QueryTracker Blog: Authors' New Amazon Headache

Quiet down!

My bad boy Panzer was following all the yowling going on in the Catosphere today trying to find the source. He finally tracked it down at the Query Tracker Blog.

What a pile of NOT yard art he stepped in.

It turns out Amazon has a policy about author's giving gift cards to people to review their books. The policy is simple. Don't do it! It's the same as paying for a review which isn't allowed. If you give someone a gift card and they buy a new purse? Well, you paid them and they spent the money (gift card). They use it to buy your book or any book? Same thing. You paid them and they spent the money. Don't yowl about it. Just don't do it.

Panzer says, "Didn't you every hear of Smashwords? You give the reviewer a coupon code. They get the book free at Smashwords. And review it at Amazon. Problem solved."

If you want to read the whole argument, tootle over to QueryTracker Blog: Authors' New Amazon Headache:
 

How To Make An Audiobook With ACX

Maybe I'll just let Mom do it.

Panzer spent the weekend looking for help with producing audiobooks. If you've been following his adventures recently, you know he's been researching audiobooks a lot this month.

He learned about recording your own story and letting your readers hear your voice using your computer and Audacity software.

And he learned about making a soundtrack to your book using Booktrack.

And then he learned about marketing ACX audiobooks.

But ... he hadn't learned about what "professional" narrators say about how they record an audiobook.

This weekend he went over to author/ghostwriter Roz Morris' Nail Your Novel blog and found a post with an interview with audiobook narrator Sandy Spangler. Sandy discusses her recording studio, correcting mistakes, pronunciation problems, and more.

Panzer says, "The interview was a learning experience for me!"

If you're interested in reading about how a professional audiobook narrator does her job, tootle over to make an audiobook

Jedi Kittens Strike Back

New Panzerism

Whatever.

 Panzer says:

 I do whatever I want,
 wherever I want.

 As long as Mom doesn't know it was me.

Will Self-Publishing Exist in 10 Years?

Will it? Or won't it?

Panzer was looking for information about what's going on in the ebook publishing world. He found an interesting post at Erica Verrillo's blog Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity.

Erica asks the question, "Will self-publishing exist in 10 years?" She explores her ideas about the future through quotes from a presentation by Jon Fine, Amazon's director of author and publishing relations, and Hugh Howey, hybrid author,  speaking at the Publishing for Digital Minds conference.

I find the whole question of self-publishing's future interesting. For some time writers have been trying to get away from the idea of being self-published by calling ourselves indie publishers. Now, there is a movement to start our own small publishing companies only publishing ourselves and a small group of "friends" in short story collections.  It'll be interesting to see what the future does hold for us.

If you want to read Erica Verrillo's, Amazon's Jon Fine's, and Hugh Howey's view of the future, tootle over to, Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: Will Self-Publishing Exist in 10 Years?:

A Writer's Journey: What Is The Right Length For a Chapter?

All that in one chapter?

Ever wondered if the chapters you're writing are long enough? And how long is long enough? Well, Panzer has spent a lot of time staring out the window while he tried to figure it out. So today when he was out in the Catosphere he happened to find the answer at Nat Russo's blog A Writer's Journey.

Nat has four purposes he says a chapter needs to fulfill: Pacing, Characterization, Suspense and Transitions. He explains each of these and its use in the chapter. This post is a whole college course in writing not only a chapter, but your whole novel.

Panzer says, "By the time you finish this post, you'll be an expert at chapter construction!"

 If you're interested in chapter writing, tootle over to A Writer's Journey: What Is The Right Length For a Chapter?:

Marketing ACX Audiobooks

ACX here I come!

Panzer parked the Panzermobile over at Joanna Penn's The Creative Penn blog today. He was looking for ideas for marketing audiobooks. Turns out Joanna had done a post on just that subject.


Not only does Joanna explain how audiobooks are beginning to gain a market share, she also has five tips for marketing your ACX audiobook. In addition there's a section giving tips for choosing a narrator, producing your audiobook and distributing your audiobook to Amazon.

To learn about producing your own audiobook, tootle over to Audiobooks Marketing

Record Your Story And Let Your Readers Hear Your Voice

You record it! No you record it!

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today and stopped in at Nathaniel Tower's Write, Juggle, Run blog. My bad boy found a post there about recording your short story yourself.

 Tower makes it sound easy. He gives you a microphone suggestion; tells you how to set up your studio; then launches you into making the recording using Audacity. He even gives you a little trick to use when you make a mistake when recording.

Panzer says, "You'll have to Google Audacity and download it. (Mr. Tower doesn't give you a link.)"

If you want to learn how to do your own recording of your short story, tootle over to Let Your Readers Hear Your Voice

Four Markets for Serial Fiction

Looking for markets? Or just a good read?

Panzer was out looking for markets for short stories today. He found a post at Indie Reader  by JH Mae that has markets for not only short stories, but serial fiction too.

What is serial fiction you ask?

Well, so did Panzer.

According to the Indie Reader post, it's not exactly like the old serial movies your great-grandmother used to watch, but it is similar in some ways. Today's serial fiction can be a novel released chapter by chapter or a collection of short stories released story by story or even a novella.

Ms. Mae describes four markets for serial fiction, including DailyLit, Eat Your Serial, Jukepop, and Tuesday Serial.

If you're a writer, it doesn't look like these are paying markets; but it could be a way to get your work out to readers and get a following.

Or ... if you're a reader, these could be places to enjoy serial fiction.

If you're interested in checking out serial fiction, tootle over to Serial Fiction

Make a Soundtrack to Your Book Using Booktrack - GalleyCat

Booktrack?

Panzer was over at GalleyCAT today.  He's been researching what's involved in adding music to an ebook.

My bad boy found a post at GalleyCAT that has a link to a YouTube video about Booktrack. It turns out Booktrack gives you the ability to add not only music, but sound effects to wherever you want in your ebook.

Our traveling cat captain took the Panzermobile over to  the Booktrack site to check it out on his own. He learned Booktrack works with Google Chrome, Opera, and Firefox. (Sorry Internet Explorer users.) There are several links to tutorials for YouTube videos at the site to help you use the service.

If you want to read the GalleyCAT post about Booktrack, tootle over to
Make a Soundtrack to Your Book Using Booktrack - GalleyCat

If you want to jump right into the Booktrack site, tootle over to Booktrack.