Should You Use a Pen Name? The Indie Author Guide to Writing in Multiple Genres - IngramSpark

Mom didn't want to confuse readers.

Panzer's first stop in the Catosphere today was at the IngramSpark site. Our inquisitive kitty boy discovered a post about using pen names. Just like Amazon you can print and distribute your book through IngramSpark, but in some ways the distribution may be better.

 

The staff written post covers several reasons why it's to an author's advantage to use a pen name.

 

Panzer says, "They could have just asked Mom why she has a pen name."

 

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin to snack on.

 

To read the post tootle over to Pen Names 

Spotify Expands Its Reach to Self-Published Authors - Publishers Weekly

Look in your files and see what you've got.

Today, when Panzer was out tootling around in the Catosphere, he decided to make a stop at the Publishers Weekly site. With a little digging in the posts there our inquisitive kitty boy found one about Spotify's new endeavor.

 

According to Ed Nawolka's post, Spotify is looking for novelette length stories from indie authors to turn into audiobooks.

 

Panzer says, "Be sure and read the post so you know what they're looking for, before you approach Spotify."

 

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin to snack on.

 

To read the post tootle over to Spotify

S&S Launches Audio Imprint Simon Maverick, Helmed by Jason Pinter - Publishers Weekly

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They are choosing who they want to work with

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly site. There he found a post about a new Simon and Schuster (S&S) imprint.

According to Nathalie op de Beeck and John Maher's post, S&S has plans for the imprint to eventually be audiobooks first before other formats for books from indie authors.

Panzer says, "It sounds like an interesting new publishing avenue for indie authors."

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

To read the post tootle over to Simon Maverick

Amazon is About to Shut Down Their Excuse for Charging Kindle eBook Delivery Fees - Nate Hoffelder

Today, Panzer made a trip to Nate Hoffelder's site. There with a little digging in the posts our inquisitive kitty boy found one about Amazon's 3G Kindle's demise in December. Panzer told you in a post earlier this month about the shutting down of 3G in December.

 

According to the post by Nate Hoffelder, the fee Amazon has been charging authors and publishers for ebook delivery was instituted in 2010 so Amazon could recoup the costs of using 3G. With 3G disappearing in December Nate Hoffelder makes the argument there should be no reason for Amazon to continue to charge the delivery fee. Amazon, however, has made no mention of removing the fee. There's a link included in the post which will take you to a Verge post about Amazon's announcement.

 

What can we do about it?

Panzer says, "This little kitty didn't know the delivery fee was connected to 3G."

 

Note: This is a long-short length post. Bring a small glass of lemonade for today's reading selection. If you plan to read Panzer's previous post and follow the link in that post, bring another glass of lemonade and a muffin.

 

To read the post tootle over to delivery fees

To read Panzer post about the 3G Kindles tootle over to Amazons Kindles

2021 Publishing Predictions – Pandemic Reshapes Publishing, Accelerates Consolidation - Smashwords

Panzer was sweeping the floor in the Panzermobile when he found a wadded up post under the pilot's seat. Smoothing it out our fastidious kitty found it was a post from the Smashwords site about Mark Coker's publishing predictions for the coming year.

 

I agree with most of them.

In his annual publishing predictions post Smashwords founder Mark Coker has thirteen predictions for the 2021 publishing industry. These predictions cover everything from "nesting" and reading (Number 1) to the joy of reading (Number 13).

 

Panzer says, "Most years his predictions turn out to be true."

 

Note: This is a h-u-m-u-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring a thermos of tea, six muffins, two brownies and three chocolate chip cookies.

 

To read the post tootle over to 2021 Publishing Predictions

Post-Pandemic Publishing for Indie Authors - Smashwords

I'm really tired of this virus. Are you?

Panzer decided to make a stop at the Smashwords site today.  Our illustrious kitty boy uses Smashwords distribution for his ebooks so he likes to check the blog there to see what's happening. With hardly any digging at all he found a post about the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on indie ebook authors.

Mark Coker's blog post is divided into eight sections. The first sections of the post delve into the world health and economic and financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The next sections deal with how these will impact the indie author environment. The final section of the post is the "Indie Author Action Plan" and contains steps for authors to follow to maintain their long-term career goals.

