Selling In The Google Play Store

Droid and tablet sales?

Okay, Panzer admits it. He had never heard of the Google Play Store. That is until he found a post by R.J. Crayton at the Indies Unlimited site about uploading your ebook to the Google Play Store.

So, what is the Google Play Store? It's a store you can upload your ebook to in either the PDF or ePub format for sale to primarily droid and tablet users. According to Ms. Crayton's post one of the important things an author needs to be aware of is the fact Google discounts the price of your ebook. Of course, this can cause problems with the Amazon price match feature. Fortunately, the post contains a link to a list of prices and the discounts, so you can determine what to price your ebook at.

If you follow the link "a tutorial tomorrow" at the bottom of the post, you'll be taken to a second post which shows screenshots and more instructions for setting up an account at the Google Play Store. According to the second post, it's not easy!

Panzer says, "Hmmm. Access to droid and tablet users for ebook sales? That might be worth all the questions and trouble for authors using the site."

If you want to check out the information on the Google Play Store, tootle over to Google Play Store

Join Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

In case you didn't know, Panzer is a big Harry Potter fan. We bet you are too.

So ... would you like to join the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?

Well ... the school is accepting students. You can sign up and get an Acceptance Letter to the school. You can see from the screen shot above, Panzer has already been accepted.

Panzer says, "Be sure to read the FAQs ... and ... those download buttons there are for software ads, so be careful."

So ... grab your books and prepare to make new friends at Hogwart's. (Hint: This is a fan site ... NOT ... J.K. Rowling's official site.)

If you're ready to join Panzer and go to school, tootle over to Hogwarts

(Thanks to Lynn Viehl for the link to Hogwarts.)

Anne R. Allen's Blog: How to Make the Bestseller Lists: Why Categories a...

Panzer stopped in at his friend Anne R. Allen's Blog. Your intrepid traveler of the Catosphere found a guest post there by Ruth Harris.

Ruth Harris is posting about how to use categories and keywords to get your ebook into the bestseller lists. She explains how to choose the correct categories to increase your ebook's exposure. She also explains how to investigate the keywords that will work best in your niche. You do need to understand, the categories and keywords will get you into the Top 100 for your niche, but that is not a guarantee of the Top 100 in the entire Kindle Store.

My bad boy can tell you how important those category and keyword choices are. His first ebook Cats and Crime has been in the Amazon Top 100 for one, two or three of his three niche categories at least twenty-five days each month since the ebook was uploaded. The screen print above shows his April 24 standing in two of the Top 100 Category Lists.

So, if you're interested in joining the bestseller lists, tootle over to Anne R. Allen's Blog: How to Make the Bestseller Lists: Why Categories a...:

Reading Around the World: INFOGRAPHIC - GalleyCat

Reading around the world.

Panzer was over at GalleyCAT today to see what was new there.

He found an infographic about reading habits around the world.  Want to know who finishes the most books? How about who reads the fastest? There's all kinds of interesting facts included.

To learn about reading habits from around the world, tootle over to Reading Around the World: INFOGRAPHIC - GalleyCat

Kobo Is Downsizing

Hmmm. Who will be left?

Panzer stopped in at The Star's site to read a post by Kim Nursall about Kobo.

My bad boy discovered Kobo laid off 63 people as part of its "organizational changes." According to the post, Kobo has 400 employees worldwide, so laying off 63 is a pretty big loss. Makes you wonder if Kobo is following Barnes and Noble's Nook example with employee cuts.

Panzer told you Sony is gone. He told you Barnes and Noble has cut whole Nook divisions and now Kobo is cutting employees.

Panzer says, "I think Amazon Kindle is winning. How about you?"

If you want to read about the Kobo downsizing, tootle over to Kobo

Why Dogs R Dumb

He he he!

Panzer had to go to the cat doctor today so we're late posting.

We hope you enjoy Cranky Cat's explanation about the intellectual deficiencies of dogs.

