B&N Sale Moves Closer to Completion - Publishers Weekly

The sale will work out fine.

Today as Panzer was traveling around the Catosphere he heard clapping and cheering coming from outside the Panzermobile. Following all the jocularity took our happy kitty pilot to the Publishers Weekly site. With a little digging in the posts, he found one about the Barnes and Noble company sale.

According to Calvin Reid, the sale of Barnes and Noble to Elliott Capital Advisors is on track to close by August. Elliott is offering $6.50 per share all cash. According to papers filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, another company had also offered to buy Barnes and Noble, but financing issues prevented the acceptance of the offer. The papers also document founder Leonard Riggio's offer to purchase the company, which he withdrew.

Panzer says, "Let's hope Elliott can turn Barnes and Noble around to profitability."

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

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble sale

After Changes, the Nobel Prize for Literature Returns - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard clapping and cheering. Following all the hoopla took our brave kitty boy to the Publishers Weekly site. There with hardly any digging at all he found a post about the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Glad it's back. It's an important prize.

According to Calvin Reid, after a one year hiatus the Nobel Prize for Literature is back. This fall the Nobel Prize for Literature will be awarded for 2018 (the year skipped) and 2019. Changes have now been made to the voting process, the membership rules and the rules to address possible criminal allegations. The post contains information about these changes and others that have been implemented.

Panzer says, "This little kitty was wondering how long it would be before the Nobel Prize for Literature came back."

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

To read the post tootle over to Nobel Prize for Literature

Scribd, 'New York Times' Team to Offer Joint Subscription - Publishers Weekly

Panzer decided to make a short trip to the Publishers Weekly site. Digging around in the posts our energetic kitty found one about Scribd and The New York Times newspaper.

According to Calvin Reid, Scribd and The New York Times are forming a subscription service. Scribd is a  subscription service with ebooks, audio books and periodicals. Scribd will now offer access to The New York Times (NYT.com) and NYT.com will offer access to Scribd's ebooks, audio books and periodicals. The joint subscription service will cost $12.99. For regular Scribd subscribers who don't want access to The New York Time the cost will stay at $8.99.

Guess they just don't like black cats.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Scribd is one of the places Smashwords distributes my ebooks to, but I've never had any readers there."

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 Scribd

Microsoft Quietly Rolls Out Its E-Bookstore - Publishers Weekly

That was a fun holiday weekend!

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly site. There our traveling kitty boy found a post about Microsoft's e-bookstore.

According to the post by Calvin Reid, Windows 10 users have access to Microsoft's new e-bookstore. In April of last year Microsoft and Ingram Content Group launched the e-bookstore. The e-bookstore currently only offers traditional publishers ebooks. Readers can read online or download the ebooks.

Panzer says, "This little kitty wonders when they'll open their doors to indie authors."

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

To read the post tootle over to Microsoft e-Bookstore

Macmillan to Close Its Self-Publishing Unit, Pronoun - Publishers Weekly

Today, as soon as Panzer entered the Catosphere he discovered something was wrong. The Panzermobile was buffeted and knocked around by all the crying and shouting. Following the sounds of distress took our brave kitty boy to the Publishers Weekly site. There he found breaking news about self-publishing platform Pronoun's fate.

How humans hunt: Catch. Eat. Kill.

In a post by Calvin Reid Panzer learned Pronoun is being closed down. Pronoun is platform similar to Smashwords. Indie authors/publishers upload their material to Pronoun for distribution to retailers. As of now the Pronoun platform won't accept any new author/publisher accounts.  It will totally shut down all accounts and distributions on January 15, 2018. Macmillan bought Pronoun in May 2016. No announcement has been made by Macmillan about the shut down decision.

Panzer says, "Umm ... Nobody needs to make an announcement about anything. It's simple.  Buy your competition and then shut them down."

Note: This is a medium post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. (If you're a Pronoun platform user, you'll probably want a box of tissues too.)

To read the post, tootle over to Pronoun closure

Amazon Alleges Violations by KDP Authors, Publishers - Publishers Weekly

Today, Panzer's trip into the Catosphere took him to the Publishers Weekly site. There, with a little digging our kitty pilot found a post about Amazon KDP.

