Happy New Year!

From Panzer, Fiona and the Pirate

Killer Characters: Honeybee the Cat as told by Bailey Cates

Panzer parked the Panzermobile over at the Killer Characters blog. The newest post there is by Honeybee the cat familiar. We learned something from Honeybee we had never heard before. There are other kinds of familiars besides cats. Hold onto your fur now because this is unbelievable.  DOGS can be familiars! That's right. DOGS! It's enough to make any self-respecting cat cry. Panzer has already gone through a whole box of tissues. It's just so ... so ... unspeakable!

To find out what's going on, tootle over to Killer Characters: Honeybee the Cat as told by Bailey Cates: By Honeybee the Cat from Bewitched, Bothered and Biscotti, the second in the Magical Bakery Mystery series by Bailey Cates Well, hello...

Smashwords: Apple iBookstore Sales Surge Over Christmas Holida...

Panzer is doing the happy Christmas Cat Dance! He made it into the Smashwords distribution channels just in time. Smashwords announced a big increase in their sales through the Apple iBookstore this Christmas season.

Tootle on over to read about the sales increases at  Smashwords: Apple iBookstore Sales Surge Over Christmas Holida...: Apple today reported sales for the recent post-Christmas period. Santa was generous to Smashwords authors at the Apple iBookstore. The...

A New Panzerism

From Panzer:

A dry kitty is a happy kitty.
A wet kitty, not so much.

Bath? I'm not a happy kitty!

Smashwords: Mark Coker's 2013 Book Publishing Industry Predict...

Panzer took the Panzermobile over to the Smashwords blog to read Mark Coker's 2013 predictions for the ebook market. Interesting stuff here for indie writers and publishers. Mark's predictions are worth considering when making your publishing career plans for the coming year. Also, you'll find links for his previous predictions. They're worth reading too.

Tootle on over to   Smashwords: Mark Coker's 2013 Book Publishing Industry Predict...: It’s that time of year when book people make their predictions for the year ahead.  I bring you, my dear reader, my epic predictions for 2...

Another Panzerism

Ahhh! That's better!

 Panzer says:

Clean fur is next to Godliness.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Panzer, Fiona and the Pirate

A Panzerism

Panzer says:

Funny thing about naps, I can never remember taking one. I mean, Mom says I took one today, but I don't remember it. I must have slept through it.

My eyelids are so heavy.

Book Review: Black Coal

Panzer picked out today's ebook. He was looking around Smashwords and found Black Coal, by Stephanie Campbell. It won't take you long to figure out why he picked this ebook!

Kiwi, the black cat, is a secret ninja and Black Coal is his secret agent name. (Did you figure it out yet?)  There are two children in the family and they're getting ready to go trick or treating for Halloween. Naomi (the youngest) sneaks Kiwi into her trick or treat bag to go with her. While out trick or treating, Kiwi has to protect his family. And ... he does. He pulls a Panzer Attack!

Panzer gives Black Coal four paws up.

He gives it a family friendly G rating for everyone.

Available at Smashwords.

Panzer Did It. He's On Smashwords!

Panzer is doing the happy cat dance! He got his ebook up at Smashwords. He's an indie publisher. Now the whole world will know carpet snakes don't stand a chance when he's around.

You can read the ebook description and 20% of it here Cats and Crime. (We haven't set up an affiliate account yet, so you can just click through using this link.) The ebook is still pending vetting, which can take awhile. When it passes, it will be available in all the eRetailers Smashwords distributes to.

Some tweaks to the formatting and next up is Amazon.

For all of Panzer's friends, we'll be putting together a free PDF of the first two stories (one is really, really short) for download here.

My bad boy is so happy today! He's flying all over the Catosphere in the Panzermobile. So be careful, it's a jungle out there.

Coming Soon to a rE-tailer Near You

Panzer is doing the happy cat dance!

Cats and Crime is almost ready to be uploaded to Smashwords.

Stay tuned for updates!

Yet Another Panzerism

When you're traveling with Panzer in the Catosphere, there are two things you have to understand.

