how to make a books video

My Quick and Easy 34-Step Strategy for Making BookTube Videos

Danika Ellis

Danika spends most of her time talking about queer women books at the Lesbrary. Blog: The Lesbrary Twitter: @DanikaEllis

View All posts by Danika Ellis

I have been making BookTube videos for seven years now, and I don’t think there’s anything else I’ve kept up for that long and still feel so incompetent at doing. I love the BookTube community, and there’s something very personal and immediate about putting your face on the internet, actually voicing your opinions. Writing, for me, is a lot more forgiving. It’s more anonymous. BookTube is vulnerable — but that’s also why the connections forged there feel authentic and meaningful.

I started making BookTube videos on my own channel, then ended up on Book Riot’s channel . Now I make weekly New Releases videos highlighting some of the books out each week that are worth keeping an eye on. I have experimented with different filming locations and strategies, but this is the simple, straight forward, extremely efficient system I have ended up with.

1) Open my personal new releases list, the All the Books new releases list, and the Book Riot Insiders New Releases Index .

Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. By signing up you agree to our terms of use

2) Pick 6–8 books that look interesting. Some of these are books on my personal TBR, some are getting a lot of buzz, and some I just think are intriguing.

3) Check that the picks are diverse, representing a range of genres, a mix of YA and adult, and authors of color.

4) Copy and paste the book blurbs for each title.

5) Adapt each book blurb so that I can actually say it: break it into bullet points, condense anything that turns into a tongue twister.

6) Research each title to see who it would appeal to and add that on after the blurb.

7) Script an intro and sign-off.

8) Block the window I’m facing with cardboard so that my glasses aren’t 80% glare.

9) Grab a stack of board games to act as my tripod, dragging the coffee table over to put them on.

10) Get camera from my room, retrieve the camera battery from where it’s charging, and set camera on board game stack.

11) Drag a wicker endtable from my room, which I’ve tied a dollar store white foam core board onto. This helps bounce light onto the side of my face that is in shadow. Pull the foam core as close to my face as possible without being in frame.

12) Take the dogs’ collars off so they won’t jingle in the background.

13) Connect camera to laptop with a cord, starting up remote shooting. Make sure the shot is set up properly so that I’m in the frame to the left, leaving room to insert a book cover to the right later.

15) Actually start filming! Pull up my script and begin recording. I read a line off my laptop, then look into the camera to recite it.

16) Repeat lines until I get them right — sometimes this is one shot, sometimes I inexplicably can’t say a simple sentence for five or six takes.

17) Make sure to stop recording and start again when I get around 15 minutes, or else my camera will stop recording on its own and I won’t notice until I’ve been talking to myself pointlessly for five minutes.

18) I’ve been recording post-credits ten second dog updates lately, because…dogs!

18) When recording is done, drag files over to computer and wait for them to transfer. This is usually when I take my lunch break.

19) Open up ShotCut, which is a free editing software that does everything I need it to! Drag in videos and the Book Riot intro clip.

20) Put on some music playing very quietly in the background.

21) Begin the excruciating process of editing. This involves taking out all the gaps where I’m reading the script, as well as all the takes where I get a line wrong. The good thing about editing immediately after is that I can usually remember when it took my five tries and skip over the first few. I also sometimes have minutes of silence while I try to look up the pronunciation of an author’s name. I find editing extremely tedious, but the music helps some!

22) While editing, keep an eye out for frames where I look like I’m smiling or generally don’t look very awkward — export those frames as thumbnail possibilities.

23) After doing the first pass of editing, turn off background music and increase magnification. This is when I cut off the awkward fractions of a second pauses.

24) Download high resolution covers of each of the books.

25) While doing the second pass, add in covers. For each cover, add a filter to position it correctly on the screen.

26) When the second pass is done, export in YouTube-friendly format.

27) While the finished video is exporting, make a thumbnail in Canva. Pick one of the frames saved earlier and add it to the thumbnail template, updating the date.

28) Upload video to YouTube.

29) While processing, list each of the titles and authors for the description.

30) Add affiliate links to each book.

31) Include the titles and authors in the tags.

32) Upload thumbnail.

33) Confirm that the video is ad-friendly and doesn’t contain anything scandalous.

34) Schedule video to go up at 6 a.m. EST.

And that’s it! Just 34 simple steps to making a BookTube video. I always feel ridiculous when I’m trundling around the house with stacks of cardboard, board games, and foam core just to set up the simplest possible vlogging shot, but everything else I’ve tried doesn’t work as well!

I realize this is a convoluted method, especially when I’m producing something that is a pretty basic format, but don’t let this scare you off if you want to join BookTube! Plenty of people just film on their phone, and lots of BookTubers don’t edit or do minimal editing. There’s no need to make it more complicated than it need to be.

I hope I have demonstrated what you can do without buying a ton of equipment, though! The camera I use is one that my mom bought when she went on a photography kick and was no longer using. Everything else was free or cheap (like the dollar store foam core board) — and natural light is the best option for lighting!

If you want to learn more about BookTube, check out our BookTube Archives !

You Might Also Like

Looking to publish? Meet your dream editor, designer and marketer on Reedsy.

Find the perfect designer for your next book

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Blog • Book Design

Last updated on Jan 16, 2023

How to Make a Book: Build a Beautiful Hardback by Hand

When we talk about how to make a book in 2024, we often talk about exporting files to Kindles and other ebook readers. But what about the old-fashioned art of making a book by hand? Some say that bookbinding is a dying art — but we reckon it’s due for a comeback.

In this post, we’ll show you how to make a beautiful book. Not just any blank tome but a beautiful novel, memoir, or non-fiction book — formatted to a professional standard, and bound in a hardback cover. And the best part is that it should cost you no more than fifteen or twenty dollars!

So if you’ve written a piece of fiction or non-fiction and you want to know how to make a copy that you can gift to someone special (or have as a keepsake), simply follow all the steps below. Or if you’re looking to create a blank notebook, feel free to jump straight to step four .

How to make a book:

1. Compile the content for the project

2. format the pages, 3. print the book on paper, 4. assemble the binding for the spine, 5. create the cardboard book cover, 6. join the pieces to make your book, 7. design a dust jacket.

Here's what you'll need:

• Printing Paper (A4 or Letter Size), uncoated 70-80 gsm
• 2 sheets of decorated paper (A4 or Letter size), 90-100gsm
• Elmer’s glue (or PVA Glue)
• Hot melt glue gun  (they cost, like, ten bucks)
• Craft knife
• Large bulldog clips
• Good-quality material or paper (for your cover)
• Thin fabric (large handkerchief, perhaps, or a purpose-made  bookcloth )
• Metal ruler
• High-quality cardboard

Once you have these 'ingredients' in place, you're ready to learn how to make a book.

This is where we digitally typeset your book of choice and arrange the pages in a way that will help us seamlessly bind it. There are a few pieces of software that will allow you to typeset a book. However, we will recommend you use the Reedsy Book Editor, for three reasons:

• It creates professional-grade print-ready files that are easy to read
• It requires no training and has next to no learning curve

It just so happens to be made by our team at Reedsy — but that’s how we know that it'd be one of the best tools for the job, even if it wasn’t free. It automatically creates your copyright page and handles text like a dream. To see how to use the editor to format your book , check out this video made by our designer, Matt:

Tip: If you want to create your own special edition of a classic title, head to Project Gutenberg and download the text to thousands of titles now in public domain.

When you export your book, you’ll get a number of trim size options. Select Digest (5.5” x 8.5”), which is exactly the size of a piece of Letter paper folded in half.

Then, once you’ve exported your file as a PDF, you can then move onto the printing process.

Free course: Self-Publishing 101

Join the self-publishing revolution and become an indie bestseller with this 10-day online course. Get started now.

If you were to tear almost any hardcover edition apart, you will see that they’re actually made up of individual booklets of paper bound together by glue or thread. These are called folios , and they’re made up of folded ‘signatures.’

What is a signature?

A signature is a single piece of paper with pages of text printed on both sides. They are folded (and sometimes cut) before being assembled into a folio – which is essentially a booklet.

Fun fact: The number of pages in a folio is always a multiple of four — often 16 or 32 pages. That’s why you often see blank pages at the end of a book.

For our project, the signatures will be single sheets of letter-sized paper with two pages printed on each side. We will assemble eight signatures into folios that house 32 pages of our book. Because of how each piece of paper nestles into this arrangement, each signature must be printed in a specific order — and we'll show you how to do that.

Download Adobe Acrobat Pro

Seeing as we’re dealing with PDFs, why not use the tool created by the people who invented the PDF?  Adobe Acrobat Pro is a paid-for tool, but the good news is that just about all Adobe’s creative software comes with a free 30-Day trial.

Once you’ve downloaded the software, open the PDF file.

Make sure your pages are labeled correctly

When you first open the file in Adobe, select “Organize Pages” to see all your pages laid out.

The first thing you’ll need to check is that all the pages are numbered correctly. If you see the page numbers go back to 1 after the front matter (title page, copyright page, etc), you will need to reset the page labels so that it will print properly:

If this is the case, right-click the first page and choose 'Page Numbering.' Then where “Selected” is highlighted, change the setting to 'All.'

This will then label all the pages sequentially and you’re just about ready to print!

Print your book in 32-page booklets

Hit ‘Print,’ and you will see the option to print a booklet that will properly arrange your book into signatures. However, to make sure you don’t just crank out a single unwieldy booklet, print the book 32 pages at a time. Here's how you do it:

• Select 'Pages' and type in 1 - 32.
• Under 'Page Sizing & Handling,' select 'Booklet':

• Then print out pages 1 -32.
• The pages will need to be printed on both sides of the paper. If your printer supports ‘duplex printing’ it will automatically print on both sides. Otherwise, you’ll need to flip the papers halfway through.
• You will now have the first 32 pages printed out.
• Pages 33 - 64
• Pages 65 - 96
• Pages 97 - 128
• And so on….

You may wish to print out multiple copies. If you slip up later in the process, you won’t have to start all over again. Or, if you want to give it a few tries to make a perfectly bound copy, this will give you that leeway.

Top tip: If this sounds too complex, you can go to your local copy shop (Kinkos, et al) and explain to the assistant what you're doing. They'll be more than happy to help.

Choosing the right paper

A massive part of the reading experience comes from feeling the paper under your fingers as you flip through the pages — so selecting the right paper stock is essential. If the paper is too thin and light, the more delicate it will be during the binding process. Choose a stock that's too heavy and thick, then you’ll have trouble folding the signatures (and preventing your novella from looking like a doorstop).

You can source your paper online. Or, even better, go to a stationery store where you can get your hands on the stock before you buy it. If your aim is to create a book that feels professional, our advice is to look for a paper stock that’s:

• 70 or 80 gsm (grams per square meter)

If you like the idea of using recycled paper — that’s great. Just check out a sample before you commit to buying a ream.

You should now have your entire book printed and separated into folios made of eight sheets of paper (upon which 32 pages are printed).

Take the sheets that pages 1 - 32 are printed on and carefully fold each page in half — taking care to do it in the right direction. Then carefully assemble them in the right order and use an open stapler to secure them together like so:

You can staple them on a folded bath towel or an old pair of jeans so that you don’t damage your table. You will also have to bend the points of the staples with your own hands (or using a metal ruler, if you want to spare your fingers).

Between folios, you will want to alternate where you place the staples on the spine so that they don't bulge in places. You can arrange them as in the diagram above.

You will want the pages to be folded as tightly as possible — to achieve this, you can join them with an elastic band and then compress them under a stack of hardbacks and other heavy objects. If you want to, you can leave them there overnight.

And there you have it: your entire book, in a stack of 32-page folios.

Now it’s time to bind these folios together. In some bookbinding processes, stitching is used to join the folios, but in our case, we will use hot glue.

Keep your stack of folios neatly in order with your bulldog clips. Apply hot glue along the spines of the folios — taking care not to use too much glue so that it drips between the folios.

Before the glue cools, apply the fabric to the spine. The fabric should only be affixed to the spine edge of the book — the sections that fall over the front and back cover should be free. Secure the fabric and the folios with bulldog clips.

In the best case scenario, you will only have to trim the edge opposite the spine.

Use your stack of folios to measure out two identical hardcovers on your pieces of cardboard. They should ideally be a millimeter-or-so larger than your pages.

Then, measure out a spine. This should have the same height as your front and back covers, while the width of the spine should equal the thickness of your bound folios AND both covers.

Using Elmer’s (or PVA) glue, affix the front and back cover and spine to the book cover paper or material. Leave one-and-a-half times the thickness of the card between the covers and spines). There should also be an inch of extra material around all sides. Make sure that the glue is spread evenly, and use a credit card to push out any bubbles that may have formed.

Apply more glue to the inside of the cover and wrap the material around like so:

This part is a little delicate and will have a lasting impact on readability. The bound folio will now be attached to the hardcover. The loose wings of fabric on both sides of the spine will be affixed to the front and back covers using Elmer's glue.

Warning:  No glue should touch the spine board or the fabric on the spine of your bundle. Make sure they don’t stick together in any way.

Let these dry for an hour or two. Keep the covers open and clear of the pages. The best way to do this is by lying it on its back and propping the body up using other hardbacks.

Take the decorated lining paper and trim it so that it can be glued flush with the first page. Then when the book is ready, apply a thin layer of glue to the front cover and the first page, and stick on the lining paper. (Note that the amount of glue shown in the diagram is just for illustration purposes. Use just enough adhesive to cover the entire surface and ensure a solid stick.)

Repeat this process with the back cover.

Once you've joined all the pieces of your book together, an optional but highly recommended (and fun) final step is to design a stunning dust jacket for it. Not only can a dust jacket tie the project together (and protect your cardboard hardcover from damage), but it also adds a finishing touch to make your self-made book match any professionally-made book on the market.

A naked hardback can be beautiful on its own, but the common practice is to create a dust jacket that captures the essence of the book and clearly highlights what it's all about. Perhaps you've made your own version of your favorite public domain book because you can't find any covers that you like? This is your chance to rectify that.

You can design a dust jacket by yourself in book cover design software such as Canva or InDesign, or you can hire a professional designer to make your final product pop on your shelf.

Meet the best designers in the industry on Reedsy

And give your book a professional cover that readers will love

Learn how Reedsy can help you craft a beautiful book.

And there you have it! A beautiful work of art that will take pride of place on your bookshelf — and you made it all by yourself. Congratulations!

If you have any questions about making a book or using Reedsy’s formatting tool, drop us a comment in the box below.

Gabriella L Garlock says:

10/04/2018 – 22:12

This is really cool! just to know the directions are out there. I have studied bibliography, but it was long ago and of course it's an art some think is on the way out. Anyway, I've been making my own books with varying levels of finesse since I was a child, so there's a visceral satisfaction to the know-how. It would be interesting to have instructions on the stitching option as well, but I suspect we use the wrong kind of paper these days.

Comments are currently closed.

Continue reading

Recommended posts from the Reedsy Blog

What Is an Index in a Book? Everything You Need to Know

Ever wondered what a book index is for, or how it's made? Read this post to take a peek behind the publishing curtain.

How Creative Poetry Book Layouts Can Elevate Your Verse

Want to know what goes into creating a poetry book layout? Learn how it all comes together from our experienced designers.

The 13 Best Fantasy Map Generators, Tools, and Resources

Whether you fancy a randomly generated fantasy map as your muse, or designing a map from scratch, there's sure to be something here for you!

20 Royalty-Free Stock Image Sites to Source a Book Cover Picture

Looking for inexpensive book cover pictures? Here's a list of 20 sites with royalty-free stock images you can incorporate into an amazing book cover.

The 45 Best Book Covers of 2020 — Feast Your Eyes!

To cap this eventful year, we've put together a list of the best book covers of 2020. There's something for everyone, from fiction to non-fiction!

30 Amazing Children's Book Illustrators (and How to Hire Them)

Looking to create the perfect children's book? Meet 30 of the best professional children’s book illustrators in the industry who you can hire today.

Join a community of over 1 million authors

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.

Bring your publishing dreams to life

The world's best freelance editors, designers, and marketers are on Reedsy. Sign up for free and meet them TODAY.

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Enter your email or get started with a social account:

• Handmade Books and Journals
• Buy Custom Tools

Bookmaking Video Tutorials

• Scrap Journal (Junk Journal) Pages
• Caterpillar Bookbinding Stitch Part 1
• Caterpillar Bookbinding Stitch Part 2
• Caterpillar Bookbinding Stitch Written Instructions
• Leather Wrapped Journal
• Faux Leather Wrapped Journal
• Stab Binding Template
• Long Stitch
• Coptic Binding Part 1 – Creating the Cover
• Coptic Binding Part 2 – Sewing It All Together
• French Link Stitch
• French Link with Tape Cover – Part 1
• French Link with Tape Cover – Part 2
• Secret Belgian Binding
• Case Binding – Part 1
• Case Binding – Part 2
• Pamphlet Stitch
• Square Flexagon
• Folded Guest Book
• Origami Book
• Card Box / Portfolio Box Worksheets
• Ornament Box Worksheets
• Hardbound Explosion Box Part 1
• Hardbound Explosion Box Part 2
• Explosion Box Worksheets
• Clamshell Box Part 1
• Clamshell Box Part 2
• Clamshell Box Worksheets
• Hinged Lid Box Worksheets
• Slipcase Worksheets
• Traditional Hardbound Portfolio
• Hardbound Portfolio Case Part 1
• Hardbound Portfolio Case Part 2
• Hardbound Portfolio Case Worksheets
• Making a Book Cover with a Window
• Making a Soft Book Cover
• Design and Print Your Own Bookcloth
• Making Bookcloth
• Making Your Own Rubber Stamps
• Making Wheat Paste
• Screw Post Binding
• Piano Hinge Binding
• Making a Textblock – Part 1
• Making a Textblock – Part 2
• Adding a Snap Closure
• Making Simple Covers
• Altered Books
• Bookmaking Supplies
• Parts of a Book
• Traditional Page Order

Here are the bookmaking video tutorials you’ll find on this site or visit my channel on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/c/KristiWarrenHandmadeBooks

NEW! Making a Card Box (Portfolio Box) (22:29) ( written instructions here )

Making a book cover with a window (14:51) ( written instructions here ).

Making a Soft Book Cover (10:56) ( written instructions here )

Make Your Own Rubber Stamps (7:34) ( written instructions here )

Scrap Journal with Ribbon Binding (16:14) ( written instructions here )

A Scrap Journal, or Junk Journal, is a creative way to deal with all those bits and pieces left over from other projects that you can’t bear to throw away.

Scrap Journal Pages (8:41) ( written instructions here )

This video shows some of the details of making and embellishing your scrap journal pages.

Hinged Lid Box (22:00) ( written instructions here )

Stab binding (19:54) ( written instructions here ).

My Top 10 Favorite Techniques (10:03)

Well, these were my favorite techniques as of August of 2019, but I’m acquiring some new favorites, so I’ll have to think about making a new “favorites” video one of these days. 🙂

Hardbound Explosion Box

This fun box, while technically neither a book nor a box, lends itself to many creative uses, including containing book-like elements. It makes a great valentine or anniversary gift, or can be used as a unique format for an artist book. This particular version is made with bookboard and is much more substantial and sophisticated than the usual cardstock explosion box.

Part 1 – The Box (17:15) ( written instructions here )

Part 2 – The Contents  (14:46) ( written instructions here )

Designing and Printing Your Own Bookcloth (9:39) ( written instructions here )

This video will show you how to print your own designs onto fabric and then turn that fabric into bookcloth that you can use for any of your bookmaking projects.

Bookmaking Gear (10:40)

Here’s a look at some of the gear I use when I’m making books and boxes, and art in general. 🙂

Making a Slipcase (13:36) ( written instructions here )

A handmade slipcase is a very classy way to protect a special book or a set of books.

Slipcase Case Worksheets (4:15) ( written instructions here )

Screw post binding (13:06) ( written instructions here ).

This type of construction has a couple of great advantages, particularly if you want to use this book as a scrapbook, or maybe a travel journal where you are saving ephemera like ticket stubs, or play broadsides. You can use spacers to add space between the pages for bulky items, and you can freely add and subtract pages by simply unscrewing the posts.

Traditional Hardbound Portfolio (9:13) ( written instructions here )

Making a Snap Closure (6:57) ( written instructions here )

Making Wheat Paste (3:13) ( written instructions here )

Necessary for making bookcloth, homemade wheat paste is simple to make!

NEW! Caterpillar Bookbinding Stitch Video Tutorial

You can use this unique and fun stitch in a purely decorative way or as the actual binding structure. The caterpillar stitch is always an attention grabber.

Part 1 (10:32) ( written instructions here )

Part 2 (5:06) ( written instructions here )

Hardbound Portfolio Case

Make a more sophisticated version of the traditional portfolio cover. This is a great additional way to show off your creativity when showing off your portfolio.

Part 1 (8:21) ( written instructions here )

Part 2 (7:35) ( written instructions here )

Portfolio Case Worksheets (4:28) ( written instructions here )

Clamshell Box

This neat little folding box makes a great container for a special book or set of books. It’s also perfect as a portfolio box, holding separate images. The fact that one side is completely open once you open it up makes it very easy to get items in and out.

Part 1 (8:39) ( written instructions here )

Part 2 (8:41) ( written instructions here )

Clamshell Box Worksheets (4:48) (written instructions here)

Piano Hinge Binding (10:37) ( written instructions here )

Square flexagon (4:51) ( written instructions here ).

Folded Guest Book (9:04) ( written instructions here )

Making perfect bookcorners (3:12).

Case Binding a Book

This is the most common type of bookbinding, the type of binding that you would see on most hardbound commercial books. The pages consist of folded pieces of paper, sewn together into signatures. Groups of signatures are glued together to create a text block. This text block is then attached to, or encased, in a cardboard covering or ‘case’ that has been covered with decorative cloth, paper or leather. Case bound books do not lie completely flat when opened.

Part 1 (11:28) ( written instructions here )

Part 2 (8:07) ( written instructions here )

EXTRA! Casing the Textblock in Perfectly (4:42)

This is probably the single most frustrating part of making a cased-in book – getting the textblock to sit within the covers exactly right so the covers open correctly. Here’s the skinny:

Secret Belgian Binding (15:27) ( written instructions here )

This lovely and intricate-looking binding technique is actually quite simple. The book cover is woven together first and then the signatures are attached one at a time. An added bonus is that this book will lie flat when open and you can also fold either cover all the back as you are drawing or writing.

French Link Stitch with Tape Cover

This binding uses the basic French Link stitch, but adds a fun twist with a hardcover joined with tapes that are sewn in as part of the binding.

