Around the World, Reading Is Becoming More Social - Publishers Weekly

Cats need a lot of naps to stay healthy.

Panzer's last stop today was at the Publishers Weekly site. There he discovered a post about international readers.

  

The post addresses how readers are forming reading groups to discuss what books and genres they're reading. The post also discusses what platforms readers are using.

 

 Panzer says, "This little kitty didn't know about any of this."

 

Note: This is a very long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on.

 

To read the post tootle over to Reading 

ElevenLabs Summit: An Audiobook Company That Isn't About Audiobooks - Publishing Perspectives

They're a really big company.

Here's a post about ElevenLabs Panzer found at the Publishing Perspectives site.

 

Carlo Carrehno's begins with an overview of ElevenLabs Summit at which the company focused on company aspects different from its audiobook platform. The first section is followed by an examination of ElevenLabs other voice business plans and possible future plans for audiobooks and publishing.

  

Panzer says, "They're a much bigger company than just the audiobooks platform."

 

Note:This is a long length post. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on.

 

To read the post tootle over to ElevenLabs Summit 

ElevenLabs, Valued at $ 11 Billion, 'Doubles Down' on Audiobooks - Publishers Daily

Hmm ... Three tiers of production.

Here's a post about ElevenLabs Panzer found on the Publishers Daily site today.

 

According to Ed Nawotka's post, ElevenLabs is concentrating on audiobook production. The post includes several links to other information about the platform.

  

Panzer says, "There are a lot of audiobook production platforms now."

 

Note: This is a long short length post. You won't need to bring anything to snack on. If you follow the links in the post, then you'll need to decide what to bring to snack on.

 

To read the post tootle over to ElevenLabs

'Reading is part of my identity':the woman taking on the Goodreads owner Amazon - The Guardian

Ready to leave Goodreads?

When Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today, he decided to stop at The Guardian site.  There with just a little digging he found a post about The StoryGraph platform.

 

David Barnett's post is an in-depth look at the StoryGraph platform from it's inception to today. Most of the post is told through quotes from founder Nadia Odunayo.

 

Panzer says, "The Guardian does not have a paywall when you log on to read. If the ad comes on when you arrive, click the 'X' to continue reading." 

Note: This is a very long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to The StoryGraph

Created by Humans Partners with the Authors Guild - Publishers Weekly

A press release is short and to the point.

While visiting the Publishers Weekly site today, Panzer found a press release about the Authors Guild and Created by Humans.

 According to the press release, in the partnership between Created by Humans platform and the Authors Guild the latter will promote Created by Humans to its members.

 

Panzer says, "The promotions have already started. Mom got an email about the partnership this morning."

 

Note: This is a very short press release. You won't need anything to eat or drink while you read it.

 

To read the post tootle over to Authors Guild

Wattpad's Disruption in Turkiye: 'No Explanation' - Publishing Perspectives

I don't understand why humans do what they do.

Panzer made a stop at the Publishing Perspectives site today. There our inquisitive kitty found a post about Wattpad.

 

Porter Anderson's post covers the disruption of service of the Wattpad platform in Turkiye.  The post is divided into sections covering a Turkish court order and the backlash to the order from various organizations.

 

Panzer says, "The court banned Wattpad? Why?"

  

Note: This is a humongous post. You'll need to decided what to bring to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Wattpad

Asimov, Adler, and AI Rights: 'Created by Humans' - Publishing Perspectives

You need to read his post.

Panzer made a quick trip to the Publishing Perspectives site today. With no digging at all he found a post about a new startup that wants to be the answer to AI licensing problems,

Porter Anderson's post is an indepth study of the company 'Created by Humans.' Included in the post are charts, interviews and quotes about AI licensing opportunities in today's business world.

Panzer says, "This is a really interesting idea the company is built on."

Note: This is a long, long post. Bring a big glass of cold lemonade and a big bowl of ice cream for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to AI Rights Platform

Comics Thrive in Libraries Through Digital Lending - Publishers Weekly

Did you know about this?

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he stopped in at the Publishers Weekly site. There with no digging at all he found a post about comics.

Brigid Alverson's post is about the Comic Plus platform. Comic Plus allows school students to check out comic graphic novels from their school libraries. The post also covers other school library platforms and has interviews.

