If you own a Roomba, then you already know what it’s like to work with artificial intelligence. My robot vacuum, Max, is a breeze—with just a few conditions. Sometimes I have to wrestle a bathroom rug from its mouth. Other times I need to catch it before it goes missing under the bed. And I make sure it never ever again discovers the dog’s mess before I do.

AI is similar. It’s useful if I clear obstacles from its path and set tight boundaries. It works best under a close eye. So, I thought I’d see how AI could help us make book trailers. My team tested ChatGPT for one of our nonfiction authors. Here’s how it went.

Step 1: Creative Briefing

We kicked off the project by reviewing our creative brief and indulging in a few film trailers for inspiration. The goal was to create a 30- to 90-second book trailer for It’s Not About Us, a co-parenting survival guide by Darlene Taylor.

Because the book is part memoir, we rounded up Darlene’s images, paperback, and audiobook narration. Her trailer was an opportunity to establish a connection with readers and build her credibility as a co-parent and social worker. We wanted to capture the warmth, humor, and relatability that set Darlene and her story apart.

Step 2: Storyboarding

With our purpose in mind and materials in hand, we turned to ChatGPT to test various prompts and book excerpts to see what yielded the best script.

We tested lengths, including 30-, 45-, 60-, and 90-second prompts. The shorter lengths produced scripts that sounded too salesy. The longer scripts included some of the differentiating details that make Darlene special. We also tested excerpts, including the front matter, back matter, back cover copy, and Amazon description.

Several iterations later, we settled on the prompt and excerpt that produced our favorite results: “Create a 90-second script for a nonfiction book trailer based on Preface + Chapter 1.” We provided the Preface and Chapter 1 because both parts formed a complementary overview of Darlene and her story.

ChatGPT generated an 850-word script, complete with narrator dialogue, suggestions for visual scenes, and a call to action at the end. The script followed a story arc that began with the reader’s problem, transitioned to Darlene and her book as a solution, and concluded with an invitation to a better future.

Step 3: Editing

The structure of the script was impressive, but there were a couple of problems.

One problem was that some of the phrasing in the script differed from the book excerpts. ChatGPT suggested a third-person perspective rather than the first-person narration in Darlene’s book. But we wanted to use Darlene’s audiobook narration without sending her back to the studio and driving up costs.

Another problem was the length. Although the 90-second prompt best conveyed the essence of Darlene’s story, it produced a much longer trailer in reality. We wanted to keep the pace brisk and make room for opening and closing shots.

A couple of hours later, we settled on a final script. The dialogue was revised to match the wording of the book, and the length was trimmed by two-thirds to 280 words.

Step 4: Designing

It was time to bring the script to life audibly and visually. We invested most of our book trailer budget in this step. Personal photos conveyed the personal touch of a memoir, and stock videos reflected Darlene’s journey and the diversity of her readers. Music was selected to match the ups and downs of the story. A quote was added at the beginning to establish the audience right away, and endorsements and retailers were added at the end.

Even with significant editing of the script, the additions to the beginning and end—plus the breathing room we felt each scene needed—resulted in a final length of two minutes. It was longer than ideal, but we thought it represented Darlene well.

Step 5: Marketing

The book trailer was a great addition to Darlene’s audiobook marketing campaign. We shared it across her social media platforms and added it to her website. It’s an evergreen product that can grab the attention of her audience.

Conclusion

AI is useful in supporting book publishing and marketing efforts, including in the making of book trailers.

Of the five-step book trailer process, ChatGPT was most useful in step 2: storyboarding. A carefully crafted prompt that defines the genre, format, time length, and content generated a solid structure for a book trailer script. It outlined a story arc and inspired ideas for visual scenes.

ChatGPT provided a great starting point, but we still relied heavily on our team’s creativity and intuition. We set the vision, defined the project parameters, and tested various prompts for the best results. We also spent significant time designing and editing the material to shape the final product. 

Maybe one day soon, we’ll feel comfortable enough to trust AI with more of our book trailer process. New solutions are emerging, such as Pictory, a tool that assembles visual frames for a book trailer using a book description as text. Human oversight is still required, but a colleague says it cuts down the person-hours considerably.

For now, we’re grateful for ChatGPT's storyboarding support, and we’ll keep our hands on each step to convey the heart of our clients’ stories! Watch the book trailer for It’s Not About Us, by Darlene Taylor: stellarwriter.com/darlenetaylor.

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