Free The Creative Penn Podcast:Your Publishing Options With Rachael Herron

She has interesting people on.

Panzer thought you might like this episode from The Creative Penn Podcast. The episode features Joanna Penn and bestselling author Rachael Herron discussing indie publishing and traditional publishing and the pros and cons of each.

The episode Your Publishing Options is fifty-six minutes long. The show notes are below the podcast. The post contains links to other podcast episodes and information.

 

To listen to the episode tootle over to Joanna Penn and Rachael Herron

2022 Publishing Predictions - Indies Take Center Stage – Smashwords Blog

Panzer took a trip to the Smashwords Blog today. There he found a post by Mark Coker about publishing for the coming year.

 

Google narrated audio books?

Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, is out with his annual publishing predictions. After the introduction the post is divided into two sections. The first is The State of the Indie Nation. In this section he addresses the Covid-19 pandemic, it's effect on humanity and how indie authors have helped and can continue to help humanity. The second section is Mark Coker's 2022 Publishing Predictions. This section is divided into twelve subsections.These cover the public's book reading habits, online buying habits, print on demand acceptance, audio books, and eight more predictions. There are some links to illustrate his predictions included in the post.

 

Panzer says, "This is a really interesting post."

 

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring a thermos of tea, four muffins and three chocolate chip cookies for today's trip into the future.

 

To read the post tootle over to   2022 Publishing Predictions

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

Self-published titles '22% of UK e-book market' - The Bookseller

Ahhh ... A nice quiet day.

Panzer took a nice relaxing trip in the Catosphere today. Our happy kitty pilot didn't hear any arguing or snarling or crying or disruptive behavior anywhere. After just enjoying the quiet for a while he stopped in at The Bookseller site to find something interesting for you.

According to a post at the site by Lisa Campbell, some good news for indie authors was discussed at the Nielsen BookInsights Conference last week. Although growth of ebooks in the UK is not what it was 2 or 3 years ago, growth of self-published ebooks is growing. Self-published ebook sales for 2015 were 22 percent of all digital ebook sales compared to 16 percent for 2014. And where do all those self-published ebooks come from? According to Steve Bohme of Nielsen Book UK, it's Amazon self-published ebooks. Also covered in the post are audiobook sales, print book sales and tablets and other ebook reading devices impact on sales.

Panzer says, "Indie ebooks are being recognized by readers for their value in the marketplace."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. You'll need a cup of tea and two muffins for today's read.

To read the post, tootle over to e-book market

Todd Larson Named CEO of Self-Publishing Specialist Blurb - Dow Jones Business News

Panzer made a short trip into the Catosphere today. Our big bad kitty made a trip to the Nasdaq site. Panzer has never been there before, so he spent a lot of time digging and rummaging around to find a post. Finally, when he was almost ready to throw up his paws and give up, he was successful.

You'd subscribe, right?

According to Jeffrey Trachtenberg, Todd Larson has become the Chief Executive Officer of Blurb Inc. Using Blurb you can indie publish your book or magazine in paperback or digital formats. Then you can sell them on Amazon or in the iBooks stores.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... I didn't know you could do magazines that way. Maybe ... it's time for a Panzer Lovers magazine."

Note: This is a medium size post, so a cup of tea should be what you need for today's reading session.

To read the post, tootle over to Blurb

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Guest Post by Andrea Pearson

She did a lot of work.

Panzer made a trip over to J.A.  Konrath's blog today. Our adventuresome kitty found a guest post by YA fantasy author Andrea Pearson there.

Ms. Pearson begins by giving us a view of how she got started in indie publishing her writing. We then learn how she built her career over the years. She divides the post into six sections: newsletter preparation, reviews, more books, book covers, social media, and marketing. This is a mini-course on how to become a successful indie author.

Panzer says, "Surprise! There's no traditional publishing bashing in this post."

This is a h-u-g-e post, so bring an e-x-t-r-a l-a-r-g-e thermos of tea and a couple of muffins for while you're reading.

To read the post, tootle over to A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Guest Post by Andrea Pearson:

Enter A New DIY Publishing Company

Be careful. Always read everything first.

