Book Trailer

I thought it would be fun to make a book trailer about my story When Sheep Won’t Leap, which was recently awarded first place in the Institute of Children’s Literature poetry contest.  Technically, it would be a pre-book trailer—I'm still looking for a publisher.  

The goal was to learn how to make a trailer and in turn, introduce my story to others.  After reading several articles about making a book trailer and watching a few online, I felt ready to begin.  The first decision:  how to present the trailer?  Would it be illustrations, a short movie, or a slide show of photographs?   For my purpose, photos would work best.  

To begin, I made notes about the kinds of photos that would best represent the main character, the minor characters, the action, and the conflict.  In all, 15 -20 medium-sized images would be required.  Easier said than done.  There are many websites from which to choose images. Many offer free photos, but the selection is  limited.  That was a problem, because I had a specific vision for the story.  Some of the photos that I needed for my trailer could not be found on these sites. 

Then there are copyright issues.  I wanted to be sure that I any photo I'd download would be legal to use.  Yet copyright issues are confusing.  For instance I know of an editor who was contacted by an attorney demanding compensation for the time he used a copyrighted image.  The editor thought the photo was legal to use. 

Lastly, cost is a factor.  I had read in a respectable writers’ magazine that some photography websites offer packages of photos for as little as $15.  I’m thinking, sign me up.  But for that price, the package limits you to a set number of small, medium, and large photos.  And, that did not suit my needs.  So I felt discouraged and confused.  What to do, what to do?  

To be continued….