KDP Raises Printing Costs - KDP

All costs are rising.

Panzer heard KDP is raising printing costs for authors' print on demand (POD) books. To see how much the new pricing will impact his books, our speedy kitty boy made a trip to the KDP site.

 

There he found a chart which shows the current printing cost and the changes effective June 20.

 

 You can use the link below to see if you'll need to make changes to your books' pricing before June 20.

 

 To read the chart tootle over to KDP New Printing Costs

Supply Squeeze, Changing Consumer Behavior Challenges Publishers - Publishers Weekly

Today, as Panzer was tootling around in the Catophere he decided to make a stop at the Publishers Weekly site. There our intrepid traveler found a post about problems publishers are having.

 

Supply chain problems are still here.

The post by Ed Nawotka covers information from a webinar on May 4 by the Ingram Content Group. The webinar discussed the fact several issues are causing problems for publishers right now. These include supply chain problems, cost increases, and port delivery problems. Other contributing factors are labor shortages and paper shortages. Customer buying habits are also changing. Customers are buying and reading more ebooks and audio books.

Panzer says, "They're also looking at print on demand."

 

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

 

To read the post tootle over to Supply Chain

 

Publishing paperback and hardcover in the Netherlands is now available!

 Panzer had just started eating his dinner, when he heard clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile, our brave kitty boy followed all the joyful noise to the KDP site. There he found an announcement about publishing in the Netherlands.

Another market?

According to the post, effective January 31 KDP began distribution of paperback and hardcover books in the Netherlands. You must have worldwide, EU or UK distribution selected for your books to be eligible for the program. The end of the post includes links to instructions for changing your distribution if you need to.

 

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Guess I better have Mom go check our books."

 

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of cocoa for your reading. If you plan to follow the links, you probably don't want to bring anything else to eat or drink so you can concentrate on learning what to do.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon POD in Netherlands 

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

KDP adding a Transparency code to some barcodes - News Release - KDP Community

Today Panzer found a new announcement at the KDP Community site.

 

Makes it easier for authors.

According to the news release KDP will be beginning adding what the company calls Transparency Codes to the back of some of the books they publish in the U.S. and Canada. The announcement says the Transparency Code is similar to a QR Code. 

 

Panzer says, "With the new code the reader can find out everything about the author."

Note: The post is very short. You don't need to bring anything for today's reading.

To read the full post tootle over to Transparency Code

Kindle Create Now Outputs POD Book Files - The Digital Reader

 It's been a while since Panzer has gone to The Digital Reader site, so he decided to make a stop there today. With a little digging in the posts, our traveling kitty pilot found one with news about the Kindle Create app/program/plugin.

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Amazon has added the ability to do POD book files to Kindlw Create. This means you can create the files for your ebook and your paperback book using Create. As the post points out, the paperback book files created can't be used on any other platform. If you plan to use Amazon as your only paperback seller, then Create will work fine for you. The post contains a link to download Create from the Amazon site.

I wonder. Do you?

Panzer says, "Hmm ... We have Kindle Create as a plugin for Word. Inquiring kitties want to know, if we have to download the update ourselves or if it will update itself the next time we open it."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to download and install Kindle Create, bring a muffin too.

To read the post tootle over to Kindle Create

At BookExpo: Sharjah Publishing City Signs Ingram Lightning Source - Publishing Perspectives

Panzer was shaken awake from his nap by clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile our intrepid kitty traveler followed all the hubbub to the Publishing Perspectives site. There with only a little digging in the posts he found one about Ingram Lightning Source.

Their market share is getting bigger too.

According to Publishing Perspectives site owner Porter Anderson in an exclusive, Ingram Lightning Source announced an agreement to become a tenant in the Sharjah Publishing City. This will be a new Print on Demand (POD) location for Lightning Source and will allow for faster distribution to the Arab world and African markets from the company. The post not only covers the Ingram Lightning Source - Sharjah Publishing City agreement but also information on the Publishing City facilities and history.

Panzer says, "This opens a huge market for Ingram Lightning Source POD."

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring two thermoses of tea, two dozen muffins and you'll definitely need a sleeping bag for a nap in the middle.

To read the post tootle over to Ingram Lightning Source

Jens Klingelhofer Rolls Out a New 'Bookwire Os' Expansion of Service - Publishing Perspectives

I'll just lay here and recuperate.

Panzer had to go to the vet yesterday for his annual vaccinations so he didn't post; but today he's back in the Catosphere. Our recovering kitty made a stop at the Publishing Perspective site. There with a little digging in the posts he found one about Bookwire.

According to Publishing Perspective's Editor-in-Chief Porter Anderson, Bookwire CEO Jens Klingelhofer has announced an expansion in services. In addition to the company's ebook distribution, it will now offer audio book and POD book services. The post includes screen shots of Bookwire's new dashboard. Also included are links to other posts/sites for information about Bookwire and the announcement.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Another company enters the audio book market."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links, bring a half a thermos of tea and three more muffins.

To read the post tootle over to Bookwire OS expansion

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)

Barnes & Noble to Rebrand Nook Press as B&N Press - The Digital Reader

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to The Digital Reader site. There our enterprising little kitty discovered a post about Barnes and Noble's Nook Press.

Hmm ... 65 percent?

According to the post by site owner Nate Hoffelder, Barnes and Noble has renamed the Nook Press the Barnes and Noble Press (B&N Press). In addition, the royalty rate for ebooks priced $10.00 or more is now 65 percent and the pre-order window is lengthened to 12 months. The company has also made changes on the print on demand (POD) book side such as in cover options and trim size. The major portion of the post is an email from Barnes and Noble to the Nook Press authors.

Panzer says,"Hmm ... This little kitty didn't know there was a Barnes and Noble POD paperback press division.  He used CreateSpace POD to make his paperback books available in the b&n.com store."

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

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble

KDP Print Enters Public Beta - The Digital Reader

Who prints the books?

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to The Digital Reader site. With no digging at all our kitty boy found a post about Amazon's KDP Print platform.

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder's post, Amazon has opened the KDP Print platform to everyone. Currently, the new KDP Print platform does not offer the same options as Amazon's CreateSpace (CS) print platform. Author proof copies are one of the options not available, which means authors will not be able to see what their books look like before they're sold through Amazon. Be sure to read the Comments Section.

Panzer says, "This kitty is staying with CreateSpace for now. I want to okay my proof copies. But ... Maybe ... Amazon is going to close CreateSpace. Why? There have been some complaints about CreateSpace ... And ... Maybe ... Amazon doesn't want to be part of those complaints. "

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

To read the post, tootle over to KDP Print

Business Week: Amazon vs. Publishers

Everybody knows how much Panzer and I love our Kindle. By extension, that means we love Amazon. Right?

Well, Panzer was doing a little search for Amazon information with our good friend Google.

Guess what he found? 

Brad Stone has an interesting article at Business Week called Amazon vs. Publishers: The Book Battle Continues. It seems Amazon has been approaching publishers about POD for their slower selling books. So far, Amazon has met with resistance from the publishers.

Hmmm. Want to know why?

Panzer says tootle on over to Business Week. and read all about it.

Dean Wesley Smith's Book Production Time

Dean Wesley Smith is blogging about the production process for his ebooks and POD books.

Smith gives an actual breakdown of the time it took him to do a collection of short stories.

When reading this post, be sure to read the comments section, too. Smith includes some additional information when he's answering comment questions.

So, if you're worried about how much time it will take you to get that ebook out to your readers, go to Dean Wesley Smith.

Let Panzer know if this helps you!