Love the Dramatic Effect
Like many novelists who are taking the self-publishing route, I had looked longingly at other author’s book trailers and wished I could do the same thing. I am aware that YouTube (and other video sites) rank high on search engines. But aside from that I loved the dramatic effect of a book trailer. It’s so much greater than a static book cover.
My goal was to create a book trailer for all four titles of my Tulsa Series. I was facing a bigger challenge than other authors who begin with one title.
Also like many other novelists, I’m not the most technologically-advanced person clicking a mouse. I needed simple steps and simple programs. Here’s what I did.
I Wrote the Script
I began by writing and editing my script. I knew it had to be short and yet strong enough to hold the viewer’s attention.
After I was happy with the scripts, I separated sections into scenes and searched for still photos to depict each scene. Because the Tulsa Series are historical novels I was able to use historical photos which helped.
I Recorded the Script
Next I needed to record my script. For this I used the program called Audacity. I am not an affiliate for this program; don’t even know if they have affiliates, so I’m not trying to sell it. I chose it because it was a free download and also the easiest program I found. It did take me a while to learn to use it, but I don’t give up easy.
I had already purchased a professional headset with attached mic. I actually found it on eBay for a reasonable price. It’s important to have the more professional type. Mine happens to be Dynex DX850 — if that helps anyone.
The next thing I learned is that in order not to have the “p’s” popping when you talk, the mic needs to be up near your nose. I researched to learn that little lesson.
I Sought for Help
This was as far as I could go on my own. Now I needed help. I bartered with a young man from my church. One who I knew was tech-savvy. I sent him all my files and he went to work. He found my background music. He created the lead-in icon. He put the music, my audio, and the graphics together via my scene breakdown which I sent to him. The resulting trailers are in MP4 format.
Because the files were large and unwieldy, we used DropBox as the place for him to upload. We created shared files. I then uploaded the completed videos to YouTube.
We did hit a few bumps in the road along the way, but mostly due to my lack of tech knowledge. But we smoothed them out and created four trailers together.
Summary
If you are reading this and you are laughing because this sounds like kindergarten talk (you could have done all this with one arm tied behind your back) then please cut me a little slack. Because I hear from novelists all the time who are great authors, but a bit short on the technology end of things. So this is for all of you who are in the same boat.
Hopefully this helped you. The main things to keep in mind are this:
1. Book trailers will multiply your exposure exponentially
2. You can learn most anything on the Internet if you put your mind to it.
3. If you don’t have a friend like I do to help out — turn to Elance.com and find a talented provider who will work with you.
Let me know if you have any questions. Most authors would rather undergo a root canal than to market their books. But market we must. It is our responsibility. If you feel your book is of value, it’s up to you to get it out to your reading public. Videos provide one more avenue in which you can do that.
First title in the Norma Jean Lutz Classical Collection
Now available on Kindle.
Clean reads for teens, because teens deserve a choice!
• Clean teen reads
• Timeless story lines that never grow old
• A choice for readers in reading materials and themes
• Classic reads from a more innocent era