Walmart and Kobo Are Launching Their Joint eBookstore on 21 August - The Digital Reader

Panzer didn't even get a chance to get any dinner before he heard clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Jumping into the Panzermobile it didn't take our inquisitive kitty any time at all to find the source of all the noise was The Digital Reader site. With no digging he found a post about Walmart and Kobo.

A cat's work is never done.

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Kobo will begin selling ebooks through Walmart on August 21. There are two links provided for Walmart which appear to place-holder pages. One will be for the ebookstore and the other for Kobo devices. There's a third link which goes to the kboard site where there's a leaked announcement about the Kobo ebooks at Walmart.

Panzer says, "Humans don't seem to understand that unlike cats they can't keep a secret."

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

To read the post tootle over to Walmart and Kobo

Cengage Answers Lawsuit Over New Subscription Service - Publishers Weekly (PW)

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly (PW) site. There our traveling kitty boy found a post about publisher Cengage.

I can't believe they did that.

According to the post by Andrew Albanese, two authors have filed a lawsuit against publisher Cengage. In the lawsuit the authors say Cengage's new Cengage Unlimited student subscription service will decrease royalties. However, Cengage claims the new service will instead increase author royalties. The subscription service will allow students to pay a fee and have unlimited access to Cengage products. The authors also say they are being denied the ability to see (audit) the sales reports for extra materials made in conjunction with their original material. A contract submitted to the court by Cengage shows the authors gave the publisher the copyright to their work and it does not include a clause giving the authors the right to see (audit) the sales reports. The two authors are asking that the lawsuit become a class action suit.

Panzer says, "Umm ... Why did they sign away their copyrights?"

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

To read the post tootle over to Cengage

A New Panzerism

Panzer on training your human:

What's His Name said I'm a lazy, good for nothing cat.

And ...

The only thing I am good for is ...

Careful. I will give you what you ask for.

Eating, sleeping and dropping fur.

Well ...

I'll show him.

I'll just prove him right.

Sweet Tart the Cat Becomes Mayor of Michigan Town, Brings Purrs to Politics - People

Panzer was just settling down for an afternoon nap when clapping and MEowing and purring coming from the Catosphere shook him out of his kitty bed. Hopping into the Panzermobile our sleep-deprived kitty pilot went to the People site. There he saw the most amazing post.

According to the post by Kelli Bender, Sweet Tart, the Tortoiseshell (Tortie for short) cat, has been voted Mayor of Omena, Michigan. The post calls her a calico, but that's wrong. She's a Tortie as shown by her coat coloring in the photo. The voters in the election paid $1 to vote. Although Omena only has a population of 280 persons, 7000 people voted. This is because a voter didn't need to reside in Omena to vote. Online votes were accepted as long as the person paid the voter fee. Before the beginning of the post there are several short videos about animals, although none of the videos is about Sweet Tart or the election.

Now she's something to dream about.

Panzer says, "They actually had to have a vote to know Sweet Tart, the cat, was a better mayor then the runner-up dog?"

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

To read the post tootle over to Cat Mayor

Publishing Sales Rise 5.5% in First Four Months of 2018 - Publishers Weekly

Today's trip took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly site. There with no digging at all our kitty pilot found a post about beginning 2018 publishing sales data.

I have a good voice for recording.

According to Jim Milliot, publishing sales for the beginning months of 2018 compared to the same time period in 2017 figures show an overall rise. The publishing sales reported include data for paperback books, audio and ebooks. Both fiction and nonfiction paperbacks as well as audio downloads showed increases. Ebook sales however were down. The sales numbers were based on information from only 1,100 publishers.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Ebook sales down? Audio download sales up? Guess it's time for this little kitty to switch from ebooks to audio books."

Note: This is a short post. You'll only need to bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to 2018 publishing sales

Createspace DVD/CD Production is Shutting Down, With Accounts Moving to Amazon Media on Demand - The Digital Reader

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to The Digital Reader site. With just a little digging our inquisitive kitty discovered a post about Createspace.

It's only a matter of time.

According to the post by The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Createspace is notifying their CD/DVD production clients by email that Createspace is shutting down the CD/DVD division. All client accounts are being transferred to Amazon Media on Demand. While the email doesn't specify, it appears everything will remain the same only the name will change: Createpace to Amazon Media on Demand. The post includes the entire email.