Part 1: (10:39) ( written instructions here )

Part 2: (12:31) ( written instructions here )

French Link Stitch (10:49) (written instructions here)

This is a lovely and easy stitch for an exposed spine. There are many different ways to add covers.

Making Simple Covers (8:07)

These covers are useful for books bound with the Coptic stitch or the French Link stitch.

Making Bookcloth (7:56) (written instructions here)

Make your own bookcloth with a few simple materials.

Sewing a Textblock – Part 1 (12:02) (written instructions here)

The first step to making almost any book is creating the textblock. You can see a close-up view of the Kettle Stitch in the video directly below these.

Sewing a Textblock – Part 2 (8:46) ( written instructions here )

This video shows you how to add endpapers, reinforce the spine of your textblock with mull, add head and tailbands, add a ribbon bookmark, line the spine and then finish it off with a cover.

The Kettle Stitch (1:43)

The bookmaker’s classic stitch for linking signatures together.

Origami Book (2:40) (written instructions here)

This is a very simple book that needs no sewing or gluing, so it’s a great book to make as a kid’s project since it doesn’t take any special equipment or skill.

The Simple Long Stitch (14:49) (written instructions here)

This is a clean, simple and quite lovely binding stitch. It is easy to master and allows for creative decorating.

Creating a Leather Wrapped Journal (8:20) (written instructions here)

This book cover is a simple piece of leather, or other heavy material, with a textblock glued in. A strip of leather or string wrapped around the book to keep it closed finishes the whole thing off.

Creating a Faux Leather Wrapped Journal (6:41) (written instructions here)

Same process as creating a leather wrapped journal, but you’ll want to do some fabric prep first.

Coptic Binding

One of the advantages of this lovely, decorative stitch is that it allows the book to lie flat when opened.

Part 1: (8:21) (written instructions here)

Part 2: (16:31) (written instructions here), securing the thread on the needle (0:35).

Here’s a very simple trick to keep your thread from pulling out of the needle as you are sewing:

Joining Two Pieces of Thread (1:11)

Search this site:

Make your own bookcloth!

Buy Me a Coffee

This site rocks the Classic Responsive Skin for Thesis .

How to Make a Book Review Video

Smart is new sexy! Start a book channel and create a community of bright, witty, and intelligent people!

How to review a book

Even though video content is king, people never really stopped reading. Even better, now bookworms don't write a book review, they record a book talk video. This way, they can not only express their opinion but also demonstrate the printed edition of the book, create atmospheric settings, and embellish their recordings with stickers and other elements.

Lots of social media have book readers' segments and communities, such as BookTok , Bookstagram , BookTube , and so on. Each of them has its specification and "character". For example, Bookstagram is all about aesthetic and visual impeccability, while BookTok consists of short, witty videos with funny captions. BookTube, probably, is the best platform for detailed and profound book reviews and summaries, as this resource allows creating lengthy videos, and its audience has a relatively long attention span.

Clideo's all-in-one video editor is a perfect tool for creating any type of theme visual, including a book critique template or a full-scale book review. This tool has all the functionality for video and audio editing, you can work simultaneously on several tracks, add as many files as you need, and change them separately or as a whole project.

The tool has several ibuilt-instock libraries that you can avail of. As with all other Clideo services, this one also works online without any compatibility issues, one less headache to worry about.

The Editor is relatively easy to use, but so many functions and features can't be as simple as a calculator. So, let's have a look at a brief manual.

Start a new project

Open our Video Editor in any browser and hit the "Get started" button to open the editing panel.

Now, you can import visuals and audio tracks from any sources you need: your device, cloud storage accounts, or our free stock libraries that you can find inside the editor. You can also record them from scratch without leaving the tool.

If you upload up to 10 files, they will be placed on separate timeline tracks automatically. If your project has more "ingredients", they'll appear in the "Uploads" tab, and you'll have to drag them to the timeline manually.

Create your book review video

Now only you know what exactly you want to create! Our tool is capable of performing many tasks.

Change the project's aspect ratio and background color to fit your video to the social media platform you will use for posting.

Combine several visuals to have as much information on one screen as you need.

Cut the visuals and change their duration to remove the moments you do not need.

Change the playback speed to fast forward or slow down some part of your video.

Extract audio from a video to remove or mute some parts of it without affecting the video.

Add various stickers or GIFs to make a fancier video.

Change the visual's orientation and color scheme to highlight specific moments.

Add and set up captions to add additional comments.

These are just the basic functions, so don't hesitate to try out every button you see. Don't worry, you can always undo the last action by pressing the "Ctrl + z" hotkeys or the left-faced arrow at the top right of the screen.

Save the project

When your creative urge is over, and you get what you want, hit the "Export" button and choose the output resolution. The best options are available for Clideo Pro subscribers only, but two basic ones are open to everyone.

Give the video the final run to make sure no corrections are needed, and save it wherever you want.

You can find the latest instructions for all the editor options and features in our Help Center .

Interesting articles

Upgrade your account, get unlimited storage time and create projects without watermarks.

• Videographers

Mail a video book to someone you love.

Buy Now How It Works

A customizable photo and video-playing book that puts your memories into your hands.

What's a video book?

A physical book that plays your videos when the cover is opened -- just provide your video!

Heirloom loads your book with your videos and ships it directly to you or your loved one.

• 5" HD screen (charger included)
• Already loaded with up to 10, 20 or 60 min of video
• Add a personal message inside the cover
• Pick from 16 different cover designs
• Expedited shipping available

Try before you buy for free.

Add photos, videos and music | Design a custom cover | Check shipping options | No payments until you're ready

A few video clips.

Watch :60 seconds of Heirloom live

“This is Brilliant!” — Al Roker

“the best one you’ve ever done” — sheinelle jones.

How it works.

• Step 1: Buy the Book Click Buy Now to order!
• Step 2: Build the Book Immediately receive access to the online builder via email
• Step 3: Unbox the Book Heirloom mails your book and it arrives in 5 business days!

Create a timeless keepsake.

Heirloom is your one-stop destination for preserving and sharing treasured memories with premium video books.

Embrace the modern way of sending heartfelt wishes with our digital greeting cards, ensuring your messages, memories and milestones are delivered in a unique keepsake to your loved ones.

Design Your Own

Custom printed covers.

High-quality printing of any design, photo, logo or image.

Typical turnaround time for custom covers is just 5-7 business days.

No minimum quantity, $20 each.

Watch real customer video books.

Add a gift box.

Only $12. Limited Supply.

Send a gift card.

Give the perfect gift with a gift card from Heirloom.

Our physical gift cards allows the recipient to build their own custom video book whenever they're ready.

Make it yours.

Pick from 16 covers for every occasion:

• Graduations
• Anniversaries
• Engagements
• Valentine’s Day
• Performances
• Gender Reveals
• Get Well Wishes
• Thinking Of You

What people say.

Photos and videos..

Heirloom video books aren't just for videos, you can also add photos.

Your photos will automatically play just like a slideshow. You can mix and match both photos and videos, and order them however you like.

Marketing campaigns.

Video books are the new way to ensure your message reaches your target audience.

With hundreds of applications for sales, marketing, branding, education, real estate, retail, fundraising and events, video books are great at capturing attention.

Get your custom printed covers in just 5 to 7 business days. Bulk discounts available. Email us to get a quote.

Introducing

Diy video book kits.

Create your own book that plays your videos and photos.

In minutes, build a video-playing book that instantly plays your precious memories as soon as the cover is opened.

Included in each kit is an HD video player, a video book cover, instructions and a cord to load the book with video and photos, and also to charge the book for unlimited usage.

Only $69 (free shipping)

Grandma approved.

Heirloom was inspired by our need to connect with our beloved Grandma Fran.

Grandma Fran’s voicemail

Isolated from COVID without the means to receive videos, Fran was missing out on the joy she gets from seeing her great-grandchildren.

Listen to the voicemail she left after receiving her Heirloom.

“... It means so much to me to see the babies!”

Spectacular sound.

No sound is sweeter than your voice, except maybe your laughter!

Heirloom video books include a speaker which plays the original audio from your video with crystal clear quality.

The only vertical video books.

Most videos taken on mobile phones are vertical (taller than they are wide), but we are the only source of vertical video books.

We will automatically send a horizontal or vertical video book based on the photos and videos you provide.

Combine your clips.

Heirloom combines all the many photos and videos you upload. We allow you to then rearrange your clips and photos to make the perfect gift.

We accept virtually every file format, including .mp4, .mov, .jpeg, and everything created by an Android or iPhone.

Order a Video Book

We’re thrilled to help you order a video book. Before we begin, provide us with your email address so your order isn’t lost.

Thanks! How many video books would you like to order? You can send all of your books now, or save some for another time.

Perfect! How much video would you like to include? We have different video book sizes which fit up to a full hour.

Thank you for your order. You will receive an email with a link to upload your videos in a few moments.

Ready? Start building your first video book:

Complete your purchase

Purchase successful!

Text yourself a link to Heirloom

Our iOS App is where you can build, preview, and send your Heirloom Video Book. Let us text you a link to the app.

Subscribe to Heirloom

We would love to stay in touch. Subscribe to our (occasional) emails and receive an instant $10 off your first video book.

Ready to get started?

Make a jaw-dropping book trailer.

Trusted by 9+ million people and over 10,000 companies

Make a book trailer so beautiful it’s irresistible. Create your first book trailer in no time with the Biteable video maker.

Start with one of these book trailer templates.

How to make a book trailer in a few clicks

Start your free Biteable trial .

Choose a book trailer video template, or start from scratch.

Begin editing your book trailer. Use our guide below if you get stuck.

Download your book trailer or share it anywhere with a single, trackable link.

Hailey shows you how to create a book trailer with Biteable.

Best-in-class templates

Start with a professionally-designed template to create a video in less time.

Ready-made content

Over 24+ million stock clips, images, animations, and music tracks to choose from.

One-click editing

Streamlined and smart. Add on-screen text, animations, and music with a single click.

Getting started

Attract new readers like bees to pollen.

First – congrats! Writing a book is no walk in the park. But now there’s another hurdle ahead. How do you get people to read this book you’ve spent months (or years) toiling away at? A book trailer is a great place to start.

Video content rules

It does. 78% of internet users watch videos online weekly, and YouTube is the second most trafficked site after Google. Text media isn’t dead. But it’ll go a lot further with video content to promote it.

According to  Comscore , readers are 64% more likely to purchase a book if they’ve seen advertising for it. (Like a book trailer. Hint, hint.)

Create videos that drive action

Activate your audience with impactful, on-brand videos. Create them simply and collaboratively with Biteable.

Small cost, big results

Studio-quality videos cost a lot of money, time, and resources to produce. Not even the biggest book publishers in the world see them as a necessity, instead opting for simple trailers that are effective in getting their point across.

Jump on YouTube and search for any recent bestselling novel – chances are they’ll have a book trailer with thousands of views.

You can make a book trailer that looks equally professional for a fraction of the budget. Biteable’s video maker has over 24 million stock videos, images, animations, and music tracks to make your book trailer a resounding success.

Add your own videos, pictures and music if you like. Customize your trailer as much or as little as you need. It’s up to you. Either way, you can create your book trailer in the time it’d take to proofread a single page.

“Making promotional videos was so easy with Biteable! We received great feedback on our creations.”

• Cee, video making master

“Biteable’s software is intuitive, seamless, and I had a video ready to go before the lunch hour was up. Can’t get easier than that.”