According to the post by Calvin Reid, Amazon is cracking down on authors and publishers who have been determined to be abusing (gaming) the KDP system. Amazon has begun arbitration complaints against three people (one of whom uses a total of three names). Amazon also named in the complaints the companies owned by the three people. Amazon accuses the people and their companies of generating fake reviews and fake readers for authors and publishers' ebooks. These fake reviews and readers were used to fraudulently inflate reviews and page reads to increase the authors and publishers' royalty/income payments.

That was a very bad thing you did.

While not naming any specific authors or publishers, an Amazon spokesperson said very few authors or publishers participated in the fraud.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... When will you humans learn? You can't cheat Amazon. Sooner or later you'll get caught and have to pay the price."

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 KDP

Kobo Acquires Shelfie Technology Platform - Publishers' Weekly (PW)

She always hides it.

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishers' Weekly site. There our traveling kitty boy found a post about Kobo and Shelfie.

According to the post by Calvin Reid, Shelfie has been resurrected from its late January demise by Kobo. Shelfie has been reincarnated as a part of Kobo. Kobo now owns all of Shelfie's assets, including the staff and platform. The Shelfie service allowed readers who purchased print books to send photos of their purchase to receive digital copies of those books.

Panzer says, "Now where did Mom put her cellphone with the camera in it?"

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

To read the post, tootle over to Kobo

Microsoft Unveils Digital Bookstore - Publishers' Weekly

Today, Panzer was making a leisurely trip around the Catosphere when the Panzermobile was buffeted by laughing and guffawing. Following all the jocularity, took our inquisitive kitty to the Publishers' Weekly (PW) site. There he discovered a post about Microsoft.

According to Calvin Reid's post, Microsoft has plans to open a retail digital bookstore. Quoting from a post at the Good E-Reader site, Mr. Reid says Microsoft will have hundreds of thousands (no specific number anywhere) of ebooks available. Microsoft's April upgrade to the Windows 10 Edge browser will make it easier to read ebooks on your computer, laptop or tablet. The post includes a link to the quoted Good E-Reader post and one to an earlier The Verge post.

A little slow in your old age MS?

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This kitty thinks Microsoft is coming to the party a little late. All the customer party goers have already picked their ereader dance partners."

Note: This is a shortish-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and half a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the two included links, bring another cup of tea and a whole muffin too.

To read the post, tootle over to Microsoft digital bookstore

Hachette Partners with Wattpad to Produce Audiobooks - Publishers' Weekly

When Panzer was cleaning out the Panzermobile today, he found a post scrunched under the passenger seat. Spreading out the post, our fastidious kitty discovered it was from a trip he made to the Publishers' Weekly site. The post was about Hachette and Wattpad's new partnership.

Mom's feeling better.

According to the post by Calvin Reid, Hachette and Wattpad are partnering to produce audiobooks. The audiobooks will use popular Wattpad author's stories. Plans are to have 50 audiobooks available in the summer of this year. They will be available at iTunes and other sellers. No titles or authors have been announced yet.

Panzer says, "It makes this little kitty want to post some of his work at Wattpad. Maybe it will become popular with the readers there."

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

To read the post, tootle over to Hachette and Wattpad

New York Times Cuts a Range of Bestseller Lists - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard yelling and screaming and gnashing of teeth ahead of the Panzermobile. Following all the noise took our brave kitty to the Publishers' Weekly site. There he found a post about the New York Times' Bestsellers List.

According to the post by Calvin Reid, the New York Times (NYT) is cutting the mass market paperback, middle grade ebooks, young adult ebooks, graphic novels and manga lists. The New York Times (NYT) states the changes will allow them more space for coverage other than bestseller lists. The NYT will announce the specific bestseller lists as they are eliminated.

How did they choose?

Panzer says, "This little kitty is confused ... How did they decide which lists to cut? Did they see the ebook authors having all their email list subscribers pre-order their books so they could claim NYT Bestseller status? Just asking."

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

To read the post, tootle over to New York Times

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's Nook Press Debuts Print, In-Store Event Programs - PW

Panzer was just tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard cheering and clapping. Following all the yelling and hurrahing took our kitty boy to the Publishers' Weekly site. There he found a post about Barnes and Noble.

