One of the best ways for authors to tell more about themselves and their books to readers is a video. Whether posted on your website or a YouTube channel, a video will attract viewers and bring more people to your web pages and keep them there for longer periods of time.
While making a video is more arduous than simply dashing off a blog entry, it’s also easier than you might think. After creating a few simple videos, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t done so sooner – especially after you begin reaping the rewards of more page visits and increased book sales.
Before making a video, you have to decide what kind you’re going to create. This will help shape your planning process as you pen a script for the video.
There are several types you could make:
• Vlog – Like a blog, these are regularly-updated videos in which the creator makes a short 10-minute or less entry, usually by using a webcam. “Vlog” is short for “video blog.” This is perfect for authors taking viewers through the writing process of a book or those sharing tips on their book’s topic.
• Review – Similar to a vlog, a review examines some consumer product or service. The video usually shows the reviewed product from a variety of angles as well as it being used. This is a good option for those who wrote nonfiction books as you give your expert opinion on a product or service related to your title’s topic; for example, the author of a book on woodworking might review the latest power saw model that has come out.
• Trailer – Just like the two-minute or so videos that promote an upcoming movie, so you night want to use a trailer to introduce people to your book. Generally, you want to use one trailer per book.
• Montage – Rather than continuous action, slides or several video clips are edited together around a single theme. There’s rarely a voice narrating the slides/clips, but sometimes music plays in the background. For novelists, creating a montage of your favorite works in a genre, of the songs that inspired your novel, or a catalog of your many books is a possibility.
• Book reading – Especially fruitful for novelists, you can record yourself reading a chapter of your book. Some writers combine this with the montage showing scenes as they read over the images. If you offer the first book in your series for free, consider reading the entire book on a series of videos.
• Show – Like a mini-television program or a newscast, you can script a video that essentially is a story or an opinion piece. These can very sophisticated and include clips from other videos and background music. Authors rarely would make this kind of video to promote their books, though.
One you’ve decided what kind of video you want to make, the next step is determining what will be the specific content for it. As with penning a novel or a nonfiction book, you’ll likely use the writing process. Begin by brainstorming ideas. After selecting one of them, you’ll outline a script for it. Next, you pen a draft of that script, revising it at least once. From there, you’re ready to begin producing the video. We’ll discuss each of those steps in upcoming entries.
Ultimately, you may want to create several of these different types of videos. There’s no reason a book reading video or a review video can’t be done as part of your vlog, after all. In addition, different pages on your website might require different types of videos, or maybe you just want to switch it up on your YouTube channel to keep your content fresh and varied.
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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past decade, I’ve helped more than 300 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.