Hands Down, My Favorite Reason for Book Trailers

by Jody Feldman

Here’s what I like about book trailers. Once you get past the pipedream that yours will receive as much attention as a Super Bowl commercial or at least a John Green video, there’s really something quite valuable to these things.

Certainly, a trailer can lead to the sale of a couple books here and there. Sure, one friend might send a book trailer link to another, causing a brief discussion. (“You wanna read it?” "Yeah. You wanna read it?”) Yes, some school media specialists do assemble trailers from newly released books and run them on a loop in their libraries. And I strongly believe I can speak for all authors and say how much we truly appreciate that.

(Trailer for The Gollywhopper Games)

I also love having trailers available for school visits. Showing them during my presentations helps give the kids a better sense of the books I write. And they also works to break up the time. (Kind of like I’m breaking up this blog.) I can get a good drink of water. The kids get recharged from having a change of pace (and face). It just works.

(Trailer for The Seventh Level)

But hands down, my favorite reason for having trailers is this: It helps spark the readers' imaginations. I’m not talking about an “oh, that’s so cool; I need to read the book” reaction, but more along the lines of response to reading. Maybe kids don’t seek out book trailers online, but when an assignment comes and one of their choices is to create a book trailer, guess what? These students have our trailers on YouTube, TeacherTube, or on our websites for reference, resource, and inspiration.

Every time I becomes aware of a new student-made (or teacher-/librarian-made) trailer for one of my books, I can’t help but smile. My creation, either the book or the trailer, has sparked their creativity ... often with results that go beyond what I could imagine.

If Jody Feldman had timed this right, she would have debuted her newest trailer – for The Gollywhopper Games: The New Champion -- here and now. The book comes out May 27. She’s hoping the trailer will precede it.