The Trend of Book Trailers

Arundhati Hazra writes that the trend of book trailers may be catching up in India

Via The Hindu

Marketing efforts are an increasingly elaborate affair, with multi-city book tours, use of Facebook and Twitter to interact with readers, and more recently, book trailers.

The book trailer draws on the interconnectivity of today’s world, where readers can view the trailer online before reading the book on their tablets or e-readers. Says Mukul Khattar of Inknuts, an Indian creative agency that produces book trailers: “Though a book trailer serves the same purpose as a blurb, its reach is far more. It has the ability to grab the limited attention span of readers, and engage youth hooked on social media. Publishers also play their book trailers at book launches, OOH and LiveMedia outlets, providing visibility to the book. Book trailers also serve as a great presentation tool, helping independent authors to make an impactful pitch and find a publisher.”

In India too, the trend of the book trailer has caught on, with publishing houses like Harper Collins and Westland releasing trailers for some of their major publications. Authors, too, are upbeat about the medium. Says author Ashwin Sanghi, “A trailer increases a potential reader’s awareness of a title and thus makes him or her more likely to purchase it when he or she sees it among several other titles on the racks of a book shop. The trailer I made for my book The Rozabal Line had over 50,000 views in a month. I think the trailer played a vital role in pushing awareness for the book.”

Authors play a major role in the conceptualization of book trailers. Says Dhar: “The author plays an important role in terms of working with the producer on the theme, key ideas, visuals etc.” Sanghi concurs. “In both Chanakya’s Chant and The Krishna Key, the central shloka from the book was used as the soundtrack. Once we have a soundtrack, I personally develop the storyboard that would convey the key elements of the novel while not giving away too much. The storyboard and soundtrack are passed on to the agency which has the task of putting together appropriate visuals.”

Read the entire article.

And here’s a book trailer we like 🙂