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Do Book Trailers Work? This One Sure Did!

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Lately, there's been a lot of Internet buzz about book trailers, which are used to promote upcoming or new releases on an author's website, MySpace, Youtube, and the like. As more and more authors jump onto this fun, new bandwagon, I've resisted, saying that though I've seen and admired quite a few, I've never actually purchased a book because of a trailer.

That ends today, with this fabulous trailer for Toni McGee Causey's hilarious Southern (mis)adventure, Bobbie Faye's Very Very Very Bad Day. Why did it convince me to order the book? First of all, it's clever and well-made, amusing in itself and very professional. But more importantly, it led me to look up more traditionally-formatted info about the book, and it's just what I'm in the mood for. Lately, I've been on a humorous Southern fiction kick. I've greatly enjoyed books such as Mary Kay Andrews' Savannah Blues and Joshilyn Jackson's Gods in Alabama.

Here's the description of Causey's book:
Bobbie Faye Sumrall is a dead-broke Cajun living in a broken-down trailer in Lake Charles, Louisiana. When criminals demand Bobbie Faye's Contraband Queen tiara-- the only thing of her mama's she inherited-- in exchange for her good-for-nothing brother, Bobbie Faye has to outwit the police, organized crime, former boyfriends, and a hostage she never intended to take (but who turns out to be damn sexy), in order to rescue her brother, keep custody of her niece, and get back in time to take her place as Queen in the Lake Charles Contraband Festival (think Mardi Gras, with more drinking and pirates). Luckily, she knows how to handle guns, outwit angry mama bears, drive a speedboat, and get herself out of (and into) almost every kind of trouble. If only that pesky state police detective (who also happens to be a pissed off ex-boyfriend) would stay out of her way . . .

I wasn't quite sold yet, since trailer park books really aren't my thing, but the reviews put me over the top. Here are a few highlights:
“Causey doesn't miss a beat in this wonderful, wacky celebration of Southern eccentricity.”
-- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This hyperpaced, screwball action/adventure with one unforgettable heroine and two sexy heroes is side-splittingly hilarious. Causey, a Cajun and a Louisiana native, reveals a flair for comedy in this uproarious debut novel.”
--Library Journal (starred review)

And if these enticements weren't enough, the Amazon reader reviews did the trick.

So was it the video trailer that sold me? Not exactly, but it did lead me to discover another new book I can't wait to read.
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Christie Craig said…
I really enjoy watching the book videos. I know they are just one more thing writers now feel as if they have to do, but I will say that pulling one together was a blast, and I think they could be a good tool to help you plot a book. When you have condense your story down to so many images and even less words, you begin to target things such as theme and tone. Something that was a handy tool.

CC
5:47 PM
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