1) The second law of thermodynamics: for every positive action there is a negative reaction.

2) Panzer's first law of diminishing kitty litter: when you run out of kitty litter, you've got big problems.

A New Panzerism

Panzer says;

Note to self:

Remember, white paint does not taste like milk!

Yuk!

Panzer Says

Panzer on Spiritual Growth:

The path to enlightenment is filled with things that taste bad.

Smashwords: Amazon The Grinch Who Stole Christmas? Amazon Dou...

Panzer was over at Smashwords today and he found an interesting post. Everybody here knows we love Amazon and our Kindle, but the big guy on the block (Amazon) might be getting just a little overbearing with the competition this Christmas season. Amazon plans to add more money to the pot to get authors to leave other ebook sellers and join the exclusive Select program for the Christmas ebook buying season.

Panzer and I have heard stories from indie authors who've managed to have very successful promotions using the Select program. And, we've heard from other authors that their time in Select was a bust. So, I have no opinion about Select. But, I do think locking your book up with only Amazon during the Christmas buying season might be a mistake.

Spend some time exploring your options, then tootle on over to Smashwords: Amazon The Grinch Who Stole Christmas? Amazon Dou...: Will Amazon be the grinch who steals Christmas from thousands of indie authors this holiday season? Last year, a mere three weeks before...

Publish Direct to Kobo

Panzer is a happy kitty today! He parked the Panzermobile in the Catosphere at author Molly Greene's blog. She has a terrific post about indie publishing on Kobo.
 
I'll admit (as everybody knows), I'm a huge fan of Smashwords. But ... I have to admit, Greene has some serious Cons not to use Smashwords (meow, meow!) to distribute to Kobo.

Greene includes links to the Kobo guidelines as well as account setup instructions and upload instructions. She makes it look so easy Panzer might give it a try himself!

So ... if you want to explore uploading direct to Kobo, check out Molly Greene: Writer .

Book Review: The Faery Stone: The Cats of Merryweather Meadows

Panzer is doing the happy cat dance. He found a CAT ebook to have me read to him!

We've been reading The Faery Stone: The Cats of Merryweather Meadows by Maggie Gil.

The ebook has got quite a cast of cat characters. There's Nick the silver gray 13 year old head of farm security. There's Dusty the 3 year old foodie tabby and Queenie his calico sister. And finally, there's Patches the 9 year old tortoiseshell.

There's trouble at the farm. There are yellow butterflies everywhere ... and ... everyone knows that means there's something wrong in the Faerie realm. If there's trouble in the Faerie realm in the meadow, there's trouble at the farm.

And ... the pixie army is after farm owners Sam and Jeff's toddler son Cade. Panzer has been hiding his eyes and covering his ears! This is a scary book even for my bad boy!

Even so, Panzer gives the ebook four paws up.

The ebook is available from Amazon for the Kindle.

Thanksgiving

Panzer on Empathy:

You must open your heart to feel
As you must open your eyes to see.

It takes practice.

Usually, I just want to jump on anything that moves and rip it apart.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Karen Woodward: Amazon Ranks Authors In Terms Of Their Book Sales

Panzer parked the Panzermobile at Karen Woodward's blog today. Panzer loves stopping in at Karen's blog. She always has such interesting posts!

This post is about Amazon's Author Ranking system. Karen does a great job of explaining how the system works. It looks like Amazon is going to be pitting author against author now.

So ... it looks like Panzer and I better start writing faster ... so we can have more books on Amazon ... so we can rack up more sales ... so we can rank higher ... so we can write faster ... so we can ...  or ... so we can just forget about Author Ranking and go back to writing the best books we can however long it takes.

Tootle over to Karen Woodward: Amazon Ranks Authors In Terms Of Their Book Sales: Amazon's Top 100 Authors It used to be that only books were ranked against one another but now Amazon is doing it to authors. The quest...

Fictionwise is Now on Life Support – They’re Pulling the Plug in 3 Weeks’ Time

I don't feel good.