• Sean, also a video making master

How to make a book trailer without the stress

You’ve put in tens (or hundreds, or thousands) of hours writing a book. Thankfully, Biteable’s readymade book trailer video templates are designed to get the ball rolling, quick and easy. Any video template can be switched out with millions of scenes, clips, and images from our library to make it fit your book.

Throw in your assets

By this point, your book probably has a cover. It’d be a good idea to add this into our editor. Display it at the end of your trailer so people know exactly what they’re looking for when buying. (Or even better, use Biteable’s CTA tool to add a clickable link taking people directly to a purchase link.)

Maybe you have some marketing shots up your sleeve that you can include as well, or a special piece of music you want to accompany it. It’s easy. Biteable’s intuitive video editor makes your book trailer look clean and professional.

Fit your theme

Fiction or nonfiction, every book has a theme. Biteable’s video editor has a whole range of color templates and fonts to fine-tune your book trailer so it feels like a cohesive whole. It’s a good idea to put the logo of bookstores/online marketplace logos (Amazon and the like) where readers can pick up your book after checking out the trailer.

Create a book trailer in minutes

See the difference video makes for yourself with a week’s worth of free videos for your business.

Make a book trailer as captivating as the book itself

If you’ve written a book, you probably know a thing or two about structure. Same thing applies to your book trailer. It’ll need a beginning, middle and end. Keep it simple – don’t jump around with a web of concepts that will turn readers away in confusion.

Have a simple through-line that easily explains the key ideas behind your story. For instance, an intriguing setup for your fiction book or an easily digestible summary of your non-fiction book.

A short and sweet book trailer rules the day

It’s not easy condensing an entire book into a one-minute summary – believe us, we know – but the main goal of a book trailer is to say more with less. Just like this paragraph.

Eye candy matters

Some people judge books by their covers, and others believe food is more delicious when it’s presented well. Similarly, people will trawl the aisles of bookstores searching for a cover that catches their eye. Consider this when you create a book trailer.

It’s incredibly important to keep your book trailer eye-catching and visually consistent. Basically, don’t make it look like a slapdash of styles.

Create a book trailer with Biteable

You’ve written the book, now it’s time to create the book trailer. With Biteable on your side, anything is possible!

Biteable has hundreds of video templates to choose from. Fully customize your template or start from scratch. Drag and drop to add your own footage, pictures, and music, or peruse Biteable’s library of over 24 million stock clips, images, animations, and background tracks.

Include animated text, voiceover, character animations, and more to create a captivating book trailer — even if you’ve never made a video before in your life. With Biteable, you’ll make your first book trailer before they can say, “When does the sequel drop?”

Further reading

Extra polish can go a long way.

Creating a book trailer takes time and effort, but we want to make it as easy as possible. More questions? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Check out these links to the Biteable blog below.

How to share your screen on Zoom with audio (Mac, PC, iPad)

How to extract audio from video online for free

How to embed a video in PowerPoint from YouTube, PC, or Mac

Make a masterpiece in minutes. join the 9m+ people who love biteable.

How to Create Videos for BookTok or Bookstagram

Lately, video has become the name of the social media game. TikTok has been rising in popularity, and to compete, Instagram has been pushing Reels, their own version of TikTok videos. What does it mean when a platform is pushing a certain type of content? When a platform pushes a certain type of content it means that they’re giving a reach boost to content creators who are creating the kind of content they want. So, currently, if you start making Instagram Reels, you will most likely find those posts doing better than your other types of Instagram posts.

It’s important to note the role that sounds play in each of the respective platforms. On TikTok, sounds are a huge part of your video. Most people browsing TikTok will be doing it with the sound on, and even searching for videos with a certain sound, so a good sound can make or break your video. On Instagram, sounds generally play a smaller role. Many people on Instagram will not have their sounds on, so your video needs to read well without any sound, and the sound is more like a bonus for those listening with their sound on.

Part of the reason TikTok grew in popularity so quickly is because they double as a great video editing software. Many of the popular TikTok videos that you see were created entirely using the app. They have fun filters, transitions, sounds, and more that you can choose from when you’re making your own video. However, just be forewarned that while any average Joe on TikTok is protected from copyright infringement due to a licensing agreement between TikTok and content creators, if you’re running as a business on TikTok, you won’t have the same protections and therefore may not be able to use many of the popular and trending sounds going around. Switching your account from a personal one to a business one should make it easy for you to know which sounds are available to you or not.

On both these platforms, book communities have formed. On TikTok, the book community has dubbed itself BookTok. On Instagram, the book community has dubbed itself Bookstagram. Since TikTok is the giant in the video space, generally you’ll see trends start on this platform and then get carried over to the Instagram Reels platform as they catch on. Because of this, we will be referring to the trends specifically seen on TikTok, but know that these are the same trends found in the Instagram Reels section as well. If you’re interested in learning more about what type of content is trending on these platforms, we recommend searching the #booktok and #bookstagram hashtags on the respective platforms. By doing this, you can discover a ton of great ideas for you own content. To get you started, here are a list of ideas that have been trending on BookTok lately:

List of TikTok and BookTok Trends Going around Right Now

• Tell me you’re a writer/reader without telling me you’re a writer/reader. These posts are generally short video clips that show a scene that other fellow writers and readers will understand. Perhaps it’s your messy desk area. Perhaps it’s your unique Google search history. Whatever the case, these videos should give a glimpse into the quirky things that make up your bookish life.
• Books I think everyone should read at least once.
• Books you’ve read in one night.
• Top genre/specific interest books.
• Top ten favorite books.
• Books that got me out of a reading slump.
• Books I still think about 24/7.
• Books that left me heartbroken.
• Books I could reread every month.
• Books I wish I could read for the first time again.
• Books that made me cry.
• Books that changed my perspective on life.
• Books I never see on TikTok.
• Current books you think will become classics one day.
• Quirky reader reactions. These are visual videos that showcase the silly things all readers do while reading. Like slamming the book shut when you’ve just read something crazy or crying when an author kills off a favorite character.
• Things all book lovers do. This trend shows off some funny and odd habits that all book lovers have, like using anything as a bookmark or coming out of a bookstore with as many books as you can carry.
• Guess the book from one word/line. For this trend, individuals first show their favorite line or word from a book, then wait for a little while before they reveal the cover of the book the text goes too. This can be a fun sort of guessing game and a great way to intrigue and hook individuals with your book recommendations.
• Convincing readers to read your favorite books by reading their first line. This concept is similar to the one above, except it uses the first line of the book. So for this trend to work well, the books you use for it should have exceptionally strong first lines.
• Reading a book time lapse. For this trend, you set up a camera so that it can see you while you read. Then, simply read. Once you’re done with your book or just after a couple hours of reading, speed up the video to create a time lapse video. We’ve also seen a few readers showing their reactions as they read the end of books.
• What your soulmate will say to you?
• Will you have a good day tomorrow?
• How does your best friend really feel about you?
• Your own idea? TikTok trends and challenges are constantly changing. So if you’ve seen a trend or video idea that you like that’s not on our list, give it a try!

TikTok BookTok Video Trend Examples

Want to see some of these trends in actions? Below are some examples of TikTok videos highlighting these trends.

Tell me you’re a writer/reader without telling me you’re a writer/reader.

@yadiluna05 Tell me you’re a reader… #booktok #book #books #dorianhavilliard #throneofglass #bookworm ♬ Minefields – Faouzia & John Legend

@samsskelton Adding to my collection of 1300 journals 🥰 #writer #screenwriter #tellmewithouttellingme #journaling #christmasgift #unwrapping ♬ original sound – Sam Skelton

@noahtkoch @itsamemardio is coming for your copy #fyp #writersoftiktok #copywritersoftiktok ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey

Book Sharing Ones.

@amyjordanj Books that I think everyone should read part 2 #BookTok #bookclub #bookworm #bookish #bookstan #bookgirl #fyp #fy ♬ today was a good day – ✗

@crookedbooks the amount of months it took me to start SOC… #booktok #bookish ♬ habits stay high – favsoundds

@sydneyyybean Some books just stick with you yaknow?📚 #booktok #bookrecommendations #foryou #booktoker #WelcomeBack #foryoupage ♬ Just for me – PinkPantheress

Quirky reader reactions.

@littleemslibrary Which are you? #booktok #readersoftiktok #bookclub #reactions #reading ♬ original sound – Pierce Westbrook

@kyras_library Slow burn is the best honestly #slowburn #booktok #bookish #bookrecs #thespanishlovedeception ♬ Baby I – Toni.edxs🤍🧸

Things all book lovers do.

@officialbookcave What is this feeling… #book #readertok #booktoker #writersoftiktok #reading ♬ original sound – Nobo

@bananna_k But really, I just lose them 😅 #booktok #bookworm #books #fyp ♬ Elevator Music – Bohoman

@jessica_taylor029 Pure happiness #booktok #books #bookish #bookworm #goodreads #itendswithus #colleenhoover ♬ original sound – ac

Guess the book from one word.

@portable_magic try to guess #booktok #reader #reading #books #bookish ♬ Solas Jamie Duffy – Jamie Duffy

@jennajustreads how many did you guess? #foryou #firstlines #booktok #jennajustreads #fyplook #bookrecs #fypthis #bookish #4uu #foryoupage inspo: @portable_magic ♬ Solas Jamie Duffy – Jamie Duffy

Convincing readers to read your favorite books by reading their first line.

@rylee_reads123 part 1 😉 #reader #books #fyp #booktok #bookrecommendations ♬ Je te laisserai des mots – Patrick Watson

Reading a book time lapse.

@wickedreads Reply to @mmk7102 here’s the first 100 pages and a full pot of tea #wickedreads #130days #130booksin130days #fastreader #timelapse #readingtimelapse ♬ Just for me – PinkPantheress

@nkbrandt poor liesel I literally can’t think about it too long or I’ll start crying #booktok #thebookthief #reading #bookrecommendations #lieselmeminger ♬ idk you yet by alexander 23 – vsco.tracks

@dayanarabooks #dune #onesitting #booktok #librotok #lectora #readers #bookshelf #bookworm #booktoker #bookishtiktok #bookish ♬ Stand Still – Sabrina Claudio

Turn to a page and the first words answer a question.

@libraryofstarlight #booktok #books #reader #bookish #soulmate #fypシ #fy #bookshelf #bookchallenge #bookboyfriend ♬ original sound – luttewrites

There you have it. Some of the most fun video trends on BookTok and Bookstagram right now. Which trend is your favorite?

If you’d like to learn more about Book Cave promotions and receive more writing tips, please enter your email below and click the “Learn More” button to receive our author newsletter.

Copyright 2022 by Book Cave

Reuse notice: non-commercial users, feel free to print out “how to create videos for booktok or bookstagram” for personal use or give to friends, share online, or make a meme of, as long as you attribute and link back to this post. commercial users, you may share a link to this post or quote a short excerpt from it with attribution and a link to this site, but you may not use this post in its entirety. thank you for caring about copyright..

Have you ever met a person who seems like they have a new hobby every day? That’s Sarah.

However, one hobby of her’s has never changed, and that’s reading. She’s been an avid reader for as long as she can remember, crushing summer reading challenges and getting in heated debates with her friends.

Sarah also enjoys all things shopping , marketing , and homesteading related. She is a huge DIYer , loves cuddling her dog and reptiles , and raising her two incredibly independent toddlers .

Keep Reading

Which Ebook Software Works Best? Here’s What We Know.

It’s time to publish the novel you have worked so hard and long on, but which ebook software should you use to create a beautiful ebook that will impress your readers?