Panzer says, "Goodbye Createspace."

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

To read the post tootle over to Createspace

The Authors Who Love Amazon - The Atlantic

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when the Panzermobile was buffeted by clapping and cheering. Following all the hullabaloo took our brave kitty boy to the The Atlantic site. With a little digging he discovered a post about successful Amazon authors.

According to the post by Alana Semuels, while there may be authors who hate Amazon and it's selling practices, there are many more authors who love Amazon. The post leads off with the story of author Mike Omer. He began as an indie author using Amazon to publish his ebooks. When his sales figures caught the attention of Amazon, their publishing imprint Thomas&Mercer offered him a publishing contract. Omer's ebooks are available through Kindled Unlimited (KU) and his Thomas&Mercer book was available through the First Reads subscription service and Amazon's online store. All this has allowed Omer to become a full-time writer. The post includes interviews with full-time Amazon authors Samantha Christy, I.T. Lucas and Alexa Riley as well.

It's worth thinking about.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... If all these authors are making so much money with KU, maybe Mom and I better write something new and put it in KU to see what happens."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s  post. Bring a thermos of tea and a dozen muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon Kindle Unlimited

Investment Group Acquires 5.7% Stake in B&N - Publishers Weekly

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly (PW) site. With no digging at all our traveling kitty pilot found a post about Barnes and Noble.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, in a filing with the Security and Exchange Commission it was disclosed that Schottenfeld Management Group now owns 5.7 percent of Barnes and Noble stock. While this doesn't sound like a major investment in the company, Schottenfeld Management Group is already holding meetings with the Barnes and Noble Board of Directors. In these meetings Schollenfeld is making suggestions about changes within the company. These changes are supposed to be ways for Barnes and Noble to save money. There's no mention in the post if Barnes and Noble intends to make the changes or not.

There's something here I don't understand.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty wonders why Schollenfeld can meet with the Board of Directors and tell them what to do."

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

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble

A New Panzerism

Panzer on Summer:

I love this time of year.

I love it a lot.

My back gets warm in the sun ...

And ...

I get long naps.

The birds get all plump ...

And ...

Too slow to get away.

Yuk! They still don't taste good.

Mmmm.

Now ...

Butterflies ...

They don't change at all.

2018 Thrillerfest XIII Wrap-Up - Criminal Element

Panzer was just tootling around in the Catosphere when he decided to stop in at the Criminal Element site. With a little digging our intrepid kitty traveler found a post about Thrillerfest.

It's a very expensive conference.

According to the post by Thomas Plunk, Thrillerfest sounds like it was interesting this year. The event was July 10 through the 14 in New York city. George R.R. Martin (GRRM) was the Guest of Honor this year. The first section of the post is about an interview with GRRM by Anne Groell conducted in front of the audience. Apparently, no questions from the audience were allowed. There are also sections about an interview with Megan Abbott and information about some of the panels conducted. There's a section with all the Thriller Award winners and, finally, there's a Where would you hide a body? game. There are also several photos to illustrate each of the sections.

Panzer says, "This little kitty wonders why GRRM wouldn't allow questions."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring a thermos of tea and a dozen muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Thrillerfest

APA Revamps Audie Awards, Gala - Publishers Weekly (PW)

On today's trip into the Catosphere Panzer made a stop at the Publishers Weekly (PW) site. With just a little digging our inquisitive kitty found a post about the Audie Awards.

According to Shannon Maugan, the Audio Publishers Association has made changes to the Audie Awards program. The Audie Awards are presented to audio books each year. The APA has changed the categories and lowered the number of awards. The date of the awards presentation has also been changed to March 4, 2019 as well as the location to New York, NY. The submission deadlines have also changed. There's a link to the rules included in the post.

Guess we're not smart enough to be judges.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... There's a new rule for picking the Audiobook of the Year too. High profile authors (that means famous) will be the judges."

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

To read the post tootle over to Audies

The Alternative Nobel: Vote opens for a suprising new literature prize - The Guardian

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to The Guardian site. There our traveling kitty pilot found a post about the New Academy literature prize.

