Starting Your Own Publishing Business

We'll start our own business.

Panzer was over at the e-bookbuilders blog today. He found an interesting post about starting your own publishing business. On March 20 my bad boy told you about a post by Spencer Madsen at The Toast blog about starting your own small press. Today's new post is an excellent companion to the first one.

The e-bookbuilders post has links for articles about setting up your business, writing a business plan, picking a name, and how to setup your business in the U.S. and Canada. There's also information on book distribution, publicity, and more.

If you're looking for in depth information to set up a publishing business, tootle over to A Publishing Business

House of Thrones (Game of Thrones meets House of Cards Parody) | #Toasty...

Panzer hopes you like this video, Game of Thrones meets House of Cards. My bad boy is laughing so hard he fell off the computer desk.

Kobo's Challenge Part 2

Makes sense to me.

Panzer was out at Publisher's Weekly today.

My bad boy found a follow-up post about Kobo's challenge to the Canadian ebook pricing agreement. He told you about the challenge a few days ago.

The post at PW explains the judge's reasoning behind his suspension of the agreement.

If you're interested in reading Kobo's arguments and the judge's reasons for suspending the agreement, tootle over to Canadian Judge

George R.R. Martin Posts Free Chapter

Patience is not a cat virtue.

Panzer was out in the Catosphere today.

You all know how much my bad boy loves FREE stuff.

Well ... he found Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has posted a FREE chapter from Winds of Winter.

Panzer says, "The site is overwhelmed right now. You'll need a lot of patience. It took me ten minutes to log on!"

If you want to read the chapter, tootle over to Excerpt

Diesel eBooks Closing

Is Amazon winning?

Panzer was over at Publisher's Weekly today and found a disturbing post.

PW reports that Diesel eBooks Store is closing its virtual doors on March 31. All customers are being notified to download their ebooks from their libraries by then.

Panzer say, "I'm sorry to see another store close, so soon after the Sony closures. Maybe Amazon is winning."

The post at PW has a link to the original Diesel announcement.

If you want to read PW's post, tootle over to Diesel eBooks

20 Inspiring Pinterest Boards for Writers

Pinterest?

Okay, Panzer admits it. He's been looking at getting a Pinterest account.

My bad boy knows there are other authors who have accounts. They put up photos of the locations in their books, the characters in their books and the plots in their books. It seems like readers like to know about authors and their interests.

But ... he hasn't been sure whether he wanted an account or not. So, when he found this post at The Write Life blog he read every word of it. These are Pinterest boards that are not just inspiring for writers, but also to see how others put their boards together.

If you're thinking about setting up a Pinterest account, tootle over to 20 Inspiring Pinterest Boards for Writers

Jill Kemerer: Building an Author Platform Wore Me Out

I need a rest.

As soon as Panzer read this post at Jill Kemerer's blog, he knew he wasn't the only one drowning under the pressure of building his platform. He thought you might need some inspiration for your author platform building too. There are lots of suggestions for getting "out of your comfort zone" and expanding your platform.

Panzer says, "The main take-away point in the post for me is do one thing each day. I can handle that."

If you want to learn how to expand your author profile, tootle over to Jill Kemerer: Building an Author Platform Wore Me Out: Four score and seven years... Wait. How long have I been building that imaginary plywood stage called an author platform? A long, long t...

Kobo Challenge to E-book Ruling

Kobo vs. Amazon?

When Panzer learned there was a post about Kobo at the Financial Post blog, he headed the Panzermobile over there.

My bad boy discovered Kobo has filed a challenge to the Canadian Competition Bureau's agreement with four ebook publishers to allow discounting on ebooks. Kobo points out that since a similar agreement was reached in the U.S., Sony has left the market and Barnes and Noble is losing money. Apparently, the only company flourishing under the U.S. agreement is Amazon. Kobo feels that will also be the outcome in Canada, and hence Kobo's challenge. The Competition Tribunal has agreed to issue a stay to implementation of the agreement and to allow Kobo to present its arguments.

If you want to read the post, tootle over to Kobo Challenge

Starting Your Own Small Press

Do you still want to do it?

