Changes at ACX and Audible

This doesn't sound good.

Panzer found some important news in the Catosphere today.

If you have an audio book you produced and are selling through ACX or you plan to do one, this important announcement is for you. Whether you use ACX for exclusive distribution through Amazon, Audible and iTunes or not there will be changes to your agreement. ACX plans to change their royalty payment structure effective March 12, 2014. According to their announcement, they are lowering the royalty payments, but increasing their so-called "Bounty Payment" for new members who buy an author's audio book as their first purchase.

To read the entire announcement, tootle over to Important Announcement

Barnes and Noble's New Nook Strategy?

Make up your mind!

You all know Panzer has been following the news about the Nook and the Barnes and Noble Conditional Offer. Well, my bad boy was out cruising the Catosphere and found more news over at Publishers' Weekly about Barnes and Noble's plans for the Nook.

According to the latest, Nook isn't dead yet. It's on life-support. Yes, cuts have been made in the Nook department. Yes, more cuts will be made. But ... there may be a new color Nook on the horizon. That's may be.

Panzer says, "Let's wait and see what's in the news about Nook and Barnes and Noble next week."

If you want to read the latest Nook news, tootle over to Nook Strategy

Crime Fighter Steig Larsson

Who did it?

Panzer found an interesting post at The Guardian about Stieg Larsson's investigation into a murder. You all know my bad boy likes investigating crimes, so he sat right down and read the post.

Turns out author Larsson had gathered extensive information (15 boxes!) about the murder of Swedish P.M. Olof Palme. Reports say Larsson spent nearly a year gathering information. Larsson did come up with a suspect and passed the name on to police. According to the post police did interview Larsson's suspect but did not (and do not) consider him a person of interest. The murder was committed in 1986 and still remains a mystery today.

If you're interested in reading about Larsson's investigation, tootle over to Stieg Larsson

Cures for Videophobia

Afraid? I'm not afraid!

Yesterday, Panzer had Sophie Lizard's post about getting your video blogging done.

Today, he's got a post by Lou Bortone at The Future of Ink blog. Lou's post addresses the fears we all have about appearing in a video. The post has five steps to help you overcome those fears.

If your fears are holding you back from making a video and you want to overcome them, tootle over to Cures for Videophobia

Writers on Video: How to Kick Out Your Stage Fright and Make the Most of Multimedia by Sophie Lizard

Me? On camera?

Panzer has been looking into video blogging and podcasting. He took a trip out into the Catosphere to see what he could learn. He stopped in at the Freelance Writers Academy and found just what he was looking for.

The post by Sophie Lizard addresses the fears and procrastinations to get my bad boy up on YouTube in no time.

Panzer says, "Tomorrow we'll have another post for you about video blogging and podcasting."

If you're looking for a no nonsense get out there and do it post, tootle over to Writers on Video: How to Kick Out Your Stage Fright and Make the Most of Multimedia by Sophie Lizard

New Panzerism

I'm a clever-boy.

Panzer on maturing  gracefully:

When I was young, kitten age,
I would chase shadows
for whole minutes at a time.
And mom-mom would watch
amused and laugh.
Now,
... well ...
she's pretty old,
but,
she's still amused by my clever-boy antics.

Barnes & Noble Receives Conditional Offer

Which will they do?

This just in from The Passive Voice blog: G Asset Management wants to buy 51 percent of Barnes and Noble ... or ... if B&N spins off Nook, they'll buy 51 percent of Nook.

Panzer says, "Which do you think it'll be? Sounds like they just want Nook to me."

My bad boy told you it was coming in his post Nooks Goose Cooked?

To read about it at The Passive Voice, tootle over to Barnes & Noble Receives Conditional Offer

A “Scandalous” Interview with H.M. Ward

4 million?

Panzer found an interview with bestselling N.A. author H.M. Ward at the Indie Reader.

What's N.A.? New Adult. It's new genre.

Ward is the author of Scandalous and The Arrangement series. She has sold a total of 4 million books. Yes, you read that right, 4 million books.

