Book trailers are a thing, I guess.

This ridiculous little video is what is known as a “book trailer.” I must be a little behind the times, because until someone mentioned them in class a few weeks ago, I had never heard of such a thing. Apparently it has become popular for authors to release a trailer for their upcoming books, similar to the use of trailers to market upcoming movies. This is an interesting development in the way authors and publishers market books, and it makes sense if you consider the times. Movies are a big thing; pretty much everybody watches movies every once in a while at the least. As such, movie trailer’s a medium with which we’re familiar. We know basically what to expect, and we know to get excited if the trailer is good. So then, why not make a trailer for books? If you want people to want your book, you need to communicate in a language they’ll understand, and people understand trailers.

But there are certainly some difficulties and downsides to using a trailer to market a book. For one, you can’t just use the footage you already have like you would with a movie, because there isn’t any footage. You either have to shoot it specifically for the trailer or make a trailer out of titles. In addition, I can see a trailer turning off an audience to a book as opposed to exciting them. When I read a novel, I enjoy the process of imagining the places and people in my mind, and I’m sure I am not alone in that. But, once someone shows you a picture of how a character is supposed to look, it’s nigh impossible to go back. Having this ruined for me before a book is even released would disappoint me.

I’m not sure I like the idea of a book trailer. It just feels wrong, or at least a bit silly. If I ever write a book, I will probably not be marketing it with a trailer. What do you folks think?