By Elaine L. Orr
A better blog post would be what I have left to learn. Except I probably don't have the vocabulary to make that list.
I have always liked taking photos, even back when we had to pay to develop film. This was especially true when I traveled -- and I have the albums to prove it. I didn't get into making short movies (we didn't say videos) as a teen or young adult, in part (probably) because the people I saw doing it were guys. And it was a relatively expensive hobby.
As an author, I need to reach readers in ways they like -- which means videos they can watch on their phones. It's not just younger readers who use them -- anyone can watch a short video while waiting to pick up a kid after school or sitting in a physician's waiting room.
The key is to create a video people want to watch. Digression: My husband and I were in a community writers' group in the mid-1990s, and people were discussing what they tried to achieve in their writing. The last person said what really mattered was to "write something catchy." To this day, my husband can be walking through a room in which I'm writing and tell me to be sure it's catchy. I said it was a digression.
General advice: Don't worry about your background beyond making it neat and uncomplicated. We have less space in an apartment than we did in a house, so there's no space for a single-use room or designated area. However, a corner of the dining room table, with books behind me, works fine.
A Few Things I've Learned
- Find a friend or family member to hold the camera -- at least the first few times. If you're trying to do a selfie, you'll have to focus on more than your content.
- If your friend or family members wants to do a lot of stage direction, go back to selfies.
- Take videos in landscape mode. Ignore this if you know how to edit videos (as in rotate a portrait video to become landscape).
- I find that ClipChamp (a free Microsoft program) is easier than other software to rotate and add captions, but I still forget a lot in between each use.
- Do lots of Google searches when software stumps you. One of the responses will be understandable for a novice.
- Check to be sure you're holding your book right side up, that your hair is combed, and (for me) lipstick is fresh. (I look like a ghost without it.)
- Don't aim for perfection! You want to look professional (or funny -- whatever), but it's not an audition tape for a movie. Perfection can be the enemy of the good.
- Make many TikTok videos about things other than your books. I like gardening, and one of my sleuths is a gardener. I posted photos of the day we had ten purple Morning Glories and did a demonstration on harvesting marigold and zinnia seeds to plant next year. My post with the most views was one I titled, "Who said the mall is dead?" I took it from the 2nd floor of the White Oaks Mall, showing Santa and decorated trees below. Who knew?
- Make adding videos a habit. Even if you only do it once per week, you have to appear regularly to have much impact.
- Don't forget to add hashtags that relate to your book, its location, or content. Don't forget to include #booktok.
That's it for now. If you want to see my videos, here's a recent one. https://bit.ly/3S1a78U. My TikTok site is https://www.tiktok.com/@authorelaineorr/.
Don't stop with TikTok. Lots of sites let you add videos. The more you do it, the more comfortable you'll be.
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