Scrapbooks, the new book trailer?

How do you bring a book to life, when introducing it to potential readers?

While artists and musicians have a fairly immediate way of presenting an image or a four minute song, it is harder for writers to capture the imagination of readers.

Of course a great cover and an interesting blurb are always the first steps to entice readers’ curiosity. Previews and excerpts allow a peek into the story and the author’s writing style.

But in an age when people’s attention span is short and immediate, authors have been finding new ways of attracting audiences to their books.

The book trailer has now been around for some time, and many authors have utilised the media to advertise their upcoming or published book. I had a go at it myself, with my first novel, “Playing on Cotton Clouds” http://www.amazon.co.uk/Playing-on-Cotton-Clouds-ebook/dp/B007WFK3B2 – and uploaded it on my Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2QcSh6MZJg

For my second novel, “A Summer of Love”, http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Summer-of-Love-ebook/dp/B00B3MKEQ4 I wanted to try something different. I wanted the readers to have a feel for the characters, the atmosphere and the writing style, as well as the plot, immerse them in the book experience, and somehow I felt a trailer was not the best way to convey it.

In the past I had used some images to present short passages from the book on my Facebook author page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michela-Sacchi-OBrien/16450121895 and I thought that perhaps I could do something a little more creative with it. So I developed the idea of a scrapbook, arranging the images on artistic backgrounds and accompany them with brief excerpts from the book. There are interesting ideas for compositions on the net or on photo and design softwares, which also provide guidance on how to put it all together.

The result can be seen on my blog http://words-in-a-jar.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/a-summer-of-love-scrapbook_16.html

I think it really captures the essence of the book, allowing readers to get a feel for the story in a quicker, broader overview, and hopefully piquing their interest enough to make them want to read the novel.

What other creative ideas would you suggest to effectively promote a book?

A SUMMER OF LOVE – Michela O’Brien

Blurb

Successful artist Jonah Briggs is a man who has made mistakes. Aged just eighteen, he was sent to prison for two years, leaving his family shattered and his first love, Sally, to wait for his return.

 But at eighteen, two years seem like a lifetime, and some promises are hard to keep. 

When Jonah reappears in her life, Sally finds herself torn between him and Ewan, the young Cornish farmer she has married, divided between loyalty and passion, duty and love. 

 Over the course of almost two decades, through meetings and partings, secrets and revelations, and two momentous summers, Jonah will have to confront his past and heal old wounds, while Sally will face the consequences of her choices – whether to follow her conscience or her heart.

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