Cover Reveal
A short animated reveal for the announcement, sized for every platform you post on.
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Book Trailer Studio · Tasman PublishersBook Trailers That Make Readers Hit Buy
For Australian and New Zealand authors: video is how most readers meet a book now. We script a trailer from your text, cut it for the feeds where discovery actually happens, and license it so you can put ad money behind it.
- Scripted from your book
- 16:9 & 9:16 cuts
- Licensed for paid ads
- A 45–60 second trailerScored with music cleared for commercial use
- Vertical cutdowns15–30 second edits for Reels, TikTok and Shorts
- CaptionsBurned in, plus a separate file for accessibility
- An advertising licenceRun it as paid media with no second clearance
Book Trailer Samples
A thriller, a fantasy epic, a business book, a romance, a picture book and a crime novel, each with its own pace, type and mood. Hover over a trailer to preview it, or click (or tap) to watch it full size.
16:9 Cinematic trailers For YouTube, your author website and store pages
9:16 Social reels & cover reveals For TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts
Concept trailers made to show different styles. Titles and authors are fictional, and the samples play without sound.
One Story, Cut For Every Screen
A trailer has one job: make somebody want to read the book. We write the script from your text, keep it short, and end on a clear line about where to buy it. Then we re-cut it for each platform, so it never looks like a landscape video squeezed onto a phone.
- A hook in the first three seconds — before anyone scrolls past
- Works with the sound off — captions and on-screen text carry the story
- Your cover is the hero — so readers recognise it in the store
16:9YouTube, website, Amazon A+
9:16TikTok, Reels, Shorts, Stories
1:1Facebook and Instagram feed
4:5Instagram and Facebook ads
Video For Every Stage Of A Launch
A cover reveal, a trailer and a set of quote cards do different jobs at different points in the campaign. We produce them together so the visual language holds across all of them.
Book Trailer
The main piece. Scripted from your book, scored and cut to hold attention past the first three seconds.
Author Interview
A filmed or remote-recorded interview, edited into clips you can release across the campaign.
Quote Cards
Animated pull-quotes from the book and from reviews, ready to schedule across launch week.
From Script To Scroll-Stopping Trailer
You approve the words before anything moves, then the look before we animate. No surprises at the end.
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01
Script & Hook
We read your book and write a short script around its strongest hook, then send it to you to approve.
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02
Storyboard & Look
Frames, type and colour drawn from your cover and genre, so the trailer and the book feel like one thing.
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03
Animation & Score
Motion, licensed music and captions come together, and you get a review round on the full cut.
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04
Cutdowns & Delivery
Every aspect ratio you need, web-ready MP4 masters and caption files, ready to post or put behind ads.
What A Book Trailer Costs, And What Moves The Price
A trailer is quoted as a fixed price for an agreed set of deliverables. Three things move the number: how the pictures are made, how long the finished cut runs, and how many versions you need for the platforms you are actually posting to.
Animation built from your cover art and typography is the most economical, because everything needed already exists. Licensed stock footage adds the cost of the clips. Original live action adds a shoot, a location and a grade, and is the only route when the book needs a real face or place on screen.
Every extra aspect ratio is an extra edit, not a free export. A vertical cut reframes every shot and moves every caption, so we agree the set of cuts before starting rather than surprising you with them later.
What drives a trailer quote
- How the visuals are made. Typographic animation, licensed stock footage, or an original shoot.
- Finished length. A 15-second social cut is a different job from a 60-second website film.
- Number of cuts. 16:9, 9:16 and square are three separate edits of the same story.
- Voiceover. A narrator, a casting round and a recording session, or type and music only.
- Music licence. Cleared for commercial and paid-ad use, itemised in the quote.
- Motion graphics. Endorsement cards, cover reveals and series openers each need building.
We do not quote by the minute. A tight 20 seconds usually costs more per second than a loose 90, because the cutting is where the work is.
The Cut Each Platform Actually Wants
One story, several shapes. A video posted in the wrong ratio gets letterboxed into insignificance, and a caption in the wrong place ends up under the interface. This is the set we cut and why.
| Where it runs | Ratio | Length that works | What the cut has to respect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram and TikTok feed | 9:16 vertical | 15–30 seconds | Interface covers the lower fifth, so captions sit higher |
| YouTube Shorts | 9:16 vertical | Up to 60 seconds | Hook has to land in the first second, before a swipe |
| YouTube and your website | 16:9 landscape | 30–60 seconds | Room for a wider frame and a proper end card |
| Facebook and Instagram feed | 1:1 or 4:5 | 15–30 seconds | Square takes more feed height than landscape |
| Paid social ads | 9:16 and 4:5 | 15 seconds | Cover and title visible early, in case that is all they watch |
| Amazon A+ and retailer pages | 16:9 | 30–60 seconds | Must read with the sound off, so burnt-in captions |
| Launch email | Still frame linking out | — | Email clients do not play video, so a thumbnail does the work |
Captions, not subtitles
Most feed video is watched muted, so the words have to be on screen. You get a version with captions burnt in for social and a separate caption file for platforms that render their own, which also makes the video accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing readers.