Panzer is still sick. So short post again today.

Fictionwise is shutting down their business so, if you bought ebooks from them and they're still there, you need to tootle on over and get the ebooks downloaded.

Read about it at Fictionwise is Now on Life Support – They’re Pulling the Plug in 3 Weeks’ Time

Facebook Pages vs Profiles

Panzer and I are still not feeling 100%, but we managed a short trip into the Catosphere today.

We parked the Panzermobile at author Nathan Bransford's blog. He has an informative post about whether as an author you should use Facebook's Pages option or Profiles option. He's got the pros and cons of each listed for you. You can study each and make your own decision about which is right for you.

Tootle on over to Author Nathan Bransford's Blog.

No More Excuses—Write That Novel

Short post today. Panzer and I have been sick for the last few days. We're starting to feel better today!

Panzer and I stopped in at The Editor's Blog. Panzer found a great post to get you working on your novel. You'll have no more excuses because they're all addressed and disposed of here.

Tootle over to  No More Excuses—Write That Novel  and, when you finish there, get to work on that novel.

Karen Woodward: What Is A Writer's Platform?

Panzer likes stopping in at Karen Woodward's blog every once in a while to see what she's up to.

Karen is writing a series about building your writer platform. This post centers on what your platform is made up of. It includes the usual, Facebook, Twitter, etc; but also includes audio and video. As you already know, Panzer plans to add audio and video to his platform. You'll also find some useful links included in this post.

So ... tootle on over to  Karen Woodward: What Is A Writer's Platform?: This is the first post in a series on the subject of creating a writing platform.  This is how I think of a writer's platform: A writ...

InkSpot: Murder, Mayhem, and... Romance???

Panzer parked the Panzermobile at the Inkspot blog today. Who could resist a post title like Murder, Mayhem, and...Romance???? Not us. Remember our friend Fiona L. Webber? (Hint, hint.)

Turns out poster Liz Lipperman started out as a romance author until one day her agent told her she was a mystery author. Liz took a look at her books and decided a little romance never hurt a good mystery. From then on her career as a mystery author took off. 

Read about cozy mystery author Liz Lipperman's story here InkSpot: Murder, Mayhem, and... Romance???: Romance in Mysteries By Liz Lipperman Since this is my first post, I'll introduce myself to those who don't yet know me. I am a retired ...

Aaron Patterson's Blog: The Art of Branding and Rebranding: Guest post by ...

Panzer and I stopped in at Aaron Patterson's blog The Worst Book Ever.

He has Cory Clubb as a guest this time. Clubb is posting about branding yourself. This is an information dense post. Panzer's favorite part is about using the covers of your ebook series as part of your brand. Clubb advocates using similar covers for each of the books in your series. In this way your readers will recognize your books by sight. Panzer says, "That makes total sense."

To see what other trick's Cory Clubb has for you, tootle on over to  Aaron Patterson's Blog: The Art of Branding and Rebranding: Guest post by ...: The Art of Branding and Rebranding. Finding Your Brand. Books last a very long time, now maybe forever with the i...

Smashwords: How to Sell Ebooks at the Apple iBookstore

Panzer and I parked the Panzermobile over at Smashwords to see what the latest news is about ebook distribution.

Smashwords' Mark Koker has some great tips about how to increase your sales at the Apple iBookstore.  A lot of the information is about romance ebooks because the iBookstore has been doing a romance promotion. However, you'll find all the information can be applied no matter what your genre.

Be sure to read all of the post. There are also links for downloading the Apple widget for your website or blog.

So, tootle on over to our good friends at Smashwords: How to Sell Ebooks at the Apple iBookstore: R.L. Mathewson tops Apple iBookstore charts for second day running The Apple iBookstore, which last week expanded its global reach to 50...

How To Add Subtitles To Your Book Trailer On YouTube - GalleyCat

Panzer and I told you a few days ago that we are working on a book trailer for Cats and Crime. So, we've been out scouting the Catosphere looking for tips on putting it together.