According to Alison Flood, the Swedish Academy Nobel prize for literature may be gone for 2018, but the New Academy prize for literature is here to fill the void. Sexual misconduct allegations derailed this year's Nobel prize for literature. The New Academy has stepped up and asked Swedish librarians to put together the long-list for the new literature prize. The public can now vote on this long-list of nominees by August 14. The short list created by this vote will be passed on to the New Academy judges to pick the 2018 prize winner. There's a link at the site to a post about the Nobel prize for literature scandal.

No Nobel prize? That's depressing.

Panzer says, "There are some interesting rules for this new prize."

Note: This is a long-medium post. Bring half a thermos of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to alternative Nobel prize for literature

A New Panzerism

 Panzer on ownership:

Finders keepers. It's yours.

Why are you telling me there's a mouse in the kitchen?

You saw it first.

Seriously ...

It's okay. You can have it. *


* from Cat Wisdom for humans

B&N Begins Another CEO Hunt - Publishers Weekly (PW)

When Panzer went into the Catosphere today, he realized he hadn't been to the Publishers Weekly (PW) site for a while. Our kitty pilot decided this would be a good time to stop in there and do some exploring.  With a little digging he found a post about Barnes and Noble.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Barnes and Noble has begun searching for a new CEO after the termination of Demios Parneros on July 3. The post opens with the information contained in the original termination announcement. Panzer already told you about the termination when it happened. The press release from Barnes and Noble didn't give an exact reason for the termination and this new Publishers Weekly post doesn't contain any new information about the termination. After the initial section about the termination announcement, the last two-thirds of the post has information from interviews with unnamed publishing executives. The executives are quoted giving their opinions on what they would like the new CEO to have experience with. For example, one executive would like the new CEO to be knowledgeable about books and another would like the new CEO to have company leadership skills.

There must a good CEO somewhere.

Panzer says, "Barnes and Noble sure has a lot of trouble finding the right CEO."

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

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble

To read Panzer's post about Barnes and Noble's CEO firing announcement tootle over to CEO Parneros

New Amazon Rules on eBook Bonus Content - Indies Unlimited

Panzer was cleaning out the Panzermobile when he saw something stuffed under the passenger headrest. Pulling it out our fastidious kitty found a wadded up post. Smoothing it out, he discovered it was a post from the Indies Unlimited site about ebook bonus content.

According to Lynn Cantwell, Amazon (finally) began cracking down on Chance Carter one of the big-time book stuffers. Panzer told you about book stuffing last month. It's when authors put extra ebooks and stories into an ebook in Amazon Select to expand the length of the book. Then the author includes a link at the beginning of the book to get the reader to click to the end. Amazon then pays the author as if the whole book was read. This post explains the things an author needs to do to make sure she/he isn't breaking Amazon's new Terms of Service when adding legitimate bonus material. There are links included in the post to information on what constitutes book stuffing.

After all that work I need a nap.

Panzer says, "This little kitty knows this is a June post, but the information about the proper way to play by Amazon's rules makes it worth the read."

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 Amazon 

 To read Panzer's earlier post about book stuffing tootle over to book stuffing

Crime Authors Who Served Time In Prison - Crime Reads

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Crime Reads site. There our traveling kitty boy found an interesting post about crime fiction authors.

Why would you want to go back inside?

According to Matthew Iden's post, some crime fiction authors got their story ideas from their own experiences. The post contains information about eight crime fiction authors who actually spent time in prison for committing crimes. These are crimes ranging from bank robbery to murder. Some became bestselling authors while in prison and some after they were released. Some were released from prison and became model citizens and some were released and then committed more crimes and were sent back to prison. Included is biographical information about both men and women crime fiction authors who were prisoners.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Bestsellers, huh? Who says crime doesn't pay?"

Note: This is a long post. Bring two cups of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to crime authors

KDP Expanded Distribution - Kindle Direct Publishing Announcement

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today when the Panzermobile was suddenly buffeted by cheering and clapping and laughing. Following all the joyous noises our kitty boy went to Amazon's KDP announcement site. With no digging at all he found a post by Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) about a new service they're offering.

This doesn't look good for Create Space.

According to the announcement, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is now offering expanded distribution to bookstores and retailers for KDP paperbacks. This has been the remaining difference between KDP and Create Space. Included in the announcement are royalty rates and fees for the expanded distribution service. There are also instruction on how to sign up your paperback for the service. Also included is a link to information about how expanded distribution works.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty is wondering how much longer Create Space will continue now that KDP has added the expanded service."

