Tag Archive for: video

book trailer

The Making of a Book Trailer

I have learned so much in the process of promoting EDEN. Since it was published by an indie press, I have been on the frontline marketing it. I’ve learned about soliciting bookstores, organizing events, and seeking publicity from any number of channels. One of the most important assets for all of those endeavors is a media kit. Even better is an electronic media kit, one that includes video trailers and hyper-links to reviews and big media hits. Multi-media can add texture when pitching a book – whether it be audible, or visual, these are the things that stoke the imagination of agents.  Digital magazines were also delighted to have access to my video in order to enliven spots about EDEN.

But when I first heard of video trailers for books, I was dubious. However I did have an inkling that if I was able to capture the misty, melancholy, mood of a foggy morning on the beach, then I could convey something about EDEN in a way that a two sentence log line never would. (BTW did I mention learning about a two-sentence logline?)

In order to bring EDEN to life on screen, I reached out to Anna Chesire Levitan, founder of 5th Street East, to produce a series of video clips. The shots were filmed over three days in early May, on location in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, and it was great fun to work along side the film crew, witnessing EDEN take visual shape, choosing which lines I would read for the voice overs (turning my laundry room into a sound studio), and learning how everything really is better in slow motion! Plus, we got lucky with the weather, as the sun was trapped behind low hanging clouds most of the time. The fog really did add to the film’s emotional richness and spoke of the confused and lonely state my main character found herself in. Lucky for me, local redheaded talent was abundant!

The final products took several weeks to put together, but I was able to share two videos with guests at my launch parties, which was a fun way to get people in the mood before reading. Now that the EDEN book tour has begun, the whole series of videos is rolling out on social media.

“Hurricane” – Eden by Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg from Jeanne Blasberg on Vimeo.