Home-made videos: The new tool for self-published authors

It's pretty clear that online video is booming. Here's the audience growth at YouTube:

That, my friends, is a trend.

Videos are starting to pop up on Amazon book detail pages -- in both reviews and descriptive content. Cameras have gotten so cheap and simple, there's no big financial or technological hurdles to producing promotional videos anymore. So some authors are taking advantage.

Here's how one creative author is promoting his book. Now playing on YouTube: HOW TO MAKE A KILLING IN THE BOOK WORLD



The author, Eric Meeks, used an old Canon camera that had sat idle for two years. This summer, when he got the inspiration for the video, he finally read the owner's manual and taught himself to use its editing software.

Video-making is key to Eric's marketing plan for the book. He has an appearance lined up at a local bookstore, and to generate publicity, he's promising that everyone who attends the signing will get to witness a "real live author murder."

"Somebody from the crowd will get to 'kill' me with a retractable blade knife," Eric says. "At least I hope the blade retracts. Otherwise I'll be doing only one signing."
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Steve Weber is author of Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors