Book Depository Is Closing - Book Depository

Part of Amazon's cost cutting plan.

Today Panzer learned Amazon is closing international book retailer Book Depository.

According to the notice at the Book Depository site, they will close on April 26. 

Panzer says, "The Q&A at the site answers questions about both current and past book orders and the closing."

Note: Because its in the Q&A format, this is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading.

 

To read the post tootle over to Book Depository Closure

Introducing Smashwords Presales - Smashwords Blog

Today as Panzer was taking his afternoon nap, he was shaken from his kitty bed by yelling and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Following all the hubbub took our kitty boy to the Smashwords Blog. There with no digging at all he found a post about Smashwords new presales software feature.

That's interesting news.

According to the post, Smashwords has added a new feature for authors to offer their readers. Readers who purchase through the presales feature have immediate access to the ebook they just bought and this is before general purchasers have access to the ebook. This is also different than a pre-order which is a sale before the book is available to anyone. The post is divided into five sections covering how presales work, why authors should participate in the presales program, an explanation of the patent pending software, information about the licensing of the software to other retailers. and a short wrap up about the future.  By far the largest section is the one explaining the new patent pending software.

Panzer says, "MeWOW! This looks like a major step forward for Smashwords!"

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring a half gallon of tea and a half gallon of cocoa and six muffins and six sugar cookies (biscuits) for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Smashwords presales

Clock Is Ticking on B&T Retail Shutdown - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard crying and wailing. Following all the heart-wrenching noises took our brave kitty to the Publishers Weekly site. With no trouble at all he found the post about Baker and Taylor that was causing all the angst.


According to Publishers Weekly's Jim Milliot, Baker and Taylor is shutting down its retail wholesaling business. Baker and Taylor will no longer ship books from publishers to independent booksellers. Booksellers will now have to order their books directly from the publishers. Publishers have begun setting up programs to fill the void left by Baker and Taylor's withdrawl from the market. The post includes links to previous posts about the shutdown and information about the publishers' plans.

It will all work out.

Panzer says, "By closing down their retail wholesaling business Baker and Taylor is causing a little bit of a mess for independent booksellers."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of lemonade and two sugar cookies (biscuits) for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow all the links, bring a thermos of cocoa and half a dozen muffins. (You'll need something more substantial than lemonade and cookies (biscuits) if you're going to follow all those links.)

To read the post tootle over to Baker and Taylor

2019 eBook Distribution Round-up ... - DAVIDWOGAHN.COM

Panzer was tootling around in the Catopshere when he decided to stop in at the DAVIDWOGAHN.COM site. With a little digging around there, our inquisitive kitty boy found a post about aggregators and ebook distributions.

I couldn't have found all this on my own.

The post by site owner David Wogahn compares ebook aggregators. The post contains information to help indie authors and publishers determine their choice between using an aggregator for ebook distribution or distributing to each ebook retailer themselves. There's a comparison chart for the eleven current aggregators listed alphabetically. Included in the chart are the usual companies like Smashwords and Draft2Digital, but also companies like PublishGreen and XinXii as well as seven others. The comparisons cover costs, who the aggregator distributes to, their payment method, and their ISBN requirements (and costs for ISBNs, if any). Clicking the Plus button for each aggregator on the chart shows more individual information.

Panzer says, "Every indie author and publisher should check out this post and the comparison chart."

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

To read the post tootle over to ebook distribution

PSA: eBookMall Has Gone From eBook Retailer to Phishing Site - The Digital Reader

Criminals are everywhere.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard wailing and crying and gnashing of teeth. Following all the noise took our brave kitty boy to The Digital Reader site. With a little digging in the posts he found one about the eBookMall site.

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, on a recent visit to ebook retailer eBookMall(.com) he was denied access to use the site. His security software warned it was preventing him from going to a redirected site. It appears eBookMall is now a phishing site.

Panzer says, "Always obey you security software when it warns you away from a site."

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

To read the post tootle over to eBookMall

German cabinet agrees to extend fixed prices to e-books - Reuters

Panzer is still sneezing and sniffling so it was a short trip into the Catosphere today. With a box of tissues on the seat next to him, our kitty boy stopped in at the Reuters site.

According to a post there by Maria Sheahan (edited by Hugh Lawson), Germany's cabinet has extended a law on the pricing of paper books to include ebooks. Where ever the ebook retailer is located, the price will be fixed in Germany for German buyers. It has already been ruled in Germany that some of Amazon's discounts to buyers are illegal, so this new law will further hamstring the retailer's efforts to increase sales there.

There just might be a loop hole there.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... The Reuters post makes reference to German language books. ... Does that mean, if they're English language books, they're not covered under the law? Inquiring cats want to know."

Note: Today's read will only need one cup of tea.

To read the post, tootle over to Germany