Anthropic Settlement Update: Final Settlement Approved - Writer Beware (R)

They wanted 20 % of the settlement.

Today, Panzer found a detailed look into the Anthropic settlement and the outcome in a post at the Writer Beware (R) site. 

 

Victoria Strauss' post goes into how and when the money will be paid into an account for the plaintiffs, how the money will be  divided and when it will be paid out.

 

Panzer says, "This little kitty likes the Judge's math."

 

Note: This is a long post. You'll need to decide what you want to snack on.

 

To read the post tootle over tio Anthropic Settlement Update 

78 Calls for Submissions in May 2026 - Paying markets - Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity

Something for everyone here.

Panzer's .first stop today was at the Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity site. There he found a list of paying markets accepting submissions.

 

Erica Verrillo's list includes many genres and both fiction and nonfiction markets accepting submissions.

 

Panzer says, "Be sure to read all the submission guidelines and deadlines."

 

Note: This is a huge post. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on.

 

To read the market submissions list tootle over to Calls for Submissions in May

PEN America Finds Literary Translators Underpaid, Underappreciated - Publishers Daily

I didn't know any of this about translators.

Today, Panzer made a stop at the Publishers Daily site where he found an interesting post about translators.

 

The post is about a PEN America report released last month about translators and how they're paid and recognized for their work. The last section of the post is an examination of how AI is impacting book translations. Included in the post are links to other reports and analysis relating to translation work.

 

Panzer says, "This little kitty didn't know translators were paid by the word."

 

Note: This is a very long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on.

 

To read the post tootle over to PEN America 

63 Calls for Submissions in February 2023 - Paying Markets - Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity site. There our traveling kitty pilot found a post about markets.

 

Hmm ... Mystery markets.

Erica Verrillo lists 63 paying markets all accepting submissions in February. There are markets for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art. The genres include mystery, horror, fantasy, and more. These are all paying markets that don't charge a reading fees.

Panzer says, "Be sure to read the submission guidelines."

Note:This is a long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to eat and drink while you explore all the possibilities.

 

To read the post tootle over to calls for submissions

Writing about Writing - 10 Paying Markets - Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity site. There he found a post about markets for writing about writing.

 

Interesting.

According to Erica Verrillo's post, these ten markets are looking for articles, essays, posts, and/or poems about writing and/or the writing experiences of writers. Some of these markets have writer location and/or gender restrictions included in the submission guidelines. All of them are paying markets, although some require a Paypal account for payment.

 

Panzer says, "Mom has been published in Writers Weekly. She says they're very good to work with and pay promptly.

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a muffin for today's reading. If you plan to follow any of the links in the post, you'll have to decide what to bring to eat and drink.

 

To read the post tootle over to paying markets

27 Fabulous Writing Conferences in July 2021 - Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity

 Today Panzer made a stop at the Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity site. With a little digging in the posts our kitty leader found one about writers' conferences.

 

Site owner Erica Verrillo's post lists 27 writing conferences and workshops in July. The list includes workshops and conferences that concentrate on fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Some are free and some are pay for attendance. 

It's been really, really hot here.

 

Panzer says, "We didn't check every one, but most (if not all) appear to be online."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a glass of lemonade and a bowl of ice cream for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to writing conferences

39 Places to Publish Novellas and Long Short Stories - Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity

 Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere and decided to make a stop at the Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity site. There our adventuresome kitty boy found a post with markets for novellas and long short stories.

 

Erica Verrillo's post is a collection of 39 markets for novella and long short stories. Finding markets for material of these lengths is hard, so this list is worth reading. All are paying markets. The post includes descriptions of the various lengths for novellas and long short stories.

It's definitely nap time for me.

 

Panzer says, "There are several fantasy and science fiction markets included in here."

 

Note: With 39 market listing, this is a long post. Bring a thermos of tea and three muffins for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to novellas and long short stories

ThrillerFest XVI - ThrillerFest Website

 Today Panzer made a trip to the ThrillerFest website to get information about the annual conference.