Panzer brought home this post by Spencer Madsen at The Toast blog.

Madsen tells you the good, the wrong, and the just plain ugly things he did starting his small press.

Do you always want to go with the cheapest printer? How many copies of an author's books should you order? What price should you charge to make a profit? Madsen answers these questions and a lot more.

Panzer says, "By the time you get to the end of Madsen's post, you'll have learned everything you need to know to start your own small press."

Warning: this is a very long post, so bring a huge cup of tea with you.

To learn about starting your small press, tootle over to A Small Press

Chuck Wendig Talks Amazon

Say it isn't so!

Panzer stopped in at Chuck Wendig's terribleminds blog.

Panzer doesn't go there very often because Wendig uses bad words and that makes my bad boy's ears hurt when I read the posts to him.

But today he wanted to know what Wendig had to say about Amazon.

And ... what Wendig said was this:

Amazon is NOT your friend.

Wendig argues Amazon is so large that it can do whatever it wants to authors. The big thing it can do to you is cut your royalties any time it wants.

And ... there's nothing you can do about it if all your sales are through Amazon.

To read what Wendig says about Amazon, tootle over to Diversify Your Publishing

29 Ways To Stay Creative Video Infograhic

Panzer found this video infographic 29 Ways To Stay Creative from To-Fu at GalleyCAT.

Click below to watch the video.

Are You For or Against the Oxford Comma? - GalleyCat

It's just a squiggle.

Panzer found a grammar post over at GalleyCAT.

Now my bad boy doesn't do too much of his own writing. Writing his stories down is one of the reasons he keeps me around. After all, since cat's don't have thumbs it's really hard to hold a pencil and keyboarding is impossible. So, the post he found was for me.

It's a video about the proper use of the Oxford comma. I'm actually glad Panzer found the post because I didn't know there was any kind of dispute about its use.

To watch the video, tootle over to Are You For or Against the Oxford Comma? - GalleyCat

You Have Permission To Write

I need time for myself!

Panzer was over at Jordan McCollum's blog today. He found McCollum's first ever vlog. (That's a video blog post.)

The post addresses the issue of giving ourselves permission to have time of our own to write. It stresses, we don't need to feel guilty about taking the time. In fact, writing will make us a happier person. The video is short, only two and a half minutes long.

If you're interested, tootle over to Permission to Write

25 Tumblrs for Readers

But ... But ... I'm on Tumblr, too.

Panzer stopped in at Mashable today.

He found a post about the 25 best Tumblr blogs for book readers. Although the post says its for readers, my bad boy found lots of information for writers too. Besides authors' Tumblrs, there are publishers', bookstores' and reviewers' Tumblrs.

But ... Panzer isn't doing the Happy Cat Dance. Our Tumblr blog isn't listed with the author Tumblrs. Oh, well.

If you're interested in seeing what's going on at Tumblr, tootle over to Tumblrs For Readers

Microsoft Consumer Reader Coming?

What is Microsoft Consumer Reader?

Panzer was out looking for updates on Barnes and Noble's Nook today. Instead he found a post at Publishers Weekly about Barnes and Noble and Microsoft's contract changes. One of the changes will release Barnes and Noble from the need to develop Nook Windows apps.  And ... one ... of the changes will allow Microsoft to sell Nook content on their Consumer Reader.

Panzer says, "Now the big question is: What is the Microsoft Consumer Reader? An app? An e-reader? What?"

To read the full post, tootle over to Microsoft Consumer Reader?

When the police won't listen

No police?

Our bad boy was out in the Catosphere and stopped in at mystery author Margot Kinberg's blog.

He found a post about using police inaction/inattentention to the crime to get your plot moving. You can do this by letting your main character become involved in the investigation when the police don't follow-up. The article has several examples showing how mystery authors have effectively used this device over the years.

If you're interested in using this devise, read the post here Listen to me

The Great Tumblr Book Search Contest

Tumblr?

Panzer was out in the Catosphere today searching for publishing opportunities.

My bad boy found a contest for those of you who have Tumblr blog accounts. Would your blog work as a humorous book? Or, you can set up a new Tumblr blog and explain why your idea would make a humorous book. If either of these apply to you, Chronicle Books and Tumblr are sponsoring their second book contest.

