If you’re a writer or a reader, then you probably know about book trailers. For those of you not familiar with them, they are similar to the movie trailers we see on television that get us to go to the movies. Book trailers give the reader a taste of the story and get some of the plot elements. This way of promoting your books is one of the ways we can take a couple of hours or so to create a book trailer with Windows Movie Maker or the program of your choice. They have a new edition that you can download online for free. You can acquire music from various websites or if you’re lucky and have someone in your family who writes and plays music you might be able to use theirs for a listing in the credits. You may have to get a free membership at the site or some offer free memberships and low prices. Be sure to check the Terms before you use them.

If you’ve never done it, then I recommend you give it a try. There is a learning curve, but after the first one the next will be much easier. You can purchase pictures from sites like bigstockphoto.com for minimal amounts or scan your own photos or download them from your digital camera. You can even select your photos and then have the program arrange the photos and when you upload the music it will make the music fit if you tell it too.

You do the work once and post it on your website, blog, and media networks. Then, 24/7 your book trailer lets people know about your book.

I just finished the book trailer for my last book that came out last year, The Fisherman’s Wife. If you’d like to see it, then go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgyT_aSf0OM