How to make novel promo videos: book, rights, script, voice, edit
How to make novel promo videos (xiaoshuo tuiwen, the short story-teaser clips that send viewers to a web-novel app) is mostly a question of order. Many beginners start with footage and editing, then discover the book was never licensed, so the video can't run and can't earn. This guide goes in the order that actually works: choose a book on a licensing platform and get the rights, write the script, voice it, then cut the video in CapCut (Jianying). Every step is something you can do; there are no income claims here.
- 5 steps
- Licensing table
- Script template
- No income promises
Updated Nov 5, 2026Fact-checked Nov 5, 2026
Transmigration promo · The Villainess Quits
Chinese · Script excerpt · 5 characters
Ye Chuchu (original heroine)Choked up
阿烬，我真的不是故意的……你原谅我这一次，就这一次，好不好？
Jin, I really didn't mean it… Forgive me this once, just this once, please?
Pei Jin (male lead)Calm
管家，送叶小姐回去。镯子赎回来之前，别让她再进裴家的门。
Butler, see Miss Ye out. Until the bracelet is bought back, she doesn't set foot in this house.
NarratorSarcastic
叶楚楚腿一软，跌坐在地上。这一次，她是真的哭不出来了。
Ye Chuchu's legs gave way and she sank to the floor. This time she really couldn't cry.
SystemExcited
叮……警告！警告！主线剧情严重偏离！女主光环，正在转移……
Ding… Warning! Warning! Main plot severely off course! Heroine halo transferring…
On this page
- 1How to make novel promo videos in five steps
- 2Where to get novel promo licences
- 3How to get a novel promo licence, and what it covers
- 4How to write the script: a five-part template
- 5What a full-cast novel promo sounds like
- 6Voicing the promo and cutting it in CapCut
- 7Five beginner mistakes to avoid
- 8Frequently asked questions
How to make novel promo videos in five steps
On your first video, follow the order strictly. Doing it backwards, editing first and looking for a licence later, is where beginners waste the most work.
- 01
Step 1
Pick a book from a licensed catalogue
You promote books the platform has opened for promotion, not books you happen to love. Browse the licensing platform's catalogue and favour titles that start fast, with strong conflict and a twist in chapter one. Start with genres you know: rebirth, "chasing back the wife" or transmigration stories for female readers; underdog, urban-superpower or suspense stories for male readers.
Tip · Read the first three chapters and ask yourself: can I write one opening line that would stop a scroll? If not, pick another book.
- 02
Step 2
Get licensed: apply for a promotion keyword
Register a creator account on the licensing platform, pick a title and submit a promotion request. The usual mechanism is a promotion keyword (an alias for the book): once approved, you put it in your video, and viewers who search for it land on the book. How to choose it, how long it can be and how long review takes are set on the platform's own pages.
Tip · Save a screenshot of the approval page; it is your evidence if a copyright complaint ever comes in.
- 03
Step 3
Write the script: rewrite, don't copy
Rewrite the first chapters into a script meant to be spoken: short sentences, dense information, a hook every few lines. The structure "hook → who I am → conflict → twist → cliffhanger + keyword" works for most books; the full template and an example are below. Then estimate its running time with the script duration calculator.
- 04
Step 4
Voice it: one narrator, a few characters
Format the script as "Name: line", leave the storytelling to the narrator, give each main character a voice and put emotions in brackets. Paste it into the dubbing studio, check the free cast list, generate, and download the MP3 and SRT. Voicing details are in novel promo voiceover.
- 05
Step 5
Edit and publish in CapCut
Import the MP3 and SRT into CapCut (Jianying), lay pictures over them (AI images, licensed artwork or a screen recording of the book) and put the promotion keyword in the captions or title. Label AI-generated content as the platform requires before you post. AI Drama Voice handles the voice and subtitles only; the video is made in your editor.
Where to get novel promo licences
These are the three kinds of licensing channel beginners meet most. The table only lists what the official sites show; tasks, rules and payouts change, so check the platform's own pages before you apply.
| Fanqie Creator Center | Xingtu (Ocean Engine) | Third-party promo agencies | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Fanqie's official creator promotion platform | The service platform of Douyin's marketing ecosystem, linking brands, creators and agencies | Companies or teams that pass on platform tasks and coach beginners |
| Official site | kol.fanqieopen.com | xingtu.cn | Varies; verify it yourself |
| What you can promote | Promotion tasks for Fanqie Novel, Fanqie Audio, Hongguo Short Drama and more | Whatever tasks the Xingtu dashboard has open at the time | Only what the agency is actually licensed for |
| Sign-in roles | Creator / agency, partner | Client, creator, MCN, service provider | — |
| Watch out for | Keyword rules are set on the platform's pages | Task requirements and payouts are in each task's details | Confirm they really hold a licence; never prepay a "licence fee" |
Checked Nov 2026 · Descriptions come from each platform's own site. AI Drama Voice has no partnership with these platforms.
How to get a novel promo licence, and what it covers
What a promo licence actually grants
A novel promo licence is normally a promotion licence: the platform lets you use the book's content in promotional videos that send viewers to read it on the platform. The platform's agreement sets the scope, and it usually does not include recording the whole book as an audiobook, adapting it into a drama or publishing it. If you want to turn a novel into a full audiobook, you need separate permission from the rights holder; see the rights section of novel to audiobook.
How to get licensed: the usual flow
- 1.Register a creator account on the licensing platform with your phone number and complete the identity details it asks for
- 2.Pick the title you want to promote in the catalogue and read its promotion requirements
- 3.Apply for a promotion keyword (alias) for the book and wait for review
- 4.Once approved, search for the keyword in the platform's app to confirm it brings up the book
- 5.Put the keyword in your captions, title or comments and point viewers to it as the platform's rules allow
Don't pay a "licence fee"
Registering on an official creator platform and applying for a licence does not involve paying an individual or an unknown agent. Anyone who wants money first for a "guaranteed licence" or "insider titles" is very likely not legitimate.
What happens if you post without a licence
An unlicensed promo uses someone else's work without permission. The most direct consequence is a copyright complaint and a takedown, and the platform may penalise the account. And because you have no promotion keyword assigned by the platform, viewers who search can't be matched to your promotion, so there is nothing to credit you with. A finished video that earns nothing is the most common beginner loss.
How to write the script: a five-part template
A promo script is not the novel's text; it is a storytelling script rewritten for short video. This structure suits most romance and male-lead stories. The example was written for this guide.
| Part | Job | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hook | The first line makes people stop | Three years into my marriage, I found my own death certificate on my husband's phone. |
| Who I am | Two or three lines on who the narrator is and where she stands | I'm Shen He. I married into the Gu family three years ago, and everyone says I'm lucky. |
| Conflict | A crisis that has to be dealt with | The date on the certificate was the fifteenth of next month, the day of the island trip he'd booked for us. |
| Twist | The lead strikes back, or part of the truth comes out | I didn't confront him. I just changed the two plane tickets to three. The third one had his first love's name on it. |
| Cliffhanger + keyword | Stop where viewers most want the answer, and give the keyword | What happened on that island? For the rest, search the app for the keyword I was given. |
Three ways to write the opening hook
- Against expectation: put the last thing anyone expects in the first line, like "my own death certificate"
- Start from the ending: give half of the outcome first, "Only later did I learn she was the one who handed me that glass"
- Open on dialogue: a threat or a plea as the first line, which is also where a voice can hit the emotion hardest
Write for the ear, not the eye
Promos are listened to. Long modifiers, nested clauses and words that sound alike make listeners drift. Read the finished script aloud: wherever you stumble, the voiceover will stumble too. Keep every character's name fixed for the whole script rather than switching between "Mr Gu" and "Gu Chen", or the voices will be assigned to the wrong people.
What a full-cast novel promo sounds like
A transmigration promo: the original heroine begs through tears, the cold male lead throws her out, the narrator enjoys the show, the "system" sounds an alarm, and the twist lands on the reader who woke up as the villainess. This is third-party placeholder audio to show the rhythm of a multi-voice promo, to be replaced before launch.
Script excerpt · Transmigration promo · The Villainess Quits
Ye Chuchu (original heroine)Choked up
阿烬，我真的不是故意的……你原谅我这一次，就这一次，好不好？
Jin, I really didn't mean it… Forgive me this once, just this once, please?
Pei Jin (male lead)Calm
管家，送叶小姐回去。镯子赎回来之前，别让她再进裴家的门。
Butler, see Miss Ye out. Until the bracelet is bought back, she doesn't set foot in this house.
NarratorSarcastic
叶楚楚腿一软，跌坐在地上。这一次，她是真的哭不出来了。
Ye Chuchu's legs gave way and she sank to the floor. This time she really couldn't cry.
SystemExcited
叮……警告！警告！主线剧情严重偏离！女主光环，正在转移……
Ding… Warning! Warning! Main plot severely off course! Heroine halo transferring…
Wen Wu (villainess)
转移给谁？
Transferring to whom?
SystemWhisper
转、转移给……宿主你。
T-to… you, host.
Voicing the promo and cutting it in CapCut
The last two steps decide how the promo lands: the voice carries the story, the edit carries the pictures and the keyword.
How to cast the narrator and characters
In a first-person promo, "I" both tells the story and speaks lines, so give the heroine's voice both her narration and her dialogue and give the other characters a voice each; a third-person promo uses one fixed narrator. Romance promos often use a gentle or mature female narrator; male-lead and suspense promos often use a deep male voice. In AI Drama Voice, paste a script formatted as "Name: line" and the cast list appears, with one voice per character for the whole script. More on voicing promos in novel promo voiceover.
| Written in the script | How it's voiced |
|---|---|
| Narrator: Her legs gave way and she sank to the floor. | Narrator voice, even pace |
| Pei Jin (coldly): See Miss Ye out. | Male lead's voice, with a cold delivery |
| Wen Wu (thinking): This time, it's my turn. | The villainess's own voice, softer |
Cutting the video in CapCut
- 1.Create a vertical project and put the voiceover MP3 on the audio track first
- 2.Import the SRT; each subtitle is already timed to its spoken line
- 3.Lay pictures paragraph by paragraph: AI images, licensed artwork or a screen recording of the book
- 4.Make the promotion keyword a clear caption at the start and the end
- 5.Watch it through once, then export and post
For lining up subtitles with pictures and nudging the timeline, see syncing MP3 and SRT in CapCut. Note that AI Drama Voice does not render video and does not lip-sync; it delivers the voiceover and the subtitles, and the edit happens in CapCut or another editor.
Before you post: label AI content
If the promo uses an AI voice or AI images, tick or add the AI-generated label the platform asks for. How to do it: AI-generated content labels.
Five beginner mistakes to avoid
Almost every beginner hits one or two of these. Avoid them and your first video won't be wasted.
Editing before licensing
Finish a video, then learn the book isn't open for promotion, and all the work is wasted. Always get the licence before you write.
Reading the novel as written
Novel prose is written for the eye and drags when read aloud. Rewrite it into short spoken lines and protect the first three seconds.
One voice for everything
With the narrator and every character in one voice, listeners can't tell who is speaking. At minimum, separate the narrator from the lead.
Hiding the keyword
A keyword that only sits in the description is missed by most viewers. Show it once at the start and once at the end.
Trusting "guaranteed licences"
Official platforms don't charge strangers' fees for a licence application. Walk away from any "agent" who wants money first.
Frequently asked questions
Start on a licensing platform, not in your editor. Register a creator account, pick a fast-starting book from the catalogue and apply for a promotion licence, then write the script, voice it and edit, following the five steps on this page.
Register a creator account on a licensing platform, choose a title and apply for a promotion keyword (alias); once it's approved you are licensed to promote that book. Keyword rules and review times are set on the platform's pages.
Beginners most often use Fanqie Creator Center (Fanqie's official creator promotion platform), Xingtu (the service platform of Douyin's marketing ecosystem) and third-party promo agencies. Check that an agency really holds a licence and never prepay a licence fee.
A dubbing tool that can split roles: one voice for the narrator, one for each main character, and ideally subtitles too. AI Drama Voice assigns voices automatically when you paste the script, adds per-line emotion and exports MP3 and SRT you can import straight into CapCut.
The rights holder can complain and have the video taken down, and the platform may penalise the account. Without a platform-assigned promotion keyword, there is also nothing to credit your promotion to.
If the video uses an AI voice or AI images, label it as AI-generated content as the platform requires. See AI-generated content labels.
Script written? Now give it a voice Narrator first, then every character.
Paste your promo script, check the narrator and roles the AI finds, generate when it sounds right, and take the MP3 and subtitles into CapCut.
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