Trailer Trash

A book trailer can be a great way to promote your upcoming novel in a flashy, mini preview. Think of it as a query letter with pictures and music. And like a good query letter, your book trailer should answer the three C's; character, conflict, and crisis. However, I've noticed a lot of trailers are full of gorgeous imagery and music, but leave me scratching my head as to what the story is about.

If you're thinking about making a book trailer, consider the following advice.

1. Whatever makes your story/character unique should be showcased. Avoid ambiguous statements like, "a true love so strong she'd die for him." This tells me nothing. It should be SPECIFIC. You need to make your book stand out from the other, "a-true-love-so-strong-she'd-die-for-him" stories. 

2. Make sure the music compliments the storyline. If you wrote a contemporary, coming of age novel, the theme from Halloween probably isn't the best match.

3. SPELL CHECK. I'm not kidding. And the only reason this is here is because someone didn't SPELL CHECK before they posted their trailer.

4. Keep it simple and concise. The most enjoyable trailers are less than two minutes.

5. End with the title in bold so it's the last thing the viewer sees, and remembers.

Check out the the two trailers below. They were so AWESOME, I bought the books the next day.

What are some of your favorite trailers?

Cheers!