Building an Author Platform to Market Books Using iMovie

I use a Mac for my real job.  After years of learning how to use a PC, it was a bit of a struggle at first to adapt to the logic involved in using a Mac.  Mac fans claim it is more intuitive than a PC and perhaps it is, but after years of using Windows on a PC, this old dog has had to unlearn some habits.  I have finally reached the point where I can find where I put my files, use the essential features and software I need and get my day-to-day work done.

My Mac comes with a tiny camera mounted just above the top of the screen in the frame. I also have iMove installed as part of the basic software package.  My first few attempts to make a simple video were so bad even I was amused at my futile efforts.  I have since obtained a pair of very useful books  (iMovie '09 and iDVD: The Missing Manual and iMovie '09 and iDVD '09 for Dummies) about using iMovie and am slowly working my way through both copies. The potential of this software to make promotional videos for books is incredible! I doubt I will ever use more than 5% or 10% of capability of iMovie's capability, but once I have learned the features essential to produce the short videos I envision, I will have added a valuable tool in my author platform to promote my books.

With youtube and the internet I can easily make my videos available to anyone interested. The videos can have the added benefit of establishing my credibility as an expert in my field (I write non-fiction books). For authors who write fiction, short videos posted on the internet are a great opportunity for the author to dramatic readings of certain portions of their novels in an effort to generate interest in their books storyline or key character.  I even envision fiction authors using this device to write short stories about key characters that are not part of the novel but add depth to the character and then reading the stories for production of a short video to post on the internet.  These videos can fill in gaps in a character's background or just be a way to have fun stories about specific characters.

I will keep readers of this blog updated on my efforts to learn yet another computer software and its uses and how it can be used to build an author platform and market books.