Recently I’ve been noticing more and more book trailers popping up not only on individual library websites and the blogosphere, but they are creeping into mainstream television as well. (Although not as often as they should be.)
Why not? In this day and age where media is being used to hawk just about every product out there, why not the lovely printed word?
Now I’m not talking the “Read my latest book,” short commercials as done by the prolific James Paterson, but honest to goodness trailers that showcase the highlights of a book or that give a little teaser into what gems are hidden amongst the pages. Not to say that reading is taking any big hits as of late. In fact library usage, book store sales and ebook downloads have been increasing at a very steady rate over the past several years.
In my opinion, book trailers would reach those who believe “Why read the book when I can see the movie?” Give them a little taste of multimedia sensationalism and then reel them in with the magic that only their own imagination can produce. Who knows, maybe in a few years libraries will become the newest hotspot on a Tuesday night when the latest blockbuster book gets released.
As for some of my favorite book trailers out there now….enjoy the following. (A little skewed on the children’s and teen’s fiction side of things.)
Press Here by Herve Tullet
Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Where’s Walrus by Stephen Savage
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
If trailers get people reading books, I’m all for them. My publisher made a trailer for my book and put in on YouTube. It has more views than almost any other of my publisher’s trailers, but I don’t think it has translated into sales in any significant way.
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Have you checked with your local library to see how many people have checked out the book? In these hard economic times, many people are turning to their local libraries instead of the book store to fulfill their literary needs. 🙂
My favorite book trailer to date is for Guys Read, and not just because of my kidlit crush on Mac Barnett:
http://mediamacaroni.com/?p=2805
Oh wow, I am so glad to hear I am not the only one with a crush on Mac Barnett.
Not that it’s surprising, as anybody who’d actually KNOW about him ought to have a crush on him, but running into people who know about him (not on actual book blogs)? That’s just cool.
thanks–it’s great to see the different trailer styles