Digital Audiobooks Sales Sank in April - Publishers Weekly

Book sales are down this year.

Today's first stop in the Catosphere for Panzer was at the Publishers Weekly site. There he found a post about audiobook sales.

 

Jim Milliot's post includes book sales figures in all categories not just audiobooks. The post also includes charts to show actual sales.

 

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty is confused. Mom just went to a publishing summit and one of the seminars was about how great audiobook sales are right now."

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a cupcake to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Audiobook Sales 

Hardcover is available on KDP! - KDP Announcement

 Today as Panzer was napping, he was rudely shaken from his kitty bed by clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile, he followed all the noise to the KDP Community page. There he found an announcement about Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and hardcover books.

 

According to the post KDP has announced hardcover books will now be available as an option for authors' books. The hardcover books will have a 60 percent royalty. Submission information and links are included in the post.

 

Now back to that nap.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty wonders how this will work because of all the paper shortages everybody is talking about right now."

 

Note: This is a short post. You wont need to bring anything to read the post. If, however, you plan to follow all the links in the post, bring two cups of tea and three muffins.

 

To read the post tootle over to Hardcover on KDP

Supply Chain Problems for Publishers and Authors - Various

 Back in August Panzer told you about the upcoming supply chain problems Ingram was warning publishers to prepare for in the coming months. 

 

Other sources are now experiencing supply problems as well. Some authors' are reporting bookstores are unable to get their book orders filled by their publishers. Other authors aren't getting their books delivered to their book signings.

It's a mess and getting worse.

These problems are attributable to publishers' printers not being able to get the paper necessary to print the books and/or not being able to get the printed books delivered to the publishers. This is due to paper manufacturing problems and delivery problems caused by the pandemic.

If you plan to publish any books (paperback or hardback) before the end of the end of the year, you should read these posts to help plan your strategy.

Panzer says, "Every time humans think they have this Covid thingy under control, its cousin just comes right back."

 

To read the post at Kristine Kathryn Rusch's blog tootle over to supply chain woes

To read the post at Publishers Weekly tootle over to supply chain disruptions

To read Panzer's previous post tootle over to Ingram supply chain troubles 

What Are ISBNs and Why Should I Care About Them? - Honest Indie Author

 Today, Panzer made a trip to the Honest Indie Author site. There our adventuresome kitty boy found a post about ISBNs.

 

In the post Debbi Mack gives a short description of ISBNs, why you might need them and where to purchase them. Amazon and most of the ebook sites don't require ISBNs, but you still might want to buy them. There's a link in the post to the ISBN purchase site.

For the U.S. only.

 

Panzer says, "ISBNs are for U.S. authors' hardbacks, paperbacks, ebooks, and audio books."

 

Note: Because of the illustrations this looks like a long post but it isn't. Bring a glass of lemonade for your reading time.

To read the post tootle over to ISBN

ITW Thriller Award Winners 2021 - Mystery Fanfare

Today, when Panzer got back from the Catosphere, our fastidious kitty boy decided to do some work on the Panzermobile. As he was cleaning out the wheel wells, he found a wadded up post stuck in there. Flattening it out, he discovered it was about the International Thriller Writers winners.

 

Finally ... Nap time ... zzzz

According to the post at the Mystery Fanfare site, the 2021 International Thriller Writers Awards have been announced. There are six awards covering best hardback novel, best first novel, best paperback novel, best short story, best young adult novel, and best ebook novel. All six winners are listed in the post.

 

Panzer says, "Even if I live to be twenty, I'll never finish my To-Be-Read pile."

 

Note: This is a short post. You won't need to bring anything to eat or drink when you read this post.

 

To read the post tootle over to ITW award winners

Internet Archive Responds to Senator's Concern Over National Emergency Library - Publishers Weekly

Panzer hasn't been to the Publishers Weekly site for a few days, so he decided to stop in there today. With a little digging in the posts our illustrious kitty found one about the Internet Archive.

All a pirate site has to do is call itself a library.

According to Andrew Albanese, the Internet Archive (IA) founder Brewster Kahle is still trying to justify IA's use of scanned books in his National Emergency Library. U.S. Senator Thom Tillis expressed his concerns over IA's scanning books which are still under copyright. In response Mr. Kahle sent a letter explaining why his National Emergency Library is responsible for providing teachers, school classes and students with the digital textbooks they need. According to him, instead of getting the books from school and giving them to the students at home, it's easier to just scan a book and let all the students use the same copy. This is, he says, brought about by the closing of libraries making textbooks unavailable to students. He doesn't, however, explain why his "library" is scanning authors' fiction books (some bestsellers) that in no way could be called textbooks. He does say he wants to engage with the Senate to change the copyright laws to make it legal for his "library" to use authors' and publishers' copyrighted books for his own purposes. This is an ongoing argument between Brewster Kahle on one side and authors, authors' groups, publishers and publishers' groups on the other side about copyright infringement.

Panzer says, "If you believe that stuff, I've got some ocean front property in Nevada for sale real cheap."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Internet Archive
To read a previous post about the Internet Archive tootle over to copyright violation
To read another previous post about the Internet Archive tootle over to online library

Bibles, Kids' Books Win Tariff Reprieve - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was shaken from his kitty bed by yelling and shouting coming from the Catosphere. Dragging himself into the Panzermobile, our poor tired kitty followed all the noise to the Publishers Weekly site. With no digging at all he discovered a post about U.S. President Trump's tariffs on China.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, President Trump has postponed until December 15 the implementation of his Chinese import tariffs on Bibles, children's picture books and coloring books, sneakers/shoes, phones and other important Christmas gifts. The proposed tariffs on Trump's other specified Chinese imports will still go into effect on September 1. The September 1 imports include paperback and hardback books, dictionaries, and other materials printed in China for U.S. publishers and imported for sale in the U.S. There are several links to information about Trump's tariffs included in the post.

Now for a much need nap.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Even this little kitty knows some U.S. publishers have their books printed in China and then shipped to the U.S. for sale here."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading. If you plan to follow the links, bring a thermos of tea and six muffins.

To read the post tootle over to tariff reprieve

BenBella Partners with Bestselling Author on E-series - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard clapping and cheering. Following all the jocularity took our inquisitive kitty to the Publishers Weekly site. With no digging at all he found a post about Homer the blind cat.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, bestselling author Gwen Cooper has entered into an agreement with BenBella Books.  Gwen Cooper, author of Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned about Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat, is starting a short story subscription service called Curl Up With a Cat Tale. The service will provide a series of short stories. Six of those stories plus two new ones will be gathered together and published in hardback. There's also an audio book planned.

A service for cat stories? Mom, I want one.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Subscription Service. Short stories. Ebooks. Hardback. Audio book. That's an interesting idea."

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

To read the post tootle over to Gwen Cooper

Amazon Publishing Books Faring Better on Amazon's New Bestseller Lists - Publishers Weekly

One of Mom's friends is sick and in the hospital, so Panzer's trip into the Catosphere was short today. Our speedy kitty boy made a quick stop at the Publishers Weekly site. There he found a post about Amazon's weekly bestseller lists Amazon Charts.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Amazon published books are placing higher on Amazon Charts than they are on other bestseller lists. It appears this happens because Amazon includes paperback books, hardback books, audio books, and ebooks in its sales totals for Amazon Charts' bestseller list, while the other bestseller lists either don't include ebook sales or only include various combinations of the others.

Amazon books on Amazon Charts?

Panzer says, "When Amazon announced Amazon Charts, this little kitty did tell you that Amazon books/authors would have an advantage."

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

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon books

To read Panzer's original post about Amazon Charts, tootle over to Amazon bestseller lists