How to make a book trailer from your cover and your author photo

Last updated 2026-08-16 · 6 min read

What is the short version?

A self-published book has two pieces of artwork that already exist — the cover and the author photo — and no video. A trailer is those two things placed inside a mood, with a line of promise and a call to action.

1. Go to Vizard Agent and upload the cover and your photo.
2. Say what the book is, who it helps and what it promises.
3. Say where it is sold and how long the trailer should be.

What do you need before you start?

The artwork and the positioning. Vizard Agent sources the footage and the music, so what only you can give it is the promise the book makes and the reader it is for — which decides the whole tone far more than any visual instruction would.

• The cover, at full quality. It will be on screen large. A thumbnail will show.
• Your author photo. Vizard Agent enhances it before use rather than accepting whatever resolution it arrives at.
• The exact title. Vizard Agent checks it, and giving it correctly saves a step.
• Who the reader is. A journal for one audience is a very different trailer from the same book aimed at another.
• Where it is sold. The call to action needs somewhere to point.

What do you type into Vizard Agent?

Say what the book does for the reader. Vizard Agent looks at your cover and photo rather than needing them described, so the words that earn their place are about the promise, the audience and the feeling you want the trailer to leave behind.

Prompt

Variants worth knowing:

• Add the retailer late. "Say it is available now on [shop]" is a small change on an existing trailer.
• A quote-led version. One line from the book carried across the whole trailer is a strong alternative structure.
• Match your last trailer. Keep them in one project and Vizard Agent uses the earlier one as the style reference.

What does Vizard Agent actually do?

Here is the order Vizard Agent worked in on a real book trailer. It starts by looking backwards — at what you have already published — because an author's second trailer should look like it came from the same person as the first.

1. Looks at each image you attached.
2. Checks your past projects for a style reference.
3. Downloads your previous trailer and reviews its look.
4. Checks the exact title online so it is quoted correctly.
5. Loads the trailer playbook rather than improvising a structure.
6. Downloads your cover art and photo at full quality.
7. Checks which enhancement tools are available for the photograph.
8. Searches for music and footage, and investigates when one search comes back empty.
9. Generates the music, enhances your photo and downloads the footage, then reviews a frame from every clip.

Step 4 is a small thing that matters disproportionately. A trailer that misquotes its own book's title is unusable, and Vizard Agent verified the wording rather than trusting a paraphrase.

What does the result look like?

From the run this page is written from, probed on the delivered file: 1080x1920, H.264, 30fps, 57.5 seconds, AAC audio. Vertical, just under a minute, with the cover and the enhanced author photo as the branding, sourced footage underneath and generated music throughout.

Ask to add the retailer afterwards and Vizard Agent inserts the line and the card without rebuilding anything else.

Under a minute is the right length for a book trailer. It has one job — to make somebody curious enough to look the book up — and every extra ten seconds is another chance for them to decide they already know enough.

It is not instant, and this category was not separately measured. Comparable work runs a median of 28 to 38 minutes end to end. Across all projects the median cost by tier is Flash 47, Pro 55, Max 242, Ultra 263 credits.

When does this not work well?

A trailer sells a promise, and the promise is yours rather than Vizard Agent's. This matters more in some categories than others — a book about confidence, health or faith carries expectations that an editing tool cannot evaluate on your behalf.

• Outcome claims are your responsibility. "This will change your life" is a claim, and retailers and platforms treat it as one.
• Stock footage is generic. It sets a mood and it is not your story. Your own photographs carry more.
• A low-resolution cover ruins the centrepiece. Send the print-quality file, not the listing thumbnail.
• Enhancement changes a portrait slightly. Check that the author photo still looks like you.
• A trailer is not a marketing plan. It gives people something to click; where it is posted decides whether anyone does.
• Faith and self-help categories are watched closely. Retailers and platforms apply extra scrutiny to what these videos promise.

How do you fix a result that came back wrong?

Say which element. Vizard Agent keeps the enhanced photo, the cover, the generated music and every downloaded clip separately, so adding a retailer line or changing the closing card is a small edit rather than a fresh build.

• "Add that it is available on the shop now." A line and a card, inserted.
• "The photo looks over-processed." Re-enhanced more lightly, or used as sent.
• "Hold on the cover for longer." A timing change on that shot.

How does Vizard Agent compare to doing it yourself?

By hand this is a freelancer on a marketplace, a week of back and forth, and a result that looks like the last five trailers they made. The alternative is a slideshow of the cover with library music, which is what most self-published trailers actually are.

Common questions

Do I need footage of my own? No. Vizard Agent sources it, and any photographs you do have will make the trailer more personal.

Will my cover look sharp? If you send the full-quality file. It is the largest element on screen for much of the trailer.

Can it match my previous trailer? Yes. Keep them in the same project and Vizard Agent reviews the earlier one first.

Can it add where the book is sold? Yes, and it can be added afterwards without rebuilding the trailer.

Will it use my photo as it is? Vizard Agent enhances it first. Say if you would rather it used the original untouched.

How long should a book trailer be? Under a minute. The job is to make someone click, not to summarise the book.

Does it need my previous trailer? No, and it uses one if it finds it. Vizard Agent checks the project before designing anything from scratch.

Can it make a square version for other feeds? Yes. Vizard Agent re-lays the cover and the text for the new shape rather than cropping the vertical cut.