This is an issue I run into a lot with movie trailers. I’m sure many people have been there as well. You see a trailer that shows the entire plot of the movie. Everything else can be plugged in by us noticing trends in current pop culture, especially if its an addition to a franchise. Same goes for shows as well. This inevitably drives away a percentage of viewers. Now, can books suffer the same fate?
Of course they can, but it could be more difficult. Say you post a teaser that involves the main hero in a fight and stop when they’re in danger. Most readers will enjoy the action, but doubt that the character is going to lose. You aren’t tricking many experienced readers into thinking otherwise. This can drive a few away because they’ll mistake this show of action as an insult to their intelligence. Others will get that you can’t really show the conclusion or people might skip that scene. This doesn’t reveal the whole plot like a movie trailer can, but it can weaken a section.
A bigger risk for book teasers is exposing big reveals. Spoilers are always a high risk. A secret exposed in chapter 5 might be noted as common knowledge in a teaser from chapter 7. A character people thought was dead in the first book shouldn’t be revealed in a teaser for book 3. An author has to remember the secrets, which reduces many options from the later chapters and books. Protecting the big reveals is important, but it does come at the cost of promotional material.
Time from publishing is a factor that comes up when it comes to spoilers. How long is long enough before you note the big reveals? I’ve seen it happen even with series that have existed for decades. People mention something and those who haven’t read or watched the story complain about spoilers. Heck, I still see it over Darth Vader being revealed as Luke Skywalker’s father. I get that one would hate to have that stolen from them, but having the rest of humanity avoid talking about it isn’t possible. For more recent series, you would have a better argument since it’s less likely for a person to have gotten around to reading or watching it.
This brings up another area of confusion. Is it better or worse for the author to spoil one of their earlier reveals? I would think worse, but then you can’t really argue with the author who made the decision. Complaining doesn’t make you come off mature, especially if the author points out that it’s impossible to promote future books without revealing a much earlier secret. I used to see these arguments a lot back in the latter heydays of indie authors. Readers would complain about a secret being revealed from a book published 3 years earlier. These were people who didn’t even buy the earlier works, so it was unclear why they were so angry. I remember getting one of these in regards to the death of Stiletto in Beginning of a Hero. The teaser was from the 6th book of the series and I had made the first one free/99 cents multiple times. It was a teaser posted around book 13 as well, so even more time had passed. Never got an answer as to why the decision I made was so horrific.
What do people think about teasers that share too much in the eyes of readers? Do you think authors realize this or care at the time?
Legends of Windemere 
I don’t like trailers that reveal too much about new releases. However, if I were to watch a trailer for the re-release in theaters of Star Wars: A New Hope—a movie that debuted in the 70s—how silly would I look complaining about spoilers? It’s been available to watch for ages! I said that to say that many of your books have been available for purchase for years. So, I don’t know why anyone would complain about the use of a teaser to promote a book that has readily been available. No one is forced to read a spoiler. I watch movie reviews all of the time. I choose to not watch the reviews where the reviewer says he or she will provide spoiler content. But that doesn’t mean I won’t watch the film nor will I criticize the reviewer for spoiler content.
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Very good points. There should be a length of time where spoilers become allowed.
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You raise some interesting things to consider when doing a book teaser. If one wasn’t thinking there could be a spoiler problem with an excerpt. In some movies I notice the trailers usually have some of the best scenes. When you get to the movie you expect more of same only to find out the best has already been exposed.
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Or the heat isn’t even in the movie. Seen that issue a few times.
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😂
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A trailer should be exciting enough to whet the appetite for more, without spoilers.
Yes, that’s a problem for later books in a series.
I agree that revealing too much can put people off, also the cliffhanger. Especially in a first person novel! Unless it’s a different character who’s in trouble.
Producing a teaser is a bit like writing blurb. You need enough to excite, but not so s to spoil the story. A difficult task.
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Good analogy. I’m terrified of writing blurbs too.
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We live in an era where people actively seek something to complain about. Some live for those gotcha moments so they can call someone out on a perceived error. There is no escaping it, so we have to forge ahead the best we can.
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Well said.
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Trailers and teasers are almost as hard as writing the back cover copy. In fact, when I do trailers I often use the back cover copy as the basis of them.
Teasers are a bit easier, as the text is already written and you’re just excerpting a bit of it. Hopefully a dramatic part that ends on an intriguing note. Those people who can come up with a one or two line teaser amaze me.
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That’s what I try to do. Gets harder as time moves on though.
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