Panzer says, "This is an interesting post."

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring a thermos of your favorite beverage and six muffins and six chocolate chip cookies and some chocolate fudge for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Indie Authors

2020 Publishing Predictions: House of Indie on Fire - Smashwords Blog

Today Panzer decided to make a quick trip to the Smashwords Blog site. Every year Smashwords founder Mark Coker begins the new year with a blog post of his publishing predictions for the coming year.

It's a new year. Are you ready?

This year's predictions for 2020 post by Mark Coker begins with a look back at what's been happening with indie authors in 2019. According to the post, a lot of indie authors saw their ebook sales and therefore their royalties decrease. Some authors income has even plummeted so low they have given up writing. The second section of the post details the predictions. These include government sanctions against Amazon, audio book sales, author mailing lists, and ebook pre-orders.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... The beginning of the predictions post doesn't look very good for indie authors."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring a quart of tea and six muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to  2020 Predictions:

Amazon: Over 1,000 Authors Each Earned Over $100 Grand in Royalties in 2018 - The Digital Reader

Where's my $100,000?

Today Panzer made a quick stop at The Digital Reader site. There he found a post about Amazon's indie authors.

According to Nate Hoffelder, Amazon released a report that includes information about indie authors' royalties from book sales through the company. Amazon says in their report that over a thousand authors made over $100,000. There's a link included in the post to download the twelve page PDF report. The author information is included on page 11 of the report.

Panzer says, "It's not necessary to download the report. Just read the post at The Digital Reader site and you'll have all the information you need. Believe this little kitty. Mom downloaded the report and read it to me. Skip it."

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

To read the post tootle over to Amazon authors

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

2019 Book Industry Predictions: The Butterflies Will Flap Their Wings - Smashwords Blog

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere he decided to make a stop at the Smashwords Blog. With no digging at all our traveling kitty found a post about Mark Coker's book publishing predictions for 2019.

He says Amazon is really bad for authors.

Smashwords founder Mark Coker begins the post with information about indie authors, the glut of ebooks on the market and Amazon's author business practices. Most of the information about Amazon concerns the company's perceived exploitation of indie authors and their ebooks. The section makes up approximately half the post. This is followed by a section of Mark Coker's annual predictions for ebook publishing in 2019. There are nine divisions in this section beginning with the need for authors to join the audio book market and ending with the effect of a possible recession on the sale of indie ebooks.

Panzer says, "There's a lot of interesting information in the predictions."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring a thermos of tea and a thermos of cocoa and two dozen muffins and a dozen chocolate chip cookies (biscuits). Be sure to bring a sleeping bag for a nap in the middle of today's reading selection. 

To read the post tootle over to  Smashwords 2019 Book Industry Predictions:

Amazon Is Inexplicably Destroying Indie Author Careers By Randomly Removing eBooks From the Kindle Store - The Digital Reader

How long before somebody noticed?

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to The Digital Reader site. With just a little digging in the posts our traveling kitty found one about Amazon and the Kindle Store.

According to the post at The Digital Reader by site owner Nate Hoffelder, for unknown reasons Amazon has been removing indie authors' ebooks from the Kindle Store. Apparently, this has been happening for the past two weeks. The post includes quotes from affected authors in both the U.S. and Canada. Also included is an Amazon post quoted from KDP support forums which states the company is aware of the problem and working on solving it. There are links included to a previous post about the problem and to the KDP support forums.

Panzer says, "Guess this little kitty better go check our books in the Kindle store."

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 Amazon Kindle Store

Novelist who wrote about 'How to Murder Your Husband' charged with murdering her husband - The Washington Post

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he decided to make a trip to The Washington Post site. With no digging at all he discovered a post about romance author Nancy Crampton Brophy.

According to the post by Meagan Flynn, indie romance author Nancy Crampton Brophy has been arrested for murdering her husband Daniel Brophy. Police say she shot her husband at the culinary school where he worked. Police haven't released a motive or any information about why they believe she is the murderer since there were no witnesses to the crime. It is known, however, that in 2011 the author did post online about 'How to Murder Your Husband' and get away with it.

