Wednesday, June 8, 2011

I Designed Two Book Trailers!

Today, June 8, 2011, is my blog's one month anniversary! Woo hoo! I wasn't sure I'd like blogging or want to keep it up, but I have to admit that I'm enjoying meeting interesting and fascinating people who share their knowledge, talents, and opinions. 

I still have so much to learn, but for someone who's nearly computer illiterate, I'm making darn good progress. It's been trial & error every step of the way. I can't really blame it all on my age (although it's quite RUFF for old dogs to learn new tricks). I've never been technologically inclined, and even the new-fangled remote controls challenge me. No kidding.

So, my mind is fractured, but I'm puttering through cyberspace. You might say I'm teetering on the cyber edge, going slow so I don't fall off. Just goes to show what perseverance and determination can accomplish! 

I actually managed to design two book trailers for the second book in the middle grade Monster Moon mystery series, Secret of Haunted Bog, by BBH McChiller (pseudonym for my two co-authors and me). Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the official release date is June 15th! I guess I need to get the hang of launching a book in the blogosphere, huh? Details, details.

I'm going to write about how I made the trailers in future posts. Here's a hint: I became good friends with the Help menu. 

For now, I'd like to share my creations with you and ask you to please vote for the one you think works best. You can cast your vote in the sidebar or in the footer of this blog. 


Trailer No. 1 - Monster Moon - Secret of Haunted Bog




  Trailer No. 2 - Secret of Haunted Bog


Thank you for taking the time to vote. I didn't plan on making two trailers, and I'll explain why I ended up with two in later posts. I'll share some tips that my limited knowledge can offer, and maybe it will save you some grief if you've never made a book trailer and want to give it a go. 

If you've made a book trailer and have some tips or good links you'd like to share in the comments section, that would be very helpful. 

Even if you've never made a trailer but have some constructive criticism for me, I'm listening, because I plan to make more trailers someday. I can see how enchanting working in the film industry must be!


14 comments:

Golden Eagle said...

Those are cool trailers!

Voted. :)

Katie Dodge said...

Hey! I've tagged you! Go to my blog for details! :D

cleemckenzie said...

Woot! You've done a great job!

Lydia Kang said...

Wow, those are great trailers. And the music was exciting, too!

Bob Sanchez said...

Fun trailers, Lynn. I prefer the first one. The voice-over helps, I think. Also, the text disappears too quickly on the second.

LynNerdKelley said...

Hey, thanks for your votes and comments, evernyone. Very much appreciated.

Bob, thanks for your input. I like the first one better, too, with the voice over. The second one was done from an iMovie template, so I couldn't add any voice overs or change the music or the length that the text shows up. That's one reason there are two trailers!

Deborah Halverson said...

Good for you! I haven't braved the world of book trailers yet, myself. I like your music choice but agree that the words flash by quickly in version 2. So my vote is for #1

Marilyn Donahue said...

Lynn, I am so proud of you! I vote for #1, though I thought #2 was good as well. #1 just captured my fancy, and I liked the voice-over.

LynNerdKelley said...

Hi Deborah, Thank you for voting and for your feedback. The music for #2 came with the iMovie template (if that's what it's called), so I didn't have a choice, but it worked well with the videoclips. Thanks for stopping by.

Hello Marilyn - How wonderful that you stopped by and cast your vote. The voice over was done by my son-in-law, Bryan. He took acting lessons as a kid. Did I luck out or what? Thanks so much.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

I've never made a trailer, Lynn. So take my comments with a grain of sand (I hate to say salt. So cliche').

I liked the second one better. The voice over didn't sound creepy enough to me. Perhaps if the speaker had a raspy whispering voice it would have done it for me...I love the pics on both and I liked reading the text on the second one.

Congratulations on your release day!

LynNerdKelley said...

Hi Sharon - You don't have to have experience designing a trailer to know what works for you. I appreciate your feedback.

Rachna Chhabria said...

Hi Lynn.....nice to meet you. The trailers are great. Loved your descriptions of what writing is.

For me writing is telling the stories that consume me and writing about characters who haunt me until I tell their stories.

LynNerdKelley said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog, Rachna. That's a great description of what writing is for you.

D. U. Okonkwo said...

Good for you for doing this! I know it can cost a small fortune to get it professionally done. Love the man's voice! :o)