Author Sid Tafler contacted me earlier this week to ask if I’d be interested in checking out his video. At first glance, it looks like a book trailer, which is exactly what I’m interested in at the moment. For those of you following my conversation with publicity Dan Wagstaff, we’ve been on about the usefulness of book trailers.
Well, have a look at what Sid’s done. I love it.
The book is for real, and there’s more info about the book at NetBC.com.
Us and Them is a memoir, a personal and family story about how people in Canada divide themselves into groups–French or English, Protestant or Catholic, Jew or Muslim, native or non-native, etc., and how this syndrome has changed over the years.
I asked Sid what the video was all about:
Quote: Sid said:
The video started as a plan to promote the book, but when I wrote it, I got caught up with the idea of the author interview and all the groans I’d heard over the years about the author tour and how some broadcast interviewers know nothing about the book or the author.
In my own case, I was interviewed on radio after the book was launched last year and a minute before the interview began I asked the host “Did you read the book?” and he said “No, but I like the cover.”
To me, this is hilarious and indicative of the nature of author interviews. It’s not really about the author reaching readers, it’s about the author generating good sound clips that can be reused.
Mark Haddon has posted a similar comment of discontent and disillusionment about author interviews on the Random House Insiders’ blog:
Quote: The Joy of Publicity by Mark Haddon
The biggest mistake is to think that interviews are a service provided to writers so that they can communicate with readers. The function of interviews is to provide good copy (and most editors will think nothing of ditching interviews if writers have failed to say anything interesting).
…
The irony is that interviews are a rubbish way of communicating actual information to readers. I sometimes think it would be more efficient to write them individual letters, put them into bottles and hurl them into the sea. I must have answered the question, ‘How much research did you do for Curious Incident?’ [5] at least 500 times, and journalists still ask it on a regular basis.
Overall, I like Sid’s video. It’s funny. It reminds me of the mock interviews on This Hour Has 22 Minutes. I’d love to see a series of these videos promoting books, but I think it also needs to be clear that these are real books. I had to clarify Us and Them was a published book. My suggestion would be to post a final frame telling viewers where to get book information and a link to the website. Other than that, I had a good laugh and I now know a lot about this book–I was curious enough to go and find out. That is what a good book trailer should do.