If you want more information, tootle over to Tumblr Book Contest

3 Free Apps for Making an Impressive Book Trailer

3 FREE!

Panzer was over at The Write Life blog today.

My bad boy is doing the Happy Cat Dance! He found a post by Henry Herz about three FREE applications you can use to make your own book trailer. There are step-by-step instructions on how to use Animoto, Prezi and PhotoShow.

If you're looking for FREE apps to try out for your book trailer, tootle over to 3 Free Apps for Making an Impressive Book Trailer

56 Ways to Market on Pinterest

Pinterest Marketing?

Two days ago Panzer told you he was researching Pinterest. My bad boy was out in the Catosphere today looking for more information and he found a post at Copyblogger.

The beginning of the post has all kinds of information about Pinterest. That section is followed by a section that includes 56 ways to use Pinterest for marketing. Now, Panzer wasn't thinking of Pinterest as a place to market his ebook. He was thinking of pinning photos from his kittenhood and of his brothers and sisters.  But ... he's not one to let an opportunity get by him and a lot of the steps included in this post will work for marketing his ebooks (and yours).

If you're interested in learning what Pinterest can do for your ebook marketing, tootle over toPinterest Marketing

Barnes and Noble's Nook Cuts

74 %!

Panzer was over at Publishers' Weekly today and found another chapter in the Barnes and Noble Nook story. (My bad boy has been following this story for several weeks.)

Turns out Barnes and Noble made a 74% cut in their Nook investment. That is a huge cut.

Also turns out B and N didn't meet the terms of their agreement with Microsoft on ebook sales in 10 international markets. This may put some of the Microsoft funding in jeopardy.

If you're following the Nook story, tootle over to Barnes and Noble

Successful Boring Businesses On Pinterest

Pinterest? What's that?

Panzer has been thinking about getting a Pinterest account, so he's been out in the Catosphere doing research.

Today, my bad boy stopped in at Beth Hayden's blog. He found a post there about being successful on Pinterest. The post begins with an explanation of what Pinterest is and isn't. The post then moves on to five steps that will help you be successful on the big P.

If you've been thinking about using Pinterest or are just curious about it, tootle over to Boring Businesses On Pinterest

New Panzerism

Me-OW, OW, OW!

Panzer says:

Today I went to the vet to get my annual vaccinations.

I'd like him better, if he handed out catnip-flavored lollipops to whoever has been a big,
brave kitty.

Using Your Amazon Author Profile Page

I'll Like you, if you Like me.

Panzer took a short trip into the Catosphere and found an interesting post at Sandy Appleyard's site.

The post explains how to use your Amazon Author Profile Page for marketing and getting Likes to increase your ranking with Amazon. This is the first time Panzer had ever heard about Amazon's Likes system. He's definitely going to make some changes to our Profile Page to increase his Likes!

There's also information on making your profile more interesting using Sandy's own page as an example. There's also instructions on how to get help adding photos and other elements to your profile.

If you're interested in learning how to make changes to your profile page to help your marketing plans, tootle over to Authors Amazon Author Profile Page

Free Ebook For Read An E-book Week

It's Free, Free, Free!

In Honor of Read An E-Book Week  
You can get Fiona L. Webber's  Love's Decisions FREE March 2 thru 8. (Enter Code RW100 at check out.)
Of course you can still get her Under New Management which is always FREE.

Use Internet Radio For Your Marketing

Internet Radio?

Panzer was over at The Future of Ink blog today. He found a post about how to use Blog Talk Radio as a marketing tool.

Blog Talk Radio is similar to iTunes. You can do your own radio show (podcast) or your can be a guest on someone else's show (podcast).

The post my bad boy found contains the instructions on how to be a guest on someone else's show. If you'll only be "appearing" once as someone's guest, you don't have to worry about a schedule, script and guests each week yourself.

If you want to check out what others are doing on the radio, tootle over to Blog Talk Radio

If you want to check out marketing on Blog Talk Radio, tootle over to Internet Radio