Simon and Schuster Tells Libraries To Sell Ebooks?

"Quiet!"

Panzer just can't get any sleep lately because of all the CATerwauling in the Catosphere. With his eyes barely open from the lack of cat rejuvenation he went out in the Panzermobile. He found the origin of all the noise over at the GOODEREADER blog.

GOODEREADER Editor in Chief Michael Kozlowski takes issue with Simon and Schuster over their new library contracts. Mr. Kozlowski says the contracts say the libraries will be forced to sell S&S's ebooks in order to be allowed to loan them to patrons. It turns out libraries selling books is illegal in some states

 ... and ...

being told to sell ebooks is making librarians irate in other states.

So, now we know what all the CATerwauling is about.

Panzer says, "Will I ever get to take a nap in a quiet place?"

If you want to read the full post about libraries and Buy It Now Buttons, tootle over to Simon and Schuster

Anne R. Allen's Blog: How to Plan a Novel without Actually Outlining: 3 ...

To outline or not?

Panzer was over at Anne R. Allen's blog today. He found a guest post by author Nathan Bransford How to Flesh out a Vague Novel Idea Before You Start. My bad boy was doing the happy cat dance because he's always wondering about how others write their novels.

You see, when Panzer writes he outlines the first third of his story. He already has an idea of what he wants the end to be. So after he starts the actual writing and reaches the end of the one-third outline, he has a good idea of what needs to happen to get to the end. But my bad kitty knows that many writers don't even outline that much.

Turns out Mr. Bransford is one of them. No outline for him. In Mr. Bransford's post he explains the three steps he uses to expand the story idea into a full fledged framework (not an outline!) to base his novel on.

To find out how Mr. Bransford writes a novel, tootle over to Anne R. Allen's Blog: How to Plan a Novel without Actually Outlining: 3 ...:

Amazon Doesn't Need Hachette, But Hachette Needs Amazon

Let's take a closer look.

It's been quite a long time since Panzer has stopped in at author and game developer Guido Henkel's blog. When he stopped in there today he found a post addressing the Amazon-Hachette dispute. You know, my bad boy has been following this Internet CATerwauling for a while now.

In his post Mr. Henkel explains why Hachette doesn't understand the changing publishing world. Hachette may be one of the biggest fish in the publishing pond, but it's turning into a very, very small pond. Publishers no longer have the clout to tell book retail outlets what they can and can not do. Amazon is arguably the world's largest book retail outlet and as such there's no incentive for Amazon to bow to Hachette's demands. On the other hand, there is a huge incentive for Hachette to agree to Amazon's and get their books back into the Amazon store.

To read Mr. Henkel's full post, tootle over to Amazon vs. Hachette

Barnes and Noble To Spin-Off Nook

What's next?

Panzer was out in the Catosphere today to see what all the latest yowling was about. He followed all the noise to the Publisher's Weekly site. All the caterwauling is about the newest announcement from Barnes and Noble and their Nook plans.

Barnes and Noble's Board of Directors has decided to split the company into two companies. The retail bookstores will be one company and the Nook and college text books will become a separate company. The announcement of the split came with the release of the year-end sales figures that showed a 6.7% decline.

This spinoff of the Nook shouldn't really be a surprise to Panzer's friends here. It comes on top of Barnes and Noble's previous announcements of the deal with Samsung to co-brand a tablet and that they were leaving the audiobook market. Panzer told you about these two announcements earlier this month. And back in March he told you about their cuts to the Nook division.

Panzer says, "Are they trying to kill the Nook with a slow and painful death?"

If you want to read what Barnes and Noble's latest move for the Nook is, tootle over to Nook news

A New Panzerism

Who knew they looked like that?

Panzer on hunting:

Okay ...

it's late at night in the backyard jungle ...

and suddenly ...

there it is!

Terrifying!

And it didn't even register on my night vision.

Boy, those garden gnomes are really scary!

How To Increase Tension In Your Writing

You can find it in the Catosphere.

Panzer was searching for information about increasing the tension in his mystery writing. And ... the Catosphere helped him again. He found a post at wordserve water cooler about subtle ways to add tension to your stories.

Novelist Rachel Phifer has three tips about what to put in your story to add tension without being overly obvious. Then she gives three tips about what not to put in your story and slow it down and remove tension.

Panzer says, "If you need to find something, just look in the Catosphere. You'll find it there."

If you're looking for help with your storytelling, tootle over to increase tension

Stephen King vs Edgar Allan Poe. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 3.

Panzer wants your opinion: Who do you think wins? Stephen King or Edgar Allan Poe?

Design Your Own Website

You all know my bad, bad cat boy doesn't usually hang out at sites where there's no murder or mayhem. But today when he was out in the Catosphere he found The Violet Femmes blog. He immediately applied the Panzermobile's brakes because he thought it said The Violent Femmes. But it turned out okay, when he saw Maria K. Alexander's post Author Website Design 101.