Please tootle over to  Why Dogs R Dumb

10 Ways To Up Your Word Count

Easy is as easy does.

Panzer was over at Fantasy Faction today. You know my bad boy is still looking for ways to increase his writing output.

He found a post there from last month with 10 easy ways to increase your word count each day. The ways include getting up early, setting your phone to voice mail, having a daily target, jumping from project to project, taking breaks, and five more.

Panzer says, "Looks easy to me."

If you want help with increasing your writing output, tootle over to 10 Ways To Up Your Word Count

Write Fast With Sean Platt

A book a week? Oh, my paws hurt!

Today, Panzer went out in the Catosphere looking for some help with his writing. He stopped in at The Self-Publishing Podcast blog. Our bad boy cat explorer found a post there by Sean Platt about how to write fast.

Platt says he and his co-writer David Wright spent a year writing one book a week! Now, that's writing fast. Platt says he uses a three step program.

Panzer says, "Just three steps to get those words flowing and write a book a week? Tell me more."

If you want to learn more, grab a big cup of tea because this is a long post, and tootle over to  Write Fast

Stephen King vs Waterstone Founder

Stephen King said it, so I believe it!

Panzer was looking around the Catosphere today. He stopped in at the BestsellerLabs blog and found a post by Jonathan Gunson featuring an interview with Stephen King!

Now, you have to understand, one of my bad boy's all-time favorite authors is Stephen King. Nobody can keep us up late at night reading like Stephen King. So ... my bad boy cat extraordinaire parked the Panzermobile to find out what Mr. King had to say.

Panzer posted here last week about Tim Waterstone's prediction that ebooks were on the decline. The post at Bestsellerlabs is an examination about whether Stephen King believes the prediction is true or not. There is a two and a half minute interview with Mr. King about his views on books, book stores, ebooks, and writing.

Panzer says, "When you get to the blog, ignore the first screen shot of Mr. King. That's not a working interview. Continue down the page to the second screen shot and click that one for the interview."

If you want to know what Stephen King believes about the future of books and ebooks, tootle over to Stephen King

Revising Your Novel : 10 Steps for Analyzing Plot

Cut. Cut. Cut.

Panzer has been searching the Catosphere for help revising his new project. 

Looking for inspiration, he stopped the Panzermobile over at the Beyond the Margins blog. He found just what he was looking for there.  A post by Laura Harrington titled Revising Your Novel: 10 Steps for Analyzing Plot.

The ten steps are pretty simple. Cut. Compress. Cut. And ... Cut Some More.

If you want to know one way to revise your novel, tootle over to Revising Your Novel : 10 Steps for Analyzing Plot

The Education of a Pulp Writer: Free ebooks!

FREE and FREE!

Panzer was out in the Catosphere today.

My bad boy found FREE ebooks over at David Cranmer's blog! Cranmer has two of his short story collections FREE for the next few days. They are the mystery short story collection The Education of a Pulp Writer by David Cranmer and the western short story collection Adventures of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles by Edward A. Grainger (his pen name). Be sure to read the descriptions at Amazon. These may not be for everyone.

Cranmer doesn't specify how long he's going to have the books FREE so, if you want one or both, you should hurry over now and download them.

To get your FREE ebooks, tootle over to The Education of a Pulp Writer: Free ebooks!:

MAKE MINE MYSTERY: The Quicksand on Your Desk

Help! It's got me!

Panzer checked in at the Make Mine Mystery blog. Your intrepid feline traveler found Janis Patterson's post there very enlightening.

My bad boy never knew about the quicksand on our desk. And ... he didn't know ... that's why we've been having such a hard time finishing the rewrite on our new project.

Janis says if we're not careful, we'll all be sucked right down into that quagmire called ... the Internet. There. Panzer said it. The name of the evil pit. The Internet. Go anywhere near it and it'll suck you in and not let you go!

Panzer says, "We've got to save our friends! We lost too many already!"