Panzer says, "This little kitty didn't know you could check out "graphic novels" from school libraries."

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

To read the post tootle over to Comics in Libraries

Draft2Digital vs PublishDrive Review - Kindlepreneur

It's been a long time since Panzer visited the Kindlepreneur site, so our little traveling kitty boy decided to make a stop there today. With no digging at all he found a post comparing Draft2Digital to PublishDrive. The post he found includes the additions to Draft2Digital's platform caused by the acquisition of Smashwords. Panzer told you about that acquisition/merger/sale (you pick what to call it) a couple of days ago.

D2D looks good on the chart.

In his post site owner Dave Chesson does an extensive review of both the Draft2Digital (D2D) and PublishDrive platforms. The post includes a comparison chart of the publishing and distribution services offered, the costs, and pros and cons sections for both platforms. The post includes links to both platforms. At the end of the post he chose D2D as the winner of the comparison review.

Panzer says, "This little kitty has never used D2D and has no opinion."

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring a thermos of cocoa, three muffins and two chocolate chip cookies (biscuits) for today's adventure in learning.

To read the post tootle over to Draft2Digital vs PublishDrive

To read about the Smashwords acquisition tootle over to Smashwords

OverDrive Education Acquires TeachingBooks.net - Publishers Weekly

 Today Panzer made a trip to the Publishers Weekly site. With a little digging in the posts, he found one about OverDrive Education.

 

According to the post, TeachingBooks.net has merged with OverDrive Education. Currently, 55,000 schools and libraries worldwide have access to 265,000 "curated materials" through TeachingBooks.net. The post quotes OverDrive officials who call it an acquisition, but the TeachingBooks.net founder calls it a merger. Included in the post is a link to OverDrive's home page, one to TeachingBooks.net's home page and one to OverDrive's Sora reading app home page.

Merger? Acquisition? Which is it?

Panzer says, "This little kitty didn't know there was an OverDrive Education platform."

 

Note: This is a short-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading news. If you plan to follow all the links in the post, bring a thermos of tea, four muffins and brownie.

 

To read the post tootle over to OverDrive Education

Germany's Bookwire in Distribution Deal with Spain's Editorial Planeta - Publishing Perspectives

Today as Panzer washing the wind screen on the Panzermobile he found a post stuck under the wiper blade. Pulling it out, our fastidious kitty discovered it was a post from the Publishing Perspectives site about Bookwire.

 

Now for a little nap.

According to Porter Anderson's post, Bookwire has entered into an agreement with Editorial Planeta. According to terms of the agreement Bookwire will distribute 30,000 ebooks and 1,200 audio books to the Spanish-language market. There are links to information about Bookwire, Editorial Planeta and Bookwire's OS platform included in the post.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Interesting. The post lists Amazon and Kobo as two of the places they'll distribute to."

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a glass of iced tea and two chocolate chip cookies for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Germany's Bookwire

Legible Launches Browser-Based Reading and Publishing Platform - Publishers Weekly

 Panzer was rudely woken up this morning by clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Dragging his poor, tired, little, kitty body into the Panzermobile, he headed into the Catosphere. Following all the hullabaloo took him to the Publishers Weekly site. There he found a post about the new Legible reading and publishing platform.

Want to give it a try?

According to the post by Ed Nawotka, Legible.com has launched their new browser-based platform in beta mode in the U.S. and Canada. Browser-based means you can read their books on your cellphone, tablet or computer. Currently, they have books uploaded by some publishers, books in the public domain, and books uploaded by authors. Legible will be offering a subscription service, a sponsorship program and a publishing program. The subscription service will offer books for reading for a monthly fee. The sponsorship program will give schools and businesses the opportunity to pay a fee and allow multiple people to read the same material for a set amount of time. The publishing program will let authors upload their own books to the platform. There's a link to the publishing platform included in the post. If you fill out the form to get information about the publishing program, you can choose to visit the site and look at the books there.

Panzer says, "This little kitty followed the Legible Publishing link. It looks like an interesting new publishing venue."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a glass of lemonade and a bowl of ice cream for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Legible platform

PRH Audio Debuts Voiceover Casting Platform, Ahab - Publishers Weekly

 Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere, he heard clapping and cheering coming from outside the Panzermobile. Following all the noise took our adventuresome kitty boy to the Publishers Weekly site. There with no digging at all he found a post about the new Ahab platform.

