In this encore edition of the Morning Media Menu, we interviewed TV writer, producer and novelist Lee Goldberg, finding out why most writers shouldn’t make book trailers.
Goldberg also talked about how he brought his short story, “Remaindered,” to Kindle and film–offering cautionary advice for anybody thinking about investing in a book trailer.
Press play below to listen. Here’s an excerpt from the interview: “For the most part, it makes me cringe from head to toe. I look at some of these book trailers from some big name authors and I can’t help but think: ‘Are you out of your mind? Why don’t you just go to the bathroom, take whatever cash you have in your pockets and flush it down that toilet?’ They are amateurish. They are nothing but slideshows with bad stock photos, too much text and creepy music. They are all the same and they aren’t effective sales tools.”
He concluded: “If you have your heart set on a book trailer, don’t try to match Hollywood or something an ad agency can do. Do something personal. Awhile back, Ellery Queen asked me to do a trailer for a short story I wrote for their magazine. I just gave my daughter my Flip camera and I had her film me cleaning the house. I won’t give away the joke at the end, but I tried to make it personal, funny and cute–not a hard sell for the short story or my book … I made them laugh and maybe get to know me a little bit better.”