It's not a secret if you tell the world.

Panzer says, "Always be careful what you post online ... Because once it's online, it's there forever."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a big cup of tea, a muffin and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit) for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Author Nancy Crampton Brophy

Amazon Damaging Sales of Small Press Books - Lucy A. Snyder Blog

Panzer had hardly made it into the Catosphere when the Panzermobile was shaken and shoved about by growling and hissing. Following all the caterwauling took our brave kitty to Lucy A. Snyder's blog. With no digging at all he discovered a post about an Amazon author crackdown was causing all the trouble.

I'm confused.

According to Lucy A. Snyder's post on her blog, her most recent book has been caught up in the Amazon "Not Available" black hole. Amazon has been cracking down on scamming authors, but, unfortunately, some innocent indie authors and publishers are also being caught in their net as well. Included in the post are quotes from an editor and others who believe Amazon is purposely targeting and punishing them by removing their pre-order sales and making their books "Not Available."

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty thinks this is part of Amazon's rule changes and crackdown on scammers he told you about July."

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

To read the post tootle over to Amazon

To read Panzer's earlier post (that also includes a link to an even earlier post) tootle over to Amazon new rules

Indie Authors' Audiobooks Are/Were Getting Dragooned Into Kindle Unlimited Without Permission or Payment - The Digital Reader

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to The Digital Reader site. There our traveling kitty pilot found a post about audio books on Kindle Unlimited.

How do suppose that happened?

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, indie authors have been finding their Audible audio books on Kindle Unlimited (KU). The audio books were included in KU without the authors' permission or knowledge. It also turns out KU has no way to track audio books to pay the authors. Indie authors have been contacting Amazon for three months. Finally, Amazon says it was a glitch that's now been resolved; however, there doesn't appear to be any mention of the money indie authors would be owed for the use of audio books while in KU.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... What computer decided to put audio books into KU without permission?"

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 Kindle Unlimited

Google Reopens their Play Books Publisher Program - GoodEReader

Today, Panzer had hardly gotten into the Catosphere when the Panzermobile was buffeted and shaken by all the clapping and cheering outside. Our traveling kitty boy had no trouble following all the noise to the GoodEReader site. There he found a post about Google.

According to the post by Michael Kozlowski, Google has reopened the Play Books Publisher Program. The program was closed in 2015 due to ebook piracy and quality issues. The resurrection of the program includes restrictions aimed at cleaning up these issues. Indie authors and publishers and their books must be vetted before being placed in Google Books and Google Play. The post includes links to past informational posts about the previous issues and a link to the online interest form for submission and admission.

I don't cheat, so I bet I can get accepted.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... It sounds like now is the time to get into the program. If an indie author and publisher can get accepted into the program, there won't be much competition in the beginning."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links and read the posts, bring another cup of tea and two muffins.

To read the post tootle over to Google Play Books Publisher Program

UK Spring First in Series Sale, AU/NZ Mothers Day Price Promo, May Buy 2 Thrillers Get 1 Free Sale. A Snapshot of Kobo's little known promotions feature for indie authors - The New Publishing Standard

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to The New Publishing Standard site. There our ingenious kitty found a post about Kobo's promotion feature.

According to the post by Mark Williams, Kobo is an untapped market for promoting their indie authors' ebooks. Three examples of Kobo's May promotions are the 99 cent promotion on the site in the U.S., the Mothers' Day promotion in Australia and New Zealand, and the Spring Price Drop promotion in the U.S. and Canada. There are other Kobo promotions examples included in the post. Also included are descriptions of how the promotions work, as well as, how to submit an ebook for consideration for the promotions.

I'm definitely looking into this.

Panzer says, "This little kitty has been using Smashwords to get his ebooks on Kobo so he didn't know about the Kobo Writing Life dashboard and the promotions feature."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring a thermos of tea, a dozen muffins, and a sleeping bag for a nap in the middle.

To read the post tootle over to Kobo promotions

New Year, Old Problem: Innocent Author Rank-Stripped For Third Time - Let's Get Digital

Panzer had intended to make a quick trip today; but, when he hit the Catosphere, the Panzermobile was buffeted by yelling and screaming. Our brave kitty knew he needed to find out what all the hubbub was about. Following the noise took him to the Let's Get Digital site. With no digging required he found a post about Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).