Note: This is a short announcement. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the link for distribution information, bring a muffin too.

To read the post tootle over to KDP

A New Panzerism

Panzer on his favorite topic:

I have a super power.

I can nap almost any time I choose.

Boredom ...

Watching What's His Name fall out of the hammock.

Excitement ...

Watching What's His Name look for his car keys.

Amusement ...

Watching What's His Name fall into the backyard fish pond.

You name it ...

I can fall asleep doing it.

Except ...

But ... I'll find a way to do it.

The one event that makes it impossible for me to fall into a good nap.

Is when ...

I'm already asleep.

The statistics behind audiobooks' continued growth - Perspectives On Reading

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere took him to the Perspectives On Reading site. There our traveling kitty found a post about audiobooks.

According to Perspective on Reading staff writer Adam Sockel, library audio book usage is up 46 percent. So far this year library users have checked out 220,000 audio books daily. The post includes several charts to show audio book listeners by age, listening habits, daily length of time listening, and more. Perspectives on Reading is a publication of library supplier OverDrive.

Yes, it's definitely time.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty thinks it's time to do an audio book to get into the library market."

Note: Because of all the charts included this is a long-medium post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins.

To read the post tootle over to audio books

Amazon Disappearing Reviews: The Surprising Reason Why Book Reviews are Getting Pulled (and how to fix it) - Author Marketing Experts

I am so tired.

Panzer is recovering from last night's Independence Day fireworks show. His trip into the Catosphere was a quick stop at the Author Marketing Experts site. There our poor tired kitty found a post about Amazon reviews.

According to Penny Sansevieri, if you notice some of your book reviews being taken down, it's due to Amazon's robotic algorithms. Being a robot, it flags reviews for reasons we human authors don't know or understand; but, the post offers some suggestions for possible fixes. A means to clean up how an author asks for reviews using URLs is explained. Also, included is the proper wording reviewers should use to avoid review take-downs. There are other suggestions included in the post to stop the Amazon attack bots. Be sure to read the Comments section too.

Panzer says, "This little kitty didn't know URLs were so important."

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

To read the post tootle over to Amazon reviews

Independence Day

July 4

From Panzer, Mom and What's His Name

B&N Fires CEO - Publishers Weekly

Panzer had hardly started eating his dinner when his food bowl was tipped over by the sounds of shouting. Our brave kitty hopped into the Panzermobile and headed into the Catosphere. Following all the noise took him to the Publishers Weekly site. With no digging at all he found a brand new post about Barnes and Noble.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Barnes and Noble announced this afternoon the company CEO has been fired. In a release the company said the Barnes and Noble board of directors terminated (fired) CEO Demos Parneros effective immediately. The reason according to the release is CEO Parneros' "violations of the Company's policies." There is no mention of the exact violations except to say they are not financial or fraud violations.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... The violations must have been bad for him to be terminated immediately."

I'm ready for a nap now.

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

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble

What Audiobooks.com's CEO Thinks Of The Industry's Double-Digit Growth - Forbes

Today, as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere he decided to make a stop at the Forbes site. With just a little digging our intrepid kitty traveler found a post about audiobooks.

That's a big increase in sales.

According to the post by Adam Rowe, audiobook revenue and sales were up in 2017 compared to 2016. Revenue was up by 29.5 percent and sales were up by 22.7 percent. In an interview Ian Small CEO of Audiobooks.com stated he believes this growth will continue. Audiobooks,com is a subscription membership site. The company has expanded business into new English and non-English speaking countries.

Panzer says, "This little kitty better start getting into audiobooks."

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

To read the post tootle over to Audiobooks.com

A New Panzerism

Panzer on gambling:

What's His Name told Mom cats don't like to gamble.

He said scientists did a test. The test was a choice between two doors.

One door had a meal behind it every time ...

And ...

The other door had a larger meal behind it, but not every time.

The cats always chose the door that had the meal every time.

What's His Name said that means cats don't like to gamble on the door with a big meal but only sometimes.

Well ... Once again What's His Name is wrong.

See ... No pockets. No leftovers.

The test wasn't about gambling.

It was about leftovers.

Since cats don't have pockets that means carrying leftovers from those big meals is really, really messy.

So ... Cats never gamble? I wouldn't bet on it.