If you're interested in protecting yourself from the quicksand, tootle over to MAKE MINE MYSTERY: The Quicksand on Your Desk: by Janis Patterson

Anne R. Allen's Blog: The 10 Commandments of Social Media Etiquette for ...

No whining!

Panzer and I like going to Anne R. Allen's Blog. Anne's blog was given a Writer's Digest Magazine Best Writing Website Award for 2013 because writers always find the most interesting posts there.

Today, when we visited we found a post about social media etiquette. There are 10 Commandments for your good behavior on social media. Anne's commandments include no spamming, no whining, and no badmouthing. There are seven more just as relevant as these listed at the blog.

 If you want to know the full 10 Commandments, tootle over to Anne R. Allen's Blog: The 10 Commandments of Social Media Etiquette for ...:

3 Steps To Indie Publishing Success

It's magic!

Panzer found a great indie publishing success story over at the Publishers Weekly site, The post is about how Jen McLaughlin reached indie success and the New York Times E-Book Bestseller List with her romance Out of Line.

According to Ms. McLaughlin, she followed three steps to her success.

The steps were:
1. Hire an Editor
2. Hire a Designer
3. Hire a Publicist

Those three steps are ones we can all put to work for us.

If you want the full details about the three magic steps to indie success, tootle over to indie success story

How To Convert Your Doc(x) File To epub

Easy and FREE!

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere not looking for anything in particular today.

He found a post at Gordon Burgett's Blog about converting .doc(x) files to epub format. That's a topic he's been wondering about for a long time. My bad boy has been using Smashwords to do all of his ebook distributions because he didn't know how to convert to epub.

Burgett's post has instructions for converting your .doc(x)s using Calibre. Now don't get too excited. It's not hard. His instructions are step-by-step and easy to follow. And ... best of all: Calibre is FREE.

If you're ready to learn how to do your own .doc(x) conversions, tootle over to convert to epub

Ellis Shuman Writes: How to Write a Thriller like Dan Brown

Editing is a long road.

Panzer is still searching the Catosphere for editing help on his newest WIP (Work In Progress). He told you last week about a post he found at Jody Hedllund's blog about keeping readers' caught up in the action in your book.

Well, today my bad boy found a post at the Ellis Shuman Writes blog that he thinks you'll find useful. This is an older post (from August 27, 2013) but still totally relevant.

Shuman has read all of Dan Brown's books. He's spent time evaluating how Brown's writing has managed to have such a wide readership. He explains what he's discovered about Brown's formula for writing a thriller. Shuman uses a step by step style that's easy to understand.

Panzer plans to take Shuman's 13 steps and evaluate his plot against them.

Panzer says, "Nobody ever said editing was fast, easy, or fun!"

If you want to know how Dan Brown writes a thriller, tootle over to Ellis Shuman Writes: How to Write a Thriller like Dan Brown: I remember boarding a flight from Israel to the United States in January 2004, with a copy of The Da Vinci Code in hand. The plane made a...

10 Things Not To Say To A Writer

Hmmm. 10 things?

Panzer was over at Indie Reader today and found a great post by Lucy Wang.

Lucy's post is about the 10 things not to say to a writer. The list includes things like the TBR (To Be Read) list, Too Cheap (your book that is), and You're A Poet ..., and seven more topics.

Panzer says, "This is such an interesting list! Not the usual 10 Things ... kind of list you're used to."

If you're interested in reading the list, tootle over to 10 things

Oxford University Press is Making Online Products Free During National Library Week - GalleyCat

It's FREE!

Panzer was over at GalleyCAT and found one of his favorite kind of posts: for FREE stuff! He's doing the happy cat dance. There's nothing my bad boy likes more than finding FREE stuff for you.

So ... he's happy to report Oxford University Press has announced that in honor of National Library Week all their online products will be FREE for that week. The post at GalleyCAT has all the information you need to log in and check out the FREE products.