Book Cave and GDPR Compliance for Authors

You’ve been hearing a lot about GDPR compliance for authors, and we’re here to help.

4 Ways to Make Additional Money While Marketing Your Books

Looking to make additional money as an author while marketing your books? Here are four ideas!

Leave a Reply

Animoto Blog

• Video Marketing
• Video Ideas
• News & Features

How to Make a Book Trailer with Examples & Free Templates

Nov 30, 2023

A book trailer is a great promotional tool for authors looking to get the word out about their books! With Animoto’s free online book trailer maker , you can easily promote your book on social media, your website, your Amazon author page, and beyond.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to make a book trailer in just a few minutes using our free book trailer template . We’ll use photos and video clips you have on hand, or can easily shoot yourself. So grab your book and let’s dive in!

How to make a book trailer

Ready to get started? We’ll show you how to make a book trailer like the example above using your photos, illustrations, and stock imagery to set the scene. We’ll start with planning, including gathering assets, and then show you how to create your video using Animoto.

Coming up with the story for your book trailer

If you’re creating a book trailer for a book you’ve written, you already know how to tell a great story! So before you get started making your video, take some time to jot down notes about the story you want to tell in your book trailer.

You’ll want to explain what your book is about in a compelling way. Don’t give away too much—share just enough to entice viewers. Then, let them know where they can purchase, order, or download your full book.

Author and life coach Mary Schiller shared some tips with us:

• Have a beginning, middle, and end. Mary says, "Just like a movie trailer, a book trailer needs a story." Set the stage and introduce characters, introduce a twist, and then let people know where they can buy your book.
• Be concise. Keep your book trailer short to grab and hold viewers’ attention. We recommend keeping your trailer under a minute. If you’re writing a script, cut out everything except what’s most important to tell your story.
• Match the tone of your book. The tone of your book trailer should reflect that of your book. Take a what-you-see-is-what-you-get approach. People shouldn’t feel a disconnect between your book and the materials you’re using to promote it.

Gathering assets for your book trailer

Once you know what story you’d like to tell, it’s time to gather photos and video clips to tell your story. Our Torn Pages Book Trailer template uses stock images and videos. Our other book trailer video template includes stock imagery as well as photos of the book and author. You can easily take a similar approach by scanning pages from your book or using your phone or camera to shoot video clips.

If you don’t have any photos or video clips to use, or your book doesn’t have pictures, that’s ok. You can create a book trailer using stock images and video clips too. Animoto offers a stock library of over 1 million photos and video clips from Getty Images.

Find "Stock" by opening the Media Library tray to the right of your video builder screen. Search for terms related to your book and the story you want to tell in your trailer. Check out tips for getting the most out of our stock library .

How to make a book trailer (with examples!)

Step 1: log into animoto and select a template.

First you’ll need to log into your Animoto account. If you don’t have one yet, click here to use Animoto’s book trailer maker for free!

Once you’re in, you’ll notice that you can choose a template or start from scratch. For this example, we’ll be using our Book Trailer template.

This template starts out in landscape mode. Once you create the first version, Animoto makes it easy to convert to any other ratio .

If you’re creating a book trailer for the social media feed, we recommend going square. If you’ll be posting your video on YouTube or embedding it on your website, we recommend landscape. Choose vertical if you're sharing on Stories, Reels, or TikTok.

Step 2: Upload your assets or search for stock

Next, upload all of the photos and video clips you gathered to tell your story. Or, search for stock imagery related to your book. All of this can be done in the Media Library tray while you're working on your video. You can upload files under the “Project” tab or search for stock under the "Stock" tab.

Step 3: Drag and drop photos in order

Drag and drop your photos and video clips from the Media Library tray directly into your project in the order you’d like them to appear in your video.

Try different layouts to make your media stand out.

Step 4: Add text to tell your story

The most important part of your book trailer is the story! Click on the "T" text icon to add text to your video. You can add a title and subtitle to each block and adjust the size and colors. Or, double click a text box to alter the text. You can also change the font, size, color, and position of your text easily.

Introduce your main character, major plot points, and a cliffhanger. You can also copy and paste reviews into your book trailer to add credibility and entice new readers.

Step 5: Adjust the look and feel to match your story

Next, you can make adjustments to the way your video looks in design settings . You can change the theme or fully customize font, text colors, background colors, text styles, video styles and more. You can even add your brand watermark!

Step 6: Choose music

Once you’ve finished telling your story, the last step is to select your music. Professional users can add up to eight music tracks to capture each mood of your story's arc. The Animoto music library has a variety of mood filters, which can be useful for finding the right song for each part of your book trailer.

Step 7: Finalize and share your book trailer

Once your music is selected, click Export in the upper right-hand corner to see how it looks. If you’re happy with it, click Download to create a video file, Share to upload directly to social media, or Copy Link to share through email, on your website, to your publisher, or anywhere else!

And there you have it! Ready to make your own book trailer video? Click the button below to get started. Happy video making!

• Marketing video
• How-to video
• Slideshow video
• Social media
• Promo video
• Birthday video
• Intro / Outro videos
• Explainer video
• Email marketing
• Training video
• Internal communications video
• Presentation video
• Photography
• Real Estate
• Marketing Agency
• HR / People Ops
• Video commenting tool
• Screen recorder
• Photo video maker
• Music library
• Online video editor
• Video trimming
• Stock library
• Privacy policy
• Terms of use
• Animoto Tutorials

© 2024 Animoto Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Ebooks, Publishing, and Everything in Between

• Downloads & Pricing
• Advertising
• How to Make a Book Trailer in 6 Simple Steps
• on May 28, 2024
• in Ebook Marketing and Sales
• Last update: May 28th, 2024
• at 11:50 am

It is hard these days to watch TV, go to the cinema, or even scroll on different social media apps without having to watch multiple trailers and ads. Using these short video ads to market various products and services has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, leaving us to wonder how effective they are. 

According to recent studies , 57% of marketers have successfully boosted their conversion rates using video marketing! That’s why you, as an author, shouldn’t ignore such a tool and make the best out of it. How? One good example is to create a captivating trailer for your book to increase its sales and attract potential readers.

With that said, not every author might know where to start exactly when it comes to creating such videos. If that’s the case with you, there’s no need to worry! In this article, we’ll show you everything you need to know on how to make a book trailer that will attract readers and increase its sales.

What Is a Book Trailer?

Just like movie trailers, book trailers are short videos that promote a certain book in a way that engages the audience and encourages them to buy it. It does so by providing a glimpse into the narrative arc, tone, and message of the book without revealing too much about the plot. They can also include relevant readers’ reviews, a brief synopsis, exciting visuals, and a strong call to action.

These videos typically range from 60 to 120 seconds long, which makes them easy to distribute across different channels. This includes your author websites and social media platforms–such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.

While these trailers are commonly associated with fiction books, they can also be created to promote non-fiction ones. This is especially true with memoirs , biographies, and narrative non-fiction books . They can help create visual engagement, highlight key elements in the books, and attract a wider audience.

To get a better idea of what a book trailer looks like, check out the following example:

Why Create a Book Trailer

Having a trailer for your book can greatly impact its success in various ways. In fact, some book trailers, like the one for “As Dead As It Gets”, went viral and received millions of views! While this will definitely won’t always be the case with every trailer made, you can still reap many benefits out of your own book trailer, such as:

• Creating anticipation: A well-made book trailer should leave readers thirsty for more, prompting them to eagerly buy it once it becomes available.
• Reaching wider audiences: With the rising consumption of video content in the past few years, your book trailer is more likely to reach potential readers which can boost its sales.
• Standing out: There are millions of books out there, making the book market a pretty competitive one. Having a book trailer can certainly make your book stand out and leave a lasting impression on your readers.
• Visualizing your content: Portraying the characters and worlds in your book in a cinematically-made trailer can help readers immerse themselves more deeply into the narrative.
• SEO optimization: Since videos often appear prominently in search results, with Google showing video thumbnails in approximately 26% of search queries, having a book trailer can enhance the online presence of your book.

DIYing vs Outsourcing Your Book Trailer

The decision to make your book trailer yourself or to hire professionals to make it for you will highly depend on your budget and technical skills. Because the truth is that hiring professionals might cost a pretty penny while doing it yourself can be a lot of work. 

Tools for DIYing a Book Trailer

To make sure your book trailer looks the best it can, there are a few tools you might consider purchasing. These tools can help you create a professional-looking trailer; otherwise, you might end up with a poor trailer that does more damage to your book’s promotion than good. These tools include:

• A camera for shooting the imagery you need (including your book cover, author photo, etc.)
• Lighting (such as a light ring) to improve the quality of your images and shots
• A tripod for steady footage
• A microphone for studio-like voiceover quality
• A video editing software to put your trailer together

Services to Hire for Outsourcing a Book Trailer

Sometimes, you might want a certain quality for your book trailer that you can’t achieve through the DIY route. So if you decide to outsource the production of your trailer (or parts of it), you’ll need to enlist the help of several professionals. These professionals could vary depending on the genre of your book and the style of your trailer. For example, you might need:

• Scriptwriters
• Voiceover actors
• Animators 
• Graphic designers
• Video editors
• Sound engineers

Alternatively, you can use services, such as Punguin’s Book Trailer Services , that take care of the whole process for you. All you need to do is pay the fees and work with their professionals to get the results you want.

Tips for Creating an Engaging Book Trailer

There are a few tips you need to keep in mind before you start working on your book trailer. These tips will help you get inspired and organize your trailer in an engaging way. Here’s what you need to do: 

• Review trailers in the same genre: Before you get started on yours, it is important to watch other trailers and analyze how they are put together. Notice here that we didn’t say book trailers; you can also watch movie trailers as long as they are in the same genre as your book. Pay close attention to how these trailers move from one slide to the other, what is mentioned vs what is left out, and how long the video is. It is also important to observe the technical aspects, such as storytelling styles and visual effects.
• Gather inspiring materials: As you watch the different trailers, start collecting moments (in the form of screenshots) that you like in each of them. Make sure to note what you like about each of these shots specifically, such as if they convey a particular mood, if the transitions between them are interesting, or if the fonts used on them are unique. Not only will this help you create a trailer that is relevant to your genre, but it will also make the process of selecting materials for your trailer much easier.
• Stay concise: No matter what the genre of your book is, it is important to keep your trailer short and to the point. Cut out everything that doesn’t need to be included in the video. Stay away from adding too much unnecessary action or details.

How to Make a Book Trailer: A Step-by-Step Guide

For writers without video editing experience, creating a trailer for their books might seem daunting. But there’s no need to worry; we are here to help! Our step-by-step guide will assist you in figuring it all out and creating a trailer that attracts your target audience and boosts your book sales. Not only that, we have also prepared a  book trailer planner  that you can download for free and use to keep your thoughts organized throughout the whole process.

1. Set a Budget 

Before you start working on your trailer, you need to set a budget that you are comfortable with. Whether you plan to go the DIY route or hire professional services, knowing how much you’re willing to spend will help you plan accordingly. This could start from around $150 for simple 2D graphic and text trailers , and go up to $15K for high-quality trailers with the cost of actors, voice-over, and animations. 

For instance, author Mandi Lynn crafted a captivating DIY trailer using stock videos, which came at an impressively low cost of just $109. The breakdown includes $65 for the footage, $9 for sound effects, and $35 for the video editing software.