One of our favorite stops when we're looking for information is Galley CAT. And ... once again they delivered. Panzer found a post that explains how to add subtitles to YouTube book trailers.

So ... if you've been searching like we have, tootle over to  How To Add Subtitles To Your Book Trailer On YouTube - GalleyCat  and then get to work on your book trailer.

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Amazon Removes Reviews

Don't do it!

Panzer and I were traveling around the Catosphere and we parked the Panzermobile at Joe Konrath's blog.

Konrath's most recent blog post deals with the fallout from the news a few weeks ago about the Amazon authors who were using fake reviews by paying for good reviews of their ebooks, writing good reviews for their own ebooks and writing bad reviews for their "competitors" ebooks.

As a result of the situation with these few authors, Amazon has instituted new review policies. Because of these new policies a multitude of reviews have been removed from ebooks not even involved in the original situation. This has resulted in some ebooks even getting their rankings lowered because their "stars" have been lowered.

You can read Konrath's take on the situation at  A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Amazon Removes Reviews .

Panzer says, "Don't post fake reviews!"

The 2012 Petties: trophy and acceptance speech

Woo Hoo!

Woo Hoo! Panzer is doing the happy cat dance.

His friends at The Conscious CAT blog won the 2012 Petties Trophy.

Read all about it and see a photo of the trophy at  The 2012 Petties: trophy and acceptance speech

Smashwords: Barnes & Noble Opens U.K. Ebook Store Supported by...

Panzer stopped in at the Smashwords blog to see what's happening at our favorite global distributor.

Smashwords just announced that Barnes & Noble has finally opened their ebook store in the UK.  This will mean a whole new distribution channel for authors of Smashwords ebooks. Now, Nook users will have direct access to 114,000 Smashwords titles.

To find out what this wiil mean for your ebook sales in the UK, tootle over to  Smashwords: Barnes & Noble Opens U.K. Ebook Store Supported by...:

Free Teleseminar "Marketing Your Book on Amazon"

Free is good.

Panzer found you a free ticket to an informational teleseminar about marketing your ebook on Amazon.

The teleseminar is on November 8 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (United States). The teleseminar leader Shelley Hitz is an ebook author and marketing expert. Print out the information page at the login site so you don't forget.

Tootle over to  Welcome to the Event  to get information about the seminar.

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween from

Panzer

   

the Pirate

and Me!

Mystery Writing is Murder: Getting the Hang of the Business End of Things

Still looking for a costume.

My bad boy Panzer has absolutely no concept about the business side of writing.

Panzer can tell you an exciting story about his and Lori's latest adventure, but ask him how his audiobook sales are going and he'll give you the deer-in-the-headlights-look. So, when he found Elizabeth Craig's post about the business side of writing, he parked the Panzermobile at her Mystery Writing Is Murder blog and stopped for a visit.

Elizabeth has some interesting information about her experiences with her agent and the business side of her writing. You'll want to read her whole post as there are some great links at the end.

So tootle on over to  Mystery Writing is Murder: Getting the Hang of the Business End of Things: by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’m not going to say that all writers are a little foggy when it comes to the business side o...

Killer Characters: Cat, Costumes, and Trick or Treats

Still looking for a costume.

The Killer Characters blog is one of Panzer's favorite stops in the Catospere.  Some of the best characters from his favorite (e)books get interviewed there. But ... today's post is a little embarrassing for one of his cat friends.

Tootle over and see what happens when you let somebody else pick out your Halloween costume for you at  Killer Characters: Cat, Costumes, and Trick or Treats:   By: Beatrice Matthews From: The Cumberland Creek Mystery Series Author: Mollie Cox Bryan Book 1 Title: Scrapbook of Secrets ...

E-Books and Libraries: What the Big 6 Doesn't Get

Panzer's needs a costume

for Halloween

Panzer hasn't been over to Vincent Zandri's blog for awhile so he stopped in for a visit.

Zandri takes on Joe Konrath about the ebooks in libraries issue. Panzer and I totally agree with Zandri. We've been checking ebooks out of the library for two years. We've seen authors do "book gatherings" for their ebook fans at libraries using Skype.