If you're interested in checking out their online products, tootle over to Oxford University Press is Making Online Products Free During National Library Week - GalleyCat

6 Ways to Keep Readers Up Past Their Bedtime

Just what I was looking for.

Panzer was out searching for some help on editing. He stopped at Jody Hedlund's blog. The post he found there isn't specifically about editing, but it has some good tips on making sure your work is engaging to your readers.

Among other points, Jody addresses Panzer's biggest bugaboo which is making sure scenes count. He has a problem including scenes that don't move the plot forward. That means they're just plain boring. Boring scenes need to be eliminated at the editing stage ... not at the reading stage!

There are five more tips in Jody's post that are just as relevant during editing and my bad boy will be checking them all in his newest project.

If you need help getting your newest project into shape, tootle over to 6 Ways to Keep Readers Up Past Their Bedtime

Fiction University (The Other Side of the Story): How to Create an Audio Book

Hire someone?

Panzer was out in the Catosphere looking for help with producing an audio book.  He found a post by Heather Smith at Janice Hardy's Fiction University blog.

Heather Smith's post lists the seven steps she used to do her audio book. Heather didn't actually do the audio for her book; she hired a narrator.

If you're looking for the steps to do an audio book, tootle over to Fiction University (The Other Side of the Story): How to Create an Audio Book:

FREE Books

They're FREE!

You all know how Panzer loves FREE stuff.

Well, he was out in the Catosphere today and stopped in at Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine blog. Bill has a link to Bish's Beat blog where you can pick up five FREE mystery
books ... but you have to hurry! They're only FREE for five days starting today.

If you're interested in FREE ebooks, tootle over to FREE

Waterstone Founder on Ebook's Decline

Ebooks are declining?

Okay, I got tired of listening to Panzer's CATerwauling and gave him back the keys to the Panzermobile.

My bad boy was in the Catosphere in seconds and found this post at The Telegraph site. Tim Waterstone says ebooks are headed into a decline. According to statistics quoted in the post, ebook sales are already declining in America and Mr. Waterstone predicts the U.K. will follow.

If you want to read the gloom and doom about the demise of the ebook in the UK, tootle over to The Telegraph

ITW Best First Sentence Contest

Let ME-OWT!

Panzer is still grounded, so he couldn't go out in the Panzermobile in the Catosphere today. Instead, he's got a contest announcement for you that he got in his email.

The International Thriller Writers are having a Best First Sentence of your novel contest. You need to either be attending the Thrillerfest conference OR be a member of the ITW. The winner gets the first ten pages of their manuscript critiqued.

To read all the rules, tootle over to Best First Sentence

Similarities Between Writers and the Mentally Ill

You go out alone!

Panzer got tired of waiting for me today and he took the Panzermobile to the Thought Catalog blog by himself. That was definitely not a good idea.

One: he's not allowed out alone in the Panzermobile, so he's grounded;

 and

Two: what he found there is not good news for writers. In fact, it's really, really scary.

According to the post by Cody Delistraty, doctors say we can't be successful writers unless we're mentally ill! We have to be depressed and schizophrenic! The post names several authors from Stephen King to J.K. Rowling as examples.

Panzer says, "It's not that bad. They said human writers. There's nothing there about cats!"

Warning: this is a v-e-r-y l-o-n-g post.

If you want to know how to be a successful, crazy writer, tootle over to Similarities

Audiobook Revenues Reach $1.6 Billion - GalleyCat

Give us the money!

Panzer stopped in at his friends at GalleyCAT's  blog and found a post about audiobooks.


There's been a lot of talk lately about audiobooks. My bad boy told you about audiobook changes after ACX and Audible cut the royalty payments to authors.

Now we see that the revenues from audiobooks are astronomical: $1.6 billion!

Panzer says, "Hmmm. What's going here? Where's all this money going? Not to authors."

If you want to read about the audiobook sales explosion, tootle over to Audiobook Revenues Reach $1.6 Billion - GalleyCat