Jodi Picoult, for instance, several of whose novels were adapted — including My Sister\u2019s Keeper<\/em>, which was made into a feature film starring Cameron Diaz). But even for these very fortunate (and hard-working) authors, a book trailer is one of the most arresting<\/em> ways to attract readers who might not know their latest book exists. Or might otherwise pass it by.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the thing, though. As an author (who\u2019s not yet as famous as Dan Brown or Jodi Picoult) you most likely can\u2019t afford to spend zillions on a book trailer with production values that rival a Hollywood movie. And yet, as someone with an eye for art — not to mention, craft — you know a schlocky<\/em> book trailer will persuade no one. And may even be worse than no trailer at all.<\/p>\n

So How Can<\/em> You Create a Breakout Book Trailer? <\/strong>
\nYou want a book trailer that is as visually compelling as it is conceptually evocative. You want a trailer that will give potential readers the overwhelming sensation that your book is definitely due a serious glance-through (and preferably after purchase). But is a book trailer like that do-able on a non-Hollywood budget?<\/p>\n

Well, yes, it is — but only if you focus on a simple but artful concept<\/strong>. Only if you put aside any thought of doing a complex, special effects-ridden, multi-sensory-overload, Hollywood-ized treatment that is designed to blast viewers out of their seats.<\/p>\n

Just so you can visualize this impossible-to-reproduce type of promotional film (impossible, if your budget isn\u2019t in the millions), here\u2019s one movie trailer for The Da Vinci Code<\/em>:<\/p>\n