If you don’t know what a book trailer is, pop over here to take a look.
What I want to know is – would a book trailer influence you to buy or not buy a book?
What would you like a book trailer to tell you? What makes a good/bad book trailer?
Here’s another example of a trailer – an obviously very, very expensive, professionally done one. Kinda amused me. I think. Or grossed me out, or something.
That's the first time I have seen book trailers. I wanted to read A Madness of Angels, I do not want to read Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (or whatever) – I thought that trailer a bit stupid personally. Its not a bad idea but would presumably cost a bit to make a decent one. I usually choose my books by the blurb on the cover flap but I will be looking into the Kate Griffin book.
I know what book trailers are, and I can't say whether watching one would make me likely to buy a book…. but I can say that I'm pretty unlikely to watch one. I feel bombarded by advertising as it is, and although this is likely a pretty entertaining form of advertising, I just don't see the need to seek it out. The other practicality is that I can't watch videos with sound while on my work computer, and the last thing I want to do when I get home is get back on my computer again.
Glenda, I wonder if you know of a site one can go to where one can give a synopsis of a book and find the name or the author? Its bugging me at the moment that I just remembered several books I read in a series which I am sure wasn't finished, but I cannot for the life of me remember what the titles were nor who was the author.
Seriously? Book trailers? No, I can't see myself bothering to look at one so they are unlikely to influence me in any way.
Film trailers make sense even if I know they have probably picked out all the best bits. Books work in a different way from film requiring an extra step with the reader exercising their imagination from what the writer has created on the page. If I want to have visually cued entertainment I go to a movie but if I want something that I'm engaged with I go to a book.
There's a place for both but, using the Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters trailer as an example, I didn't feel, taste or smell anything and, although I saw Marianne's horror and empathised, I didn't actually experience what she did. The only senses engaged were sight and sound. A good writer on the other hand, would have given me the entire range of the experience including how she felt. As a result a book trailer doesn't actually reflect the book in my opinion.
I actually find it bizarre that they would seek to advertise it this way. It reminded me of those ads they make for children's toys, the ones where dolls of various sorts are animated and shown having wonderful adventures. Children don't know the toy they want can't do all that but adults do. As an adult I understand that what's being portrayed in the trailer isn't really the book so why would it make me buy it?
I agree that it is a bit odd to think that visual images will do better job of selling a book than words can. But I guess that's the way the world is going.
Maybe this is something that the younger generation understands better than old fogeys like me…
Jo – is it a sff series? Because, if so, the best way to go is to post it on a sff oriented egroup. If you don't belong to one, send me an email of the synopsis and I will put it up for you and get back to you if there are an answers.
OK will do Glenda thanks.
Not having thought it through I do agree with Amy and Imagine Me, I don't think I would bother to find myself a book trailer, but if I came across one I would certainly watch it.
ROTFL! Yes, I would take a look at that book on the strength of the trailer. And if any of my fave authors point me at theirs, I will take a look. However, I would not go looking for book trailers. i might as well just look in the bookshop to see what the book is about.
since you were wondering about the younger generation 🙂
I think I may have heard mention of book trailers before (probably here), but I've certainly never looked into them. I guess they might be useful if you were considering buying a book online and the website you were buying from didn't have that much information. On the other had, there's probly plenty of written information out there about most books, but I've never bothered googling that.
My guess would be that maybe book trailers started as an attempt to gain interest from/exposure to the massive youtube audience? And they probly have a limited audience. But if you managed to create one which made everyone think "that is so cool/funny/cute" and want to share it with their friends (as a piece of art in itself), I could see it being an effective marketing tool.
inkpawprints
Mostly, I can't be bothered watching book trailers (if I'm at the computer not working, I'm probably watching TV at the same time and hence, can't be bothered pausing to watch youtube). BUT if somehow I did see one about a book that looked interesting and whatnot, I probably would be encouraged to buy it. Mind you, it doesn't take all that much to encourage me to buy a book…
Oh, I forgot to add, I've been hearing about book trailers for a few years now, but I'd say that's because I spend a lot of time around writer sites/blogs. I've yet to see one be successful virally.
Oh, I forgot to add, I've been hearing about book trailers for a few years now, but I'd say that's because I spend a lot of time around writer sites/blogs. I've yet to see one be successful virally.
Wow Glenda, thanks for the link! 🙂 Caught me totally by surprise!
I quite enjoy book trailers, though I usually check them out after reading the book – I'm not really scared of the visuals influencing my read, but the book is a damn sight more important than the trailer, and it's fun seeing books break into a visual medium. If it gets more readers, then great, but I still think that word of mouth, booksellers, blogs and sites like Amazon will still pull in more readers than book trailers. Oh, and I s'pose I have to mention Oprah, too… 😉
It's interesting – from here and elsewhere, they don't really seem to be getting a thumbs up from sff readers (whom you'd think would love all things innovative!). However it could just be that the people who like them aren't fussed enough to post opinions.
I think they would be really, really great with non-fiction. You could see the same sort of thing that you would see when you flip through the book – chapter headings maybe, or photos, maps, etc.
Dave, chose to link to you because you had a great selection of different trailers up. However, folks, Dave's site is more than that: interesting sff reviews, news and interviews can also be found!