This is definitely not good news.

According to the post by site owner David Gaughran, Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) rank-stripping machine is at it again. The post documents the problems indie author Kristi Belcamino has had with KDP beginning in September 2017 when she listed one of her books to free status from paid. KDP immediately rank-stripped her book. This means the book lost its sales ranking, became "invisible" in reader searches and couldn't be linked to by affiliates. After emails back and forth the book was finally re-instated to its former sales position. She again listed the book free in December 2017 and the same rank-stripping occurred. More emails back and forth and the book was again re-instated. She listed the book free in January 2018 with the same result with the rank-stripping. According to the Let's Get Digital post, it appears KDP doesn't have a valid explanation for what's causing the problem. There is a link near the end of the post to get Kristi Belcamino's book for free, if you hurry. (It goes off free in a couple of days, so check the price before you buy it to make sure it's still free.)

Panzer says, "This is exactly why this little kitty has never listed any ebooks free on KDP. Free are on Smashwords and Barnes and Noble."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring two thermoses of tea, a dozen muffins and six cookies (biscuits) and a sleeping bag for a nap in the middle of today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon author

Kindle's 10-Year Journey - The Telegraph

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to The Telegraph site. With a little digging by our inquisitive kitty, he found a post about the Kindle anniversary later this week.

The Telegraph post states the first Amazon Kindle was introduced to the reading public on November 19, 2007. The post covers the evolution of Amazon's ereader from the original Kindle in 2007 to the Kindle Oasis introduced on October 31, 2017. Also included in the post are the publishers and indie authors who began adding their books to the platform in the early days.

She has 121 ebooks on it.

Panzer says, "Umm ... You know ... All you have to do is replace the battery and those Kindles last forever. ... Mom still has a Kindle 2 she uses to read in bed at night."

Note: This is a medium post. Bring a cup of tea, a muffin and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit) for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Kindle

CreateSpace Is Closing Its Online Bookstore - GoodEreader

Today, Panzer's trip in the Catosphere was interrupted by the Panzermobile being buffeted by crying and moaning coming from outside. Following all the noise took our kitty boy to the GoodEreader site. It only took a little digging to find the post causing all the angst was about the CreateSpace online bookstore.

I am not a happy kitty.

According to the post by Mercy Pilkington, Amazon's CreateSpace has announced the closure of their popular online bookstore on October 31. Indie authors and publishers who used the CreateSpace platform to publish their paperback books had the option to sell through the CreateSpace online bookstore. The main reason for authors and publishers to use the bookstore was the royalties. CreateSpace bookstore paid 80 percent royalty on sales compared to the Amazon bookstore's 60 percent. There's a link at the end of the post to the CreateSpace announcement about the closure.

Panzer says, "It's enough to make a grown kitty yowl. Cat Wisdom for Humans is available at the CreateSpace bookstore with the 80 percent royalty and, now, it's not even worth the time to put up the buy link here."

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 link to the CreateSpace announcement bring another cup of tea and a muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to Createspace

Buying houses in cash and selling millions: meet self-publishing's 'hidden' authors - The Guardian

As soon as Panzer entered the Catosphere today the Panzermobile was buffeted by clapping and cheering. Our kitty pilot didn't need radar to find that The Guardian site was the source of all the racket. It didn't take any digging either to find the post about self-publishing authors that caused all the noise.

That would buy a lot of catnip.

According to Danuta Kean's post, there is a group of 'hidden' indie authors selling seven figure amounts of their novels. Three authors are spotlighted in the post. They are crime thriller writer Keith Houghton, crime/romance/humour writer LJ Ross, and psychological thriller writer Rachel Abbott. Why are they called 'hidden' authors with those kinds of sales numbers? Because all their novels are Amazon ebooks only and their readers are the only ones who have heard of them. Where does the 'buying houses' part of the post title come from? It comes from the fact Keith Houghton paid for his new house in cash using money from the sales of his novels. There's a lot more information about each author included in the post.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Maybe this little kitty should start writing crime/thrillers."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring two thermoses of tea and two dozen muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to hidden authors