Kindle Direct Publishing Will Beta Virtual Voice-Narrated Audiobooks - Publishers Weekly

How many voices will there be?

Today Panzer was shaken from his nap in his kitty bed by loud ooohing and aaahing and "It's about time," coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile, our brave kitty boy followed all the noise to the Publishers Weekly site. There he discovered a post about Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) audiobooks.

 

According to the post, KDP announced in the Kindle Direct Publishing Community Forum they will begin beta testing virtual voice narrated audiobooks. (That means AI-narrated audiobooks.) The books chosen for the beta testing will be by invitation only. The post includes a link to the Community Forum announcement.

 

 Panzer says, "Interesting. ... Google has been letting authors do AI narrated books for several months now."

 

 Note: This is a short post as is the announcement at the Community Forum. Bring a cup of tea for your reading today.

 To read the post tootle over to KDP virtual voice audiobooks

Changes to the KDP Categories Experience - KDP Forum

I've got to check my books' categories..

On his way home Panzer made a quick stop at the KDP Forum. There he found a post about changes made to the book categories.

 

You can now pick three categories for your book to be in. You can see other books in the categories to make sure you've made the right choices. The post includes instructions to help you.

To read the post tootle over to KDP Categories

Kindle Direct Publishing 15 Year Anniversary Giveaway - Official Rules - KDP Community

Today in the Amazon KDP Community site Panzer found an announcement about a giveaway.

 

Read the rules.

In celebration of the 15 year anniversary of Kindle Direct Publishing Amazon is having a giveaway. The winner(s) will receive a tote bag, a Kindle Paperwhite and a collection of paperback books. The winner(s) will be chosen in random drawing(s) from all the entries. The giveaway ends November 28, 2022.

 

Panzer says, "Be sure to read the rules carefully so you don't get disqualified."

 

Note: The rules are long and complicated. Don't bring anything to eat or drink so you can concentrate on your reading.

To read the rules tootle over to Giveaway Rules

Hardcover is available on KDP! - KDP Announcement

 Today as Panzer was napping, he was rudely shaken from his kitty bed by clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile, he followed all the noise to the KDP Community page. There he found an announcement about Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and hardcover books.

 

According to the post KDP has announced hardcover books will now be available as an option for authors' books. The hardcover books will have a 60 percent royalty. Submission information and links are included in the post.

 

Now back to that nap.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty wonders how this will work because of all the paper shortages everybody is talking about right now."

 

Note: This is a short post. You wont need to bring anything to read the post. If, however, you plan to follow all the links in the post, bring two cups of tea and three muffins.

 

To read the post tootle over to Hardcover on KDP

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

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Author Proofs, Distribution

Panzer received an email from Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) division. The email was an announcement about the new features available through the KDP print on demand paperbacks option. There were links in the email to Amazon KDP site.

Paperbacks to Europe and Japan?

According to the KDP site, authors can now order proof copies of their paperback books for the cost of printing and shipping. Through the expanded distribution the paperbacks will be distributed to Europe and Japan. There's a video included at the site explaining about publishing with the beta version. There are also links to answers for all the questions users might have about publishing through the new paperback option.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty wonders if CreateSpace will still be around to distribute to other sites like Barnes and Noble? Or will Amazon shut them down? Not a happy kitty thought."

Note: This is an extremely l-o-n-g post if you need to follow all the links. Bring two thermoses of tea and two dozen muffins for all the reading in today's selection.

To read the post tootle over to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

New Year, Old Problem: Innocent Author Rank-Stripped For Third Time - Let's Get Digital

Panzer had intended to make a quick trip today; but, when he hit the Catosphere, the Panzermobile was buffeted by yelling and screaming. Our brave kitty knew he needed to find out what all the hubbub was about. Following the noise took him to the Let's Get Digital site. With no digging required he found a post about Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).

This is definitely not good news.

According to the post by site owner David Gaughran, Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) rank-stripping machine is at it again. The post documents the problems indie author Kristi Belcamino has had with KDP beginning in September 2017 when she listed one of her books to free status from paid. KDP immediately rank-stripped her book. This means the book lost its sales ranking, became "invisible" in reader searches and couldn't be linked to by affiliates. After emails back and forth the book was finally re-instated to its former sales position. She again listed the book free in December 2017 and the same rank-stripping occurred. More emails back and forth and the book was again re-instated. She listed the book free in January 2018 with the same result with the rank-stripping. According to the Let's Get Digital post, it appears KDP doesn't have a valid explanation for what's causing the problem. There is a link near the end of the post to get Kristi Belcamino's book for free, if you hurry. (It goes off free in a couple of days, so check the price before you buy it to make sure it's still free.)