Music licensing is not optional
Every track we use is licensed for commercial and paid-advertising use, with the documentation handed over. An unlicensed popular song gets the post muted or removed, and on a paid campaign it can put the whole ad account at risk.
What a trailer will not do
A trailer is advertising creative, not a sales channel. It works when it is running as paid social, sitting on your listing and website and anchoring a launch email. Posted once to a quiet channel, it does nothing — so we would rather talk about where yours will run than promise you views.
What Goes Into Every Trailer
The parts viewers never think about, and would notice straight away if they were missing.
Written From Your Book
The script comes from your text and your blurb, not a template, so it sounds like your story.
Built For Three Seconds
The hook lands before a thumb can scroll, which is where most social video is won or lost.
Licensed Music
Every track is cleared for commercial use, so your video will not be muted or taken down.
Captions Built In
Most feeds play on mute. On-screen text carries the story, with a separate caption file too.
Ready For Ads
Licensed for paid media on Google, YouTube, Meta and TikTok, with no second clearance to buy.
Every Aspect Ratio
16:9, 9:16, 1:1 and 4:5, each re-framed properly rather than cropped from one master.
Book Trailer Questions, Answered Plainly
What authors ask before commissioning video, including the answer about whether it sells books.
How much does a book trailer cost?
A trailer is quoted as a fixed price once we know the length, how the visuals are made and how many cuts you need. A 30-second animated trailer built from your cover art and typography sits at the lower end. Licensed stock footage adds the cost of the clips; original live action adds a shoot. Every extra aspect ratio is an additional edit rather than a free export, so we agree the deliverables up front and itemise them.
How long does a book trailer take to make?
Two to three weeks for an animated or stock-footage trailer: script and storyboard first, then a rough cut for your approval, then sound, captions and the platform cuts. A live-action shoot adds two to four weeks for scheduling, filming and grading.
How long should a book trailer be?
Shorter than most authors expect. Fifteen to thirty seconds for social feeds, where you are competing with a thumb, and up to sixty seconds for YouTube or your own website where someone has chosen to watch. A two-minute trailer is almost always a thirty-second trailer with ninety seconds of throat-clearing.
Do book trailers actually sell books?
Honestly: not on their own. A trailer is an ad unit, not a sales channel. It earns its keep when it is running as paid social creative, sitting on your Amazon A+ content and author website, or anchoring a launch email — and it does nothing sitting on an unwatched YouTube channel. We will tell you where yours should be used, and we do not promise view counts or sales.
What do you need from me to start?
The cover art, the blurb, and anything you already have: author photo, interior illustrations, endorsements, a rough idea of the tone. If the cover is not finished we can work from the manuscript and the concept, but the trailer usually lands better once the cover exists, because the two should look like the same book.
Is the music licensed?
Yes, and this matters more than most authors realise. Every track is licensed for commercial and paid-advertising use, and you get the licence documentation with the files. Using a popular song without a licence gets the video muted or pulled, and on a paid ad it can cost you the ad account.
Can you add a voiceover?
Yes. A professional narrator can read a short script, and if you are also producing an audiobook we can use the same voice so the campaign and the book sound like each other. Plenty of trailers work with type and music alone, which also avoids a language barrier in overseas markets.
What aspect ratios and files do I get?
The standard set is a 16:9 master for YouTube and websites, a 9:16 vertical cut for Reels, TikTok and Shorts, and a 1:1 or 4:5 square cut for feed posts. Each is a separate edit with the framing and text repositioned, not the same video with bars added. You also get burnt-in captions, a separate caption file and a thumbnail frame.
Do the videos have captions?
Yes. Most social video is watched with the sound off, so captions are not optional. You get a version with captions burnt in for feeds and an .srt file for platforms that prefer their own rendering.
Where should I post it?
Your retailer listing where the platform allows video, your author website above the fold, the pinned post on your social profiles, your launch email, and as the creative in any paid campaign. If you are running ads, the vertical cut is usually the one that performs.
Can you cut a cover reveal or a series trailer?
Yes. A cover reveal is a different edit with a different job — it is built around the moment the cover appears and works best before launch. Series trailers reuse a common opening and closing so the set feels deliberate.
Who owns the finished video?
You do. The edit, the animation and the arrangement are assigned to you, and the stock footage and music licences are bought for your use and documented. You can run it as an ad, put it on any platform and re-cut it later without coming back to us.
Ready To Give Your Book A Trailer?
Send us your title, your genre and your launch date. We'll come back with a fixed quote and a script idea before any production starts.
Work with an Adelaide-based author services team today.