Revisiting the Book Trailer Idea

In making a book trailer, a penniless author is limited. Everything needs to be free, which means free (and royalty-free) music, free pics, free video clips; obviously free software. I'm not a novice in video creation; I've made dozens of music videos for our band's music, but a book trailer isn't the same. Let's put it this way: a song conveys a mood; it rarely tells a complete story (unless, I guess, it's Ode to Billie Joe, which even then didn't have an ending). 

It may not be a terrible idea, though, to approach a book trailer as one would a music video. The biggest difference for me is that I like our music, whereas the music clips I'm finding online are really corny. (None of our songs would match the mood of my book, in case you're wondering.) It's also true that still photos don't have the same impact as video, but finding usable video clips is daunting. 

I haven't yet viewed random book trailers online, so I don't have a feel for what works and what doesn't, other than my own common sense. Because a book trailer doesn't drive sales, I certainly wouldn't pay someone to create one for me, and anyone I hired wouldn't get it anyway. Nobody knows how to portray my book better than me, and even I don't know (yet).

I've thought about doing a trailer for Running From Herself before, but I didn't pursue it, and the only reason it's come up again is because I joined a professional organization that allows for trailers to be included with the author's profile. Plus it would be more content for my website, which is constantly nagging me for more content. It's really becoming a pain in the ass in that regard, to be honest. 

If I decide to proceed, I'll need to write a two-minute storyboard for it, then probably go on instinct, like I tend to do with everything. If I can't find music, though, I'm screwed, especially since this is a book about a singer. (Seriously, do the people creating music clips for libraries not know what country music is? Hint: it's not hoedown music.)

Time will tell, and I have nothing but time.