Since 1994, Jim Rubart has worked with clients such as AT&T/Cingular, RE/MAX, ABC and Clear Channel radio though his company Barefoot Marketing, but his passion is writing fiction. His debut novel ROOMS released in April and hit the bestseller list in September. His next novel, BOOK OF DAYS released in January. He's also a photographer, guitarist, professional speaker, golfer, and semi-pro magician. He lives in the Northwest with the world's most perfect wife and his two almost-perfect sons. No, he doesn't sleep much. You can reach him at jlrudini[at]comcast.net, or visit his website at http://www.jimrubart.com/.

“It’s pretty good for do-it-yourself!”

I read that quote the other day from an author who created his own Book Trailer.

Big problem.

Pretty good will not compete with a movie trailer from one of the major movie companies. (That is our competition, by the way. If our trailers aren’t at the level of those we see at the theater, we suffer by comparison.)

What does a pretty good Book Trailer tell the consumer about an excellent book? That the novel is pretty good, as well. But people don’t want a pretty good book. They want a great book.

So what do you do if your publisher doesn’t do high quality trailers or can’t afford a great Book Trailer or you don’t have the skills to make one yourself? What can you do to stand out?

Make It Personal

Go ahead. Make your own video. But make it of you.

If you’re comfortable in front of the camera, go crazy and shoot a short clip talking about the major themes of your novel and why readers will love it.

This is where your elevator pitch comes in. For example, if I were to make a Book Trailer about my latest novel, The Chair, here’s what I’d do. I would be on camera, saying something like: “If an elderly lady showed up at your house with a chair she claimed was made by Christ, would you believe her? Would you believe when it seems to miraculously heal a young boy?”

Then I’d say, “Have you ever had a broken relationship? One you longed to have restored? That’s the heart of my novel The Chair. God uses this chair made by Jesus to bring deep healing to the most important relationship my protagonist has.

“I wrote it after God restored my relationship with one of my best friends. I tell that story in the back of the book. It was very cool.

“My prayer is people come away from reading The Chair filled with hope for those lost relationships in their lives.

“RT Book Reviews gave it four and a half stars and Christian Retailing Magazine made it their Top Pick for September. You might like it, too. You can get it wherever books are sold.”

I’d put in some graphics, show the book cover, along with my Website, but most of it would just be me talking. (The example above is a little under a minute long . . . keep it short.)

People want to know the author. They want to see the person behind the words.

And which video do you think will stand out more to people? The one with the same type of photos with the same type of fonts in the same style as all the other Book Trailers, or the one I just described?

If you go wild and produce a trailer with you front and center, I’d love to see it.

And remember, good enough never is.

As always, if you have a marketing question, shoot it my way at jim@jimrubart.com and I might use it for a future column.