Want to know her marketing secrets?

To find out, tootle over to A “Scandalous” Interview with H.M. Ward

Hugh Howey and the Indie Revolt

Can't a cat get some sleep?

Panzer got pulled of out his nap by CATerwauling in the Catosphere this morning. My bad boy gets really irritable if he doesn't get his sleep!

So ... he went out in the Panzermobile to see what was going on this time.

It turns out the Ebook Earnings Report post by Hugh Howey has been causing big discussions (arguments) out in the Catosphere. Publishers' Weekly got into it by having Mark Coker of Smashwords write a post for them.

Panzer says, "Mark has a very common sense approach to all the hoopla. It's well worth the read, but v-e-r-y l-o-n-g."

If you want to read Mark Coker's take on Indie and Traditional Publishing, tootle over to Indie vs. Traditional.

New Panzerism

If only you knew.

Ten things your cat would say if you could understand:

10) This cat food is lame! I want something that squirms when I put it in my mouth.

9) This isn't a broken vase. It's just been molecularly rearranged.

8) No! You chase the mouse-mouse.

7) You get the pot of gold, I get the leprechaun.

6) Diamond ring? That shiny thing? In my litter box? Never saw it.

5) I'm not fat! I'm insulated.

4) There is no such thing as a bad kitty. Just judgmental humans.

3) Do I know what happened to the parakeet? No.

2) That was your toothbrush? Oh, I thought it was a caterpillar.

1) The one thing humans do understand when cats speak: Ack! Ack! Ack! Fur ball!

Keeping a Cozy Series Moving

A murder?

Today, Panzer was over at Terry Odell's blog Terry's Place. He found a post from November 19, 2013, by Elaine Orr about cozy series writing.


Panzer's adventures with Lori Stockley aren't strictly cozies. A cozy has a murder, but it's a clean murder. There's no blood or gore in the story. Panzer's stories involve crimes other than murder, but they are all clean crimes. There's no blood or gore in his stories either.

So ... he was out in the Catosphere looking for some help keeping cozies that are series moving along.

Elaine Orr writes real cozies with a clean murder in each book. She deals with pacing your novel, when the murder happens, the setting, and all the things that make up a cozy.

To read the post, tootle over to Keeping a Cozy Series Moving

Isabel Allende on Crime Fiction

She called us a Joke!

Panzer was out in the Catosphere and there was the loudest CATerwauling he's heard in a long time! When he got it tracked down, he found out that according to an article in The Guardian author Isabel Allende was the subject of all the trouble.

What did Allende do to cause all the fuss? She said she wrote a crime novel as a JOKE! Of course, mystery writers and readers everywhere are outraged.

Panzer says, "If you don't like the genre, don't write in it. Then you won't have to insult the genre and it's readers."

To read The Guardian article, tootle over to Allende on Crime Fiction.

Nook’s Goose Cooked?

Gone. Gone. Gone

Panzer told you in his Smashwords Farewell Sony Reader Store post a few days ago that Sony is closing their ereader stores. He just found some more disturbing news in the Catosphere. Barnes and Noble has gotten rid of the engineering department. This is the department responsible for the Nook.

Panzer's question now is, "Will the Nook follow the Sony?"

If you want to read the full announcement, tootle over to Nook’s Goose Cooked?

A Panzerism

Do-do is what cats do.

Panzer on the context of time and place:

Where you do things matters as much
as what you do.

So be careful.

You just can't undo do-do.

(If you don't understand,
ask The Pirate, he'll show
you his shoe and explain it.)

Ebook Earnings Report

Panzer was out in the Catosphere following a trail of cheering authors. He found the source of all the excitement at author Hugh Howey's post at Author Earnings.

Hugh spent an enormous amount of time putting together a report that documents authors' earnings from ebooks sales, the number of sales, the percentage of indie sales compared to traditional sales and much more.

If you doubt whether or not you should get into indie publishing, you need to read this report. You'll see that indie publishing is a viable way to publish and market your ebook. The report also demonstrates you can make money selling your ebook. Panzer wants you to know this is a very long report and graphs and numbers heavy.