No murder or mayhem? Oh, well.

You see, Panzer has been thinking of updating Cats and Crime and Maria's post has all kinds of suggestions. There are sections on your brand, your bio, your buy links, and your contact page. There's even a resource section with links to photo sites and hosting sites.

Panzer says, "If you don't have a site, this will get you setup. If you already have a site, this will get you updated."

To get the information you need for your site, tootle over to author website design

How To Setup Your Amazon Pen Name

Pen name?

Today, Panzer was out looking for information on setting up an Amazon Author Central Page for a pen name. My bad boy found a post by L. A. Lewandowski at the Indies Unlimited blog.

Panzer almost didn't stop and read Ms. Lewandowski's post. Although the post is titled "A Suitable Pseudonym" it's actually about setting up your Author Central Page using a pen name. There is quite a bit of information about choosing a pen name before the post addresses the Author Central Page.

After the section on picking a pen name, the post makes the process of the Author Central Page setup easy. It has very detailed instructions and is loaded with screen shots. In fact, this is such a long post you'll need a very large cup of tea while you're reading it.

If you need help setting up your Author Central Page for your pen name, tootle over to your Amazon pen name

16 Copyright-Free Photo Sites

Photos for covers.

Panzer was out in the Catosphere looking for copyright-free stock photos for use as possible ebook covers. My bad kitty boy happened to find a post by Katelyn Pointek at Bad Language blog with a list of photo sites.

Ms. Pointek found sixteen sites that offer Creative Commons or Public Domain photos. The sites have three access options. Some of the sites offer access to everyone, some offer free signup membership, and some are subscription services.

If you're looking for Public Domain or Creative Commons photos, tootle over to images

Learn How To Create A Podcast In Less Than 4 Minutes

Panzer found this short YouTube video about creating a podcast.

The video is less than four minutes long, but it's loaded with everything you need to know to make your own podcast. It tells you how to download Audacity podcast software, download an MP3 encoder (if you need it), how and where to upload your podcast, and how to set up an RSS feed.

Panzer says, "Whew! It can't get any easier than this."

Click below to learn how to do your podcast.

A New Panzerism

At least the bowl is full.

Panzer on Multitasking:

I just can't get the hang of it.

I've tried it more than once.

And it's really, really hard.

I've tried to eat and sleep at the same time. Eyes closed. Nose first into the full food bowl. Wake up.

Just can't get it right.

But I'll keep trying.

Free Suspense Radio Online Radio | BlogTalkRadio

Radio Show or Podcast?

Panzer stopped in at the Suspense Radio Blog Talk Radio site. My Catosphere traveling kitty likes to listen to the Crime and Science show featured there. The shows are meant for crime fiction writers who need a scientific orientation lesson for their story. Although this is called Blog Talk Radio, these are just like the podcasts in the iTunes store. The main difference is you don't have to have an account to listen to the radio shows.


Panzer says, "Blog Talk Radio is also a good site for starting your own podcast. Check the right side of the site and you'll see a sign-up notice, if you're interested in doing a podcast."

To listen to some Crime and Science, tootle over to Suspense Radio Online Radio | BlogTalkRadio

Using Amazon Keywords and Categories

Follow me.

Panzer is posting late today. He spent too much time napping ... and dreaming about chasing birds ... and napping ... and dreaming about chasing mice ... and napping ... and napping. You know, doing all the stuff he's really good at.

But, he did find time to go out in the Catosphere to visit Roz Morris' Nail Your Novel blog.

My very clever boy found a post there about Amazon keywords and  categories. Ms. Morris' post explains how to choose categories and the keywords in them to help readers find your ebook on Amazon.

She also includes one very important don't. Amazon does not allow you to compare your ebook to another writer's work. Amazon will be very upset as Ms. Morris found out.

If you follow the second link in the post to the "Literature and Fiction Keywords" list and discover your ebook doesn't fit into the category, look to the line above the title "Literature and Fiction Keywords" and click on "Select Browse Categories." You'll be taken back to the main list to choose another category for your ebook.

If you're interested in finding out more about Amazon keywords and categories, tootle over to Amazon Keywords and Categories

56 Ways to Market on Pinterest

Pinterest? Here I come!

Panzer was over at copyblogger today.  He's been wondering about all the hullabaloo about using Pinterest for marketing books. So, when he heard about a post over at copyblogger about just that, he took the Panzermobile right over.

My bad boy found a post with 56 ways to market on Pinterest. Now the post title says these are tips for marketing your business, but marketing a book is no different than a business. The first section has marketing ideas for beginning pinners to use when setting up your account. The second section has marketing ideas for intermediate pinners for use when you're ready to begin pinning your boards. The last section is for black belt pinners for use when you're ready to advertise your classes, webinars and private coupons. The last section is more business oriented, but the tips can be adapted to book marketing.

