BookReels, a dedicated interactive website that allows publishers and authors to post multimedia visuals ranging from animated book covers to trailers, is now available for readers as a unique way to preview and browse books.
The founder and CEO of BookReels is Dan Rosen, a screenwriter and director who has worked on a number of book trailers. With his friend CV Herst, a writer and tech entrepreneur, the Los Angeles-based duo came up with the idea to create a website where authors and publishers could easily promote themselves, through visual means, and simultaneously sell their work.
Registration on the site is free, and BookReels members have access to 3,000 trailers and author interviews, as well as the option to purchase books through either IndieBound or Amazon.
“What MTV did for music videos and record sales, BookReels wants to do for book trailers and book sales,” Rosen said. The site includes over 20 book categories. The most popular category is young adult fiction, which features hundreds of trailers, author interviews, and live readings. The adult fiction category is the second most popular category.
Book trailers on the site range from classics such as Anna Karenina to Tina Fey’s Bossypants. According to user ratings, some of the current member favorites trailers for Emma Donaghue’s Frog Music, which utilizes a slideshow; Tim Winton’s Eyrie, a creepy live action trailer; and The One & Only by Emily Giffin.
Without any live action filming, Giffin’s trailer represents what can be done with just a simple book cover animation, and blurbs.
Tiffany Hawk’s Love Me Anyway: A Novel was published a year ago, but the book trailer ranks #1 on the site’s top ten list because of its darkly funny execution. “Book trailers vary in style and delivery from homemade to professional productions,” said Rosen. “They help provide an outlet for authors and publishers on a shoestring budget, and a platform for the seasoned bestsellers as well.” Once submissions are approved, they appear on BookReels free of charge.
Members are offered a variety of free options on the site. With access to community pages, they can rate trailers, post comments and reviews, join discussion groups, and share BookReel discoveries through a variety of social media sites. On the Recommend a Reel page, members can also submit their own book-related videos.
Tyson Cornell, founder of Rare Bird Lit book promotions, has embraced BookReels as an effective way to visually market books. “There just hasn’t been a platform beyond YouTube and Author Central that can stimulate book sales until now,” Cornell said. “BookReels has the potential to connect more books with readers. It definitely fills a void.”
