Free Cozy Mystery Audiobook; Santa Claus Surprise

Off to find a romance.

Panzer found this cozy mystery on the author's channel on Youtube.

 

The mystery Santa Claus Surprise is written by Tonya Kappes. It's 5 hours 14 minutes long.

 

Make a cup of tea, find a comfortable place to relax and enjoy this cozy mystery.

 

Note:There are several advertisements included so, if you don't like ads in your listening, you might want to skip this audiobook.

To listen to the audiobook tootle over to Christmas Cozy Mystery

Amazon Is Taking Scammers' Money to Serve Ads for AI-Generated Books on Kindle Lock Screens - Futurism

You need to read the post.

Panzer found an interesting post about Amazon Lock ads at the Futurism site.

 

In the post Frank Landymore explains about the relationship Amazon has with the sellers/scammers of AI-generated books. Through the use of Amazon Kindle Lock Screen Ads the scammers generated page reads on Kindle Unlimited, which they then get paid for. Included in the post are links to previous posts with more information about scammers.

 

Panzer says, "I didn't know about any of this until now."

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit) to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon

2022 Amazon Kindle Available

Today, Panzer discovered Amazon has the 2022 Kindle for sale. The Kindle has 16 GB of storage space for your books and a battery that lasts up to 6 weeks between charges. It's available now for $99.99 with ads.

 With the adapter, a cover and without ads, it's available for $154.97.

Turkey Day is getting closer.

The link below will take you directly to the Amazon sales page for the Kindle. Scroll down to read the information about the it..

Note: No this not an Amazon affiliate link. Cats and Crime has an affiliate account, but we shut it down about five years ago. If we do ever start the account again, we/ll tell you.

To read the specs on the new Kindle tootle over to Kindle

Spotify comes for audiobooks - The Verge

Today, Panzer made a trip to The Verge site. There with a little digging in the posts he found one about Spotify's acquisition of Findaway. Panzer told you about the proposed acquisition in November 2021.

 According to the post by Ariel Shapiro, at an investors meeting earlier this month Spotify CEO Daniel Ek spoke about the acquisition of Findaway. CEO Ek discussed plans for free audiobooks and audiobooks with ads. The post includes links to other information about the acquisition.

Maybe I won't use Findaway.

Panzer says, "Who puts the ads on/in the audiobooks? Spotify? The author?"

Note: This is a short-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit) for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the lengths in the post, you'll need to decide what to bring to eat and drink.

To read the post tootle over to Spotify audiobooks

To read Panzer's previous post about the acquisition tootle over to Spotify and Findaway

Junk Book Marketing: Book Fair "Representation" - Writer Beware

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Writer Beware site. There with some digging in the posts our intrepid traveling kitty boy found one about junk book marketing.

 

Always check Writer Beware first.

Victoria Strauss' post is divided into two sections. The first section of the post starts by explaining why paying for mass emailings of press releases, book trailers made with stock images and bad voice-overs, and several other dubious marketing campaigns are categorized as junk book marketing. The second section of the post is devoted to book fair representation marketing. This includes paying to have your book sit on a shelf with other books and paying for an advertisement in the representatives "magazine." Included in the section is a photo of one of the book fair marketing booths to illustrate why this is junk book marketing too. There are several links in the post to supporting information as well.

 

Panzer says, "Humans will believe anything."

 

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea and a large muffin for your reading. If you plan to follow the links in the post, you'll have to decide what else to bring to eat and drink.

 

To read the post tootle over to Junk Book Marketing

10 Amazon changes authors need to know about - Build Book Buzz

Today Panzer made a quick trip to the Build Book Buzz site. With some digging in the posts our speedy little kitty boy found one about changes Amazon has made that authors need to investigate.

 

The post by Rob Eagar explores the changes Amazon has made to Amazon ads, changes to Author Central and additions to KDP. In all, there are descriptions of 10 changes which authors need to be familiar with and use when appropriate. There are links to specific change areas included in the post.

My work is never finished.

 

Panzer says, "The first thing this little kitty is going to do is update his Amazon Author Central page."

 

Note: This is a long post. Bring a large glass of lemonade, two chocolate chip cookies and one brownie. If you plan to follow the links included in the post, you decide what else you want to bring.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon changes

 

 

 

Barnes & Noble Launches Ad Portal in B&N Press - The Digital Reader

Panzer made a quick trip to The Digital Reader site today. With a little digging in the posts he found one about Barnes and Noble.

Just like Amazon's ads.

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Barnes and Noble has added a self-serve advertising portal to their B and N Press site. Authors/publishers can now buy ads to have their books appear with other books in the same genre using the same keywords. The company has also made improvements to the site's What's New Page. Links are included in the post to these pages on the B and N Press site. There are also quotes from a Barnes and Noble email included in the post.

Panzer says, "The email also says B and N Press accepts Irish authors now."

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

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble

Top Ten Publishing Industry Trends Every Author Needs To Know in 2019 - Written Word Media

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to the Written Word Media site. With just a little digging around in the posts our inquisitive kitty boy found one about publishing trends for 2019.

I'll one busy kitty this year.

Written Word Media founder Ricci Wolman has posted about 2019's publishing industry trends.  With information gained from surveying readers, writers and publishers she has put together a list of trends indie authors/publishers need to take advantage of in the coming year. The list begins with an examination of the Amazon Marketing Service (AMS). The need for good editing and audio books are also examined as well as seven other trends.

Panzer says, "Yesterday we looked at Mark Coker's predictions for 2019 and today we look at Ricci Wolman's trends for 2019. Put the two together and you've got a head on your plan for the year."

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

To read the post tootle over to publishing industry trends

What You Get (and What You Don't) From a $50 Amazon Fire - The New York Times

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to The New York Times site. There our speedy explorer kitty boy found a post about the Amazon Fire tablets.

Looks interesting.

Brian X. Chen's post is about the two Amazon Fire tablets. He reviews the the 7 inch Fire that's available for $50 and the 8 inch Fire available for $80. At those prices both have advertisements; but for an additional $15 the ads are removed. Both can be used as ereaders, can use game apps and can be used to stream movies. Mr. Chen discusses the pros and cons of both. He doesn't recommend either except as useful tools for entertaining children.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This kitty doesn't agree with him. I'd like an Amazon Fire. I don't need it for anything but as an ereader for my ebooks. It doesn't cost much, so Mom will have more money left over for my kitty treats."

Note: This is a long post. Bring half a thermos of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon Fire Tablet

Wattpad Introduces Video Ads Within Stories - Book Business

Panzer stopped in at the Book Business site today. There our traveling kitty reporter found a post about Wattpad. Wattpad is the site that allows authors to post their writing for members to read and comment on.

According to the post by Ellen Harvey, Wattpad is offering a new service for their authors. The program is called Wattpad Futures. The program will place video ads in the chapter breaks of an author's novel. Each reader's viewing of an ad will generate a payment for the author. Thus the program allows authors to have an income stream from their writing at Wattpad. The post includes Wattpad's original press release about the program.

Think you'll be one of the chosen few?

Panzer says, "Wait a second kittens before you rush out to sign up for the program. It's a by-invitation-only program. So ... sign up for Wattpad ... but don't expect to jump right into the program."

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

To read the post, tootle over to Wattpad

3 Facebook Changes You Need to Know About - dbw (Digital Book World)

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today just enjoy the quiet day. Our traveling kitty boy decided to make a quick stop at the dbw (Digital Book World) site. There he found some news about Facebook.

Don't let them out of your sight.

According to the post by Chris Syme, Facebook has made three changes that authors need to pay attention to. First, Facebook has changed their 20 percent text ad rule. What this means for authors is the more text in your ads, the higher the cost, and the lower the distribution. Second, Facebook has changed the Friends and Family rules. Authors need to ask their fans to "designate your page as one they want to 'See First'." And finally, third, Facebook has changed your page layout. It's not your imagination. Your page is different.

Panzer says, "Facebook must have gotten tired of changing your privacy settings and decided to confuse you by changing other stuff."

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

To read the post, tootle over to Facebook