So ... Panzer and I do think libraries get it.

Tootle over to  E-Books and Libraries: What the Big 6 Doesn't Get and see what you think.

Free Warren Murphy Novel Writing Course

I can't believe what I'm seeing!

It's time for the happy cat dance again!

Panzer was checking out Warren Murphy's site and discovered he's teaching a FREE novel writing course!

This is big news, because usually he charges 7 MILLION DOLLARS per week for his course! Just read all about it at his site.

For those of you who don't know who Warren Murphy is (where have you been hiding?), he writes books and movies. He's sold over 50 million copies of his books. And, he's won an Edgar Award.

Panzer has already started the first lesson and he says, "This is a course you really want to take."

So tootle on over to the Warren Murphy Writing Course and get started today.

Smashwords: Apple iBookstore Expands Global Reach of Smashword...

Panzer is doing the happy cat dance!

Smashwords is in the news again! Thanks to the Apple iBookstore Smashwords now has 18 new countries for your ebook distribution. Your international ebook sales are bound to increase.

Panzer says, "Right now is great time to get your ebook in the pipeline!"

Tootle over and read all the latest news about Apple and the Smashwords authors' sales stories at Smashwords: Apple iBookstore Expands Global Reach of Smashword...: This week Apple expanded the reach of the iBookstore to 18 new countries, bringing the total reach of the iBookstore to 50 countries.  O...

MAKE MINE MYSTERY: What’s a Blog Hop? Social Marketing 101 Series

Cats do not hop!

Okay, Panzer and I admit it. Neither of us had any idea what a blog hop was. So, when we saw the post about it in the Catoshere at Make Mine Mystery, we parked the Panzermobile to read about it.

Turns out it's a kind of social media marketing tool a lot like a blog tour only a little bit different. Instead of one author doing a blog tour, several get together, pick a topic and let the blog hop begin.

Tootle over to  MAKE MINE MYSTERY: What’s a Blog Hop? Social Marketing 101 Series: and then see if you and some of your fellow bloggers might be interested in a blog hop.

2012writersALIVE: Warren Bull and Heartland

Hmmm. I could do that.

Panzer found the 2012 Writers Alive blog. You know how my bad boy likes free things. Well this blog has free author interviews available as podcasts.
 
If you happen to be an author (hint, hint), at the top of the blog are the instructions to apply to be interviewed. So, if you're ready to hit the podcasting arena, this is the place to start. Podcasting makes a great addition to your author platform, too.

Panzer wants you to  tootle over to  2012writersALIVE: Warren Bull and Heartland: and listen to the interview with author Warren Bull.

What Is Your Brand?

Panzer and I went out into the Catoshere (read our October 19 post) today. We couldn't pass up Cheryl Bradshaw's A Place for Aspiring Writers of Fiction blog. We parked the Panzermobile to take a look around.

Cheryl has a great post about formatting your brand. It's her opinion that your name is your brand.

She has several book covers as examples of how authors have used their names as their brand. There are covers with different fonts and font sizes for book titles and the author's name. According to Cheryl your name should be the same size or larger than the title.

So tootle on over to A Place For Aspiring Writers Of Fiction and learn about using your name as your brand.

A Surprise For You: The Panzermobile

Panzer and I are always posting about the Catosphere and the Panzermobile so we thought you'd like to see it first hand. This will be part of Panzer's book trailer for the ebook Cats and Crime.

The artwork was done by Jennifer Barnhouse the graphic designer who also does my book covers. Jennifer is an expert mind reader who takes my ideas and turns them into reality. Enjoy the ride!

Artwork by Jennifer Barnhouse

Faeries, Dragons, and Spaceships: Serious about series- how to keep things real

I admit it. I love writer Marie Andreas' blog. Who wouldn't with a name like Faeries, DRAGONS, and Spaceships? So, I convinced my bad boy to stop the Panzermobile there.

