The French Book Business Grapples with the Rise of the Secondhand Book Trade - Publishing Perspectives

I like a lot of the old stories.

Panzer's last stop was at the Publishing Perspectives site.

 

He found a post there about secondhand bookstores in France and the impact on traditional publishers

 

Panzer says, "Maybe, nobody is interested in the new books being published."

 

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

 

To read the post tootle over to Secondhand Book Trade .

Independent Publishers Are Fed Up with Barnes & Noble - Publishers Daily

There's more stores than them.

Panzer stopped at the Publishers Weekly site today. There he discovered an interesting post about Barnes and Noble's buying practices.

 

Jim Milliot's post quotes extensively from Barnes and Noble CEO James Daunt about his book inventory buying practices. 

 

Panzer says, "It explains why this little kitty's Barnes and Noble sales went to zero."

 

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

 

To read the post tootle over to Independent Publishers 

Free The Creative Penn Podcast:Your Publishing Options With Rachael Herron

She has interesting people on.

Panzer thought you might like this episode from The Creative Penn Podcast. The episode features Joanna Penn and bestselling author Rachael Herron discussing indie publishing and traditional publishing and the pros and cons of each.

The episode Your Publishing Options is fifty-six minutes long. The show notes are below the podcast. The post contains links to other podcast episodes and information.

 

To listen to the episode tootle over to Joanna Penn and Rachael Herron

Lover's Big Leap - The Rap Sheet

 Today Panzer made a stop at The Rap Sheet site. There he found a post about the new Crime Fiction Lover awards.

 

According to J. Kingston Pierce's post, Crime Fiction Lover has six new international Crime Fiction Lover Awards. These are reader nominated and voted for awards. Nominations are open until noon November 10. All the information and rules are listed in the post at The Rap Sheet site. The post has a link to the Crime Fiction Lover site and also a link to the award nomination form.

 

Nominations are open now.

Panzer says, "Be sure to read the instructions for the nomination form, too."

 

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

 

To read the post tootle over to Lover's Big Leap

Trade-Published Romance Sees a Coronavirus Boost in the States - Publishing Perspectives

As Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today, he heard kissy, smoochy noises coming from outside. Following all the lovey dovey noises took him to the Publishing Perspectives site. With a little digging in the posts he found one about the current state of the romance market in the U.S. during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

According to the post by Porter Anderson, romance has been on everyone's mind since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the first five months of 2020 romance ebook sales increased 17 percent for trade book publishers. This was during the time the coronavirus was first detected in the U.S. and then as it began ramping up and states began lockdowns. Not only did romance ebook sales increase, but romance print book sales did as well. The post includes the top trade published romance books in both ebook and print formats. There are several links to more information about ebook and print book sales during the pandemic.

I prefer to look outside for love.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Apparently humans were looking for love in safe places."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a thermos of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow all the links in the post, bring three thermoses of tea, two dozen muffins and your dinner.

To read the post tootle over to Romance publishing sales

E-book Sales Fell 10% in 2017 - Publishers Weekly

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to the Publishers Weekly (PW) site. With a little digging around our inquisitive kitty boy found a post about 2017 ebook sales figures.

According to Jim Milliot, Pub Track Digital reports sales figures for ebooks published by traditional publishers fell 10 percent in 2017 compared to figures from 2016. Ebook sales declined in all segments except adult nonfiction. Amazon's sales figures aren't included in Pub Track Digital's report.

Indie publishing is the way to go.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Makes this little kitty glad Mom's ebooks aren't published by a traditional publisher."

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

To read the post tootle over to ebook sales

Microsoft Quietly Rolls Out Its E-Bookstore - Publishers Weekly

That was a fun holiday weekend!

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly site. There our traveling kitty boy found a post about Microsoft's e-bookstore.

According to the post by Calvin Reid, Windows 10 users have access to Microsoft's new e-bookstore. In April of last year Microsoft and Ingram Content Group launched the e-bookstore. The e-bookstore currently only offers traditional publishers ebooks. Readers can read online or download the ebooks.

Panzer says, "This little kitty wonders when they'll open their doors to indie authors."

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

To read the post tootle over to Microsoft e-Bookstore

The Arrival Of Amazon And The Future Of Australian Publishing - Dr. Beth Driscoll, University of Melbourne

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard wailing and gnashing of teeth. Following all the hullabaloo took our adventuresome kitty to the University of Melbourne site. There he found a post about Amazon's expansion into the Australian marketplace.

This needs looking into.