Panzer found an interesting post at the Publishers' Weekly site today.

It seems Books-A-Million (BAM) is jumping into the do-it-yourself (DIY) self-publishing market. According to a post by Clare Swanson, BAM will be offering print books, ebooks, and distribution services to indie authors. There's a link in the post to the BAM site so you can decide if this option might be for you.

Panzer says, "Be careful! The post says you can pick up your print books in South Portland, Maine or Birmingham, Ala. Unless you live near one of these cities, it's an awfully long trip to get your print books!"

To read the full post, tootle over to BAM self-publishing

Will Self-Publishing Exist in 10 Years?

Will it? Or won't it?

Panzer was looking for information about what's going on in the ebook publishing world. He found an interesting post at Erica Verrillo's blog Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity.

Erica asks the question, "Will self-publishing exist in 10 years?" She explores her ideas about the future through quotes from a presentation by Jon Fine, Amazon's director of author and publishing relations, and Hugh Howey, hybrid author,  speaking at the Publishing for Digital Minds conference.

I find the whole question of self-publishing's future interesting. For some time writers have been trying to get away from the idea of being self-published by calling ourselves indie publishers. Now, there is a movement to start our own small publishing companies only publishing ourselves and a small group of "friends" in short story collections.  It'll be interesting to see what the future does hold for us.

If you want to read Erica Verrillo's, Amazon's Jon Fine's, and Hugh Howey's view of the future, tootle over to, Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: Will Self-Publishing Exist in 10 Years?:

Hugh Howey and the Indie Revolt

Can't a cat get some sleep?

Panzer got pulled of out his nap by CATerwauling in the Catosphere this morning. My bad boy gets really irritable if he doesn't get his sleep!

So ... he went out in the Panzermobile to see what was going on this time.

It turns out the Ebook Earnings Report post by Hugh Howey has been causing big discussions (arguments) out in the Catosphere. Publishers' Weekly got into it by having Mark Coker of Smashwords write a post for them.

Panzer says, "Mark has a very common sense approach to all the hoopla. It's well worth the read, but v-e-r-y l-o-n-g."

If you want to read Mark Coker's take on Indie and Traditional Publishing, tootle over to Indie vs. Traditional.

Ebook Earnings Report

Panzer was out in the Catosphere following a trail of cheering authors. He found the source of all the excitement at author Hugh Howey's post at Author Earnings.

Hugh spent an enormous amount of time putting together a report that documents authors' earnings from ebooks sales, the number of sales, the percentage of indie sales compared to traditional sales and much more.

If you doubt whether or not you should get into indie publishing, you need to read this report. You'll see that indie publishing is a viable way to publish and market your ebook. The report also demonstrates you can make money selling your ebook. Panzer wants you to know this is a very long report and graphs and numbers heavy.

If you want to make up your own mind about indie publishing, tootle over and read The Report.

Smashwords: Smashwords Ebook Publishing Workshops on Youtube

FREE Videos!

When Panzer was out in the Catosphere today he found five FREE Youtube videos about indie ebook publishing. These are Smashwords videos so they do lean toward Smashwords publishing.

 The videos cover everything from a primer on ebook publishing to increasing your sales at the Apple iTunes Store.

Be warned, there's a total of eight hours of videos, so grab a BIG cup of tea before you tootle over to Smashwords: Smashwords Ebook Publishing Workshops on Youtube: I've posted a series of five ebook publishing workshops at Youtube.  Each is embedded below. Whether you're considering publishing...

Ebook Publishing Trips

Ebook publishing?

Panzer and I were out in the Catosphere today and found a FREE online copy of Mike Shea's Ebook Publishing Tips.

The essay contains tips for doing a Kindle ebook, doing a PDF, using Calibre and a lot more. There's a clickable Table of Contents to make it really easy for you to find what you're looking for. There's also a clickable resource list at the end, too.

It's FREE to read online, but, if you want your own copy to read offline, there's a link to buy a copy.

Panzer says, "If you have questions about publishing your ebook, you need to read this."