 

No plane or hotel. Some free. I'm going.

According to the website, the International Thriller Writers' ThrillerFest will be June 28 - July 10 this year. Like most other conferences it will be virtual only. The conference includes pay and free presentations. The Master Class, X-Treme CraftFest, PitchFest and ConsultFest are all pay presentations. You can register for any or all of them. The Author Advice videos, Debut Authors videos and the Awards presentations are all free. The free presentations are hard to find, so here's what you have to do: Click X-Treme CraftFest in the band at the top of the page (below where it says ThrillerFest XVI and right next to Master Class); scroll partway down the page to the Register Today! button and click it; go all the way to the bottom of the Registration page and there you'll find the free presentations. You can read about them and the date and time of each presentation. Since these presentations are on Facebook you will need to follow the ITW on Facebook.

 
Panzer says, "If you're looking for the free presentations, follow the instructions exactly!"

 

Note: If you plan to read all the information about the conference, bring two thermoses of tea, six muffins, six chocolate chip cookies (biscuits) and six oatmeal cookies (biscuits).

 

To visit the site tootle over to Thriller Fest

Barnes & Noble Press Announces Refreshed Author Benefits Including Improved Payment Terms - Press Release

 Today as Panzer was settling down for his afternoon nap, he was shaken from his kitty bed by clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile our expeditious kitty boy headed out. Following all the hoopla took him to the Barnes and Noble site. There with no digging at all he discovered a post about Barnes and Noble's new author payment plan.

 

MeWOW! 70 percent!

According to the Press Release at the Barnes and Noble site, Barnes and Noble Press has increased its ebook royalty rate to 70 percent and payment frequency to 30 days. Although not included in the new royalty rate, Barnes and Noble Press also does POD (print-on-demand) paperbacks which are sold through BN.com and at the Barnes and Noble brick and mortar bookstores. The post includes a link to more information about the changes.

 

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Maybe this little kitty needs to take a look at using Barnes and Noble Press."

 

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

 

To read the press release tootle over to Barnes and Noble

Draft2Digital Drops Minimum Payment to PayPal & US Directi Deposit - The Digital Reader

Panzer made a quick trip to The Digital Reader site today. After a little digging around there our inquisitive traveler is doing the happy kitty dance. He uncovered a post about Draft2Digital's new payment program.

According to the post by site owner Nate Hoffelder, Draft2Digital (D2D) will now make payments to authors' PayPal accounts or U.S. bank direct deposits on a regular schedule no matter what the monetary amount. Previously D2D would only issue payments when authors reached a minimum amount. D2D's competitor Pronoun is also offering this payment option. Mr. Hoffelder speculates the shrinking indie author market is driving the better author payment terms.

Always watch your competition.

Panzer says, "Umm ... I think Draft2Digal and Pronoun are both a little late to the party. Amazon dropped the minimum payment requirement three years ago."

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

To read the post, tootle over to Draft2Digital

A Month-Old Software Glitch is Still Stealing Page Views from eBooks in Kindle Unlimited - The Digital Reader

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today when he heard the sound of shouting and crying. Following the noise took our brave kitty boy to The Digital Reader site. There he discovered the anger and frustration was directed at Amazon.

This needs watching.

According to a post by The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, because of a software glitch Amazon's Kindle Unlimited (KU) has been short-changing ebook authors on their "sales" payments. Amazon doesn't pay authors for their ebook "sales" in KU because the ebooks are free to KU users. Instead, authors are paid by the number of pages the user reads in the ebooks. Recently authors have noticed their pages read numbers are lower than previously reported. After the problem was reported Amazon told the authors the problem had been fixed. However, authors are still reporting their page reads are down.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Have a problem ... Fixed the problem ... But still under-paying authors ... Interesting how the problem got fixed."

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

To read the post, tootle over to Kindle Unlimited

May 2016 Author Earnings Report: the definitive million-title study of US author earnings - Author Earnings

The Panzermobile ran out of fuel today in the Catosphere. Our excellent kitty pilot managed to land his craft safely at the Author Earnings site. While he was waiting for the fuel delivery he did a little digging around there and found a report about author earnings.

After all that I need a nap.

According to the post by Data Guy, the site used a "spider" to search  tremendous amounts of data at Amazon to put the earnings report together. The report contains information about the number of authors making six and seven figure incomes all the way to the number of authors making three figure incomes. This is a comprehensive report covering everything from single titles to series.

Panzer says, "It has information on one million writers!"

Note: This is a h-u-g-e report. You'll need a thermos of tea and a dozen muffins with a sleeping bag to take a nap in the middle of your reading.

To read the post, tootle over to May 2016

Revealed: how Project Goldcrest helped Amazon avoid huge sums in tax - The Guardian

Panzer, our intrepid traveling kitty, stopped in at The Guardian site today. After just a little digging around, he found a post about Amazon and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Let's take a closer look at this.

According to the post there, Amazon is being forced to shine a light on their payment of taxes or lack of payment in the United States. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has taken Amazon to court. The IRS hopes to prove to the court that Amazon's complicated company structure was set up to avoid U.S. taxes. Documents presented in court show that under the code name Goldcrest companies and subsidiary companies were formed in other countries so Amazon pays very little in U.S. taxes.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Avoid taxes ... Isn't that what all humans want to do?"

Note: This is a h-u-g-e post with extra links at the end. You'll need a thermos of tea and a dozen muffins for your read today.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Konrath Kindle Unlimited Numbers

I need a snack.

Today Panzer made a trip over to the A Newbie's Guide to Publishing site. It's been a while since our big kitty boy has gone to Joe Konrath's site.

Like a lot of other people right now, Konrath is talking about his Kindle Unlimited sales. He's doing a comparison between the old KU payment system and the new. And ... he's got some pretty impressive dollar amounts from sales to show how the new KU payment system has nearly doubled his income. He's got some interesting loan/borrow/sales figures for his short pieces to compare with his novel length pieces, too. He also briefly gives his take on the KU sales/marketing history with writers and readers.

Panzer says, "It's interesting that he admits he hasn't written anything for a year, but he's making $15,000 - $20,000 a month off his backlist."

Note: As is true with all Konrath's blog posts, this is v-e-r-y l-o-n-g. Bring a h-u-g-e cup of tea and a muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Konrath Kindle Unlimited Numbers:

KU’s New Payment Terms: An Author Does the Math

I'm not going to worry about it.

When Panzer got up from his nice long after-lunch nap, he went out into the Catosphere today. Our well-rested kitty boy stopped in at the Indie Reader site. After some careful digging around, he found a post by novelist Lynn Messina.

Ms. Messina has an interesting outlook on the Kindle Unlimited (KU) payment terms. She admits she comes from a traditionally published background. There she was making significantly less per book than Amazon was originally offering authors of novels under the KU terms. Under the new pay per page read plan, it appears authors of novels would still fare better as long as their book is read completely. She does admit cookbook authors won't fare as well, since their books aren't read in their entirety.

Panzer says, "But what about a cat like me who has a collection of short stories? Or a collection of cat witticisms? They're short. Not enough pages to make it worth putting in KU."

To read the full post, tootle over to KU’s New Payment Terms: An Author Does the Math

Amazon Customer Billing Changes Coming To Germany

Where is my phone?

Panzer was over at the Slate site today. In a post by Alison Griswold he learned about Amazon's new plans for payments in Germany.

Plans are in the works to allow Amazon buyers to pay through Bango for their digital items (like ebooks) on their Telefonica Deutschland phone bills. The roll out of the new payment system is scheduled for next year.

Panzer says, "Don't be fooled. The beginning of the post is a review of Amazon's new ereaders and tablets. Just keep reading."

To read the whole post, tootle over to Amazon billing