2. Draft a Script

Crafting an enticing script can help make or break the success of your trailer. You need your trailer to captivate your audience from the very first seconds, and that won’t happen if the script is boring. To avoid this, start by thinking about what you want the readers to know about your book before they buy it, then organize this information into a storyboard or an outline. This can help you structure your trailer as you conceptualize its framework. Here’s how it should flow:

• Start with the hook that highlights your book’s biggest selling points. This could be a question that you know would resonate with your target audience or a scene featuring the main character facing a life-threatening situation. Keep this section for the first 10 to 15 seconds of the trailer. Important read: 15 Important Tips On How To Write A Hook
• Next, provide insights into story events that let your readers know what to expect from your book. You don’t want to reveal too much here; just enough to give them an idea of how the story progresses. For example, you could show a turning point that affects the main characters or the first encounter between the protagonist and antagonist. This section can take from 30 to 40 seconds of the trailer.
• Now is the time for the cliffhanger , the part that leaves the viewers of your trailer hungry for more. Here is where you hint at coming battles, plot twists, or challenges awaiting your main characters. You can end with a question which answers lies in the book. Make sure not to let this section last for more than 30 seconds.
• Always end with a strong call to action . If you pose a question at the end of the cliffhanger, urge the viewers to buy the book to discover the answer. Make sure you clearly state when the book is out and where they can buy it from.

How to Write a Script Outline for Your Book Trailer

One way to write a book trailer script is by creating it in the form of a scene-by-scene breakdown . Include descriptive lines about all the visuals you want to feature in the trailer, as well as the voiceover lines. Once you’re done writing the script, read it out loud and make sure it conveys the right tone to your readers.

To have a better idea of what your book trailer script could look like, check this imaginary script for the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone book trailer

If you need help writing the script, you can try some of the scriptwriting tools, such as Celtex , WriterDuet , STARC , or StudioBinder . Or you can hire a professional scriptwriter from websites such as Fivver and Upwork.

How to Create a Storyboard for Your Book Trailer

Alternatively, you can create a storyboard (which is a number of sketches that show how the trailer will look like). You can use the three-act structure to create a storyboard; start by introducing your characters and setting in the first few sketches, then move to the conflict, and end with a climax (without revealing too much of the plot). 

There are many online tools (both free and paid) that you can use to create a storyboard. You can experiment with free basic ones, such as Canva or Milanote . Or you can go for more advanced tools with AI, such as Krock.io .

3. Gather Your Media Assets

Now that you know exactly the media assets you need for every scene, you can start collecting them from various sources. These assets can be:

• Photos and Images

Gather photos of your book cover, author photos, illustrations, or still images related to the theme of your book. If you are on a budget, you can make use of free stock photo and video websites , such as Pixabay and Unsplash . But if you are willing to spend some money and less effort, then you can hire a photographer and a graphic designer to create more professionally looking images. 

If you would like to create images that are unique to your book trailer but don’t want to hire a graphic designer, you can use AI imagery-generating tools . The most popular ones available are Adobe Firefly and Midjourney .

When creating your book trailer, there are a number of video options that you can include. The type of clips will vary depending on your book genre. For example, if you are working on an adventure book, you might want to consider adding some live-action shots , with real actors in real settings. Alternatively, you can use free stock videos from websites such as Pexels , or AI video-generated shots from tools such as Runway , and Pika .

• Text and Fonts

Your trailer should include essential text elements, such as your book title, author’s name, a tagline that captures the essence of your book, and maybe some positive reviews by your readers or memorable quotes by one of your characters. To ensure visual consistency and create a sense of harmony, consider matching the font used on your book cover.

• Voice-Over 

For the best voiceover results, it is advisable to keep your word limit to 100-120 words per minute , record in a quiet space , and use a good-quality microphone . Additionally, consider doing a test recording to check the quality and avoid any technical issues before recording the final take. You can also explore AI tools like VEED.IO ’s movie trailer voice generator for an engaging and impactful trailer.

• Sound effects

Last but not least, using suitable sound effects can enhance specific moments and improve the overall quality of your trailer. Moreover, well-chosen sound effects can evoke emotions, whether it’s suspense, excitement, or nostalgia. For example, imagine the tension-building sound of footsteps in a thriller or the whimsical chimes in a children’s book trailer.

4. Choose a Video Editor

In order to put your trailer together, you need video editing software. Since there are many video editing tools out there, it is important to consider several elements, including their price, ease of use, the video formats they support, and the special effects they help you create. 

Here are some of the most famous video editing tools (free and paid) that can help you create your book trailer:

• Adobe Premiere Pro (paid)
• DaVinci Resolve (free and paid)
• Animaker (free)
• PowerDirector 365 (paid)
• VideoStudio Ultimate (paid)
• Flexclip (free)
• Final Cut Pro (paid for Apple users)
• Animoto (free)
• Biteable (paid)

5. Put Your Trailer Together

Now that you have your script, media assets, and video editing tool, it’s time to put it all together and render your trailer. First, you’ll need to edit the timeline, add the video shots, adjust the video, and stylize the text, then export it in a high-quality MP4 file , with a resolution of 1080 or 4K. Finally, to make sure your trailer runs smoothly, preview it on different devices before publishing it. 

Alternatively, hiring a video editor can help you achieve better results and reduce software costs. You’ll find many professional video editors on freelancing websites. You can also consider reaching out to other authors who have book trailers you admire—they can provide valuable recommendations.

6. Publish Your Trailer

Here comes the final step–getting your book trailer out there for the world to watch. You can start by posting a 15-second teaser to build anticipation, before posting the whole trailer a week or two after. 

To ensure your trailer gets the exposure it deserves, keep in mind the following guidelines:

• Share the trailer on multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
• Don’t forget to upload the trailer to your author website .
• Add relevant keywords to your title and caption, especially when publishing on social media, so your trailer can appear to people searching for such keywords. 
• Consider running ads on related websites and blogs.
• Don’t forget to add a link to your book trailer in your newsletter and other promotional materials.

Final Thoughts

Creating an engaging book trailer isn’t solely about showcasing your work; it’s also about sparking the curiosity of potential readers, leaving a lasting impression, and drawing them into the world of your book. By following the tips mentioned in this article, you’ll be able to create a trailer that boosts your book sales!

It is important to remember, however, that while a book trailer is an important part of your marketing strategy, it isn’t the only one. In fact, we have a guide full of book launch ideas that can help your book gain the exposure it deserves. 

How to Publish a Book for Free and Maximize Your Profit

Book Royalties: What They Are and How to Earn the Best Rates

• How to Edit a Book for Publishing: Tips & Best Practices

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Kotobee is the complete end-to-end ebook solution for you and your business. Export multiple formats. Deliver securely.

Create, publish, and sell ebooks with ease

Kotobee es la solución completa de ebooks de extremo a extremo para usted y su empresa.

Cree, publique y venda libros electrónicos con facilidad

Recent Posts

• Enhancing Student Engagement: Using Interactive Ebooks for Effective Learning
• The Different Types of Characters in a Story Explained
• LMS Integration: Types, Examples, and Best Practices
• Entries feed
• Comments feed
• WordPress.org

✂️ How to Make Mini Books With Clasps & Chains - Video Tutorial & Free Printables

Introduction: ✂️ How to Make Mini Books With Clasps & Chains - Video Tutorial & Free Printables

In Medieval times, it was crucial that manuscripts have strong buckles and effective clasps to keep book covers tightly closed (under pressure) thus preventing the parchment pages from expanding and buckling. Some clasps were made of leather, others from metal… some had hinged, hook, or over-the-peg clasps.

These miniature books truly look and feel like Medieval manuscripts... completely functional with rounded spines, illuminated pages, working clasps and chains! 💗

In this step-by-step DIY video tutorial below, I show how to create three types of book clasps, and add mini chains and metal finishings. Embellishments and chains are in accurate 1:12 scale 📖

I include a set of  FREE mini book printables  consisting of book covers  and  end papers  to create 18 mini books. The double-sided, illuminated  book pages  can be purchased from Lady Miniac’s website shop.

Antique bronze metal book corner protector - https://amzn.to/3z4Gyrw

Red / black / brown faux leather - https://amzn.to/2UuMTgh

Black liquid shoe polish - https://amzn.to/3wWIqkY

All Purpose Craft Glue - https://amzn.to/3al7Xh0

Brass round head nails - https://amzn.to/35J2ond

Brass flat head nails - https://amzn.to/3gUDw2l

Brass pin head nails - https://amzn.to/3wPRRTd

Superglue - https://amzn.to/3j6zBB0

Gold jewellery rings - https://amzn.to/3wS9Yrp

Black cardstock - https://amzn.to/3gUHiYd

Versamark clear stamp pad - https://amzn.to/3vS7h81

Gold embossing powder - https://amzn.to/3A0CWYi

Cupcake liners - https://amzn.to/3gVZEb5

Metallic Gold Wax – https://amzn.to/3lXNHEN

Dresden black foil embellishment - https://amzn.to/35ZN3Pn (Oh no... it seems Dresden is out of stock everywhere! The item I included in my tutorial seems to not be available at all!

However, there are 2 other suppliers... albeit a little more pricey)

https://www.vintage-ornaments.com/dresden-foils-trims/frames-corners-fancies?page=2

https://rosemille.com/collections/all-dresden-die-cuts/products/embellishments

Brown acrylic craft paint - https://amzn.to/3hdcjIt

Dark brown shoe paste - https://amzn.to/3vPDsoK

Ear cleaning buds

Chain (2mm x 3mm) - https://amzn.to/3xNXdhw

Chain (4mm x 6mm) - https://amzn.to/3d5tFEs

Metallic gold acrylic craft paint - https://amzn.to/3o3DJBT

End / front cutters - https://amzn.to/3MJHszr

Flat steel file - https://amzn.to/3qhPHco

Micro tipped scissors - https://amzn.to/3bgZF7I

Straight fine tip tweezer - https://amzn.to/3extKSp

Curved fine tip tweezer - https://amzn.to/3extKSp

Rubber tipped wipeout - https://amzn.to/35LVayK or https://amzn.to/3kYz9W7

Mini spring clamps - https://amzn.to/3wTTpLG

Scriber - https://amzn.to/3qlKOiz

Steel round needle file - https://amzn.to/3qhPHco

Pen / pencil

Heat gun - https://amzn.to/3j3JkYH

Small flat bristle paint brush - https://amzn.to/2R4aCCs

Ball point / embossing stylus - https://amzn.to/3hbQ0mD

Small round bristle paint brush - https://amzn.to/3ewguNS

Mini pliers - https://amzn.to/3xQpXGN

Disclosure: This post and video contain affiliate links. If you visit Amazon and make a purchase via one of my links, Lady Miniac will earn a small commission (without affecting the price that you pay for the product).

Step 1: Sort and Prepare

Take a look at your mini book and decide which type of clasp best fits the look you're trying to create. This will determine the type of materials you'll use.

Before you can start glueing any finishings down, experiment by measuring and placing different types of mini brass onto your book to get the right fit and effect.

Step 2: Step-by-step Video Tutorial

🎬 Follow this easy DIY video tutorial for step-by-step instructions. Enjoy creating these realistic miniature Medieval books! 📖📕

(This video is Part 2 of 3, showing how to add book clasps and chains to a basic mini book. Part 1 shows basic bookmaking and Part 3 shows gem embellishment and heat embossing) 

Recommendations

For the Home Contest

Green Future Student Design Challenge

Build-A-Tool Contest

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Arts and Entertainment
• Book Crafts
• Making Books

How to Make a Paper Book

Last Updated: April 9, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Amy Guerrero . Amy Guerrero is an Arts and Crafts Specialist and the Owner of Sunshine Craft Co., a crafting studio based in Phoenix, Arizona. Amy specializes in macrame, DIY crafting, and teaching fiber arts. She offers monthly in-person and online workshops along with having developed a range of DIY craft kits for at-home projects. Amy holds a BS in Industrial Design from Philadelphia University. She worked as a graphic designer before starting her own business. Sunshine Craft Co. is a creative hub that offers a wide range of workshops, tools, and resources for any craft project to inspire creativity and community engagement. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 538,870 times.

