How do I make a book trailer? This might be a common question among authors who are about to release a new book. In this article, you will learn how to make a compelling book trailer that captivates your audience and promotes your book effectively. We’ll cover:
- Determining the ideal length for your trailer
- Planning content
- Gathering assets
- Tools to build the book trailer video
- The importance of voiceover and overlay text
- Adding music and sound effects
- Captions for accessibility
- A call to action
By the end of this guide, you’ll have all the tools and tips you need to create an engaging book trailer.
What is a book trailer?
A book trailer is a great promotional tool for authors looking to get the word out about their books. In other words, it is a short promotional video that offers an intriguing depiction of the book’s plot, tone, and message, enticing viewers to read it.
Why make a book trailer?
Since a video combines visual and audio components, it can leave a more lasting impression than just words. It can also be the preferred consumption medium on social media platforms, especially for those that emphasize visual content like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.
How long should a book trailer be?
Usually, book trailers are between 30 to 90 seconds. The duration might depend on the platform on which you are looking to share it. For example, a longer version works well on YouTube but not so much on TikTok.
Take into account that if it’s too short, it might not be enough to introduce the characters, the hook, and entice the reader. If it’s too long, it might not maintain the viewer’s attention. People have short attention spans, so you may lose your viewers if you create a long video (more than 2 minutes).
In addition, a longer video may not fit standard social media ad durations, be too long, or the file too big to fit specific platforms, blogs, and advertising platforms.
Planning the Book Trailer Process
Start with a script. As an author, you have probably already worked on a book’s blurb or description. That might be a starting point for your book trailer script. Remember that a book trailer is also like a brief story with a beginning, middle, and end.
You can introduce characters, introduce a twist or cliffhanger, and a hook. A hook is an attention-grabber that sets the tone and context for your trailer. You can use your hook to grab attention within the first few seconds and get your viewers to watch the rest of the trailer.
The book trailer script can contain:
- Beginning, middle, and end.
- Include memorable phrases and emotional moments.
- A call to action, usually at the end, to let them know where people can order, purchase, or download your book.
Useful tips to take into account when writing a script:
- Don’t give away too much; just enough to entice viewers.
- The tone of your book trailer should be like the one in your book. If you set up a book trailer with eerie music and horror scenes, your book is probably in the horror genre.
Gather assets for your Book Trailer
What kind of assets/visuals can you use?
For the purpose of this blog post, we will divide assets into:
- Your own photos, illustrations, and video
- Stock imagery
- AI imagery
This doesn’t mean that you only have to pick one type of asset; you can use a mix of them.
Self-produced photos, videos, and illustrations
This type of asset typically includes incorporating the image of your book’s cover, and creative pictures of your book, which you can do yourself or hire a professional. You can also immerse yourself in the process of producing video clips.
Take into account that in order to get quality video, you might need the proper equipment and a team of collaborators or actors. You might also want to explore the option of hiring a video production company so they can take care of this. Producing your own assets can be quite expensive, and not for everyone.
You can also prefer to use illustrations based on your characters or book settings instead of filming or producing video clips. In this situation, you have the option to ask a graphic designer to help you design and animate these images. It’s redundant to say that this can also involve a hefty price, and it will depend on your budget.
Stock Imagery
This has become one of the preferred methods for gathering assets. Nowadays, we have plenty of platforms that can provide images and videos that you can use for your personal use with the proper copyright licenses. We won’t go into detail about these licenses in this article, but be aware that there are usually 2 scenarios: the images or videos are royalty-free and you can use them without any issues, or you can buy the rights for commercial use.
Some examples of these platforms are Pixabay, Pexels, Openverse, etc. On some platforms, you will be required to buy a membership to be able to download the media with the required copyright license for commercial use. On these platforms, you can search for images or videos that depict the story in your book trailer.
Gather assets with AI
Does your character have a short girl with red hair and big blue eyes who dresses in yellow and has glasses and a weird hat? Chances are that you won’t be able to find a stock photo that matches your character description.
In the same manner, if your book happens on a planet with many moons and a big rainbow in the background, chances are that you won’t be able to find a stock image that matches this setting.
This is a perfect scenario for Artificial Intelligence; images can actually be created and animated with AI. And although there is plenty of polemic about AI, the truth is that many times, as self-published writers, we don’t have the budget to access a video production company or hire an animator and graphic designer.
Building the book trailer video
There are many platforms out there that will help you build book trailers. There are many software programs and apps out there that can help you, from professional video editing software to web platforms that have been built for the general public. The following are some examples of book trailer video editing programs are:
- Adobe Premiere Pro, Camtasia, and DaVinci
- For Mac users, iMovie
- Web platforms like Canva, Animoto, and WeVideo
- PowerPoint or Keynote (which means creating the video as a result of a slideshow)
Some elements to take into account when working with the book trailer video are:
Book trailer file size
When you build the video, make sure that you resize it for the intended purpose. In other words, this means where you are going to share it – social media like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or your author’s website, etc. Depending on the sharing platform, make sure to check if you need a square, landscape, or vertical size.
Overlaying Text
This is optional, and it will depend on the content and tone of your script. You can include overlay text with intriguing phrases or reviews from readers. Adding reviews from readers can bring more credibility.
Background Music
Make sure to add music that goes according to your story’s mood. You don’t need to use a single track. You can use a mix of different tracks and sound effects to highlight the cliffhanger, for example. Ensure you use royalty-free music or music you have the right to use commercially.
Call to Action
Include a call to action to tell your readers where the book is or will be available, when it will be released, the author’s website, etc.
Voiceover Narration
This is also optional, and it depends on your book trailer’s script and tone. If you’re having a voiceover, make sure to pick up a voice or voices that go according to the tone of the book and its characters. You can also include effects like characters speaking memorable phrases that highlight their personalities. The voiceover can be from the point of view of the character, even if your book hasn’t been written from this character’s point of view.
Now you have the option to use AI voices to narrate your story. Make sure to grab a program that lets you set up voice inflection, variety, and tone. You don’t want the narration to sound robotic.
Captions in your Book Trailer
Captions are not only meant to help you check videos on your phone when you cannot turn on the sound, but they are also a good practice for accessibility. I definitely recommend adding them, especially when there is a long voiceover.
Sound effects
From silence to special effects during scenes. There are no limits or restrictions in regard to this. You will be able to find some of these sound effects (like a person knocking on a door) on websites that provide musical assets. Like images, make sure they are copyright-free or you have the rights for commercial use.
Get a book trailer the easy way
The process of making a book trailer is not simple; you need planning, pre-production, post-production, editing, etc. If this is not your cup of tea, I can help. My book trailers have the following characteristics:
- I don’t use stock media. I use AI for custom characters and settings. This way, your book trailer will show characters and settings that will reflect your story.
- A professional voiceover is included, making sure that it sets the tone and mood for the story
- Scriptwriting assistance if needed.
- I include captioning. I’m aware of having them on any type of video now.
Making a book trailer doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With the right tools and guidance, you can create a compelling trailer that captivates potential readers and drives interest in your book.
Find more information about my process of Book Trailers.
If you want to contact me for any questions: