MasterClass to Host the "Co-Author A Book With James Patterson" Writing Competition - Galley Cat

Panzer took his time today looking for news for you. Our kitty traveler stopped in at GalleyCAT. Digging around he found a post about bestselling author James Patterson.

Pretty expensive contest.

According to a post by Maryann Yin, MasterClass is sponsoring a contest in which the winner will co-author a book with multi-bestselling author James Patterson. There are some stringent rules contestants must adhere to. The first is that you must be signed up for Mr. Patterson's writing class. You also must submit writing samples for your proposed book. There's a link at the bottom of the post to the rules for the contest and to signup for the class.

Panzer says, "I don't know if I want to pay $90 to take a class so I can enter a contest. Just saying, that's a lot of kitty treats."

Note: You'll need a cup of tea for today's reading.

To read the post, tootle over to MasterClass

Simon & Schuster Giving Away Books Thru Hotels.com

I'm going to the vet today.

Today is National Take Your Cat To The Vet Day and Panzer has a vet appointment. So ... our big brave boy made a quick trip to the GalleyCAT site before we leave.

According to a post by Dianna Dilworth, Simon and Schuster will be giving free ebooks to travelers using the Hotels.com service. Travelers will be allowed to download one free ebook from a choice of seven. Authors included are Steven King, James Lee Burke, Philippa Gregory and four other bestselling authors. There will be certain restrictions.

Panzer says, "Do I get a free ebook for traveling to the vet today?"

To read the post, tootle over to Simon Schuster

Children's Book Success Story

Whew! That was quite a trip today.

Panzer took a leisurely trip out into the Catosphere today. While our bad boy was tootling around out there, he made a stop at The Guardian site. He stumbled onto a post about an indie success story.

According to a post by Alison Flood, the indie children's book The Little Girl (or Boy) Who Lost Her (or His) Name has sold 500,000 copies and sales are still going strong.  David Cadji-Newby and three others founded the Lost My Name publishing company in 2012 for the sole purpose of publishing the book. Sales were slow to begin with. Then, last year they went on the Dragon's Den show where they secured an investment. Sales took off.

Panzer says, "Sounds like Dragon's Den is better than Kickstarter."

To read the post, tootle over to Dragons Den picture book

Kindle Unlimited Titles Off the DBW Ebook Best-Seller List

Who else will say not on my bestseller list.

Panzer couldn't believe all the yowling going on in the Catosphere today. He followed all the hissing and moaning over to the Digital Book World site. My kitty boy found out all the noise is coming from Amazon authors.

Panzer told you about the new Kindle Unlimited program last week. It turns out Amazon's "bestsellers" list will count "reads" under the program as part of the "sales" for their list. Because of this practice, Digital Book World will no longer list Kindle Unlimited titles on the DBW bestseller list.

Panzer says, "Makes sense to me. You don't get to count it as a sale when somebody checks your book out of the library. So, why should you get to count it as a sale when you read it for free with your monthly Kindle Unlimited program "all you can read membership" fee?"

To read Digital Book World's post on their decision, tootle over to Kindle Unlimited Titles Off the DBW Ebook Best-Seller List

3 Steps To Indie Publishing Success

It's magic!

Panzer found a great indie publishing success story over at the Publishers Weekly site, The post is about how Jen McLaughlin reached indie success and the New York Times E-Book Bestseller List with her romance Out of Line.

According to Ms. McLaughlin, she followed three steps to her success.

The steps were:
1. Hire an Editor
2. Hire a Designer
3. Hire a Publicist

Those three steps are ones we can all put to work for us.

If you want the full details about the three magic steps to indie success, tootle over to indie success story

Getting Book Reviews: The Methods Award-Winning Authors Use – A Study

50 Bestselling authors? 50?

Just like you Panzer and I are always looking for reviews for our ebooks, so my bad boy spends a lot of time scouring the Catosphere looking for information.

Today he found a post at The eBook Author's Corner about how 50 bestselling authors get their reviews. That's fifty bestselling authors! This post is a treasure trove of ideas. There are tips here on using social media, email lists, review blogs and review sites (some sites we'd never heard of!).

If you need help getting reviews, tootle over to Getting Book Reviews: The Methods Award-Winning Authors Use – A Study

Carmen DeSousa: Why would an author offer their best seller FREE?

It's FREE!

Panzer found that author Carmen Sousa has a FREE ebook for you! In her post at her blog Carmen Sousa she writes about why she's giving away copies of her bestselling ebook She Belongs to Me.

Panzer says, "Read the post. Download the ebook. Read it. Post a review." We did. We did. We are. We will.

To get your FREE ebook, tootle over to Carmen DeSousa: Why would an author offer their best seller FREE?: It may sound like a simple answer;  but in my case, it's because I want you to read it. In general, authors write because ...

Goodreads Counts 20 Million Members - GalleyCat

20 million? MeWow!

Panzer was over at GalleyCAT one of his favorite stops today. He found an announcement that Goodreads now has 20 million members.

MeWow!

That's a lot of readers.

My bad boy is ready to become a member.

If you want to read about Goodreads and the most popular books there, tootle on over to Goodreads Counts 20 Million Members - GalleyCat

Patrick Wensink's Amazon Bestseller

Say it isn't so!!!

Panzer was cruising around the Catosphere looking for Amazon bestseller stories. He hasn't made it yet, but he's still trying. He wants to know how others have done it so he can learn their tricks.

My bad boy found a really enlightening story over at Salon.  And let me tell you, there's nothing worse than seeing a big bad black cat cry! If this story about bestsellerdom wasn't so sad, it would be laughable.

When Patrick Wensink hit the Amazon bestseller list, everybody expected him to become a gazillionaire. Not so he says in his post at Salon. He explains in detail what happened and why.

If you want to know why being an Amazon bestseller does not mean becoming rich (Panzer says bring a box of tissues with you), tootle over to Where's My Money?

Aaron Patterson's Blog: Guest Post by CJ Lyons: Jack be Kindle, Jack be No...

Bestselling author CJ Lyons posts at Aaron Patterson's blog about how she went from National Bestseller to Amazon Bestseller.

This is not a rant against the Big 6. This is not a rant against traditional publishing. Instead it's about a straight-forward road to bestsellerdom using the momentum from one ebook to the next to the next. CJ recommends having 5-6 ebooks on your sales shelf.

To find out how to get the momentum rolling on your own bestseller ride read Aaron Patterson's Blog: Guest Post by CJ Lyons: Jack be Kindle, Jack be No...: Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you have seen the name CJ Lyons in the eBook and publishing new feeds all over the internet. She ...

Enjoy.

Lee Goldberg's CreateSpace Bestseller?

Those of you looking for self-publishing success at CreateSpace need to read Lee Goldberg's blog. (Lee writes Monk and other tie-in novels, as well as stand-alones.)

This is a real eye opener from Lee's  A Writer's Life  blog on what it takes to be CreateSpace's #4 fiction bestseller, which he is right now.

It's enough to make a writer cry. I couldn't even buy kitty treats on this money!