I'll definitely be looking into this.

According to the post by Calvin Reid, Barnes and Noble made their anticipated announcement about their entry into the print publishing arena. Panzer told you about their planned announcement last week. Barnes and Noble has come up with a way to compete with Amazon's print publishing arm Create Space. Barnes and Noble's Nook Press qualifying ebook authors will now be able to print their ebooks as hardbacks and/or paperbacks. They will then be able to not only sell their books at Barnes and Noble stores, but also do author book signings and other events there as well.

Panzer says, "Barnes and Noble has a definite advantage over Amazon by allowing authors to have events at their stores in conjunction with their sales."

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

To read the post, tootle over to Nook Press

To read Panzer's previous post about Barnes and Noble, tootle over to Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Debuts Kindle E-book Giveaways - PW (Publishers' Weekly)

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard the sound of tentative clapping. Following the noise took him to the Publishers' Weekly site. There our brave kitty found a post about Amazon's Goodreads.

According to the post by Calvin Reid, Goodreads is adding Kindle ebook giveaways to the site. Until now authors and publishers could only hold giveaways for print books. As soon as testing is finished, any author or publisher who sells ebooks at the Amazon Kindle Store will be able to sign up for a giveaway. While the print book giveaways have always been free (and will remain so), the ebook giveaways will have a $119 fee. Goodreads will handle most of the details associated with the ebook giveaway including picking the winners. There is a 100 ebook limit on the giveaway, although no mention is made if this is a one time limit or if you could do multiple 100 ebook giveaways.

What took you so long?

Panzer says, "This kitty knew Kindle ebook giveaways were coming as soon as Amazon took over Goodreads."

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

To read the post, tootle over to Goodreads

HMH Debuts Kids' Digital Subscription Service - Publishers' Weekly

Halloween is coming!

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today when he heard giggling and laughing coming from the Publishers' Weekly site. Hurrying over there, our big bad kitty boy discovered a post about publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's newest endeavor.

According to Calvin Reid's post, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is starting a new children's subscription service with ebooks, videos and games. HMH's service will be available for younger children in the 3 years old to 7 years old age bracket. At $9.99 per month the service will be expensive when compared to the other children's subscription services which range in the $3.99 to $4.99 bracket.

To read the post, tootle over to online kids' digital subscription service

After Oyster, What's Next for E-book Subscriptions? - Publishers' Weekly

Where are they going?

Panzer made a trip over to the Publishers' Weekly site today.When he was digging around in the posts there, he found one about Oyster's announcement they'll be closing their doors next year.

The post by Andrew Albanese and Jim Milliot (with help from Calvin Reid) concerns the future of ebook subscription services after the demise of Oyster. The beginning of the post deals with the issues Panzer described in his post last week: Part of the Oyster staff will move to Google and the competition from other subscriber services. The post goes on to explain about traditional publishers' acceptance of the subscription model. In general, the post presents a positive future for ebook subscription services

Panzer says, "Will ebook subscription services survive is the question inquiring cats want to know."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring two gallons of tea and a dozen muffins. Also bring your favorite blanket and pillow to take a nap halfway through the post.

To read the Publishers' Weekly post, tootle over to  Oyster
To read Panzer's post, tootle over to Ebook Subscription Services

Oyster, E-Book Subscription Service, Shutting It's Doors

Whew! I'm tired after all that.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere just having a relaxing trip today. Suddenly, the quiet was littered with sniffling and snuffling and raindrops pitter-pattering on the Panzermobile windshield.

Following the trail of the commotion, our big bad kitty went to the Publishers' Weekly site. According to a post there by Calvin Reid, ebook subscription service Oyster is closing. Oyster is a service similar to a buffet dinner in that you can read all the ebooks you want per month for $9.99. Mr. Reid quotes from a post at the Re/code news site that some members of the Oyster staff will be moving to Google Play Books. Included in Mr. Reid's post is a link to the Re/code post.