According to Dr. Beth Driscoll, Amazon has opened their first warehouse in Australia and will now change the Australian publishing environment. With this new fulfillment center, Amazon will be able to cut their delivery times on Australian orders. With the Amazon Prime service members will be able to get free shipping on their purchases. Because of its book ranking system Dr. Driscoll suggests Amazon will be able to negotiate discounted prices from Australian publishers. Dr. Driscoll also speculates there will be an increase in self-publishing as well. There is much more information about Amazon's possible impact on Australia's publishing industry included in this post.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Is Amazon really invading Australia's publishing landscape? This little kitty thinks Australians are a pretty independent group and won't be swayed by Amazon."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring a thermos of tea, a sandwich and six chocolate chip cookies (biscuits) for dessert.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon in Australia

eBooks Die While Used Print Book Sales Live On (It Didn't Have to be That Way) - The Digital Reader

Wow! Sales are down 21.8%?

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard wailing and crying. Following all the noise took our brave kitty pilot to The Digital Reader site.  A little digging and he found a post about the decline in ebook sales.

In the post The Digital Reader site editor Nate Hoffelder quotes from a post by Bob Lefsetz that ebook sales are down 21.8 percent. However, a close reading seems to show the post is about sales that are of ebooks converted from older traditionally published books included in that sales decline. According to the post, the publishers have these ebooks priced at almost as much as the original dead tree books. These high ebook prices are sending readers to used bookstores for used dead tree copies of the ebooks. The post includes a link to the original post the opening quotes come from.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Does Kindle Unlimited's all you can read 'sales' count in that decline or are they ignored as 'sales'? Inquiring cats want to know."

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

To read the post, tootle over to ebooks

From Indie Author to 6 (and 7!) Figure Traditionally Pubbed Book Deal - Indie Reader

After Panzer woke up from his afternoon nap he headed out into the Catosphere. Tootling around he stopped in at the Indie Reader site. There he found a post by Joe Sutton about indie author success stories.

Mr. Sutton's post tells of six indie authors who have gotten traditional publishing contracts and/or movie deals. They come from all genres. Fiction writers Hazel Gaynor and Jasinda Wilder got traditional publishing contracts, Children's fiction writer Cal-Johan Forssen Ehrlin and self-help author Aija Mayrock also got traditional publishing contracts. Fiction writers Andy Weir and A. G. Riddle got traditional publishing contracts as well as movie contracts.

Money or Cat Treats? Which for Me?

Panzer says, "Hmm ... I don't know if I'd want to give up all control over my books just for money. But ... That is a lot of money for kitty treats."

Note You'll need a cup of tea and a muffin for your reading today.

To read the post, tootle over to indie success stories

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Shocking WSJ Discovery: Higher Prices=Lower Volume...

Are you sure you humans know how to add?

Panzer stopped in at Joe  Konrath's A Newbie's Guide to Publishing blog today. Our big bad kitty boy found a post by Barry Eisler about price and demand in economics.

Mr. Eisler's post addresses an article in the Wall Street Journal about the rising cost of ebooks and consequent lower sales. After the new contracts traditional publishers signed with Amazon, they (the publishers) began charging premium prices for ebooks ... and ... sales plummeted. Mr. Eisler explains the "correlation between higher prices and lower demand" in sometimes snarky and sometimes humorous terms.

Panzer says, "The folly of human stupidity never ceases to amuse me."

Note: This is a v-e-r-y l-o-n-g post, but well worth the gallon of tea you'll need to finish reading it and the Comments Section.

To read the post, tootle over to A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Shocking WSJ Discovery: Higher Prices=Lower Volume...:

Hugh Howey on the Lazy Writer Myth

Read and learn.

Panzer was out in the Catosphere searching for some news for you today. Our big busy kitty stopped in at the Book Life site to see what he could find. It took a bit of digging for him to find what he was looking for.

Guess what?

Your wait was worth it.

Panzer boy found a post by Hugh Howey dispelling The Myth of the Lazy Writer. According to Mr. Howey, being a successful writer is hard work. Success doesn't get handed to you. You have to earn it. Whether you're an indie author or a traditionally published author, you have to do the work. You need to write the novel beginning to end. Then do the work to get it published. He says he spent 20 years writing his first novel. So ... it's not easy and it's not fast ... and it's not for the lazy.

Panzer says, "He means, you have to put in the hours and pay your dues before you get your kitty treats."

To read the post, tootle over to the lazy writer

Business Musings: Sure, I Trust You

No! No! No! No agent!

Panzer decided to make a stop at Kristine Kathryn Rusch's blog today. My big bad kitty Panzermobile pilot spent so much time there reading the latest post he almost didn't make it home in time for dinner. And you all know that must have been a pretty important post for him to be late for kitty food!

Ms. Rusch's post is about agents and publishers. There are some real horror stories included. (Both her own and other authors' stories.) There are stories of under payment of royalties. Of not being able to "fire" an agent. And of having to sign non-disclosure agreements after settlements. My poor little kitty was so upset when he got home he hid under the bed for at least 5 minutes before he came out to eat.

Panzer says, "This is really scary stuff!"

Note: You'll need at least 3 cups of tea for this v-e-r-y, v-e-r-y, v-e-r-y l-o-n-g post.

To read the post, tootle over to Business Musings: Sure, I Trust You

One Author In Defense Of Amazon

Who's a kitty to believe?

Panzer headed over to the Salon site today. He found an interesting post by author Neal Pollack about his experiences with Amazon. The post is strictly from the point of view of an author dealing with Amazon.

Mr. Pollack says he's published traditional (with the Big Five) novels and indie novels. He has now moved to Amazon's Thomas & Mercer publishers to do novels, novellas and novelettes.

Mr. Pollack doesn't understand all of the anti-Amazon rhetoric. He says as an author, all of his experiences with Amazon have been "fantastic." While he is not a bestselling author, they have supported his literary career by continuing to publish his work.

Panzer says, "Be warned: Like all the recent posts about Amazon, this is a very long post."

To read Neal Pollack's full post, tootle over to in defense of amazon

Hugh Howey and the Indie Revolt

Can't a cat get some sleep?

Panzer got pulled of out his nap by CATerwauling in the Catosphere this morning. My bad boy gets really irritable if he doesn't get his sleep!

So ... he went out in the Panzermobile to see what was going on this time.

It turns out the Ebook Earnings Report post by Hugh Howey has been causing big discussions (arguments) out in the Catosphere. Publishers' Weekly got into it by having Mark Coker of Smashwords write a post for them.

Panzer says, "Mark has a very common sense approach to all the hoopla. It's well worth the read, but v-e-r-y l-o-n-g."

If you want to read Mark Coker's take on Indie and Traditional Publishing, tootle over to Indie vs. Traditional.

Ebook Earnings Report

Panzer was out in the Catosphere following a trail of cheering authors. He found the source of all the excitement at author Hugh Howey's post at Author Earnings.

Hugh spent an enormous amount of time putting together a report that documents authors' earnings from ebooks sales, the number of sales, the percentage of indie sales compared to traditional sales and much more.

If you doubt whether or not you should get into indie publishing, you need to read this report. You'll see that indie publishing is a viable way to publish and market your ebook. The report also demonstrates you can make money selling your ebook. Panzer wants you to know this is a very long report and graphs and numbers heavy.

If you want to make up your own mind about indie publishing, tootle over and read The Report.

Hugh Howey

Traditional? What's that?

Panzer found an interview by Porter Anderson at Publishing Perspectives with Hugh Howey.

Yes, that would be Hugh Howey of indie published Wool fame.  If you don't know who Hugh Howey is, where have you been? He is the new Amanda Hocking of indie publishing.

In the interview Howey discusses self publishing versus traditional publishing. I think you'll find it's an interesting interview.

Be warned. It's very, very long. So make a huge cup of tea before you tootle over to Hugh Howey on self-publishing vs. traditional publishing

David Gaugham on Author Exploitation

Don't mess with me!

 Panzer found an important post at David Gaughran's Let's Get Digital blog he wants you all to read and re-blog.

Gaughran is posting about Author Solutions and the other scummy vanity presses. He paints a picture of their business and financial practices involving would-be writers. He tells how Author Solutions and their brethren are the users of hopeful naive new writers who are trying to make it into the publishing world. He has links to articles and lawsuits to illustrate his points.

Worst of all, these same vanity presses take advantage of writers and hide behind the screen of the traditional publishers that own them. Yes ... you read that right. Traditional publishers have been diving into the mucky end of the pool and snapping up the vanity presses.

Panzer says, if you want to know who owns who ... and who you need to avoid, tootle over to The Author Exploitation Business.

Crossover Deals from Self-Publishing to Traditional

 Panzer was out in the Panzermobile today and he happened to stop in at Dean Wesley Smith's blog. Smith has some interesting numbers on indie writers who have used the self-publishing route to get a traditional publishing contract. While that's not the way Panzer plans to go, there may be some of you out in the Catosphere who plan to use this avenue.

If this is the path you plan to take or if you just want information on indie to traditional publishing, Tootle on over to Crossover Deals from Self-Publishing to Traditional