Innovative company markets a new kind of book promotion vehicle, video advertisements that have drama, flair and special effects.

The Changing Face of Book Publishing

When Circle of Seven (shortened to COS in much company literature) CEO Sheila Clover English attended an aspiring writers’ course at a Romantic Times Convention in 2002, a hard truth hit her square in the face. As she puts it, “I realized that writing a book isn't just about writing a book. Seeing all that competition to get published, I needed to find a way to stand out and be noticed.”

But it isn’t just a matter of writers trying to get publishers’ attention. The new truth about the publishing industry is that there are thousands of authors, books and publishers begging for the consumer’s attention; books now have to compete with an ever growing list of entertainment venues: old standbys like the movies and TV, and newer technology like the internet, portable viewing devices, BlackBerry®, and iPhones®. Besides delivering a quality product, anyone wishing to stand out has to do something original.

Birth of a Company

So, with the same kind of pithy focus that moviemakers use when they create trailers for their upcoming releases, English enlisted the help of experienced videographer Michael E. Miller and filmed a brief, entertaining video ad for her book Circle of Seven. At that moment, as they produced a video to publicize her novel, Circle of Seven the company was born too, as was the concept of Book Trailers®.

Business acumen and creative ability don’t always coexist, but in this case English and Miller knew that they were onto something; if music videos sell CDs, and movie trailers convince people to go to the theater, perhaps book videos, they reasoned, would encourage readers to buy a book.

The new business partners began the research necessary to win a trademark. What they discovered was that not only were there no hits when researching the terms ‘book videos’ and ‘book trailers’ on the internet, no one in the publishing industry had heard of the concept. That was enough to convince the U.S. government; Book Trailers®, and Book Teasers® are now terms registered by Circle of Seven and protected by United States patent law.

Slick and Entertaining

COS videos combine stills, video, music and special effects in a blend that appeals to the new consumer and veteran reader alike. In a fast paced world where a book cover image may not hold attention for the requisite time to capture a buyer, the moving image and music can. The video itself becomes part of the entertainment, capitalizing on human attraction to movement and sound. COS tailors the music and imagery to the target audience. Though many of their book videos are promotions for fantasy and romance novels, other genres are represented too.

New Venues for a New Format

The audience is growing, and so, too, is the availability. Circle of Seven Book Trailers® can be seen on the websites YouTube, MySpace, and Readers Entertainment TV, among many others. Even Romantic Times, the grande dame of romance review sites, now features book videos on their website.

The Future Looks Bright

In 2008 English will see the long-awaited release of the book Circle of Seven. COS will have a new website, a revamped newsletter, and much more. Longer term, they intend to update to keep pace with new technology, expand their distribution network, and, as English says, “…challenge ourselves to be more creative than ever before!”

To see what book videos look like, go to the COS homepage at:

http://www.cosproductions.com/