To read the FREE online copy tootle over to Mike Shea's Ebook Publishing Tips

Bowker Counted 391,000 Self-Published Books Last Year - GalleyCat

391,000 books?

Okay, Panzer admits it. He was out in the Catosphere trying to find out why he keeps bouncing in and out of the Amazon 100 for Mystery Short Story Collections.

Well, he found out what his competition is ... and that explains all the bouncing. His Cats and Crime was one of the 391,000 self (indie) -published books last year.

Whew! It's so good to know that's what it is and not that all of you are cat haters!

If you want to read about your competition, tootle on over to Bowker Counted 391,000 Self-Published Books Last Year - GalleyCat

New Ebook is out on Amazon!

Fiona L. Webber's new romantic novella Love's Decisions is now available at Amazon for the amazingly low price of $ .99.

Hugh Howey

Traditional? What's that?

Panzer found an interview by Porter Anderson at Publishing Perspectives with Hugh Howey.

Yes, that would be Hugh Howey of indie published Wool fame.  If you don't know who Hugh Howey is, where have you been? He is the new Amanda Hocking of indie publishing.

In the interview Howey discusses self publishing versus traditional publishing. I think you'll find it's an interesting interview.

Be warned. It's very, very long. So make a huge cup of tea before you tootle over to Hugh Howey on self-publishing vs. traditional publishing

What Makes a Reader Pick Up a Book By a Debut Author?

I don't agree.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere looking for marketing ideas. He found an interesting post from April at Jody Hedlund's blog.

Jody discusses the five things she believes a reader looks for when deciding if a debut author's book is worth looking at. Among the five are the standard have a good cover and have lots of reviews, but also included are word of mouth, written by a friend and whether it's traditionally or indie published. She has an argument for why readers consider each point.

Panzer agrees with all of the points discussed except whether readers actually care if a book is traditionally or indie published. A few years ago that was important, but today that's no longer true. A whole editing industry has grown up around indie publishing. Indie published books are as well edited now as traditionally published books.

If you're interested in Jody's view, tootle on over to What Makes a Reader Pick Up a Book By a Debut Author?

ISBN's and Indie Authors

Who knew?

Panzer was out tootling around in the Catosphere. He decided to stop in at Galley Cat to see what's new there today.

He found a super important post about ISBNs for indie writers. Bowker has launched the Self-Published Author site. Did you know you can get an ISBN as a publisher without even forming a publishing company? That means we can buy ISBNs as the Panzer Publishing Company. Who knew that?

For more on ISBNs and indie authors, tootle over to ISBNs and Indie Authors

The New World of Publishing: The Assumption of Agents

Agent? What agent?

Panzer likes to check out Dean Wesley Smith's blog every once in awhile. This time Smith has a post about whether an author really needs an agent. In his usual straightforward manner, he asks the question, "In today's publishing arena is there even a place for an agent?"

If you want to know Smith's answer to the question, tootle over to The New World of Publishing: The Assumption of Agents

Amazon Sued Again

Not again!?!?

According to the Seattle Times newspaper Amazon is being sued in a class action suit by the small merchants who use the site. It seems Amazon keeps the payments due to some merchants longer than the 90 days specified in the online contract. It also appears the 90 days in the contract may be against the law in Washington state where Amazon is headquartered.

Panzer asks, "Can indie authors and publishers be far behind in filing suit too?"

At the Seattle Times website read Amazon Sellers Suit.

Smashwords: Smashwords Year in Review 2012 - The Power in Publ...

Panzer sure has been hanging around Smashwords a lot lately. Here's the year 2012 in review for authors, publishers, and agents at Smashwords. The indie publishing industry and by extension Smashwords has been growing over the past year. There are more indie authors and rEtailers today than ever before and Smashwords has been helping connect the two thru the Smashwords distribution channels.

Be warned this is a very long post!

Tootle over and read the news at  Smashwords: Smashwords Year in Review 2012 - The Power in Publ...: Welcome to my annual Smashwords year in review. In the last 12 months, tens of thousands of new authors and publishers have joined the S...