Magic, Myths, and Me

As an author, I’m always looking for new ways to share my stories. Recently I decided to try something different—creating a short video trailer for my book Sirena. I wanted something quick and cinematic that could capture the mysterious feeling of the deep ocean and give viewers a glimpse into the world beneath the Mariana Trench.

To create the video, I used Leonardo AI to generate a short animated clip from an image. Once I had the video I liked, I realized I didn’t actually know how to edit the clip further. The animation looked great, but I still needed to add text, adjust timing, and give it a more dramatic feel.

I tried searching for different video editing apps, but the only platform that really allowed me to edit the video the way I wanted was TikTok. Surprisingly, it turned out to be one of the easiest tools for adding text, adjusting the timing of clips, and layering music.

Even though I don’t normally use TikTok very much, it worked really well for creating this short trailer. After editing the video there, I was able to share it directly to Facebook. Unfortunately, I didn’t see an option to share it directly to Instagram, which I thought was a little strange.

Creating short video content is still new territory for me, but I’m starting to see how useful it can be for authors. A short teaser video can introduce the mood of a story in just a few seconds and may help readers discover a book they might not have found otherwise.

I’m still learning as I go, so I would love to hear from others who are experimenting with video content. If you’ve struggled with editing short videos, or if you’ve found tools that make the process easier, feel free to share your experience.

Watch the Sirena Trailer