And ... I found an informative post about why readers love series.

Panzer and I love series, too!

You know, we've got Panzer's series and he loves telling all of you about his adventures with Lori.

And we've got the Detective Matt Stockley series. Just try to keep Matt quiet when he solves a murder.

So ... how could we not love series?

Tootle over to 
Faeries, Dragons, and Spaceships: Serious about series- how to keep things real: and see if you like reading series for the same reasons we like writing them.

Free Kindle Ebooks For Writers

Free! Free Ebooks!

Panzer was out looking around the Catoshere today and guess what he found at Lori Devoti's  How To Write Shop blog?

He found ... some links to free ebooks for writers.You know what Panzer says, "Free is always good!"

Tootle over to Five Free Ebooks For Writers and check out the ebooks.

You can find other free ebooks Panzer has found at his other blog post(s) at other free ebook sites.

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Whenever visiting unknown sites, read the instructions carefully (make sure it's still free!), have your virus scanner on and your firewall up.

Oh, yeah. Panzer will be accepting your Thank you gifts in the form of kitty treats!

How To Be A Writer

201 tips. It's been a long day!

We parked the Panzermobile at Write To Done blog today.

Panzer loves the post How to Be a Writer: 201 Compelling Tips. The post is divided into sections like, "How to Develop a Successful Mindset," "How to Develop the Craft of Writing" and Panzer's favorite, "How to Establish Good Writing Habits." There are seven sections for a total of 201 tips to turn you into a writer.

So, if you're serious about wanting to be a writer, Panzer says check out How to Be a Writer.

Book Review: 99 Reasons To Hate Cats

Today's book review is of 99 Reasons To Hate Cats by Tom Briscoe. Okay ... Okay! Before you come after me, it's not what you think. First, Panzer picked this ebook not me!

Second, it's an ebook of 99 reasons to hate cats with a cartoon to go with each reason.

They're reasons like:

Reason 17: Women think cats are people. (Panzer says, "Well, we are. It just proves women are smarter than men.")

and

Reason 19: Thinking every can is full of tuna. (Panzer says, "Well, of course it is.")

You get the idea? Everybody here will read this ebook and say, "Well, of course that's true. What is your problem with cats?"

Panzer gives the ebook four paws up.

He gives it a G rating for everyone.

The ebook is available at Amazon for the Kindle.

Finding Bliss: How to Write Great Sales Copy for Your Ebook

Today we visited Laura Howard's Finding Bliss blog and Panzer is doing the happy cat dance.

I don't know about you, but Panzer has been having a hard time writing the sales page for his ebook. So, when he found a guest post by Ali Luke about writing sales copy, he parked the Panzermobile so he could read the post.

Ali covers what you need to know to write sparkling promotional sales copy for your ebook. Her suggestions cover reading other authors' sales copy for inspiration, spotlighting the benefits of your ebook and lots of other information an inquiring cat needs to know about writing sales copy.

Panzer says for help writing your sales copy tootle on over to  Finding Bliss: How to Write Great Sales Copy for Your Ebook:

The New World of Publishing: Promotion

Panzer stopped in at Dean Wesley Smith's blog to see what he's up to now.

 Panzer likes Smith because he has such an in your face attitude; but only when you need it.

This post is about book promotion. Smith's got the Dos, the Don'ts and the Are You Crazys of promotions. You may not agree with Smith on everything. But ...  like I said, Panzer likes him.

Tootle over to The New World of Publishing: Promotion and get your book promotion ideas in order.

Criminal Minds: Social Media Will Not Sell Your Book

Twitter? Ha!

Panzer is so unhappy!

Over at Criminal Minds Hilary Davidson says, "Social media won't sell your book!"

Oh, no! Panzer can't believe it!

Facebook won't do it? Pinterest won't do it? Twitter won't do it? (Well, that one doesn't surprise any self-respecting cat!) None of the others either?

Hilary, say it isn't so!

Panzer says tootle on over to Criminal Minds: Social Media Will Not Sell Your Book: and see if you agree with Hilary.