Underground archive

If you’ve never done a public library visit before, there’s a few things you may not know.

Librarians are fangirls at heart. Well, some of us are. We may act all cool negotiating your fee on the phone, but inside we’re dying because we loved your book and we want to share it with the world immediately.

What Money?

But, just because we know how awesome you are doesn’t mean we can raid “deep” library pockets. If you’re not a big name, don’t expect a huge fee. We may pay a few hundred dollars if you are coming from out of town. But if you could do an author visit for $50, that would be great. Or, preferably free. Could you do it for free? Then we might be able to provide drinks and a snack.

Keep Talking.

If your audience isn’t asking question, it’s not necessarily a bad sign. Sometimes they are just mesmerized by you because you are no longer a real person. You are a celebrity. A Real Live Author. And maybe they are just trying to absorb the words coming from your mouth.

The librarian will help you out, asking questions to keep you going. Even if most of the audience hasn’t read your book, we will have or we’ll have researched you. It’s  in our interest to make this event work, too.

Maybe you don’t know what to talk about? Maybe you’re a new author and no one has read your book yet? What then?

Talk about almost anything.

• Have a book trailer? Show it.
• What inspired this book? (Killer Kittens from Omaha? Where’d that come from?)
• How long did it take to write? How many versions do you have?
• Pre-empt the where you get your ideas question. (You know it’s coming.)
• Show off your work space.
• Talk about your next book.
• Talk about your famous author friends.
• Talk about what you do when you can’t write and what you do when you absolutely must write.

If you speak about a range of topics, you will strike upon something the audience will want to hear about. And if you have a message to deliver? Handle it lightly. Just like your  readers, your audience can pick up on a theme quickly and will appreciate it…until it’s been beaten into them.

The Big Swag Grab.

Is your book not for sale yet? Bring ones to give away! Don’t have any ARCs to spare? Get book plates made and sign them so they can be put in your book upon purchase. Or remember those bookmarks you made? This is the time to send them out into the world.

Look Good.

It is highly likely you will be on someone’s cell phone. It is almost guaranteed you will get on the library’s website. And it’s possible you’ll get in the local or metro newspaper.

Have a Sound Bite to Read.

Pick a teaser scene in your book and get really good at reading it. Sometimes you won’t have time for it because people already know you and your book. And sometimes even though they are already familiar with it, they want to hear YOU read it. But, if they don’t know anything about your book, this is your opportunity to get them hooked.

The thing is: practice so you can read it well.

Be On Time.

Above all, care enough about the visit and the audience to show up on time, be dressed, and act personable. Nothing is worse for a reader than coming to an event to see your hero of the moment and have them show up an hour late, in pajamas, and in a bad mood. It makes the author look bad and it makes the librarian look bad for not knowing better.

When I started going over my book trailer making resources, I realized Richard Byrne had already compiled the information. And his printable guide is pretty, too.

There are great resources for free video editing/creation¹, general Creative Commons resources², CC Audio³, CC Images⁴, and CC Video⁵. The resources I found are below, but definitely check out Richard’s guide.

So what do I have to say about making your own book trailer? It’s more of a plea.

Keep It Short

It’s a trailer, not a whole movie. Get me to want to read the book, not feel like I’ve already read it.

No Star Wars Crawl

Slapping huge blocks of text into a PowerPoint and adding occasional pictures does not make me want to sit through a whole trailer, much less read your book. Use few words and choose them well.

Keep It Legal

When you’re choosing your music and images, make sure you have permission to use them. Look into the available Creative Commons resources. Because it would suck to lose any profits on your book in a lawsuit for using 15 seconds of a U2 song.

Learn about Creative Commons here and here.

Get More Eyes on It
You spent a lot of time and effort making your book the best it could be. And then after talking to your beta readers and critique partners and editor, you changed it. Consider doing the same with your trailer.

Know Your Limits
You don’t have to be a professional to make a great book trailer. One of my favorite examples of this is made by an 11 year old girl.

Did you watch through the credits?

Grace didn’t just act in the trailer and direct it. She wrote the script. And she composed and performed the music. Because Grace is amazing.

