Kimber Vale – The Buzz On Book Trailers

I’m thrilled to play host to Kimber Vale today. She joins me to talk about book trailers.

So what is all the fuss about with trailers? Kimber explains 🙂

 

The Buzz on Book Trailers

Book trailers have become almost a given these days; a necessary component of book marketing. I think the meteoric rise of self-publishing fueled the new craze. Authors were looking for a way to get their books noticed in a sea of billions, and movie trailers were the favorite mode of publicity for films. It made perfect sense, right?

When I first set out to make a book trailer for my novel, “Star Catcher,” I began by watching other people’s creations. Fellow Liquid Silver author Nulli Para Ora had posted her trailer for “Rhuul’s Flame” to our author loop and I was immediately inspired. I set off Googling how to’s for trailers and read a number of blogs.

 

1. The first step was deciding which movie-making software to use. There are loads of options to choose from like Movie Editor, Windows Movie Maker, Photo Story, or iMovie for the Mac. Additionally, some online sites allow you to make a mini-movie (like Slide Roll, Stupeflix and Jump Cut—just be aware that you may end up with a logo from an online company stuck to your trailer). But, hey, if you don’t like the way one works, you’ve got options. Surf around and check out the competition.

I chose to try Movie Maker for my first trailer simply because it was already on my computer and I’m easy like Sunday morning. I heard it can be a bit tricky to work with, and I’ll admit my first trailer was lost to a movie-gobbling cyber-monster (or maybe user error, but I’m blaming the monster). The key, much like writing, is to frequently save your work. Palm to forehead.

Anyway, my second go-round was much faster than the first, because I knew what I was (sorta) doing and my pictures were already saved to my computer.

 

2. That brings me to the next step—photos or video. The secret to success here is making sure you are drawing from a royalty-free pool of material. You can pay for pictures, or on some sites you may use royalty free work gratis, as long as you give credit where credit is due.  Check the fine print so you don’t end up handcuffed and bent over a cop car. Unless, of course, that’s your goal (and a fine goal, at that—makes me want to go break the law right now).

Anyway, videos and photos are an easy search—some options include Fotolia, Shutterstock, Pond5, and Dreamstime, to name just a few.  Buy ‘em or whatever, and download them onto your computer.

3. Music! It’s my favorite part! Again, a search will pull up tons of options, and like with the pics, royalty-free is the name of the game.  Opsound, Soundsnap, and Neosounds are some places you can look (or listen, as the case may be). Pay attention to the length of the music you’re checking out. If you’re really clever, I suppose you can twist a longer clip to fit perfectly with your finished images. I didn’t get that Girl Scout badge. I let the music dictate the length of my trailer.

Star Catcher trailer

 

 

 

 

4. And that brings us to the question of length. I know—we’re programmed to think bigger is better. I hear ya loud and clear, sister! But, in the case of trailers, you don’t want them to be too long. I know my own attention span makes me look like a terrier on crack sometimes, and so I certainly don’t want to watch a three minute trailer. Neither do most other people. Show them you value their time and get your message done fast. Under two minutes is the golden rule. Next time around, I’m going for under one–a down and dirty quickie.

 

 

5. Okay, so you’ve gathered all of your material, it’s plugged into your movie maker, and you’ve messed around with the length of time each screen is shown so it all flows perfectly with your music and ends at the right time. Right? Remember, you want to give the viewer long enough to read your words (if you have any), but not long enough to get bored waiting for the next screen. Watch it again and again, and then have your friends watch it. Save it to your computer, and keep in mind that the lower quality saves will make your images look grainy, but the HD will take time and space, and may be difficult to send to others without using a large file-sharing platform. Word to the wise: if your sister’s computer crashes when you send it to her, she may not offer to beta read for you again.

 

 

That’s it! Play around with it. Take your time, and most of all, have fun. It’s a groovy little creative endeavor that you can tailor to your own tastes. Rock it out.

 

Bio: Kimber Vale writes erotic romance of all stripes, from het sci-fi to hot man-love under the name K. Vale. Stalk her on Facebook and Twitter @KimberVale. Come for the sex. Stay for the story. www.kimbervale.com

It seemed like a good plan … gather females from the planet Earth to be surrogates on a planet where no children have been born in twenty years. Kimber Vale spins a hilarious, sexy, sci-fi romance that will tickle your funny bone.

Lust flares hot and bright when Stella Aims’ world collides with the gorgeous and mysterious Noth Zobor. The tall dark stranger doesn’t speak a word of English, but Stella is happy to teach him everything she knows, including a crash course in the universal language of love. Their passion burns down to sweet and smoldering before Stella’s reality is completely spun around.

People aren’t always what they seem—but what if they aren’t even human?

Concerned that Noth’s been lying to her, Stella searches for him and walks into a trap straight out of a nightmare. When she wakes, she finds the real deception was far worse than she ever suspected, and her lover is not at all what he seems. Forgiving him might be the easiest thing Stella has to do, because getting out alive and saving her fellow humans from captivity and experimentation will be the toughest challenge of her life.

Can lovers from two different planets overcome forces that push them galaxies apart? When the fate of two species hangs in the balance, love may be the only thing strong enough to save them all and give hope for a new future.

Star Catcher Excerpt:

She was still angry, even if his touch caused her nipples to try to pop out of her shirt in search of his hands. His mouth. She was mesmerized by his lips and getting wetter and warmer by the second simply from his proximity. Oh man, she already had it bad, and he didn’t want anything to do with her.

Hold onto your anger, Stell. You’re going to need it to get over this one.

“No one says you have to hang out with me again, okay? I was under the impression you had a good time the other night. But, hey, if all you wanted was a no-strings fuck, just be a man and say so!”

She pointed to his chest accusingly as she spoke. The least she could do was make him feel like a lowlife before she left. It might make her pain marginally better.

“I want to see you.” He spoke quietly, taking her jabbing finger into his hand and caressing her palm with his thumb. “Even when I do not see you, I still do. You are in my head when I am trying to work. I dream about your smile.” He moved his other thumb to smooth her lower lip. “And your beautiful eyes.” His caress moved up to her temple and then into her unbound hair.

He seemed to like her hair, which was why she had left it down today.

“I see your soft hair falling over me. I dream about touching your pussy and putting myself inside of you like we did.”

Holy hot, in a weird sort of way! Most guys don’t try to smooth talk you by saying they can’t get your pussy out of their mind, but damn if it isn’t working! Stella’s damp underwear clung to her lower lips in response. Truth be told, she hadn’t been able to get his massive cock out of her head either.

“Well, if we’re ever going to go out in public, we need to do something about your crazy hair.”

“I cut it, but my scalpel makes it different lengths,” he said as he ran a hand through the mass of uneven black.

“You cut it with a scalpel? Who are you?” Stella laughed and saw his serious face cracking into a grin once more. She loved it. His eyes crinkled at the corners and somehow made it hard for her to breathe.

“Listen, stick to medicine, because you’ll never make it as a barber, buddy.” She rose up and planted a quick kiss on his lips. He leaned into her for more as she broke away.

“No laboratory lovin’. I do have some standards—I never make out within twenty feet of a pickled pig.”

———-

Find Star Catcher at Liquid Silver Books

Amazon

All Romance

* images courtesy of 123rf.com