Video book, book trailer, audiobook, adaptation

A book trailer is an advertisement: thirty to ninety seconds made to sell the book. A video book is the book itself, complete.

An audiobook is the whole work for the ear alone. A video book is the whole work for the eye and the ear together.

A film adaptation rewrites the book into a screenplay and recasts it as a new story. A video book keeps your prose word for word — the narration is your text, not a rewrite of it.

Authors search for "video book." Producers usually say "film book." They are the same product; this house uses the second name because the work is cinema, not a slideshow.

What a video book is actually made of

Narration of the full manuscript, directed rather than merely read.

A cast: separate voices for separate characters, so dialogue plays as scene rather than as summary.

A score, chosen and cut to the beats of the chapters, and sound design where the world needs to be heard.

Motion picture cut to the narration — imagery, environment and typography moving with the prose, chapter to chapter, first page to last.

A matching audio book edition, built off the same session, so the ear-only version exists alongside the watchable one.

How long a video book runs

The house runtime law is 155 words to one finished minute — the retail standard for a performed edition, and the same figure for both vessels.

So 50,000 words runs about 5h 23m. 90,000 words runs about 9h 41m. 150,000 words runs about 16h 8m.

That is why a video book is not a trailer: a full novel is many hours of finished picture, delivered as chapters, not as one clip.

What a video book costs

Base production is 20% of your word count in dollars for a film book, and 10% for an audio book. A 90,000-word novel is $18,000 as a film book.

Add-ons are drawn off the word count, never off the base: 1% for every 2 voices, 1% for every 5 sound effects, and a flat $1,500 for a chosen, cut and mixed score.

A 50% deposit begins the build, or you may pay in full. Nothing is priced by what a salesperson thinks you can pay.

Why an author would want one

A performed edition is an asset, not an advertisement. It can be cut into hundreds of shorter pieces for years of posting, and it never expires the way a paid click does.

It opens a second and third storefront for the same manuscript — watchable and listenable editions beside the printed one.

It is also the only format that lets a reader meet your prose the way you heard it in your head: cast, scored and paced.

Asked and answered

Is a video book the same as a film book?

Yes. "Video book" is the term authors search; "film book" is what this house calls the finished cinematic edition of a complete book.

Is a video book just an audiobook with pictures?

No. The picture is cut to the narration as a deliberate visual edit, chapter by chapter, rather than a static cover held on screen.

How much does a video book cost?

20% of your word count for base production — $18,000 for a 90,000-word novel — before voices, effects or score.

How long does a 90,000-word video book run?

About 9h 41m of finished picture, at 155 words to the minute.

Do I keep the rights?

Yes. The manuscript is yours and the finished edition is produced for you; the house does not take a share of your book.