Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion

Do book trailers sell books?

I'm the author of the newly released novel, The Lure of Shapinsay. I'd like to know from a bunch of voracious readers if book trailers help sell books.The Lure of Shapinsay

I got interested in the Blades of the Rose series thanks to the book trailer: http://www.goodreads.com/videos/show/... (that voice!! *swoons*)

Another trailer that really did the trick for me was the one for Ragnar and Juliet http://www.goodreads.com/videos/show/... because it was silly good fun.

Those are the only times a book trailer actually resulted in me looking up the book and then buying it (in the romance genre that is).

A trailer alone isn't enough though. All the other stuff like a blurb and good cover are really important as well.

Wow, thanks for the links! It really shows how something so simple can help bring a book to life. Looking forward to hearing from other readers.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

If you want silly try this one!

http://www.goodreads.com/videos/show/...

This is the correct link - funny or not?

http://cleanbooktrailers.blogspot.com/

Rachel here is looking for book trailers to post on her site!

Wow, I never posted my own trailer here after it was completed. For the curious souls. It's doing great on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXqeRP...

I never think to look up a book trailer to see if I'll like a book. The only ones I've seen have been on Author's websites that I like, so chances are I'm already planning on buying the book. I did see several on those sites that didn't tell me anything about the book, they looked like they were just trying to appear sexy, which didn't really match the type of books they were, so I've never put much stock in them.
I usually go by the blurb on the book jacket to decide whether to buy a new book, if that is interesting then I'm going to buy the book.

I don't normally either, but there's one book trailer I can't get out of my mind that I plan on buying. They do sell IF people actually take the time to look at them. That visual image does something.

I am not a fan of book trailers especially those that have music and pictures of characters in the book, I never pay any attention to them. Having said that I do like the ones where the author is talking about their book and the characters in their world. I see those on amazon and they do work for me, especially if it is a new author.

I think if you are going to use them you should do so with a goal. The author reading works for me because I like science fiction or books about politics. Not sure that would work so well for PNR but who knows. I just think you need a reason for doing them like perhaps you want to try and capture an audience who is in a different demographic so maybe cool music and tweeting it out on you tube.

Hope that helps!

I'm not sure if book trailers typically work for me as a buyer/reader. I'm pretty picky when it comes to movies (total movie buff) and most trailers just serve to make me wince. I've probably only seen one where I could sit through more than 15 seconds. They just seem so ... cheesy. I will even laugh at commercials for books on television.

To me, I think reading is about total immersion in a universe. Book trailers feel awkward, in part, because they force you out of the world. I judge a book entirely by the blurb--if I like the blurb, I'll read the first few pages, if I like the first few pages, I'll buy the book.

As a publisher, I use book trailers for two reasons. One, it looks nice (if well made) on an author's site. I don't expect much from a trailer in that regards, just an added bonus.

But trailers do help when talking to distributors, book buyers, people like that. I've found them useful in that regard.

I personally love a well made book trailer.