 

Worldwide jobs for you.

According to the post by John Maher, Penguin Random House (PRH) has made additions to their inhouse Audio platform to allow outside access. The new platform is called Ahab. Ahab allows voiceover actors to list their profiles, audition for projects and accept employment from content creators for projects outside PRH. Ahab allows voiceover actors worldwide to post their profiles and content creators worldwide to post their project needs. There is a link and a video included in the post to learn more about Ahab.

 

Panzer says, "Hmm ... I wonder if Ahab would let this little kitty post a profile to do translations into cat-speak projects."

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links in the post, bring another cup of tea, a muffin and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit).

 

To read the post tootle over to voiceover platform

Draft2Digital, Baker & Taylor, and OverDrive - Indies Unlimited

Panzer is still helping Mom with her recuperating extended-family relative, so today's trip into the Catosphere was short. On a quick trip to the Indies Unlimited site our speedy kitty found a post about Draft2Digital.

I really need more sleep.

According to Melinda Clayton, Draft2Digital has announced their partnership with Baker and Taylor's 360 Axis 360 ebook distribution to libraries. Authors who use Draft2Digital will now have two platforms for library distribution: OverDrive and Baker and Taylor. The post also includes information about differences between the two platforms and a brief history of a court case between the two. The link to the court case decision includes interesting information about Baker and Taylor. The post quotes extensively from information on The Digital Reader site.

Panzer says, "This little kitty doesn't think he likes Baker and Taylor's business practices."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of cocoa and three chocolate chip cookies (biscuits) for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Draft2Digital

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

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

B&N to Merge Nook Press Print, eBook Platforms on 8 November - The Digital Reader

No more running back and forth.

Today, Panzer was just having a nice quiet trip in the Catosphere when he suddenly heard shouting and clapping. Following all the noise took him to The Digital Reader site. There our happy kitty discovered some good news about Nook Press.

According to the post by The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, on November 8 Nook Press users will have access to all their ebook and print publishing information on one platform. The switch will be to the new (since June) Nook Press Print platform by Bahwan CyberTek.

Panzer says, "Yay! No more switching from one dashboard to the other."

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

To read the post, tootle over to Nook Press

What Amazon's OER Platform Means for Education Publishers - Book Business

They're always looking for new markets.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he spotted a site he hasn't visited in a while. Our adventuresome kitty pilot stopped in at the Book Business site. With practically no digging at all he found a post about Amazon and their foray into the education market.

According to a post by Neal Goff, it looks like Amazon is planning to move into the K-12 education market. Amazon has been working on a new platform for Open Education Resources (OER). The new platform, Amazon Inspire, will search for OER material offered free to educators and then collate/file it for easy access. Apple and Google have already been making inroads into the K-12 market for at least two years, so Amazon's entry initially will be one of catch-up. The post also explains what Apple and Google's entry into the K-12 market has been like and it includes more information about the OER program and how that works.

Panzer says, "All these companies want to get consumers while they're young. Brand recognition is everything."

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

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon

Draft2Digital Platform

Let's check it out.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere following the me-wow-s to the Publishers' Weekly site.

Our kitty boy reporter found a post there by Calvin Reid about a three year old ebook publishing and distribution platform called Draft2Digital. According to Mr. Reid, Draft2Digital works the same as Smashwords. The writer uses the platform to convert their document to the various ebook formats and then submit them to the various markets.

Panzer says, "If you're looking for an alternative to Smashwords, this might be worth checking out."

Note: Draft2Digital charges a 10 percent commission.

To read the post, tootle over to Draft2Digital

Picking and Using Your Pen Name

Earlier this month Panzer and I discussed the reasons to use a pen name according to Bella Andre (aka Lucy Kevin)(aka Bella Riley). She suggested that when writing in multiple genres or sub-genres it was necessary to have a separate name for each. In this way as a writer you can create a platform for each genre.

Today, steampunk writer Calista Taylor is blogging about how to choose and then research a pen name. Finding a name isn't the end of the journey when using a pen name. There are some necessary steps you should follow to make sure the name is available. Calista lists the six research steps she took to verify the pen name she's chosen.

Read how Calista Taylor researched her pen name at A Rose By Any Other Name.

Enjoy.