Picture Books and Ebooks: A Winning Combination?

Ebooks are the new frontier of publishing in a fast-paced industry (hello, Amazon’s “used ebooks”). As digitizing becomes more common, new obstacles and innovations unique to the ebook abound. For publishers of titles for both children and adults like Scarletta, the books that pose the most exciting challenge in going digital are picture books.

From the beginning, picture ebooks demanded new technology that adult fiction and non-fiction did not. It was only in 2011 when color display readers were developed and the first picture ebooks were published. Though the picture quality doesn’t compromise the vividness of the illustrations, some aspects can be lost when a print picture book is transferred to ebook form. The two-page spread, for instance, which is a panoramic-like illustration that reaches across two pages, can be accommodated by Apple’s iPad, but can’t be fully appreciated in readers like the NookColor or the Kindle. Fold-out spreads, end-paper art, and different book sizes (think a tall, skinny book about giraffes) are among the embellishments that are unique to print picture books.

And what are the effects of this digital shift on our young readers?

Are e-Readers Environmentally Friendly?

There are many reasons why someone might buy an e-reader nowadays. eBooks are cheaper than their print counterparts, travelers can carry hundreds of books with them instead of only a few, and now, a slightly controversial reason: ebooks are more environmentally friendly.
The question then is, "But are they really?" It's easy to say that ebooks use less paper than print books, but what about the materials wasted every time someone throws away their old e-reader to buy one that's newer and more exciting?
National Geographic recently ran an article on this topic, and they claimed:

"The amount of paper used for books in one year was estimated at 1.5 million metric tons, and each book produced gave off an estimated 8.85 pounds of carbon dioxide. Study groups have found that the carbon released from eBooks is offset after people read more than 14 eBooks. For the life cycle of a device for reading books, the carbon emitted is offset after the first year. The savings in carbon emitted into the air is around 168 kilograms for the following years after the first year of use."

Digital Reissue vs Reprint

With the rise of e-reading and ebooks sales skyrocketing, many would tell you that digital reissues are where the money's at. But what about the good 'ol reprint?

We started thinking about this topic after reading an article about how Frank Giovinazzi published a digital version of an out-of-print self-help book (How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World by Harry Browne) because he couldn't find a reasonably priced copy of it.

In the article, Giovinazzi states, "I contacted his widow, Pamela Browne, along with her representative and asked them if they held the publishing rights and if they would allow me to issue the book in digital format. They were delighted to have the book issued in this format and we signed a contract – and if sales of this book support it, we are going to go ahead and publish other Harry Browne titles as well."

And while we think this is great, did anyone consider a reprint? In 2011, we reprinted two of Bill Watkins' books A Celtic Childhood and Scotland Is Not for the Squeamish. In addition to that, we also released both works as ebooks. And do you know what we found? Bill's books sell better in print than their ebook counterparts.

Trends in Children's Literature

You've probably heard...we love kid's books. Which is why we created Scarletta Junior Readers and Scarletta Kids, so we can spend a lot more time with children's literature! Because this is still a new adventure for us, we decided to do some basic digging in children's lit trends.
First, how much are kids reading? Turns out they're reading less than ever. The reasons? Homework and standardized testing are taking up a lot of their free time. And this has some seriously negative effects. Studies have shown that:

• Kids who are readers do better at school and in life
• Children and teens who read for pleasure on a daily or weekly basis score better on reading tests than infrequent readers
• Frequent readers also score better on writing tests
• Advanced readers accrue personal, professional, and social advantages
• Literary readers are more likely than non-readers to engage in positive civic activities, such as volunteering

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.

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?

This Just In: HASSIE CALHOUN

Hey readers! Who's excited about e-books? WE ARE! That's why we're offering the advanced reader's copy of Hassie Calhoun: A Las Vegas Novel of Innocence by Pamela Cory in a free electronic format.

If you're a reviewer, and are interested in a sexy, fiery novel that paints a portrait of an era, then contact me for more info.

Desiree Bussiere
Publicity Director
Scarletta Press
desiree@scarlettapress.com

Are E-Books Taking Over?

It's common knowledge that society hungers for increased technology in the world of publishing. Many writers and presses are beginning to put more emphasis on e-books. Why? Well, if you consider what writer and marketing guru, Seth Godin, says, then it's quite obvious: "Paper books aren’t a particularly elegant way to spread an idea in the age of blogs, e-readers and social media."

These days, it's typical to get a glimpse of a new book electronically first. Yet true book lovers will always carry their paperbacks and hardcovers around. The feel of the pages between your fingers and the smell of ink on paper can't be replaced by LCD screens and scrolling pages. At Scarletta we aren't giving up on the process--we think it's still worth the effort to connect with our readers through traditional publishing.

But with that in mind, we do understand the perks of offering our books in electronic formats. That's why we are now utilizing PGW's Constellation services so as to offer many of our books on the Apple iPad, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, eBrary, OverDrive, Sony Reader, Google Books and many more.

Check out these Scarletta books in their electronic formats: Our Jewish Robot Future, Yankee Invasion: A Novel of Mexico City, Israeli and Palestinian Voices, Tragedy in South Lebanon, A Beirut Heart, The Once and Future Celt, Written on the Knee, Willow in a Storm, Ultimate Breakthrough Planning, and soon The Litigators.

We also recently gained the rights to two books by Bill Watkins. We'll be putting those back into circulation through P.O.D and electronic formats. More details to come!

Ian on tpt's Almanac

Last week, Ian had the pleasure of appearing as a guest on Twin Cities Public Television's Almanac show with Cathy Wurzer. Check out the video below to see what he has to say about the state of publishing today, upcoming Scarletta Press titles, and the best writing advice he's ever received.