A New Panzerism

Panzer on unintended consequences:

It's a thin line between cute and chaos.

Cute is

when the kitty swats at the reflection of a fly in the mirror.

Chaos is

when the kitty chases the fly

and ...

It's the fly's fault. He made me do it.

dives head first into the mirror ...

and ...

the whole thing comes crashing down.

Amazon Executives Are "Pleased" With Results of Retail Bookstores So Far - Fortune

More bookstores, huh?

Panzer was sweeping out the Panzermobile when he found a post under the passenger seat. Smoothing out the post, our kitty cleaner discovered it was from the Fortune site and about Amazon bookstores.

According to the post by Aaron Pressman, head of Amazon Web Services Andy Jassy participated in the Wall Street Journal Live conference on Tuesday. Jassy said Amazon's bricks and mortar bookstore experiment is going well and they are "pleased" with it so far. This is a followup to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' statement at Amazon's annual meeting that the company will be opening more bookstores.

Panzer says, "I wish somebody would say how many bricks and mortar stores they'll be opening."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon Bookstores

Bankrupt Shipping Company Causing Woes for Publishers - PW (Publishers' Weekly)

Today's trip took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly site. With a little digging our intrepid kitty pilot found a post about some publisher problems with the Hanjin Shipping Company.

Ships make me sick.

According to a post by Calvin Reid, several publishing companies were using the now bankrupt Hanjin Shipping Company. Hanjin ships were being used to transport the finished print books of HarperCollins, St. Martin's and others from their foreign manufacturers to the United States. Deliveries of the books are either late or not at all. Cargo, including the books, is being seized by Hanjin's creditors. Some ships loaded with cargo are stranded at sea unable to stop at a port.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This isn't a problem with ebooks."

Note: This is a longish short post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin and a half for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to bankrupt shipping company

B&N to Merge Nook Press Print, eBook Platforms on 8 November - The Digital Reader

No more running back and forth.

Today, Panzer was just having a nice quiet trip in the Catosphere when he suddenly heard shouting and clapping. Following all the noise took him to The Digital Reader site. There our happy kitty discovered some good news about Nook Press.

According to the post by The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, on November 8 Nook Press users will have access to all their ebook and print publishing information on one platform. The switch will be to the new (since June) Nook Press Print platform by Bahwan CyberTek.

Panzer says, "Yay! No more switching from one dashboard to the other."

This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Nook Press

What Barnes & Noble Doesn't Get About Bookstores - The New Yorker

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panser to The New Yorker site. There with a little digging around our enterprising kitty found a post about Barnes and Noble.

According to the post by David Sax, Barnes and Noble CEO Leonard Riggio has given clarification for some changes for the bookstores. As previously announced, Barnes and Noble is opening five new smaller "concept" stores. Mr. Riggio explained this is to give book buyers the small independent bookstore feel. He believes independent bookstores which are successful also serve good food and coffee, so these new smaller Barnes and Noble "concept" bookstores will served breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as alcohol. Mr. Sax points out in the post that Independent bookstores also have a friendlier more family-oriented feel to them which he believes Mr. Riggio will also need to address.

I'm free if the shelf is big enough.

Panzer says, "A kitty sleeping on a bookshelf would be nice too."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Barnes and Noble

Amazon's bookstore at Washington Square: Exclusive sneak peek - The Oregonian/OregonLive

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard clapping and shouting. Following the hullabaloo took our adventuresome kitty to The Oregonian/OregonLive site. There he discovered the source of the excitement was the opening of the new Amazon store in Oregon.

There is access to Amazon online.

According to the post by Anna Marum, Amazon's newest bricks and mortar bookstore is opening in Tigard, Oregon. There was a mini-opening of the bookstore on October 22, but the official opening is on October 25 (today). With only 7,800 square feet the store will have 5,200 physical books. Books at the store have to have received a 4 star or higher rating at the Amazon online site. The store also sells Kindles, Echoes and other devices.

Panzer says, "That's a small bookstore with not many books."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring two cups of tea and two muffins.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon books

A New Panzerism

Panzer on magical powers:

Once a day with eyes closed ...

Concentrate real hard ...

Then open eyes ...

And the sun comes up!

After all that I need a long nap.

MeWoW!

I did it again!

This being the center of the Universe with everybody depending on me each day is hard work.

Amazon Japan to Release a Kindle Paperwhite For Manga Readers - GalleyCat

Today Panzer's trip into the Catosphere took him to the GalleyCAT site. With just a little digging around our inquisitive kitty found a post about Amazon Japan.

I want one.

According to the post by Maryann Yin, Amazon Japan has a present for Japanese manga lovers. It's a new Kindle Paperwhite with 32GB of memory. This compares to the non-manga Kindle Paperwhite which has 4GB of memory. The larger memory capacity in the new Kindle Paperwhite will hold up to 700 graphic heavy comic books.

Panzer says, "Hmmm ... I wonder how much shipping from Japan would be?"

Note: This is a short post. Bring a small cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon Japan

Hachette to bring in new royalty statement system in 2018 - The Bookseller

Is it really that bad?

Today when Panzer was cleaning out the Panzermobile our fastidious kitty happened to look under the passenger seat and found a post from last week at The Bookseller site. The post is about Hachette's plans for a new royalty reporting statement system.

According to the post by Katherine Cowdrey, Hachette CEO Tim Hely Hutchinson sent his annual letter to all the company's authors. In the letter Mr. Hely Hutchinson says the company will begin issuing new author royalty statements. He says the new statements will be "better, clearer and more detailed." The post also details the declines in Hachette's book and ebook sales and the possible effect Brexit may have on book sales.

Panzer says, "Mr. Hely Hutchinson's letter doesn't paint a very good picture of ebook and book sales."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Hachette

No Post Today

Mom went to the dentist and we're taking the day off.

Amazon's New Review Rules: Should Authors Be Worried? - Anne R. Allen

Today, Panzer's trip into the Catosphere took him to Anne R. Allen's Blog. There our big bad kitty found a post about Amazon's new review policy.

Mom. Where's your credit card?

According to the post by Anne R. Allen, Amazon's new book review rules are not as hard to understand as they previously were. The first explanation on Ms. Allen's list is "The New $50 Rule." Apparently a reviewer must have used their credit card to purchase $50 of merchandise at Amazon. It appears this rule is to stop the use of fake reviewers. Ms. Allen explains each rule in depth so authors won't accidentally cause their reviews to be deleted. Be sure and read the Comment section too.

Panzer says, "Are the rules really easier to understand if you have to read a blog post explaining them?"

Note: This is a v-e-r-y l-o-n-g post, but well worth the read. Bring two cups of tea and three muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon's new rules

A New Panzerism

Mffy tffngue iffs sfftuck.

Panzer offers a helpful hint:

Never nap in wet cement ...

No matter how warm it is.

Do I really have to explain any more?

Ed Gorman - "He Leaves Behind a Great Literary Legacy" - The Rap Sheet

Panzer doesn't usually post on the weekend, but he learned some sad news today in a post at The Rap Sheet site.

According to the post by J. Kingston Pierce, prolific writer and author Ed Gorman has passed away. He died on Friday, October 14. Mr. Gorman was the author of mystery, private eye, horror, science fiction, fantasy, and western novels. He also wrote short stories in those genres as well. Over the years he also collected numerous awards for his work.

Panzer says, "Mom read Ed Gorman's mysteries to me when I was just a kitten. I think that's where I got my love of "whodunits."

To read the post, tootle over to great literary legacy

October 2016 Author Earnings Report: A Turning Tide ... ? - Author Earnings

It doesn't look good for indies.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today when he heard crying and moaning. Following the noise took our inquisitive kitty to the Author Earnings site. There he found the cause was the latest indie Author Earnings Report.

According to the Author Earnings site's Data Guy, indie authors' income has fallen "back to early 2015 levels." The report covers the May to October Amazon indie sales. Possible causes for the lower author earnings are explored ranging from Amazon's own book publishing arm to the Book Bub Effect. There are several sales charts included to illustrate different points in the post. In the end, there appears to be no final answer to the falling earnings.

Panzer says, "Be sure to read the Comments section under the post. There are some interesting possible causes mentioned there."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Author Earnings Report

Press Release: Wattpad, Gallery Books & Target Partner to Bring Fairy Tale Classics to Life

I want a copy for Mom to read to me.

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to the Book Business site. A little digging and he found a press release about Wattpad.

According to the press release, ten Wattpad authors have been included in a collection of re-imagined fairy tales called Once Upon Now. The book is published by Gallery Books and sold in Target stores and online. The press release also says the readers on Wattpad got to read and vote for their favorite stories to go in the book.

Panzer says, "Setting fairy tales in today. Sounds like fun."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Wattpad

A Month-Old Software Glitch is Still Stealing Page Views from eBooks in Kindle Unlimited - The Digital Reader

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today when he heard the sound of shouting and crying. Following the noise took our brave kitty boy to The Digital Reader site. There he discovered the anger and frustration was directed at Amazon.

This needs watching.