But maybe video editing doesn’t fall within the range of your expertise. Or you don’t have time. Or you just don’t wanna. That’s fine. When/If I get published, I will be paying someone to make my book trailer.

I like to think of it as helping the economy.

¹Free Video Editing/Creation www.Jaycut.com www.Animoto.com www.Memoov.com www.Xtranormal.com

²Free General Creative Commons Resources www.Creativecommons.org www.Compfight.com   commons.wikimedia.org

³Free Creative Commons Audio www.neosounds.com www.partnersinrhyme.com www.Opsound.org www.jamglue.com www.freesound.org www.jamendo.com www.findsounds.com www.freeplaymusic.com

⁴Free Creative Commons Images www.dreamstine.com www.fotolia.com www.morguefile.com www.shuttershock.com www.freefoto.com http://www.imageafter.com/

⁵Free Creative Commons Video www.archive.org/movies

I’m comforted that half of the trailers were done in less than a month. I would want my book trailer as soon as possible, though maybe I could wait longer if it meant the trailer would be high quality. But those more than a year trailers…ouch.

Did your publisher pay for your trailer?

I kind of expected this. Just reading things online, I know that the marketing money is hard to come by. So, over 3/4 of the respondents paying for the trailer themselves wasn’t surprising. But, I was excited to see that 4.5% (one person) said that the cost of the trailer was split between them and the publisher! I didn’t even know that could happen. Awesome.

If you made your own trailer, did your publisher require approval before launching it?

TV series like Dr. Who and Buffy the Vampire Slayer have episodes written by different authors. The characters and the world is the same, but a different person is in charge of the world for awhile. For instance, Neil Gaiman wrote a Dr. Who episode, The Doctor’s Wife, which aired this time last year.

This doesn’t seem entirely unusual when you think of Franklin W. Dixon of the Hardy Boys series and Carolyn Keene of the Nancy Drew mysteries, both publishing house pen names for the multiple authors writing the middle grade books. But, it’s not collaboration via pen name that’s peaked my interest.

In September 2008, the first 39 Clues book was published, written by Rick Riordan.  Three months later the second in the series was published, written by Gordon Korman. And that pattern went on. Every few months, another book in the series was released, written by another author. The authors of the middle grade series were getting credited for their work on the cover.

That’s what was different. Readers weren’t being fooled. And like a blurb on a book, the fans of one author were being enticed into reading the books of the other authors in the series. Granted most, if not all, of the authors were famous and/or award winning. But, still. It was like a big game of One Sentence Story that the readers were in on. And they didn’t have to wait a year in between each turn.

I would love to see this in YA. Not just a single book born out of a collaboration, but a series evolving from the influences of all the authors who touch it.

How. Freaking. Cool.

QR codes are everywhere, including on audiobook packaging and book jackets. Readers can watch the book trailer while they are in the store. The audiobook for Goliath has a QR code linking to a conversation between Alan Cumming and Scott Westerfeld. Book bonuses!

QR Code Bonus Video

I think it’s fantastic. Except when it gets to the library.

Depending on how sticker happy the library system is, the QR code could be covered up with bar codes and branch identification. If an audiobook’s QR code is stuck on the plastic wrapping instead of printed the container, the code never gets a chance to be seen by patrons.

Instead of (or in addition to) codes on covers and packaging, I’ve love to see a “Bonus Content” page with QR codes linked to extras. It would feel like a gift to the reader rather than an ad. And it wouldn’t be lost to library patrons.

With a Bonus Content page:

• Even readers who don’t follow authors online could see the book’s playlist.
• Readers could watch the book trailer while they’re swooning at the end of the book. (And share it with their friends.)
• They could find find the home for your fan club.
• They could buy the sequel.

Or, with a QR code next to a certain passage in the book, readers could hear the love interest recite the poem or make a declaration of love to the main character.

There. Are. Possibilities.

Many books don’t need a whole page for extra content because the author doesn’t write and perform original music for each book. But all books have a bio which could include could include a QR code linked to the author’s website.

And authors should include a QR code on their swag. Because who would to take the time to type in www.i-love-the-shiny-gargoyles-of-ludwickerstein.com when they could scan a code instead?

I love that QR codes have made their way onto book packaging. And I love that they can do more to bring the readers to us as we reach out to them.