Panzer followed the trail even farther and went to the Smashwords Blog site. According to a post there by Mark Coker, he (Coker) received direct notification from Oyster about the closing. Since Smashwords is a provider of indie published ebooks to Oyster, Mr. Coker was provided with information about the closing date (sometime in 2016). They both (Oyster and Smashwords) will continue their contract agreement until that time. Mr. Coker also gives his opinion on the current state of the ebook subscription service market, including Scribd and KDP Select.

Panzer says, "Hmmm. Google Play Books?"

Note: Each of these posts is l-o-n-g, but the Smashwords post is the l-o-n-g-e-s-t. Bring a h-u-g-e pot of tea, three muffins and a cushion to sit on.


To read the post at Publishers' Weekly, tootle over to Oyster
To read the post at Smashwords, tootle over to Oyster and KDP Select

Entitle Subscription Service Closes It's Doors

Now I have to find another service.

Panzer made a short trip into the Catosphere today. Our intrepid traveling kitty made a stop at the Publishers' Weekly site.

According to a post by Calvin Reid, the Entitle ebook subscription service has ceased business. The last day was July 21. As an ebook subscription service, Entitle charged a monthly fee. The monthly fees were based on the number of books a member read. The fees ranged from $16.99 to $33.50 per month. These fee prices were too high to attract readers and the business closed.

Panzer says, "Sometimes you just have to charge less to make up the difference with more buyers."

To read the post, tootle over to Entitle

Are Kindle Unlimited Royalty Changes Unfavorable for Authors?

My eyes hurt from all that reading.

Panzer was awakened from his afternoon nap by loud hissing and snarling. Our kitty boy hopped into the Panzermobile and headed into the Catosphere. Following all the noise lead him to a new Amazon announcement about their royalty payment to authors in the Kindle Unlimited program

 First our fearless kitty stopped at the Publishers' Weekly site. There in a post by Calvin Reid he learned that according to an Amazon announcement they have changed their royalty terms for KU. Amazon said they did this because authors were complaining about the previous terms. In particular authors said their royalties were lower in the plan as opposed to before they entered the plan. Based on the authors' input, Amazon made the change. However, Amazon said even with the old terms 95 percent of their KDP Select authors renewed their titles in the program.

Next our kitty boy headed over to the GalleyCAT site. There he found a post by Dianna Dilworth that quoted a post at the Melville House blog site saying the new changes are unfair to authors. Whereas in the old plan Amazon paid for a 10 percent read of an ebook, now under the new plan they will only pay for the pages actually read in an ebook.

Panzer says, "Hmmm. I was thinking of putting my new book Cat Wisdom for Humans in KU. Now I'm not so sure."

Note: Get a b-i-g cup of tea. Below are links to both posts and the GalleyCAT post contains a link to the Melville House post. So ... you're in for a l-o-n-g read.

To read the Publishers' Weekly post, tootle over to Amazon updates KU and-KOLL royalty terms

To read the GalleyCAT post, tootle over to Kindle Unlimited Royalty Changes Are Unfavorable for Authors | GalleyCat

Kobo To Deliver Ebooks to Southwest Airlines Flights

I have wi-fi. Will Kobo work here?

Panzer was out in the Catosphere in the Panzermobile today. Our flying kitty pilot discovered a post over at the Publisher Weekly site.

According to Calvin Reid's post, complimentary inflight copies of Kobo ebooks will be available on Southwest Airlines. Passengers will be able to use their wi-fi enabled mobile devices to download and read an ebook on their flight. If the passenger doesn't finish the ebook on the plane, they can buy the ebook and finish it later.

Panzer says, "Read fast, faster, fastest!"

To read the post, tootle over to Kobo ebooks

FastPencil Sold Back To Steve Wilson

Mom here. The house is mostly back to normal today with only a couple of things to replace from the water damage.

So, Panzer was free to hit the Catosphere today. He went to see what's been going on over at Publishers' Weekly.

My big brave kitty boy found a post by Jim Milliot and Calvin Reid about FastPencil. According to the post Steve Wilson is buying FastPencil back. Turns out FastPencil is a partner in the Books-A-Million self-publishing platform. Panzer already told you about the BAM! publishing platform's pickup locations for print books. 

Let's look again.

Panzer says, "I wasn't too sure about this new platform, but maybe the BAM! publishing needs another look if FastPencil is part of it."

To read the post, tootle over to FastPencil