How to Make a Book Trailer on the Cheap

A book trailer isn’t a necessary part of marketing your book, but it’s a definite plus. The process seems intimidating, though — all those professionally lit shots and perfectly rendered titles. Making a good book trailer seems like it would be expensive or a huge hassle, but it doesn’t have to be.

Unless you’ve got an eager film student on tap, it’s difficult to find talent to get a quality live action trailer made. If you’re married to the idea of live action, getting professional quality footage on the cheap is the most difficult hurdle to clear. Thankfully, there are sites that have a wide variety of stock footage, and you should be able to find something that works for you. (Here is a link to resources for free stock footage: http://makerbook.net/video)

Another stumbling block is finding good background music to set the mood. There is plenty of free music out there, though, and plenty of artists who would like the exposure. (Here are some resources for non-copyrighted music: http://www.snailarts.com/free-copyright-free-music)

The way most of you will get exposure for your trailer is by sharing it on social media. Remember that most people watching videos on social media leave the sound off, so you should use captions and text to get your message across.

I opted to make a book trailer that was obviously DIY. Straining upwards to meet a technical standard way above my skill level seemed like a bad idea. Most of the trailers that have made a bad impression on me fall somewhere in that no-man’s land. I used background music (no voice over), handwritten text and hand-drawn images.

I’m not much of an artist, but I did everything myself. Here’s how:

First, I wrote a short script (my trailer is very text heavy) and used a basic sketch app to handwrite text cards on my tablet. (If you don’t have a tablet, you can create title cards on a desktop using the movie editing software that comes with it.) I then drew simple accompanying pictures.

I cut everything together using Lightworks (free professional quality editing software). The basic video editing software that comes with most computers would have done the trick, though since I didn’t use any fancy transitions, etc. When I got better at basic graphic design I put together a nicer looking opening image (but you don’t have to do that).

Here’s my book trailer! I hope you enjoy it and draw some inspiration from it!

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Harrison Kitteridge is the author of the novel, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE PAPER JOURNAL, which is set in a not-so-distant future where government-mandated social networking has driven the detective to the brink of obsolescence. The novel explores Sherlock and John’s attempts to navigate this brave new world and their burgeoning romantic feelings for each other. Read the prequel, BEFORE HOLMES MET WATSON, on Medium!

The Aglet

Self-publishing on a micro budget.

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Harrison Kitteridge

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Writer, prisoner of hope. | Author of BEFORE HOLMES MET WATSON and SHERLOCK HOLMES & THE ADVENTURE OF THE PAPER JOURNAL│ www.harrisonkitteridge.com

The Aglet

The Aglet

Self-publishing on a micro budget.