The First Clue to an Email Scam May Be the Address - Writer Beware (R)

It's been a long day.

The last stop Panzer made today was at the Writer Beware (R) site.

 

Victoria Strauss' post contains several examples of fake email addresses scammers use. 

 

Panzer says, "Some the stuff in her post wouldn't fool a newborn kitten."

 

Note: This is a very long post. You probably shouldn't bring anything to snack on. You don't want to make a mess with your food when you start laughing while you're eating.

 

To read the post tootle over to Email Scam 

Six Email (and Snail Mail) Web Scams to Avoid - Nate Hoffelder Blog

My work is finished for today.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere before he started home, when he decided to stop at Nate Hoffelder's blog. With no digging at all in the posts he found one about scams you need to be aware of.

In his post Nate Hoffelder lists six scams with samples. He explains the scams and how they work.

Panzer says, "This little kitty knew about most of these, but there were a couple he hadn't seen before."

Note: This is a longish post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin to snack on while you read.

To read the post tootle over to Six Scams to Avoid

Two New Solicitation Bewares: DiscoverPublishers.com and Reseller Ventures - Writers Beware(R)

Watch out for these guys!

As Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today, the Panzermobile was suddenly shaken by booing and hissing outside. Following all the noise, took our brave kitty boy to the Writer Beware(R) site. There he found a post about two online companies writers need to ignore.

 

 In her post Victoria Strauss documents her investigations of two online companies, DiscoverPublishers.com and Reseller Ventures, soliciting writers about their books through emails. She has determined both are scams. Her investigation of both are very thorough, so you should read the details yourself.

Panzer says, "If you hear from either of these guys, turn around and run away as fast as you can."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of hot cocoa and a muffin to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Solicitations

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

Google is Sunsetting FeedBurner Email Subscriptions in July 2021 - The Digital Reader

Today Panzer decided to make a quick stop at The Digital Reader site. There he discovered a post about the demise of FeedBurner.

 

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder's post, Google has decided to kill FeedBurner. Included in the post is a copy of Google's release about the company's plans. If you look at the top of the column on the right here, you will see the option to subscribe to posts from my site. That is the kind of subscription service FeedBurner offers. In addition to FeedBurner there are several email subscription services which will still be available.

 

I know some humans who use it.

Panzer says, "If you use FeedBurner, you better start looking for a replacement."

 

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

 

To read the post tootle over to Feedburner

16 Gmail Hacks Every Writer Can Use - The Digital Reader

 Today when Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere, he decided to make a stop at The Digital Reader. With a little digging in the posts our speedy kitty boy found one about Gmail.

 

Site owner Nate Hoffelder has put together sixteen ways to improve your Gmail use. According to the beginning of his post the hacks work with Gmail in the Chrome browser. Each of the sixteen hacks has instructions to use the feature, enable the feature, disable the feature, or add a Chrome extension. The features describe are scheduling an email, pause your email, stop senders from tracking if you open their email, tracking if a recipient opens your email, and twelve more hacks.

 

Do as I say, not as I do.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Stopping people from tracking you opening their email and you tracking people opening your email."

 

Note: This is a huge post. Bring a thermos of tea and six muffins for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Gmail hacks

B&N Systems Hacked - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when the Panzermobile was shaken and buffeted by crying and screaming outside. Following all the chaos took our brave kitty pilot to the Publishers Weekly site. There he found a post about Barnes and Noble being hacked.

Somebody just causing trouble.

According to Jim Milliot's post, Barnes and Noble sent an email to customers alerting them that the company's corporate systems had been hacked. Although some store functions were shut down for a time, everything is now working again. Barnes and Noble's email contained good news and bad news for customers. The good news? The hackers didn't get your financial information (credit card). The bad news? The hackers got your email address, billing and shipping address and your phone number. The post includes a list of questions and answers about what was and wasn't accessed.

Panzer says, "That explains those emails I've been getting from those girl kitties in Russia that want to meet me. I can't go there to see them. I'm not even allowed outside while this virus thingy is going on. "

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

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble

Penguin Random House Launches Serialized Newsletter Season of Stories - Book Business

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today when he heard cheering and clapping. Following the clamor took our inquisitive kitty to the Book Business site. There he found a post about Penguin Random House's new Season of Stories.

I hope they're not too literary for me.

According to the press release Penguin Random House just announced the launch of the Season of Stories. Readers who sign-up for the Season of Stories will receive free short stories by email over an eleven week period. Readers will get one story per week beginning on October 11. The stories are by contemporary authors and told in first person. The sign-up link is included in the press release.

Panzer says, "Free is always good, right?"

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

To read the post, tootle over to Penguin Random House

How To And How Not To Ask A Writer/Blogger For Help

The steps to success.

Panzer was out in the Catosphere today just tootling around and enjoying himself. Our big bad kitty boy decided since he hasn't been there for awhile to stop in at The Write Life site.

After a little digging around, he found a post by Kelly Gurnett about asking your favorite writer and/or blogger to read and comment on your writing. Gurnett includes 10 don'ts and 11 dos in her post. The don'ts include things like don't cc your email to others, don't send an email without proof reading it, don't have a vague subject line, and seven other don'ts. The dos include things like do check the writer/blogger's specialization, do give compliments, do have an intriguing subject line, and eight other dos.

Panzer says, "Listen up, Kittens. There's a lot of work involved in asking a writer to read your work. Maybe you should just skip it and indie pub it."

To read the post, tootle over to 10 major mistakes

Panzer parked the Panzermobile over at The Future of Ink today. In a guest post Lou Bortone reviews five video tools.

Panzer wants you to definitely check out these tools. You can do video in your emails. You can accept video from your friends and visitors to your site. You can do animations. Or you can set up your own television studio.

If you want to check out these video tools, tootle over to Five Video Tools