According to a post by The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, because of a software glitch Amazon's Kindle Unlimited (KU) has been short-changing ebook authors on their "sales" payments. Amazon doesn't pay authors for their ebook "sales" in KU because the ebooks are free to KU users. Instead, authors are paid by the number of pages the user reads in the ebooks. Recently authors have noticed their pages read numbers are lower than previously reported. After the problem was reported Amazon told the authors the problem had been fixed. However, authors are still reporting their page reads are down.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Have a problem ... Fixed the problem ... But still under-paying authors ... Interesting how the problem got fixed."

Note: This is a short-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and half a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Kindle Unlimited

A New Panzerism

Don't touch that!

Panzer on ownership:

There are only two things to remember:

1) Not Yours

... and ...

2) Mine *


* Panzer has to go to the vet today, so this is a reprint from his book Cat Wisdom For Humans.

Why Amazon is deleting book reviews: understanding Amazon's new review policy and how to get bck deleted reviews - CreativINDIE

Panzer took a short trip into the Catosphere today. He has been hearing a lot about Amazon's new "product" review policy. That's the one he told you about earlier this week that bans free products for reviews. Our traveling kitty pilot stopped in at the CreativINDIE site today to check out Derek Murphy's new post about Amazon's policy

Just do it.

According to Derek Murphy's post, although Amazon denied the policy would apply to books, some authors have seen their ebook/book reviews deleted because of the policy. It appears because the reviewers were told to use the wording, they were given a "free book in exchange for a review" those reviews were deleted. Amazon determined the reviewers were given an incentive for the review. The post includes an example of wording which should pass the new Amazon review policy test, as well as a suggestion of how to get the deleted reviews back.

Panzer says, "It's Amazon's house, so you have to play by their house rules ... Even when the house rules change."

Note: This is a short-long post. Bring a cup of cocoa and one-and-a-half muffins for today's reading selection.

To read Derek Murphy's post, tootle over to book reviews

To read the post about Amazon's announcement of the new review policy, tootle over to free reviews

Penguin Random House Launches Serialized Newsletter Season of Stories - Book Business

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today when he heard cheering and clapping. Following the clamor took our inquisitive kitty to the Book Business site. There he found a post about Penguin Random House's new Season of Stories.

I hope they're not too literary for me.

According to the press release Penguin Random House just announced the launch of the Season of Stories. Readers who sign-up for the Season of Stories will receive free short stories by email over an eleven week period. Readers will get one story per week beginning on October 11. The stories are by contemporary authors and told in first person. The sign-up link is included in the press release.

Panzer says, "Free is always good, right?"

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a doughnut for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Penguin Random House

The Real Story: Amazon Bans Free Review Samples Which Compete With Its Amazon Vine Program - The Digital Reader

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to The Digital Reader site. There our handsome kitty boy found a post about Amazon's new review policy.

No free ebooks for reviews?

According to The Digital Reader site editor Nate Hoffelder's post, Amazon's new review rules may not be what they seem. In case you missed the announcement, Amazon is no longer allowing businesses to give away free products for reviews. Amazon counts this as giving the free product as an "incentive" for reviews and it is now banned. However, Mr. Hoffelder speculates that Amazon may be protecting their own Vine Program review service. In the post there is a link to the Amazon announcement. You'll also want to read the Comments section for additional information pertinent to authors and publishers.

Panzer says, "Well-traveled kitties like me learn all kinds of things. Like: To side-step Amazon's new rules authors and publishers are changing the wording of their agreements with readers they give free copies of their ebooks/books to for reviews. Now 'a review is appreciated, but not required for the free ebook/book'."

Note: The post and included link to Amazon make this a medium length read. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon

Hachette Audio Enhance YA Audiobooks With Booktrack Technology Platform - Press Release

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today when he heard music. Following the melodious sounds took our kitty traveler to the Book Business Site. There he found a post about a Hachette press release announcing their partnership with Booktrack to produce audiobooks.

Is the music really worth it?

According to the post, Hachette will use the Booktrack platform to produced enhanced audiobooks. On October 4 Hachette begins sales of their enhanced YA (Young Adult) audiobooks. Enhanced means a soundtrack with music is added to the audio reading track. The audiobooks will be available at Audible, iTunes/iBooks and other retail sites. A link is available in the post to the Hachette's sales page. If you scroll down the page you'll see the initial four audiobooks being offered. If you click on the book you can listen to a sample of each audiobook. There's also a link to the Booktrack site where you can signup for an account, but read the Terms of Service first.

Panzer says, "With the music it does sound like listening to a movie."

Note: This is a medium post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Hachette audio

A New Panzerism

Panzer on cat grammar:

Sooner or later he'll learn.

Why does What's His Name keep telling Mom it's do-do when I already did do it?

It should be did-did.

If he wasn't such a dumb-dumb, I wouldn't have to keep using his shoes to teach him the difference.