Scarletta Press' first published novel, THE LITIGATORS, finds a promising rebirth

Jan. 26, 2012 - PRLog -- 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.

But few books written today warrant that kind of fanfare. So the question becomes, how do we get back on readers’ radars? Sometimes, the answer lands in your lap, like it did for Scarletta Press’ 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. Over 100 e-books were sold in November & December, and Scarletta also faces a need for reprint! That’s just good luck, but Scarletta plans to capitalize on that luck.

First, we plan to lower the price of the e-book to $4.99. We want to get Arthur’s The Litigators in the hands of everyone interested in fictional legal thrillers. We believe those who rush out to buy the latest Grisham novel will also enjoy Lindsay Arthur’s writing. Since this isn’t a new novel, and it can be harder to find print copies of older books, we thought we’d help our readers out!

We’re also looking for new reviewers who can tell interested readers why this book is still relevant today. In 2005, Minnesota Law & Politics made a great point when they said, “The Litigators is a reviewer’s delight, that rare local novel that’s actually fun to read. Set in Minneapolis with a sure hand for detail and a fine ear for dialogue, it holds you with interesting characters and a compelling story...You hate to put the book down, even after you’ve finished it.”

New ads will go out on relevant sites, and we’ll get the author’s voice out on various forms of media. Soon, readers will be able to see blog posts from Lindsay Arthur on the Scarletta Press blog. The point is to remind readers about this great book, especially since the name The Litigators has received a lot of media attention these past few weeks.

Among many other marketing ploys is the desire to expose Arthur’s novel to book clubs. A perfect discussion book, The Litigators is sure to arouse controversial issues on many subjects. Stories of David and Goliath struggles in the courts are not new in books; but in this story, figuring out just who is Goliath opens the reader to a discovery of unexpected truths about today’s highly litigious court system. Good versus evil, yes, but readers will ask themselves just what is the evil that is supposed to be vanquished? Book clubs will find discussion questions in the back of the book, on http://www.scarlettapress.com, and additionally a full guide on http://www.readinggroupguides.com/.

Backlist books rarely get this kind of extra exposure...authors are usually wary about giving their novel a title that has already been used. That said, everything else Scarletta plans on doing with The Litigators can most likely be used on any other backlist book. You just have to make the book visible and remind readers of its relevance in their lives.

More information about The Litigators can be found at http://scarlettapress.com/books/fiction/the-litigators.htm.

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