I’ll start off by letting you know this post is going to be Mac centric. That doesn’t mean I don’t have anything for you PC users out there. I do. Here is the best advice ever for PC users:

GET A MAC!

OK, that was smarmy of me. I apologize. Sort of.

Whether you use a Mac or a PC, there are a ton of movie editing apps and programs you can use to create a book trailer. Here is a comparison for PC and here for Mac. I use iMovie, which comes with my Mac. With this software, I can use themes to create fun little slideshows with still images or I can use trailers to create video clips that look like movie trailers. The best part of this is that is is so simple to do I could do it drunk. It probably wouldn’t look pretty and the spelling would be atrocious, but it’s possible is my point. All you have to do to use iMovie is drag and drop files from one window on your screen to another. You can add in title cards, dissolves, sound clips, music and more.

I love book covers, but I find book trailers that are just pans of the book cover kind of boring. Not saying they can’t be done and end up extraordinary, but those are few and far between. My recommendation is to go to a stock art site and buy stock video. My favorite site is istockphoto. You can type in some key words and find exactly the type of video you need. A word of warning: If you’re like me, you will get sucked into this site, so be prepared to spend some time. Also, istockphoto has still photos and music files, so really it’s a one stop shop for book trailers.

No, I don’t own stock in the company, but really I should considering how much money I spend there between Avery Flynn stuff and client photos and videos for the Evil Day Job.

Another option is to work with a company that produces book trailers. One company whose trailers I really like is Circle of Seven Productions. I haven’t worked with them myself, but they do some beautiful videos. Another possibility is Jeffrey Somers who made Amanda Brice’s super cute young adult novel book trailer. The narrator’s voice is just sooooo 14.

Ready for some examples? Yay, me too!

From Circle of Seven Productions:

From WRW’s Amanda Brice created by Jeffery Somers:

And from little ole me and my Mac: