What's the deal with Kindlegraph?

Evan Jacobs, the creator of Kindlegraph, is a big fan of book readings, but realized after he got his ebook reader that he had nothing for authors to sign. He could go hear a favorite author speak and have a great time, but he had nothing tangible to take away from the experience. So he created Kindlegraph: a program that lets authors send personalized inscriptions and signatures directly to the electronic reading devices of their fans. And the best part is this service is free.

To date, Kindlegraph has partnered with over 2,800 authors and offers users inscriptions for over 12,000 books. And it's really user-friendly. Simply sign up (you can even sign in with your twitter account) and start requesting personalized inscriptions and signatures from your favorite authors. Authors will receive an email the day you send your request and in no time, your e-book will be one-of-kind with a note from the author.

Jacobs doesn't want the interaction between authors and readers to stop there. He's working to make it possible for authors to be able to send out sample chapters from upcoming books to fans who have signed up as part of a paid subscription service.

Two Scarletta authors have already jumped on the bandwagon because they love the idea of having another way to connect with their readers.

Pamela Cory, author of Hassie Calhoun: A Las Vegas Novel of Innocence, can be reached here.

Pendred Noyce, author of Lost in Lexicon: An Adventure in Words and Numbers and this summer's Ice Castle, can be reached here.

Students Add More Illustrations to Lexicon

Last November students started sending author Penny Noyce the drawings they made while their teacher read Lost in Lexicon to their class. And since we love seeing how students interact with the story we decided to share more drawings with everyone!

To the left we have a drawing of spiderwebs and the quote that inspired it:"Ivan and Daphne walked through the woods finding spiderwebs festooned with tiny droplets." (pg 16), and underneath, an image of aunt Adelaide's barn: "The barn now stood in the middle of a pond with water reaching halfway up its side." (pg 29).

To the left here, we have a drawing of Lexicon: "Just a broad expanse of rolling meadow strewn with wildflowers under a cloudless blue." (pg 29), and underneath, some of Lexicon's flowers: "On either side, purple wildflowers ducked their heads in rippling grass." (pg 33).

These pictures made our day, and we're so glad the students decided to share them with us. If your students or children have done any drawings of Lexicon, we ask that you either send us an electronic copy to info@scarlettapress.com or a hard copy to Scarletta Press 10 S. 5th Street #1105, Minneapolis, MN 55402. We'd love to add them to our collection!And if you're looking for other ways to get your students to interact with Lexicon, make sure to check out Penny's Lost in Lexicon Villages Event.

Libraries pick Lexicon

The Virginia Beach Public Library recently named Penny Noyce's Lost in Lexicon a VBPL Staff Pick. They weren't the first, and they certainly won't be the last because Lost in Lexicon has something in it for all kids.

In spite of its somewhat obvious goal of encouraging reluctant children to enjoy and understand the many uses of words and numbers, Lost in Lexcon is actually an enjoyable fantasy.
In the course of their travels Daphne learns to use a compass and navigate on the Cartesian plane. She has some other mathematical successes and discovers she enjoys solving these problems.
Meanwhile, Ivan discovers that he needs to use words, sometimes in critical situations. Naturally he learns to enjoy the power of words and recognize their usefulness.

Lost in Lexicon is perfect for kids who love math, as well as writing and reading. But the story isn't solely educational, kids get so swept up in the adventure to find the lost kids of Lexicon that they forget they're learning.

The Comeback of a Backlist Book

What happens when a book becomes a backlist title? Does it die a slow death as the last few printed books are given away to friends and family, or can it be revitalized? Or better yet, how can it be revitalized?

We all know the classics sell well with each reprint, which often coincide with the anniversary of the author's death or birth or the book's first edition. Some books even warrant a celebration, like the 50th anniversary of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird that took place last year. It was held in Monroeville, Alabama, the town Maycomb was modeled after. The anniversary lasted four days and included a marathon "Mockingbird" reading, tours of the town, and samplings of Monroeville's signature drink—a tequila mockingbird.

As great as that sounds, few books written today warrant that kind of fanfare. So the question becomes, how do authors and publishers get backlisted books back on readers' radars? Sometimes, the answer lands in your lap—like it did for Scarletta's first published book The Litigators. Lindsay Arthur published The Litigators with Scarletta in 2005. Two months ago John Grisham published his newest novel, also called The Litigators. Arthur's book has sold more in these past two months than the previous three years. That's just good luck, but Scarletta plans to capitalize on that luck.

Why We Publish Books

Recently, a letter arrived at Scarletta for two of our authors—James Peter Taylor and Kathleen Murphy-Taylor. They co-wrote the book Willow in a Storm. Willow in a Storm is a raw, unflinching memoir about the events in James Peter Taylor's unusual life, over forty years of which were spent incarcerated.
This letter was sent from a man in the Alexander Correctional Institute who had received the Taylor's book through a books to prisoners program. His story was so moving and his words were so kind that our authors asked us to share some of his letter.

This book has changed my life. I no longer wish for death since reading Willow in a Storm because I now know it is possible to survive the rapes, beatings and psychological torture that I have been forced to endure these last three years...I feel compelled to write so that you will know how much you have helped me through your book and to know also that you have very likely saved my life as well.

Where I will be tomorrow is as unclear as where I will be ten years from now, but I wanted you to know that your book has given me something, that until now I have lacked during this horrible experience. Hope. And for that I thank you.

These words are enough to fill a publisher's heart with joy. We are incredibly sorry for the unfairness of life that has led to this man's incarceration, but at the same are glad that we were able to publish a novel that could give him such comfort. At the end of the day, sure, a book on the New York Times' Best Seller's list would be great, but it's even more rewarding to personally hear from the those whose lives have been touched by our books.If you want help change a prisoner's life through literature, here are some great books to prisoners programs: Women's Prison Book Project (located in Minneapolis), Internationalist Prison Books Collective and Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project.

Hilarity Ensues Because Book Titles Cannot Be Copyrighted

Perhaps you've heard of a recent New York Times' Best Seller: The Litigators? Ask anyone who the author is, and they'll tell you John Grisham. But what some of these same people are doing unaware is going online and purchasing a different book with the same name.
You see, six years ago in 2005, Scarletta Press published its very first book, a fiction/legal thriller by lawyer/author Lindsay Arthur, and the title? You guessed it...The Litigators. Now we here at Scarletta are proud of our first book, in fact, we think it's a darn good book, but time passes and publishers are forced to focus on current and upcoming books, and less is done with backlist books. However, November hit and suddenly The Litigators saw a pretty big spike in ebook sales. We couldn't account for it, but sales kept increasing. And then the book received a new review on Amazon...it began, "I have read everything written by Mr Grisham." Wait...Mr. Grisham?

Exciting changes at Scarletta Press

MINNEAPOLIS (December 2, 2011)—Scarletta press accepts the resignation of Ian Graham Leask as publisher and minority stockholder to pursue other publishing opportunities effective immediately. Scarletta Press thanks Ian for his writing and publishing expertise over the years. His vision and dedication has been greatly valued. We wish him the best in his new endeavors.

December marks an interim period of transition, with a new beginning for January 2012. This change has been in discussion for some time. The publishing industry continues to experience drastic transformations. Scarletta Press is in the process of reinventing itself with new ideas and new goals in order to best serve and address author’s needs and maintain the most collaborative, productive, and successful relationships with its authors, publishing partners, service providers, and media relations.

The most intriguing part of this transformation is the stronger emphasis Scarletta Press has decided to place on their children’s imprint, Scarletta JR (Junior Readers). There will also be more collaboration on foreign rights and partnering publishing opportunities, larger pushes on marketing and social media outreach, and more room for advanced ebooks and interactive ancillary product development related to Scarletta’s books.

All publicity correspondence will remain the same, and can be directed to Desiree Bussiere [desiree@scarlettapress.com]. All official business correspondence can be directed to Nancy Tuminelly, President of Scarletta Press [nancy@mightymedia.com]. All editorial correspondence, including submissions, should be directed according to information listed on the Scarletta Press website.

There are many new plans and new books in the works for the near future, so stay tuned for more news to come as the New Year approaches.

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