Book launch avatar video: use the cover as the product image, cost

Most authors cannot film a polished launch video, and most readers decide on a book in seconds. A short clip where a presenter holds up the book, with the cover on screen, works as the opening of a launch page or a pre-order email. Sume's talking-video route takes a cover as the product_image, so the cover is part of the shot.

Cover as product image

Pass a public HTTPS URL of the front cover in product_image. Use a flat, high-resolution front view, not a photo of a pile of books, so the title is readable. With a product image the rates are $0.194 per second at standard, $0.258 at plus and $0.58 at max.

A script that sells without overclaiming

Thirty seconds is about 75 words. State the premise in one sentence, who it is for in one sentence, the publication date and where to get it. Do not quote reviews you cannot show, and do not let the avatar claim to be the author unless the author wrote it and agreed to be represented by an avatar.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/avatar-1.0/talking-video \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"avatar_handle":"@host","quality":"plus","aspect_ratio":"9:16","product_image":"https://example.com/cover.jpg","script":"When a small town loses its only bridge, one family has to decide who to trust. My new novel is out on the fourteenth. If you like quiet mysteries, this one is for you. Find it at your local bookshop."}'

Test cheaply, finish once

Start with a preview to check the cover is legible, then render at standard. If the cover text is small in the frame, try again with the cover cropped tighter. Rendering a final at max is $17.40, so make the decision on the preview, not on a render. A series of five books with five clips at plus costs 5 x $7.74 = $38.70.