Robert Davis is an aspiring author that people may know from his blog. He the a horror novella author behind Rakasha and he has recently released a Youtube Q & A video.
There is also Scott Barker, who I met during the April convention in Oswego, NY. He has a book trailer on Youtube for Shadows Over Sheradan.
So, is Youtube a viable marketing site that is only starting to appear? I’d like to give it a test, but I have no video making skills. From these examples one can assume that these are the only ways to go. The question is how to do it. A book trailer seems doable for a person that has the skills to make such a thing. So, what does an author do if this isn’t a skill? Seriously, I have no idea. Kayla Matt will be sending me more character pictures that can be used for a book trailer or two. I just don’t have the technology or knowledge or the funds for a professional. Is there another option?
Then we have the Q&A. This feels more difficult to me because I would need to get questions from people. I could use Goodreads, my blog, and Facebook, but we seem to be in a slow period for social media. At least, I’m in a slump. There is also the issue of find a quiet place to tape the video since I lack editing software. One phone call or screaming toddler forces me back to the beginning. Though, I might have the last week of August to set up a time for it. Or I can use an energy shot to make it through a late night.
So, has anybody done a book trailer or a Q&A? Does anybody have any input on the success of such things?
Legends of Windemere 
I’ve not done a Q and A as like you, I have no idea where I would get the questions from. I could just make them up myself and come up with loads of pseudonyms I suppose! I did tinker with a book trailer but I have no idea what I am doing either. I think they are useful tools and many people swear by them for marketing but it is like everything, if you know what you are doing and it looks professional then great, otherwise, I can only see it being detrimental. I used the built in software on Windows and Mac which seems simple enough to use and you can fade and add music and stuff but then I ended up with something a toddler could have done and was worried about copyright with the music and stuff so I knocked it on the head. Would love to hear the stories from your other readers as to what method if any they have used!
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I think a Q&A can look casual like Robert’s video. Background noise is the main concern. The book trailer does need a professional touch. It’s definitely something to look into.
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I’ve done a book trailer before, but it sucked and I need to do it again now that I know what I’m doing. As for a video Q&A, if I could accumulate a decent number of questions I would certainly consider doing it in the form of a video.
As for video editing software, you don’t even need to download / buy one. YouTube has one built in – and I’ve used it before, it’s pretty decent.
It’s kind of a ridiculous video, but here is an example of a (non-book related) video I did for a class using YouTube’s editing software, just to give you an idea of what it’s like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs3v5OkQ9-w
I also know a good resource for royalty-free music you could use in a book trailer.
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I’d have to find some good music and figure out what else to do. It’s going to be a work in progress for a while at this rate. The Q&A might be something down the road.
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I haven’t yet but I will be doing one with the help of lulu.com for The Seed – should be developed over the next month or so, and then distributed in an email marketing campaign by lulu an I an also put it on my blog and my author website and possibly other places, like you suggest, like Goodreads et al. It’s not inexpensive – and I have zero skills in this regard so have to purchase the support to do it – so it will be interesting to see how much impact it has. I’ll let you know how it goes when I’m far enough along the path to know. It sounds like quite an intriguing idea so we shall see.
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Thanks. I’m surprised Amazon doesn’t have a book trailer maker.
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I have noticed this trend as well among some authors I know and have been considering looking more into this. People are obsessed with You Tube and spend hours watching videos so I do believe it is a form of marketing that is not yet being completely used to it’s advantages by authors.
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I think it’s a really tough medium for an author to break into since it’s video. I’d love to find a way to do it, so hopefully I figure something out.
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Well there is Windows Movie Maker, I was messing around with that…we shall see it’s a big undertaking!
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Good luck.
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Thanks! You to, we are all going to need it! LOL
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Definitely. I can use all the luck I can get.
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