If you want to make up your own mind about indie publishing, tootle over and read The Report.

Creating Suspense in Your Stories

Creaking doors?

Today Panzer was out in the Catosphere and stopped in at Venture Galleries blog. He's been searching for help with editing the novel he wrote for NaNoWriMo. While it's not strictly about editing, he found a post there by Rayne Hall about how to put suspense in your stories. My bad boy's novel does need a little infusion of suspense so he spent some time studying Rayne's post.

If you need help putting suspense in your work, tootle over to Creating Suspense in Your Stories

How to Run a Rafflecopter Giveaway

Rafflecopter?

Panzer was out looking for ways to set up an ebook giveaway. Over at The Future of Ink he found a post by Shelley Hitz that answers all his questions.

Shelley starts out explaining all the reasons to give away your ebook. Things like getting exposure, getting more reviews and getting more sales. She quickly moves on to instructions for setting up Rafflecopter. By the time you reach the end of the post you're ready to have your own ebook giveaway!

If you're interested in this type of ebook promotion, tootle over to How To Run A Rafflecopter Giveaway

Smashwords: Farewell Sony Reader Store

So that's why.

Panzer found this announcement from yesterday at the Smashwords blog. In the post Mark Coker explains why Sony is leaving the ebook market. He includes information for those who bought their ebooks at the Sony store and for Smashwords authors (like Panzer and me) whose ebooks were sold there.

I've always wondered why our sales were so low at the Sony store, when they were so good everywhere else. Mark's post explains it all.

To read about Sony's closure, tootle over to Smashwords: Farewell Sony Reader Store: Goodbye to our friends at the Sony Reader Store. Sony today announced the imminent closure of its Sony Reader Store in the US and Cana...

Jeff Goins Free Ebook

FREE!

Everybody knows how much Panzer loves FREE stuff.

Well, my bad boy was out in the Catosphere today and found a site called NoiseTrade Books. They have FREE ebooks, FREE chapters, all kinds of FREE stuff.

He found Jeff Goins ebook You Are A Writer is listed there for FREE. (You can leave a "tip" for the author if you want, but it's not required to download the ebook.) When you get to the site, the download button for the ebook is on the LEFT side. Do not attempt to download the ebook using the download button on the right. That is NOT for the ebook. You will get an email with your download instructions.

If you want Jeff Goins ebook, tootle over to You are a writer.

Library Thing Data Breach

Noooo!

Panzer is not happy!

Panzer and I have been considering doing a Library Thing promotion. Today, at The Paperback Writer blog he read about a data breach at Library Thing. It's true the breach was back in 2011, but it still makes us nervous.

If you're a member there or want the details of the data breach, tootle over to Library Thing Data Breach

Freelancers are totally scrxxed: What today’s cultural treadmill means for writers

Don't say that in front of Mom!

Panzer took a trip into the Catosphere looking for something interesting to bring home for you today.

Now Panzer might be a bad boy, but he doesn't use bad words. Today's site doesn't have a really bad word, but it does have a word Panzer doesn't use around ladies or children. So ... if you are a lady or a child, you might not want to go to today's site!

My bad boy found a semi-rant by Noah Berlatsky over at Salon about the freelance writing life. It is true, it comes as a shock to many writers to realize that as a freelancer your next meal, the rent, the electric bill - literally everything in your life - depends on the ability to turn out more words to sell each day. It can at times seem overwhelming and that's why many freelancers give up and get a regular job.

If you're ready to read the real facts about being a freelancer, tootle over to Freelancers are totally scrxxed: What today’s cultural treadmill means for writers

Free Fiction Monday: Second Fiddle

FREE! FREE! FREE!

Panzer checked out author Kristine Kathryn Rusch's blog for her FREE Fiction Monday.

She's got a Detective Ned Zaleski story FREE for this week only. Zaleski is matching wits with a time-traveling Sherlock Holmes.

If you want to read the story while it's FREE, tootle over to Free Fiction Monday: Second Fiddle