Remember the novel and movie, Primary Colors, the scandalous fictionalized account of Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign? Almost as interesting as the story's connection to President Clinton was the book's author, the infamous "Anonymous," who, as it turned out, was journalist Joe Klein.
Well now another anonymously written roman à clef has been published, this one based on the imagined reelection campaign of President Barack Obama. Titled O: A Presidential Novel, the guessing game around the book's authorship has been going on for weeks before publication.
That's some brilliant marketing strategy there. Titillate and tease. Self-publishers, keep this in mind when you're about to launch your own publicity campaigns.
In addition to the tease, Simon & Schuster produced this video trailer for the book:
What do you think? Do you give this trailer a thumbs up or a thumbs down?
Is it funny or a fail, provocative or boring? Most importantly, does it make you want to buy the book? At least think about buying it? Or will you wait for the movie?
Compare the O video trailer to others featured on this site.
I chose this particular video for review because it seems pretty cheap to produce, which is all-important to self-publishers. All you need is a desk, some scenery, a little music, and a guy (as long as you don't hire a former MAD TV comic, that is).
The purpose of this exercise is to discover the elements of a good video book trailer so that you can incorporate them into your own. You should feel confident about the possibilities: even on a tiny budget, you can generate pre-publication excitement for your self-published projects.
Donna Marie
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