VODOOAI book trailer: show readers the world of your book in thirty seconds
By VODOO AI · · 4 min read
A book is the one product whose best part can't be seen. Readers fall for a voice, a world, a question they need answered, and none of that fits on a cover. A trailer gives a book a few seconds of mood on the feeds where readers now find what to read next, BookTok and Reels above all.
Self-published authors and small presses rarely have a budget for one. With AI you can make the setting, the mood and the hook from your own description. Here's how, what to leave out, and briefs you can copy.
Sell the mood, not the plot
A trailer that summarises the plot gives away the reason to read. The good ones set a mood and ask a question: a lighthouse in a storm and one line, "She was the only one who saw the ship." Think in images from the book, the place, an object that matters, the weather, and keep the words to two or three short lines.
- 01The placeThe world of the book: the misty moor, the neon city, the kitchen in 1962.
- 02The objectThe letter, the key, the photograph, the knife.
- 03The turnA door opening, a light going out, a figure at the end of a corridor.
- 04The lineOne sentence from the book, or the question it asks.
- 05The coverTitle, author and where to buy it.
A lonely lighthouse on a rocky headland at dusk, storm clouds rolling in over a grey sea, its beam just starting to turn, rain beginning to fall, a very slow push in from the cliff path. Moody, cinematic, quiet. Vertical 9:16, eight seconds.Make this in VODOO →
Leave the characters' faces to the reader
Readers build the characters in their own heads, and a trailer that shows a definite face can clash with theirs. Show characters from behind, in silhouette, in shadow, or only their hands: a hand on a banister, a figure walking away into fog. It keeps the mystery and avoids an AI face that looks like nobody the reader imagined.
A woman in a long dark coat seen from behind, walking away down a cobbled street at night in 1920s London, gas lamps glowing through the fog, her footsteps echoing, a slow follow at a distance. No face visible. Wide 16:9, six seconds.Make this in VODOO →
Briefs by genre
Thriller
- The image
- An empty room, a phone buzzing on the table
- Light and pace
- Cold, still, then sudden
Romance
- The image
- Two coffee cups, rain on a cafe window
- Light and pace
- Warm, soft, slow
Fantasy
- The image
- A castle on a cliff, dragons as distant shapes
- Light and pace
- Epic, golden or stormy
Horror
- The image
- A child's toy on a dark staircase
- Light and pace
- Dim, very slow
Historical
- The image
- A street of the period, a letter sealed with wax
- Light and pace
- Candlelight, sepia
Science fiction
- The image
- A city of light, a ship over the horizon
- Light and pace
- Neon, cool, vast
| Genre | The image | Light and pace |
|---|---|---|
| Thriller | An empty room, a phone buzzing on the table | Cold, still, then sudden |
| Romance | Two coffee cups, rain on a cafe window | Warm, soft, slow |
| Fantasy | A castle on a cliff, dragons as distant shapes | Epic, golden or stormy |
| Horror | A child's toy on a dark staircase | Dim, very slow |
| Historical | A street of the period, a letter sealed with wax | Candlelight, sepia |
| Science fiction | A city of light, a ship over the horizon | Neon, cool, vast |
An old brass key resting on a yellowed letter on a dark wooden desk, a candle flickering beside it, wax seal broken, the camera drifting slowly closer as the flame moves. Mysterious and quiet. Vertical 9:16, six seconds.Make this in VODOO →
From trailer to launch
Make one trailer of twenty to forty seconds for your website and the book's page, and cut three or four short clips from it for the launch: one image and one line each. Post them in the weeks before release, then on the day with the cover and a link. Add music you have the rights to; for an original track, see AI music generator.
For the feeds themselves, see AI Instagram Reels and AI YouTube Shorts. Put your words on screen as text in the edit, not in the brief; engines misspell.
For a series, a world that stays the same
If your books share a setting, keep the place consistent from trailer to trailer: describe it the same way every time, or start each clip from the same still image. Readers of book two should recognise the world from book one in the first second.
Making book trailers in VODOO
Describe each scene in Create, keep the faces hidden, and add your lines and cover in the edit. Every price is shown before anything runs, and your Library keeps every version. 300 free credits a month, no card. For writing each brief, see the AI video prompt template.
Questions people ask
- Can AI make a book trailer?
- Yes. Describe scenes from the book, such as the setting, an important object and a turning moment, and add one line and the cover in the edit.
- Should a book trailer show the characters?
- Usually not their faces. Readers imagine the characters themselves, so show figures from behind, in silhouette or only their hands.
- How long should a book trailer be?
- Twenty to forty seconds for the full trailer, and short clips of five to ten seconds for BookTok, Reels and Shorts.