If you've been interested in learning more about Pinterest, tootle over to Pinterest marketing

Making Sense of the Amazon-Hachette Battle

Maybe I can get some sleep now.

Panzer has been wearing ear muffs for weeks to get some sleep. All the CATerwauling about the Amazon and Hachette contract war going on has been keeping him up. You all know how important sleep is to my bad boy's health.

So ...

When he heard about a post by Miral Sattar at MediaShift about what's going on with the dispute, he went right over.

My bad boy found a post that explains the whole argument. No ... Amazon isn't punishing authors. No ... Amazon isn't the evil empire. No ... Amazon didn't raise prices.

To read a cogent, researched explanation about the Amazon and Hachette contract argument, tootle over to Amazon/Hachette

A New Panzerism

No saddle needed.

Panzer says:

I am not scratching the furniture ...

I am learning how to ride the couch without a saddle.

7 Tips on Getting Book Reviews

"It's okay, Mom-Mom. I feel better."

Panzer took the weekend off because he didn't feel well. So, today he was slow getting out in the Catosphere.

My poor recovering boy went over to Travis Neighbor Ward's Patch of Earth.com blog. He found a post there with tips for getting book reviews.

We all need help getting those important reviews. This post gives six don'ts and dos for getting reviews.

The don'ts include: don't ask people for 5 star reviews and don't go to national publications and ask for reviews. Panzer knows none of you would ever do either of those.

The dos include: emailing a "Thank You" for 4 or 5 star reviews and looking for reviewers in your niche. Panzer knows all of you already do these two. There's still two more do tips in the post.

The most important tip included in this post is number 7 which is a short list of reviewer sites. This list includes two sites we added to our own reviewer site list because we'd never heard of them before. Panzer knows you have all been putting together your own list of reviewer sites.

To read the full list of tips, tootle over to book reviews

15 Articles for Book Cover Design Tips

So much information for me.

Panzer visited Joel Friedlander's The Book Designer blog.

My bad boy found a post there for those of you having problems with your book cover designs. The post contains links to 15 of Joel's posts about the different aspects of cover design. There are posts on fonts, the difference between fiction and non-fiction covers, a free book jacket template for hardcover books, and a lot more. These links are a treasure trove of information for cover design for ebooks and hardcover and paperback books.

To get help with your cover design, tootle over to cover design

Barnes & Noble Teams With Samsung on Co-Branded Tablets - GalleyCat

Finally. An answer.

Panzer was over at GalleyCAT today. While there my clever boy found a post by Dianna Dilworth about Barnes and Noble.

If you remember, in March Panzer told you about Barnes and Noble's cuts in their Nook investment. This came after their cuts to the Nook design division. My bad cat boy was totally confused about what was going on with Barnes and Noble.

Well ... Dilworth's post may explain all those cuts.

It turns out, Barnes and Noble has signed an agreement with Samsung to have the new Samsung Galaxy 4 Nook Tablets available in August.

That's right. It's a new co-branded tablet. It will be a Samsung device with Barnes and Noble ereader software.

Panzer says, "But ... what happens to my old Nook?"

To read the full GalleyCAT post, tootle over to Barnes & Noble Teams With Samsung on Co-Branded Tablets - GalleyCat

Barnes and Noble Leaving Audiobook Market

The markets are getting smaller.

Panzer brings you sad news from the Catosphere today.

My bad boy found an unexpected announcement at the GoodEreader blog. According to the post by Michael Kozlowski, Barnes and Noble will be leaving the audiobook market on July 1. Customers who bought audiobooks are being advised to backup their purchases immediately before they're lost.

Panzer says, "Another audiobook seller gone."

To read the full post, tootle over to Barnes and Noble

Smashwords: Apple's New iOS 8 is Game-Changer for eBook Retail...

A hidden bonus for you.

Panzer is doing the happy cat dance! He was at Smashwords today and it's all good news over there.

Mark Coker has a post up about Apple's new iOS 8. Turns out the new operating system comes with iBooks app already loaded. That means, when readers do the upgrade or buy a new computer or mobile device with iOS 8, they will have instant access to Smashwords' ebooks in the iBooks store. It's going to be so easy to buy an ebook from the iBooks store. Mark advises authors to make sure they get their ebooks uploaded to Smashwords now in preparation for the new operating system and app.

Panzer says, "Look out Amazon here comes the iBooks store!"

To read about iOS 8 and what it means for Smashwords authors, tootle over to Smashwords: Apple's New iOS 8 is Game-Changer for eBook Retail...:

A New Panzerism

She's so funny.

Panzer on democracy:

Mom-Mom and I both get to vote on stuff around here.

What I'll do.

Where I'll go.

Isn't it cute how she thinks her vote counts?