Book Trailers Work!

I was first introduced to book trailers over at Kristen Nelson's blog. She reps some young adult authors, and I saw the trailer for Perfect Chemistry. Today was the first day my students were allowed to check books out from the library. The school media specialist and I decided to show book trailers for some of the KBA (Kentucky Bluegrass Award) nominated books before we turned them loose in the stacks.

We showed trailers for Unwind by Neal Shusterman, The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson, Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, Shift by Jennifer Bradbury, and, of course, Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles. Not a single copy of any of those titles remains in our library now. They flew off the shelves. Four kids literally sprinted to the shelf to get the library's two copies of Perfect Chemistry. Two of the kids were boys. The girls got there first, and I had to laugh at the negotiations that occurred after they grabbed the books.

We created waiting lists for all of the books listed above. My English classes go to the library every two weeks for book check-out. We've decided to start each of those class periods with book trailers. They really get the kids fired up about the books. More so than a simple book talk.

If I wrote YA books, I would definitely create a trailer for my book, and I would make sure it got into the hands of English teachers and librarians. We are on the front lines for introducing those books to their intended audience. I know a library check-out isn't a sale, but I also know that once you have a teenage fan, they will go to the store and buy your other books. My own son became a fan of Carl Deuker's books, and I've subsequently bought him every title we could find.