Drumroll please…
So this has been one of the projects occupying my time in September.
The book trailer for Six Train!
It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while but never found the time to work on.
Thank goodness for Frank Malice. He executed my vision and helped me go from idea to actual video. So glad I met his mom at Killer Nashville and she introduced us!
It took us about a month to put the whole thing together. We used all my personal photos and I wrote the lines for the video. I found the music at Audiomicro and paid for it. The song just felt perfect for Kai and Oliver.
Frank did all the video stuff. I have no idea what that entailed, but he did it really well.
If anyone is in need of someone to do their book trailer, I definitely recommend him.
We had an initial Skype session to discuss big picture concepts and what I wanted in the video and what he would need from me to make it all happen. His fee was quite reasonable–it really depends on the type of video you want. He stayed in touch, met deadlines, and made sure I was as involved as I wanted to be in the decision-making.
Fab! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
Wow – fantastic! I love the simplicity of it. Really well done.
Thanks. 🙂 I watched a lot of trailers to figure out what I wanted in one. 🙂
Congrats!
Thanks!
Where Can,We Find it
The book trailer is embedded in the blog. If you’re having trouble viewing it, you can go to
Hope that helps! 🙂
Whoa – very cool!
Thanks. I tried to figure out how to convey the main plot arc and the emotion of the book. Without breaking the bank. 🙂
Great trailer! I never put one together, but I’m always impressed by the ones I’ve seen. Smart to use all your own photos.
Thanks! It was one of those things I wanted to do, but didn’t have time to do in the beginning. Trying to keep costs down and keep it personal so it made sense to use my own pics. My eyes were killing me from scrolling through all my photos in search of the right images to evoke the emotion of each screen. 🙂
Stunning! I love the sense of emotions it invokes. Everything about it is perfect. Love the script!!
Aw thank you so much Mae! I really agonized over every detail. The photos were the hardest part. Trying to find one to evoke secrets nearly drove me crazy. 🙂
Great job! I loved the music, too… Perfect selection to go with the words.
Thanks. We looked at free music, but nothing hit the right note. Then I was looking into melancholy music on Audiomicro and stumbled on this one. Frank agreed that it was the right song for what we wanted to do so I bought it.
That is so cool! The music really fits the mood of the story, and I like the simplicity of the trailer. I think you hit upon the right one!
Thank you JM! 🙂 I really wanted something that captured the emotions, was inexpensive to make, and quick to watch. I have limited patience with videos and I hate when I click on one and it’s 5+ minutes. Yay! Thank you!
Great job, Kourtney! It really came out well. How did you get such illustrious reviews for your book? Kudos! Some really great writers. It all looks so professional. Nicely done!
Thanks! I paid a lot of money to get a Kirkus Review. I submitted to Publishers Weekly and was lucky enough to be selected for a review. Paige and Jennie are two amazing authors I’ve built friendships with over the years. I was so so happy they were both willing to blurb the book for me. Frank made it all flow and look like that. 🙂
It’s so smart to make connections, and maintain them! It all came together really well, Kourtney!
Definitely. It’s so much easier to ask an author you know and admire for a blurb than to reach out to a stranger. They were so so sweet about it too. Thanks. There was a tremendous amount of planning involved. I wrote a 10 page marketing plan back in February for my May launch. And I started lining up blurbs in January.
You are an inspiration! I love that you’re sharing your tips… 🙂
Glad to help. There’s such a big learning curve, I’m glad to share things that I’ve picked up along the way. 🙂
Lovely evocative mood created here, Kourtney. The photos and music work beautifully together x
Thank you Gemma! That was exactly what I was hoping for. 🙂
It’s so good! The music is kind of haunting and adds a great atmosphere to it.
Thanks! The music felt like it was written for Kai and Oliver. I was so happy I stumbled across it on audiomicro. It seemed to meld to the photos and enhance the mood. 🙂
Nicely done, Kourtney! You and Frank did an excellent job. And the reviews…very nice!
Thanks! I set out to create something as close to traditionally published as I could make it. Reviews felt essential. 🙂
I love the sad, suspenseful mood that’s created with the music and the way the photos move. It’s great that you were able to make your book sound so intriguing with just a few words. It must be so exciting to have a book trailer out there – congratulations! I haven’t been able to read your book yet but it just moved way up on that to-read list.
Thanks Sheila! So excited to hear the trailer made it jump higher in your TBR pile. Yay–that was what we were shooting for. Sad and suspenseful and intriguing! 🙂
I love that you used your own photos. I agree with Vanessa–the music is very haunting. Love the trailer.
Thanks. I wanted to make sure it had the personal nature that only photos of the places could provide. The music was a very lucky discovery. I had to listen to hours of music to find that gem. 🙂
Awesome trailer, Kourtney.
Thanks K.L.! 🙂 Was tough to envision, but Frank made it a cinch to bring to life. 🙂
Very cool, Kourtney. I’m going to send this out to some friends. Great job.
Thank you so much Lori! I really appreciate it. 🙂 Had several sales since I put the book trailer out. Very excited!
Fabulous! The music and images are perfect! I haven’t seen many text-only trailers that I love, but yours completely rocks. (Or maybe I mentioned that. ;)) Congrats, Kourtney!
Thanks August! That is really high praise coming from you! You always do everything top notch! 🙂 I really want my readers to imagine my characters without me putting images of them out there. I know it’s not as popular but it felt really right for this book to focus on the setting and the emotion. Aw thank you!
I have to agree with everyone’s comments. The photos were perfect and the music set such the right mood. It was emotional, sad, haunting (as some already said) almost eerie – like you know something is about to happen any second … but you have to read the book to find out what. It’s perfect! If I hadn’t already read your amazing book, I’d move it right to the top of the list. Great job! And good luck, I hope it leads to more readers.
Thanks so much Arlene! Yay! That was exactly how I wanted it to come across. 🙂 I hope enough readers see it. I’ve put it in every profile online. Time will tell I guess. 😉
Great trailer – the phrases you’ve used really capture the book while also giving it a great hook and in such economy of words.
Thanks! We really didn’t want to crowd the images with words. 🙂
It’s really good, Kourtney!!
It even makes me want to read the book again, so GREAT JOB! 😀
Yay! Thank you. 🙂 That’s really really really good to hear. 🙂
The trailer is just fantastic but I’m not surprised… everything you turn your mind and hand to, you do 100% 🙂
Aw thank you EllaDee. 🙂 I don’t do things super fast so it allows me time to mull. 😉 glad it was a hit with you!
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That does look really good. You must be so pleased. Music works too. 🙂
Thanks! Yeah, it’s so cool when someone gets your vision and then takes it up a few notches. 🙂
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