We get so used to promoting with the written word. We're writers, after all. But it's nice to change things up with something more visual and dynamic.

Enter the book trailer.

A good book trailer is like going to the theater and seeing a movie trailer that leaves you counting the days until the movie comes out. But a trailer doesn't have to be just for books or movies.

Award-winning author and She Writer Soniah Kamal is my guest this week. She provides a step-by-step primer with helpful hints on how to make a trailer.

While her example chronicles how she made a trailer to promote an online magazine, you can follow her lead to help promote your writing.

How To Make a Trailer for a Novel/Short Story/Journal Issue
By Soniah Kamal
©2015

I recently curated and guest edited a special issue for an online journal (Sugar Mule issue #43, No Place Like Home: Borders, Boundaries and Identity in South Asian and Diaspora). Loving the concept of the novel trailer, I thought a journal issue trailer would also be a valuable means to interest readers in the issue’s contents. My issue featured memoir, poetry, and fiction from 47 writers and, since the focus was on South Asia, the contributors were from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

Although the issue had a common theme—identity/borders—the pieces I chose were eclectic, with interpretations veering from sexuality to refugees to language to religion. My challenge was twofold. One: How in the world do I showcase all this material in a video without it being all over the place? Two: How do I go about it?

I managed to conquer my fear of first-time-trailer-maker by pretending I was guiding kids in a school project, and below is how I went about tackling the concept and material for the trailer.

[Watch the trailer on Vimeo here - https://vimeo.com/64165416]

Guiding Aim

To make a compelling video trailer to intrigue a potential reader to click through to the special journal issue.

1. Concept, or “What Am I Trying To Do”

In a novel there is an obvious plot, conflict, and story. My issue has three sections: memoir, poetry, and short stories. Although all are linked thematically, there is no one conflict or central plot. In fact, there is a story about a housewife and her emerging sexuality, another about a guy who really wants to be a father, memoir pieces about filming a documentary under less-than-tense civil war conditions, another about learning to live with big breasts, and finally poetry that ran the gamut from urban to pastoral.

However, I DID have the four countries I could focus on: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka—as well as thematic consistency between all the pieces. So I decided to thread everything together with the main question: What Are You Looking For? And answers such as: Acceptance? Love? Money? Peace?

Tip: Find the common thread i.e. the unifying principle. What is the one word or phrase than can summarize your entire project? In my case: War and Peace.

2.  Narrative, or “The Captions with Each Picture”

I was very stressed about what to write, and after one too many stressed nights, I sat down and penned the narrative you see accompanying each picture in the trailer. It took under three minutes. I know because I looked at the time on my laptop. I guess all those sleepless nights of thinking, thinking, thinking paid off! After some quick feedback, everything remained the same except for a few words deleted and added.

Tip 1: Find your “tension” and then tell a story through single words. I used short, snappy sound bites and questions.

Tip 2: Questions guarantee viewer participation and turn your trailer from a monologue into an interactive dialogue.

3. Photos, or “Arresting Images that Tell a Story”

I put a call out to all the contributors to send in photographs (to avoid copyright issues) that would go with the overall theme and their stories. Eventually, I pooled theirs and mine. Then I began the arduous process of matching the best possible photos with the narration. I did this via a PowerPoint presentation because the format seemed easier for me to view photos side by side. I also figured PowerPoint would be a convenient way to show my videographer friend who was ultimately going to put all these elements together for the video what I was thinking of.

I wanted to give my friend a choice of two photos with each word/sound bite. My friend suggested not going with obvious matches (e.g., if the narration says “key,” do not show a key). Choosing and matching photos to captions was not easy, especially since I felt such an obligation to showcase, in the best possible fashion, the work of all of the brilliant contributors in the issue. This did not mean I should kill myself. So, long walks helped, cups of tea helped, and finally I sent off my PowerPoint presentation.

Tip: Find your photos and match them to your narration (on screen or voice over) in as interesting and thought-provoking a way as possible.

4. Music, or “The Heartbeat”

My friend suggested I choose few soundtracks/snippets which he would thread together as he saw fit. Again, because of copyright issues, I decided to stick to old songs and instrumental tracks from the 1950s. After I wasted half a day trying to find long pieces of music without any lyrics, my partner came to my rescue. “Karaoke?” the man said. We then spent another three hours or so deciding on instrumentals and, once we did, we downloaded them. 

Tip: Find karaoke instrumentals. In a trailer without a voice over (or even with) the music is crucial for cuing the reader’s emotions. Find a sad piece, a joyous piece, a slow piece, a fast heartbeat of a piece, so that together the pieces joined will evoke and highlight your tension/story.

5. Assembly, or “The Technical Part”

I was lucky enough to be able to send the music and PowerPoint to a friend who chose the best photos and stream of music and effects to put together a kickass video.

Tip: Find someone who knows what they are doing and ask them to help you out. If you want to try putting everything together yourself, then easy-to-use software is available on the Internet.   

Conclusion, or “Happily Ever After”

After seeing the final video, all the tears and sweat and blood and brainstorming were worth it. I love this issue trailer.

Good luck! And Happy Trailer Making!

Soniah Kamal’s debut novel An Isolated Incident is about a girl who knows too much and a boy who knows too little. A finalist for the KLF French Fiction Prize, An Isolated Incident is available at uread.com  Find Soniah on twitter, pinterest, facebook, and at www.soniahkamal.com

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