Panzer says, "This is exactly why this little kitty has never listed any ebooks free on KDP. Free are on Smashwords and Barnes and Noble."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring two thermoses of tea, a dozen muffins and six cookies (biscuits) and a sleeping bag for a nap in the middle of today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon author

KDP Jumpstart Guides Authors Through the Steps of Publishing a Book - The Digial Reader

I'm fine. Back to normal. Nap time.

We didn't post yesterday because Panzer had to go to the veterinarian for a follow-up visit for his surgery. The vet said our kitty boy is totally recovered.

So Panzer hit the fuel pedal in the Panzermobile today and went exploring in the Catosphere. Our traveling bad boy stopped in at The Digital Reader site. With a little digging, he found a post about Amazon's new KDP Jumpstart program.

According to the post by The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Amazon sent an email out on October 16 about their new training for authors called KDP Jumpstart. In the training authors learn all the steps to publish on the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform. The post includes a link to the KDP Jumpstart program page.

Panzer says, "This little kitty got the same email. It looks like good training for authors so we don't have to search all over to get help."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the link to the training sessions, bring a thermos of tea and a dozen muffins.

To read the post, tootle over to KDP Jumpstart

Amazon has laid out exactly how to game its self-publishing platform - Quartz

Panzer made a trip to the Quartz site today. There our kitty reporter found a post about Amazon's arbitration claim. Last week he told you about Amazon's plan to seek damages from companies and individuals for violations of the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) service.

According to the post by Thu-Huong Ha, Amazon laid out in its claim exactly how the companies and individuals it is seeking arbitration against managed to game the KDP system. These violations include fake reads, fake free promotion days downloads, fake books, and the ever present fake reviews. One description explains how the companies and individuals used fake Amazon customer accounts to download ebooks on free promotion days. This enabled an ebook to gain bestseller status in the free category. There is more information included about how the system was worked.

Don't even think about doing it.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... These cheaters are going to pay some big penalties."

Note: This is a long post. Bring two cups of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection. If you plan to read Panzer's previous post too, bring a thermos of tea and six muffins.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon sales and royalties

To read Panzer's previous post about Amazon's allegations of violations, tootle over to Amazon alleges violations

Hugh Howey On KDP

I need to look into this.

Panzer was out enjoying the sun in the Catosphere today. Our lazy little kitty boy stopped in at Hugh Howey's blog.  He likes to visit there because Mr. Howey always has interesting posts.

This time Mr. Howey is posting about being a "chump" for using Amazon's KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) for his books. Lately, he's been seeing a lot of posts and threads about how little money most indie authors make after publishing their books on KDP. So, he decided to tell the story of why and how he worked up to publishing with KDP. It's an interesting and enlightening read for all writers, not just indies.

Panzer says, "I guess I'm a chump too."

Note: As is always the case with Mr. Howey's posts, bring an e-x-t-r-a l-a-r-g-e cup of tea for your read today.

To read the post, tootle over to KDP

Kindle Direct Publishing Keyword & Category Tools - GalleyCat

From my friends at GalleyCAT.

Panzer found a new post at GalleyCAT about Amazon's keywords and categories. We've been researching Amazon's keywords and categories for the last couple of days. We were interested in seeing if others have had sales increases by changing the keywords they've been using.

The GalleyCAT post includes several links to help pick the appropriate keywords and there's a link to Donna Fasano's post about her experience with Amazon.

If you're looking for information on picking keywords for your new ebook, tootle on over to Kindle Direct Publishing Keyword & Category Tools - GalleyCat

Karen Woodward: Self Publishing on Amazon: Kindle Direct Publishin...

Panzer and I took three of his friends for a ride around the Catosphere today. The big boy wanted his friends to see how much fun the Catosphere is.

Guess what Panzer and his friends found? A great post at Karen Woodward's blog about publishing using Kindle Direct Publishing.

This is a complete plan of how to publish at KDP. And I mean COMPLETE. Everything is here: from opening your account at KDP to uploading your cover.

Let's be truthful. KDP is not the easiest place to publish. Karen gives you a helping hand up the ladder.

So, if you need a course on how to upload you file, tootle on over to  Karen Woodward: Self Publishing on Amazon: Kindle Direct Publishin...: