Vellum 3.4 publishing software is out: $200+ but worth it - TeleRead

Today, Panzer made a trip to the TeleRead site. There he found a post about Vellum software.

Ebook distribution used to be easy.

According to David Rothman's post, the new Vellum 3.4 is now available. In his review Vellum is his choice for making epub versions of his books. While Vellum is for Macs only, he does include some software recommendations for the Windows operating system. The post includes links to all the recommended software products.

Panzer says, "We don't have a Mac so this little kitty is glad he included software for Windows too."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a chocolate chip cookie and a brownie (you can never have too much chocolate) for reading this post. If you plan to follow all the links in the post, you'll need to decide what to bring to eat and drink while you read.

To read the post tootle over to Vellum software

MidJourney AI art for book cover design (how is this legal?) - Creativindie

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Creativindie site. There with a little digging in the posts our inquisitive kitty boy found a post about MidJourney AI artwork. Yesterday, Panzer told you about Getty Images removing all AI generated artwork from the site.

 

Can you tell I'm excited?

According to author Derek Murphy's post, there are reasons why authors need to make alterations to any AI generated artwork they plan to use for book covers. Not the least of these reasons is with the copyright problems he explains. Included in the post are numerous AI generated artworks he generated using MidJourney software.

 

Panzer says, "You will love the artwork in his post."

 

Note: This is a humongous post. You'll need to bring your lunch and your dinner for today's trip through AI land.

 

To read the post tootle over to MidJourney ai

Windows 10 troubleshooting: How to fix the most common annoyances - CNet

This has nothing to do with cats or publishing, but Panzer found it interesting and thought you might too.

 

According to the post by Alison DeNisco Rayome, the last major Windows 10 update was October 2020. The post includes 10 Windows 10 problems and instructions to correct them yourself. Some of them have more than one set of correction instructions. Some of the problems covered are not enough disk space, Bluetooth not working, printer not working and seven more problems.

 

Maybe now she'll calm down.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Mom's got two of the problems. The cursor has a mind of its own and keeps dancing around the monitor screen and when Mom's trying to read a page it keeps scrolling down on the screen. Both problems and fixes are in the post."

 

Note: This is a huge post. Bring a thermos of cocoa and twelve muffins for today's software repairs.

 

To read the post tootle over to Windows 10

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

Kindle Create App Out of Beta - The Digital Reader

20 Days Until Christmas

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when the Panzermobile was buffeted by clapping and cheering. Following all the jocularity, took our brave kitty explorer to The Digital Reader site. There he discovered a post about Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing's (KDP) Kindle Create App.

According to the post by The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Amazon has announced the Kindle Creater App is out of beta testing and ready for Windows and MacOS users. Users can download the free software from KDP to their computers. The software edits (formats) .doc and .docx files to the proper formatting for uploading to KDP for ebook publishing. The software also has four layout templates for users' ebooks. The post includes a link to the download site.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Making it easier to publish to KDP?"

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea and half a muffin to read today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the download link and read the Q and A section, bring a second cup of tea and a muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to Kindle Create app

OverDrive is Beta-Testing a New eBook App, Libby - The Digital Reader

Panzer made a short trip to The Digital Reader site today. After a little digging around there, our traveling kitty boy found a post about OverDrive.

Now where did she hide that password?

According to the post by site owner Nate Hoffelder, OverDrive is testing a new software app called Libby. OverDrive's Libby is used to check your ebooks out from the public library system. Libby is also used to read the ebooks after they're downloaded to an Android or iOS device. There are links at the end of the post to download the software.

Panzer says, "I'm going to download Libby and put it on Mom's tablet. Like Mr. Hoffelder, I quit using OverDrive's old app for library ebooks because it was too clunky for this kitty."

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 OverDrive

Apple Taxes Authors' Patience - Huff Post The Blog

Mom say's I'll feel better tomorrow.

Panzer took an extra long after lunch nap today because he's still recovering from his annual vaccinations at the vet yesterday. So, our sleepy kitty pilot made a short trip to the Huff Post The Blog site. He found a post there by Janet Tavakoli about a problem for authors signing directly with Apple's iTunes Connect.

According to Ms. Tavakoli, Apple has a problem with their iTunes Connect tax software. It seems when an author who is an LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) tries to fill out the required tax form, the information is entered wrong by the software. The only way the author can get the information corrected is to write to the tax department. Apple has known about the problem for three years, but failed to correct it.

Panzer says, "But ... But ... I'm already an LLC (Lots and Lots of Cat)."

Note: This is a short post so one cup of tea will be enough today.

To read the post, tootle over to Apple

Office Apps For iPad, iPhone, And Android

I'm getting mine.

Panzer was out cruising around when he found a deal at Office Blogs he couldn't pass-up.

Microsoft is offering FREE Office apps to iPad, iPhone and Android tablet users. You'll be able to get Word, Excel and Power Point apps starting today. There are examples of what the apps will look like on the devices and links to download them.

Panzer says, "FREE is always good."

To read the full post, tootle over to Office

Paperback Writer: Not a Penny Ten

An early present for you!

Panzer likes writer Lynn Viehl's Paperback Writer blog.

Today he found an especially valuable post from December 2 there. Why is it valuable? Because all the software Lynn has listed are FREE. There's a clipboard program, an art program, a graphics conversion program, a pdf reader and more. A total of ten free software programs.

Panzer says, "FREE! FREE!"

To see if there's anything here for you, tootle over to Paperback Writer: Not a Penny Ten

Let's Talk Paint.NET for Ebook Covers

Okay, everybody who knows me knows I'm a hands on person. I want to learn how to do something first before I even consider hiring somebody else to do it.  So ... I've been searching for a program that will allow me to make a professional cover for my ebooks without costing me a fortune.

I've been learning how to use Paint.NET. I can't remember who recommended it to me. So far it seems to be relatively simple, although I haven't learned how to use the layers function yet. The layering function is necessary to add lettering to my image for the ebook cover.

Click  Resource Of The Week: Paint.Net  to see if it might work for your ebook cover.

Oh, did I mention, it's free?