Trying every trick in the book
Trailers, promotional videos, music....authors now leave no stone unturned
By : elizabeth thomas
Update: 2015-09-23 23:20 GMT
Gone are the days where authors write a book and wait for readers and critics to review them to get a good sale. The young generation of writers know their audience well and have a clear idea on reaching them. They know that the success of a book depends not merely on a good subject, but also on the strategies they adopt to reach the target audience. Book trailers, promotional videos, quirky bookmarks and music for book are a few such ways by authors to reach reader’s heart.
“Publishing a book is like a journey. Book promotion is the final step in that,” says Ramon Dharma Rajan, a CA Student who created music for his debut novel Feather Touch. “My book has three parts and we have created three different tunes for each. Each track carries the emotion of book and its ambience. In the beginning of the book, I have requested the reader to download the music we have created for the book and play it while reading the book. However, it is the reader’s choice,” he says.
The music is done by his cousin Damodar Narayan. So, why did he create music for a book? “I have seen authors using music for book promotions. Why can’t we use the same to enhance reading? This was my thought. Also, music has a long-lasting effect on us. We will not forget it easily. I still remember the songs I have listened to as a kid. And my publisher told me that many people have a habit of listening to music while reading a book. All these factors encouraged me to come up with this idea,” he adds.
Book trailer is another promotional tool, which is widely used in literature worldwide, but, it is relatively a new thing in Indian English literature. One could find animated as well as real-life book trailer videos. Hari Kumar, a writer and assistant director in films has done a real-life video for his book When Strangers Meet. “It is just like a film trailer. My book’s trailer is the first book trailer in the country featuring real people. The trailer has the characters of the book and it shows gist of the novel,” says Hari Kumar. “Book trailers are a good way to attract audience. If you have a good story and beautiful trailer, it is sure that readers will get attracted,” he adds.
According to Mary Zareah, who wrote Vodka Sambar, an author should be good in marketing too. To promote her first book, she also came up with trailers and interesting bookmarks. “Now-a-days, it’s good to do something different because people like new things. For my book, first I did a name-revealing trailer and later, a book trailer. My book is about the transformation of a person and the trailer mirrors it. The protagonist had a dull and boring life in the beginning of the book, so we chose grey pastel shades and slow music in the beginning of trailer. Then she decides for a road trip. And as her life changes, grey shades give way to colours, indicating the changes in her life,” says Mary, adding that bookmarks too have got a good impact on people. “It can draw attention. That’s why I made some entertaining bookmarks. All these were possible with the help of my friends.”
However, Hari Kumar has a different opinion. He believes that bookmarks are outdated. “Even the paperback may not last for long years. Kindle and other gadgets are taking over them,” he says. “I feel that technology is going to take over the next generation. Trailers, hashtag contests, cross promotions and social media promotions will be the future marketing techniques. An author must go with the flow of technology and become a part of the new generation whole-heartedly. That’s called evolution.”