Making a book out of paper is a fun and easy project that has many purposes, for home and school. You can use your book as a journal, sketchpad, or gift for someone. A homemade paper book is a great activity for kids, too. Paper journals are far less expensive than buying pre-made journals, and you can customize the cover and the pages.

Making a Small Book

• Be sure your folds are even and you crease each one well. Consider sliding your fingernail or something hard such as the edge of a pencil over the crease.
• Start by folding the paper so that it is long and skinny (long edge folded to long edge).
• Then fold the paper in half short edge to short edge.
• Fold the paper in half again, short edge to short edge.

• Be sure you stop cutting at the horizontal seam. You are just cutting a slit in the paper, you are not cutting it all the way across.

• You will need to reverse the direction of the fold on one of the seams.
• Push the two ends towards each other until you have 4 “wings” moving outward from the center, like a cross or an X. [3] X Research source

Making a Medium-Sized Book

• Knowing the purpose of your book will help you decide the appropriate number of pages.
• Consider also having one sheet of special or colored paper that you can use as the book cover.
• You can use more than 12 pages, but binding may become more difficult with more pages.

• This guide assumes that you will be using standard letter-sized paper (8.5”x11”), but other sizes may work as well.
• Paper with a heavier weight (thickness) may be more durable than printer paper.
• Resume paper or paper with a colored finish provides a nice visual effect if you plan to give the book as a gift.
• Avoid using lined notebook paper if possible. The lines will be vertical and the paper book will not look as nice as it would with other paper.
• Folding each page individually will give you a cleaner crease and more even lines than trying to fold all of the pages together at once.
• Be sure the edges of the page are lined up nicely before making your crease.
• Sharpen your crease by running your fingernail along it, or by sliding a hard object such as a pen or pencil along the edge.
• If you nest more than six pages together, the inner pages will start to protrude beyond the outer pages and your book will not look neat.
• If you have an even number of pages, try to make even sets of book sections (for example, 2 sets of 6, 3 sets of 4, or 4 sets of 3 pages).

• Try to stagger the staple placement on the sections so that there is not a bulge from a stack of staples all together when you bind the sections together.
• Depending on your binding technique, this step may not be necessary. If you will be taping, it is necessary.

• Check all edges for neatness and uniformity. If one of the pages is sticking out, it may not have been folded neatly. You may want to replace it with a more carefully folded page.

Binding Your Book

• Prepare your book cover by folding it in half short end to short end and sharply creasing the edge.
• When you put the cover on your pages depends on the type of binding you choose.
• Cut a piece of sturdy tape, such as duct tape, slightly longer than your book.
• Carefully place the tape on the front of the book spine and wrap it around the back so that half of the tape is on each side of the front and back book page.
• Cut excess tape from above and below the book.
• Cut two pieces of tape the same length of the book.
• Fold the tape in half long ways, sticky side out.
• Open the back of your book and place the folded tape along the crease on the inside back cover. One side of the tape will be on the inside of the back cover and one side will be on the outside of the last inner page.
• Open the front cover of your book. Place the second piece of tape, also folded lengthwise sticky sides out, along the crease between the inside front cover and the outside of the first inner page.
• Close the book and firmly run your hand along the folded edge to secure the taped pieces.

• If you are using a cover, place the folded cover over the stacked book sections.
• Use a hole puncher to punch holes in the entire book where you would like the binding to be. The holes should be close to the folded edge of the book, but be sure you do not punch the folded spine.
• Make at least two holes. You can have more if you would like, but be sure the holes are spaced apart evenly so that the binding is aesthetically pleasing.
• If you have more than six pieces of paper, you may want to punch holes in each book section separately, but be sure to measure where the holes go so that they will align neatly when you combine the sections.
• For shorter journals, try using decorative brads through the punched holes.
• Thread string or ribbon through the holes in your book and tie neatly. String can be woven in and out of multiple holes, then run down the back cover of the book along the spine and tied together, or separate small bows can be tied for each hole, with the string going through a hole, around the spine of the book, and being tied to itself. [6] X Research source
• For much longer journals, consider sewing the book sections together with strong thread by punching holes in each section and passing needle and thread in and out of the holes until all sections are bound together. [7] X Research source

Community Q&A

Tips from our Readers

• Don't try to punch through to much paper. If the book is really thick, you can separate it into small chunks.
• You can draw things on another paper, color them, and then cut and glue them to your paper book.
• Children making a paper book should be closely supervised when using scissors. Thanks Helpful 22 Not Helpful 22

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://www.makingbooks.com/hotdog.shtml
• ↑ http://www.fimp.net/makeabook.html
• ↑ http://www.tortagialla.com/2012/10/10/folding-paper-for-your-journal/
• ↑ http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2014/04/gift-idea-homemade-journals.html
• ↑ https://curiouslycrafty.wordpress.com/tutorials/

About This Article

To make a small paper book, start by folding a piece of paper into eighths, taking care to make crisp and even folds. Next, unfold the paper and refold it in half, from short edge to short edge. Cut the paper along the vertical fold seam in the middle of the paper until it intersects the horizontal fold seam. Then, unfold the paper again and refold it in half, from long edge to long edge. Lastly, push the two ends toward each other, separate the middle seams, and flatten the paper to enclose the pages of the book. For tips on binding your book, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Oct 18, 2021

Did this article help you?

Kylie Jenner

Jun 10, 2020

Mar 16, 2018

Swati Singh

May 9, 2021

Elaine Carlstrom

Dec 2, 2020

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help Pro:

Level up your tech skills and stay ahead of the curve

• Politics & Social Sciences
• Social Sciences

Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Amazon Prime includes:

Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.

• Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
• Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
• Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
• A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
• Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
• Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access

Important:  Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.

Buy new: .savingPriceOverride { color:#CC0C39!important; font-weight: 300!important; } .reinventMobileHeaderPrice { font-weight: 400; } #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPriceSavingsPercentageMargin, #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPricePriceToPayMargin { margin-right: 4px; } -29% $19.79 $ 19 . 79 FREE delivery Thursday, June 6 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35 Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com

Return this item for free.

Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges

• Go to your orders and start the return
• Select your preferred free shipping option
• Drop off and leave!

Save with Used - Very Good .savingPriceOverride { color:#CC0C39!important; font-weight: 300!important; } .reinventMobileHeaderPrice { font-weight: 400; } #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPriceSavingsPercentageMargin, #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPricePriceToPayMargin { margin-right: 4px; } $13.46 $ 13 . 46 $3.99 delivery June 10 - 14 Ships from: midtownscholarbookstore Sold by: midtownscholarbookstore

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage and Started My Life Hardcover – February 20, 2024

Purchase options and add-ons

• Print length 288 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Crown
• Publication date February 20, 2024
• Dimensions 5.66 x 0.96 x 8.5 inches
• ISBN-10 0593241126
• ISBN-13 978-0593241127
• See all details

Frequently bought together

Similar items that may deliver to you quickly

Get to know this book

Popular highlight

From the publisher.

Editorial Reviews

About the author, excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved., product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown (February 20, 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593241126
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593241127
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.25 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.66 x 0.96 x 8.5 inches
• #32 in Divorce (Books)
• #40 in Feminist Theory (Books)
• #919 in Memoirs (Books)

About the author

Lyz Lenz is a journalist and author living in Iowa. Her work has been published in the New York Times, Buzzfeed, Washington Post, The Guardian, ESPN, Marie Claire, Mashable, Salon, and more. Lenz holds an MFA in creative writing from Lesley University.

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Reviews with images

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / How to Cite Sources

How to Cite Sources

Here is a complete list for how to cite sources. Most of these guides present citation guidance and examples in MLA, APA, and Chicago.

If you’re looking for general information on MLA or APA citations , the EasyBib Writing Center was designed for you! It has articles on what’s needed in an MLA in-text citation , how to format an APA paper, what an MLA annotated bibliography is, making an MLA works cited page, and much more!

MLA Format Citation Examples

The Modern Language Association created the MLA Style, currently in its 9th edition, to provide researchers with guidelines for writing and documenting scholarly borrowings.  Most often used in the humanities, MLA style (or MLA format ) has been adopted and used by numerous other disciplines, in multiple parts of the world.

MLA provides standard rules to follow so that most research papers are formatted in a similar manner. This makes it easier for readers to comprehend the information. The MLA in-text citation guidelines, MLA works cited standards, and MLA annotated bibliography instructions provide scholars with the information they need to properly cite sources in their research papers, articles, and assignments.

• Book Chapter
• Conference Paper
• Documentary
• Encyclopedia
• Google Images
• Kindle Book
• Memorial Inscription
• Museum Exhibit
• Painting or Artwork
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Sheet Music
• Thesis or Dissertation
• YouTube Video

APA Format Citation Examples

The American Psychological Association created the APA citation style in 1929 as a way to help psychologists, anthropologists, and even business managers establish one common way to cite sources and present content.

APA is used when citing sources for academic articles such as journals, and is intended to help readers better comprehend content, and to avoid language bias wherever possible. The APA style (or APA format ) is now in its 7th edition, and provides citation style guides for virtually any type of resource.

Chicago Style Citation Examples

The Chicago/Turabian style of citing sources is generally used when citing sources for humanities papers, and is best known for its requirement that writers place bibliographic citations at the bottom of a page (in Chicago-format footnotes ) or at the end of a paper (endnotes).

The Turabian and Chicago citation styles are almost identical, but the Turabian style is geared towards student published papers such as theses and dissertations, while the Chicago style provides guidelines for all types of publications. This is why you’ll commonly see Chicago style and Turabian style presented together. The Chicago Manual of Style is currently in its 17th edition, and Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations is in its 8th edition.

Citing Specific Sources or Events

• Declaration of Independence
• Gettysburg Address
• Martin Luther King Jr. Speech
• President Obama’s Farewell Address
• President Trump’s Inauguration Speech
• White House Press Briefing

Additional FAQs

• Citing Archived Contributors
• Citing a Blog
• Citing a Book Chapter
• Citing a Source in a Foreign Language
• Citing an Image
• Citing a Song
• Citing Special Contributors
• Citing a Translated Article
• Citing a Tweet

6 Interesting Citation Facts

The world of citations may seem cut and dry, but there’s more to them than just specific capitalization rules, MLA in-text citations , and other formatting specifications. Citations have been helping researches document their sources for hundreds of years, and are a great way to learn more about a particular subject area.

Ever wonder what sets all the different styles apart, or how they came to be in the first place? Read on for some interesting facts about citations!

1. There are Over 7,000 Different Citation Styles

You may be familiar with MLA and APA citation styles, but there are actually thousands of citation styles used for all different academic disciplines all across the world. Deciding which one to use can be difficult, so be sure to ask you instructor which one you should be using for your next paper.

2. Some Citation Styles are Named After People

While a majority of citation styles are named for the specific organizations that publish them (i.e. APA is published by the American Psychological Association, and MLA format is named for the Modern Language Association), some are actually named after individuals. The most well-known example of this is perhaps Turabian style, named for Kate L. Turabian, an American educator and writer. She developed this style as a condensed version of the Chicago Manual of Style in order to present a more concise set of rules to students.

