From Indie Author to 6 (and 7!) Figure Traditionally Pubbed Book Deal - Indie Reader

After Panzer woke up from his afternoon nap he headed out into the Catosphere. Tootling around he stopped in at the Indie Reader site. There he found a post by Joe Sutton about indie author success stories.

Mr. Sutton's post tells of six indie authors who have gotten traditional publishing contracts and/or movie deals. They come from all genres. Fiction writers Hazel Gaynor and Jasinda Wilder got traditional publishing contracts, Children's fiction writer Cal-Johan Forssen Ehrlin and self-help author Aija Mayrock also got traditional publishing contracts. Fiction writers Andy Weir and A. G. Riddle got traditional publishing contracts as well as movie contracts.

Money or Cat Treats? Which for Me?

Panzer says, "Hmm ... I don't know if I'd want to give up all control over my books just for money. But ... That is a lot of money for kitty treats."

Note You'll need a cup of tea and a muffin for your reading today.

To read the post, tootle over to indie success stories

KU’s New Payment Terms: An Author Does the Math

I'm not going to worry about it.

When Panzer got up from his nice long after-lunch nap, he went out into the Catosphere today. Our well-rested kitty boy stopped in at the Indie Reader site. After some careful digging around, he found a post by novelist Lynn Messina.

Ms. Messina has an interesting outlook on the Kindle Unlimited (KU) payment terms. She admits she comes from a traditionally published background. There she was making significantly less per book than Amazon was originally offering authors of novels under the KU terms. Under the new pay per page read plan, it appears authors of novels would still fare better as long as their book is read completely. She does admit cookbook authors won't fare as well, since their books aren't read in their entirety.

Panzer says, "But what about a cat like me who has a collection of short stories? Or a collection of cat witticisms? They're short. Not enough pages to make it worth putting in KU."

To read the full post, tootle over to KU’s New Payment Terms: An Author Does the Math

Is The Self Pub Stigma Gone?

Only the best will do.

Panzer made a hurried trip into the Catosphere today. He was late for his after lunch nap and wanted to get to it before he fell asleep at the controls of the Panzermobile. Our kitty reporter of all things indie stopped in at the Indie Reader site.

According to the IR Staff, because indie publishing has been so easy in the past, a lot of material that was unedited, had bad covers and should have been left in a desk drawer to die a slow death was instead self pubbed. This lead to reader overload of ebook garbage and a bad reputation for everyone who self pubbed.

But, the IR Staff says the self pub stigma may finally be disappearing. The quality of indie books in general is improving. Indie books are being nominated for prizes and even winning some. Indie books are even making it onto some best seller lists.

Panzer says, "Humans should put as much time into self pubbing the best book they can as they put into talking about the book they self pubbed."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a b-i-g c-u-p of tea.

To read the post, tootle over to Indie Reader

Authors Up in Arms about Kindle Unlimited (Again)

To KU or not to KU. Which?

Panzer made a trip over to the Indie Reader site. Our big, bad, kitty boy found a very disheartening post by Danny O. Snow there.

It turns out Kindle Unlimited may be readers' heaven, but it's authors and publishers' hell. Royalties for KU participants are now even lower than they were last year. So ... some authors and publishers are turning their work into paperbacks to be sold on Amazon and opting out of KU. They can get higher royalties and aren't in competition with their KU ebooks.

Panzer says, "Hmmm. Makes sense to me."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post, so bring a b-i-g cup of tea.

To read the full post, tootle over to Authors Up in Arms about Kindle Unlimited (Again)

Audio Books and the Indie Reader

Just jump right on.

Panzer has told you before about the audiobook market. He's told you how to do it at ACX and where to do the selling at Amazon and Audible. Now, it looks like the rest of the indie world is catching up with him and you.

Today, my bad boy stopped in at the Indie Reader.  He found JH Mae's post Audio Books and the Indie Reader has some interesting information. Even Panzer didn't know Goodreads lists if you have an audio book version available.

Panzer says, "Have you jumped on the audiobooks wagon yet? If not, why not?"

For more information on the audio market, tootle over to Audio Books and the Indie Reader

Four Markets for Serial Fiction

Looking for markets? Or just a good read?

Panzer was out looking for markets for short stories today. He found a post at Indie Reader  by JH Mae that has markets for not only short stories, but serial fiction too.

What is serial fiction you ask?

Well, so did Panzer.

According to the Indie Reader post, it's not exactly like the old serial movies your great-grandmother used to watch, but it is similar in some ways. Today's serial fiction can be a novel released chapter by chapter or a collection of short stories released story by story or even a novella.

Ms. Mae describes four markets for serial fiction, including DailyLit, Eat Your Serial, Jukepop, and Tuesday Serial.

If you're a writer, it doesn't look like these are paying markets; but it could be a way to get your work out to readers and get a following.

Or ... if you're a reader, these could be places to enjoy serial fiction.

If you're interested in checking out serial fiction, tootle over to Serial Fiction

10 Things Not To Say To A Writer

Hmmm. 10 things?

Panzer was over at Indie Reader today and found a great post by Lucy Wang.

Lucy's post is about the 10 things not to say to a writer. The list includes things like the TBR (To Be Read) list, Too Cheap (your book that is), and You're A Poet ..., and seven more topics.

Panzer says, "This is such an interesting list! Not the usual 10 Things ... kind of list you're used to."

If you're interested in reading the list, tootle over to 10 things

A “Scandalous” Interview with H.M. Ward

4 million?

Panzer found an interview with bestselling N.A. author H.M. Ward at the Indie Reader.

What's N.A.? New Adult. It's new genre.

Ward is the author of Scandalous and The Arrangement series. She has sold a total of 4 million books. Yes, you read that right, 4 million books.

Want to know her marketing secrets?

To find out, tootle over to A “Scandalous” Interview with H.M. Ward

Ripping Off Indie Authors: Let Us Count the Ways

We are indie! We are strong!

Panzer was out in the Catosphere today and happened upon this post by Coral Russell at Indie Reader.

Coral's post made Panzer and I think twice about our plans for marketing our next ebook. We planned on setting up a blog tour and even getting help setting up our Wordpress site. Looks like that's not something we should do without a lot of investigation!

Panzer says, "Is there no place an indie author is safe?"

To be safe and prepared tootle on over to Ripping Off Indie Authors: Let Us Count the Ways