3. There are Some Really Specific and Uniquely Named Citation Styles

How specific can citation styles get? The answer is very. For example, the “Flavour and Fragrance Journal” style is based on a bimonthly, peer-reviewed scientific journal published since 1985 by John Wiley & Sons. It publishes original research articles, reviews and special reports on all aspects of flavor and fragrance. Another example is “Nordic Pulp and Paper Research,” a style used by an international scientific magazine covering science and technology for the areas of wood or bio-mass constituents.

4. More citations were created on  EasyBib.com  in the first quarter of 2018 than there are people in California.

The US Census Bureau estimates that approximately 39.5 million people live in the state of California. Meanwhile, about 43 million citations were made on EasyBib from January to March of 2018. That’s a lot of citations.

5. “Citations” is a Word With a Long History

The word “citations” can be traced back literally thousands of years to the Latin word “citare” meaning “to summon, urge, call; put in sudden motion, call forward; rouse, excite.” The word then took on its more modern meaning and relevance to writing papers in the 1600s, where it became known as the “act of citing or quoting a passage from a book, etc.”

6. Citation Styles are Always Changing

The concept of citations always stays the same. It is a means of preventing plagiarism and demonstrating where you relied on outside sources. The specific style rules, however, can and do change regularly. For example, in 2018 alone, 46 new citation styles were introduced , and 106 updates were made to exiting styles. At EasyBib, we are always on the lookout for ways to improve our styles and opportunities to add new ones to our list.

Why Citations Matter

Here are the ways accurate citations can help your students achieve academic success, and how you can answer the dreaded question, “why should I cite my sources?”

They Give Credit to the Right People

Citing their sources makes sure that the reader can differentiate the student’s original thoughts from those of other researchers. Not only does this make sure that the sources they use receive proper credit for their work, it ensures that the student receives deserved recognition for their unique contributions to the topic. Whether the student is citing in MLA format , APA format , or any other style, citations serve as a natural way to place a student’s work in the broader context of the subject area, and serve as an easy way to gauge their commitment to the project.

They Provide Hard Evidence of Ideas

Having many citations from a wide variety of sources related to their idea means that the student is working on a well-researched and respected subject. Citing sources that back up their claim creates room for fact-checking and further research . And, if they can cite a few sources that have the converse opinion or idea, and then demonstrate to the reader why they believe that that viewpoint is wrong by again citing credible sources, the student is well on their way to winning over the reader and cementing their point of view.

They Promote Originality and Prevent Plagiarism

The point of research projects is not to regurgitate information that can already be found elsewhere. We have Google for that! What the student’s project should aim to do is promote an original idea or a spin on an existing idea, and use reliable sources to promote that idea. Copying or directly referencing a source without proper citation can lead to not only a poor grade, but accusations of academic dishonesty. By citing their sources regularly and accurately, students can easily avoid the trap of plagiarism , and promote further research on their topic.

They Create Better Researchers

By researching sources to back up and promote their ideas, students are becoming better researchers without even knowing it! Each time a new source is read or researched, the student is becoming more engaged with the project and is developing a deeper understanding of the subject area. Proper citations demonstrate a breadth of the student’s reading and dedication to the project itself. By creating citations, students are compelled to make connections between their sources and discern research patterns. Each time they complete this process, they are helping themselves become better researchers and writers overall.

When is the Right Time to Start Making Citations?

Make in-text/parenthetical citations as you need them.

As you are writing your paper, be sure to include references within the text that correspond with references in a works cited or bibliography. These are usually called in-text citations or parenthetical citations in MLA and APA formats. The most effective time to complete these is directly after you have made your reference to another source. For instance, after writing the line from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities : “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…,” you would include a citation like this (depending on your chosen citation style):

(Dickens 11).

This signals to the reader that you have referenced an outside source. What’s great about this system is that the in-text citations serve as a natural list for all of the citations you have made in your paper, which will make completing the works cited page a whole lot easier. After you are done writing, all that will be left for you to do is scan your paper for these references, and then build a works cited page that includes a citation for each one.

Need help creating an MLA works cited page ? Try the MLA format generator on EasyBib.com! We also have a guide on how to format an APA reference page .

2. Understand the General Formatting Rules of Your Citation Style Before You Start Writing

While reading up on paper formatting may not sound exciting, being aware of how your paper should look early on in the paper writing process is super important. Citation styles can dictate more than just the appearance of the citations themselves, but rather can impact the layout of your paper as a whole, with specific guidelines concerning margin width, title treatment, and even font size and spacing. Knowing how to organize your paper before you start writing will ensure that you do not receive a low grade for something as trivial as forgetting a hanging indent.

Don’t know where to start? Here’s a formatting guide on APA format .

3. Double-check All of Your Outside Sources for Relevance and Trustworthiness First

Collecting outside sources that support your research and specific topic is a critical step in writing an effective paper. But before you run to the library and grab the first 20 books you can lay your hands on, keep in mind that selecting a source to include in your paper should not be taken lightly. Before you proceed with using it to backup your ideas, run a quick Internet search for it and see if other scholars in your field have written about it as well. Check to see if there are book reviews about it or peer accolades. If you spot something that seems off to you, you may want to consider leaving it out of your work. Doing this before your start making citations can save you a ton of time in the long run.

Finished with your paper? It may be time to run it through a grammar and plagiarism checker , like the one offered by EasyBib Plus. If you’re just looking to brush up on the basics, our grammar guides  are ready anytime you are.

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Citation Basics

Harvard Referencing

Plagiarism Basics

Plagiarism Checker

Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.

Get Started

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!

Nia and Danny Booko's Explosive Fight Had Her Warning Him “This Is on TV”

"You f-cked me over," the actor told the mother of his three children during a dinner with the rest of  The Valley cast.

Tensions between The Valley ’ s Danny Booko and his wife, Nia Booko ,  spilled over as the cast continued their getaway in Big Bear , as seen in Season 1, Episode 11.

How to Watch

Watch  The Valley  on Bravo Tuesdays at 9/8c and next day on Peacock . Catch up on the Bravo app . 

The group chose to dress as their partners’ sexual fantasies, which had Danny dressed as Outlander ’s Jamie Fraser. There were fake Scottish accents all around before the father of three got a little “feisty” with his wife, during what Nia believed should have been “a private conversation.”

“You f-cked me over,” Danny told the mother of his three children at the height of their argument at the table.

Why were Nia and Danny Booko arguing?

The parents of 2-year-old son Asher Booko and infant twin girls Isabelle Marie and Zariah Rose Booko joined the rest of the group at the dinner at the tail end of Janet Caperna ’s Babymoon. Danny found himself two sheets to the wind, which initially amused the rest during their aphrodisiac-themed dinner, though Janet said, “It’s just giving mess.”

“I want Daniel to have a good time,” Nia told producers. “He’s having a little too much of a good time right now.”

Michelle Saniei Lally  then brought up a conversation she and Nia had the previous night regarding where the Bookos might look for a new home . Danny said they lived in a 2,300-square-foot condo but that the household was “bursting at the seams.” He added it made sense, based on their income, to stay in the Valley while Nia hoped to look elsewhere, such as West Hollywood.

Here's what you missed on Bravo:

Brittany Cartwright Admits She "Can't Even Be in the Same Room" as Jax Taylor

Jesse and Michelle Lally Reveal the Final Straw That Led to Their Split: "Enough Is Enough"

Jason Caperna Says Janet’s Labor Scare Convinced Them to Exclude Kristen: “No Regrets”

During the dinnertime convo, Nia encouraged her husband to calm down after he raised his hand and angrily asked the rest, “How many of you have three kids?”

“Just you, not Nia,” joked Brittany Cartwright .

Danny grew agitated in overlapping chatter, shouting out despite Nia’s attempts to reel him in.

“Nobody knows what is happening,” Danny continued as he raised his hand again. “Who has three kids, again? Exactly.”

Jasmine Goode agreed with Jax Taylor that the fathers sometimes felt overlooked in their parental roles but insisted that no one was hearing Nia. Danny took offense at the implication that he didn’t listen to his wife.

Nia tried to have Danny direct his words toward her, not the rest of the table.

“Stop arguing right now,” Nia pleaded. “Stop. Stop.”

“You wanted this,” said Danny. “You wanted this.”

Nia attempted to steer the conversation toward “anything else,” and the group encouraged the same. But Danny, still stuck on the discussion, told his wife, “You f-cked me over.”

“And now you’re cussing at me,” Nia told him. “This is on TV. You just said the F-word. On national television. To me.”

Are Nia and Danny Booko still together?                               

The guests agreed to table all talks of real estate and marital communication, and soon, Nia encouraged her other half to have some water and go lie down. Jason Caperna recognized the atmosphere away from home was different than most scenarios, when Nia could readily use the babysitter as an excuse to make an exit.

“Seeing Danny get a little feisty with Nia is crazy to me. I’ve never seen him like this,” Jasmine told producers. “I know he’s a little drunk right now, and I know that they are, like, the perfect couple, but something’s going on for him to get a little spicy with her.” .”

In the cold light of day, Danny joined his wife for a walk along the scenic trails of Big Bear. Lauded as one of the stronger couples on The Valley — especially given Jax and Brittany’s separation and Michelle and Jesse Lally calling it quits after filming — the couple spoke from the heart with clarity, one of the attributes that keeps their marriage strong.  

“When you hold anything in, it’s just not healthy. But at this point, I don’t think I’ve been one hundred percent truthful on how hard things have been lately,” Danny said in his confessional. “I had a little too much to drink and lashed out when I probably shouldn’t have.”

Danny and Nia bonded while discussing a possible future move, also touching on Nia’s battle with postpartum depression . He said that Nia’s happiness was his “number one goal,” while Nia said she would love to see him step away and take some time for himself when not tending to the family’s needs.

“I think a strong testament to our marriage is we can be vulnerable with one another,” Danny continued. “We are best friends, and we know that when I need her to be a rock, she’s gonna be that rock. It is a weight off my shoulders.”

Watch all-new episodes of The Valley , Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo and streaming the next day on Peacock.

• Danny Booko
• Relationships

Related Stories

Joe says Melissa Is More "Jealous" Than He Is

Andy Cohen Reacts to Lala Kent and Ariana Madix's Feud

See Inside Ben and Sunny's Relationship After Below Deck

Lindsay Hubbard's New Boyfriend Has Andy Saying "Oh, Boy"

Jax *Finally* Addresses Paige Woolen Romance Rumors

Look Back at Yolanda's Engagement Ring from David Foster (PICS)

Did Lindsay and the Summer House Girls Go to Mexico?

Lindsay & Carl Break Down Their Versions of That Recorded Car Fight

West Says He & Ciara Are on “Opposite Sides of the Spectrum”

Carl Slams Infidelity Rumors & Tom Sandoval Comparisons

What carl and lindsay revealed after their explosive breakup.

Carl Lists 7 Reasons For Calling Off His Wedding to Lindsay

Latest Videos

Start Watching the Season Finale of The Valley!

Danny Booko Gets "Intense" at Dinner: "Don't Tell Me to Stop!"

Janet Caperna Tells Brittany Cartwright She Sees Things "Getting Worse" with Jax Taylor

Recommended for you.

Kristen Kish Reveals Best & Worst Dishes on Season 10

Every Top Chef Fan Needs This New Exclusive Merch

Where to Watch Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen Season 21