New Amazon Rules on eBook Bonus Content - Indies Unlimited

Panzer was cleaning out the Panzermobile when he saw something stuffed under the passenger headrest. Pulling it out our fastidious kitty found a wadded up post. Smoothing it out, he discovered it was a post from the Indies Unlimited site about ebook bonus content.

According to Lynn Cantwell, Amazon (finally) began cracking down on Chance Carter one of the big-time book stuffers. Panzer told you about book stuffing last month. It's when authors put extra ebooks and stories into an ebook in Amazon Select to expand the length of the book. Then the author includes a link at the beginning of the book to get the reader to click to the end. Amazon then pays the author as if the whole book was read. This post explains the things an author needs to do to make sure she/he isn't breaking Amazon's new Terms of Service when adding legitimate bonus material. There are links included in the post to information on what constitutes book stuffing.

After all that work I need a nap.

Panzer says, "This little kitty knows this is a June post, but the information about the proper way to play by Amazon's rules makes it worth the read."

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

To read the post tootle over to Amazon 

 To read Panzer's earlier post about book stuffing tootle over to book stuffing

Crime Authors Who Served Time In Prison - Crime Reads

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Crime Reads site. There our traveling kitty boy found an interesting post about crime fiction authors.

Why would you want to go back inside?

According to Matthew Iden's post, some crime fiction authors got their story ideas from their own experiences. The post contains information about eight crime fiction authors who actually spent time in prison for committing crimes. These are crimes ranging from bank robbery to murder. Some became bestselling authors while in prison and some after they were released. Some were released from prison and became model citizens and some were released and then committed more crimes and were sent back to prison. Included is biographical information about both men and women crime fiction authors who were prisoners.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Bestsellers, huh? Who says crime doesn't pay?"

Note: This is a long post. Bring two cups of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to crime authors

KDP Expanded Distribution - Kindle Direct Publishing Announcement

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today when the Panzermobile was suddenly buffeted by cheering and clapping and laughing. Following all the joyous noises our kitty boy went to Amazon's KDP announcement site. With no digging at all he found a post by Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) about a new service they're offering.

This doesn't look good for Create Space.

According to the announcement, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is now offering expanded distribution to bookstores and retailers for KDP paperbacks. This has been the remaining difference between KDP and Create Space. Included in the announcement are royalty rates and fees for the expanded distribution service. There are also instruction on how to sign up your paperback for the service. Also included is a link to information about how expanded distribution works.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty is wondering how much longer Create Space will continue now that KDP has added the expanded service."

Note: This is a short announcement. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the link for distribution information, bring a muffin too.

To read the post tootle over to KDP

A New Panzerism

Panzer on his favorite topic:

I have a super power.

I can nap almost any time I choose.

Boredom ...

Watching What's His Name fall out of the hammock.

Excitement ...

Watching What's His Name look for his car keys.

Amusement ...

Watching What's His Name fall into the backyard fish pond.

You name it ...

I can fall asleep doing it.

Except ...

But ... I'll find a way to do it.

The one event that makes it impossible for me to fall into a good nap.

Is when ...

I'm already asleep.

The statistics behind audiobooks' continued growth - Perspectives On Reading

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere took him to the Perspectives On Reading site. There our traveling kitty found a post about audiobooks.

According to Perspective on Reading staff writer Adam Sockel, library audio book usage is up 46 percent. So far this year library users have checked out 220,000 audio books daily. The post includes several charts to show audio book listeners by age, listening habits, daily length of time listening, and more. Perspectives on Reading is a publication of library supplier OverDrive.

Yes, it's definitely time.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty thinks it's time to do an audio book to get into the library market."

Note: Because of all the charts included this is a long-medium post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins.

To read the post tootle over to audio books

Amazon Disappearing Reviews: The Surprising Reason Why Book Reviews are Getting Pulled (and how to fix it) - Author Marketing Experts

I am so tired.

Panzer is recovering from last night's Independence Day fireworks show. His trip into the Catosphere was a quick stop at the Author Marketing Experts site. There our poor tired kitty found a post about Amazon reviews.

According to Penny Sansevieri, if you notice some of your book reviews being taken down, it's due to Amazon's robotic algorithms. Being a robot, it flags reviews for reasons we human authors don't know or understand; but, the post offers some suggestions for possible fixes. A means to clean up how an author asks for reviews using URLs is explained. Also, included is the proper wording reviewers should use to avoid review take-downs. There are other suggestions included in the post to stop the Amazon attack bots. Be sure to read the Comments section too.

Panzer says, "This little kitty didn't know URLs were so important."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a thermos of tea and half a dozen muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon reviews

Independence Day

July 4

From Panzer, Mom and What's His Name

B&N Fires CEO - Publishers Weekly

Panzer had hardly started eating his dinner when his food bowl was tipped over by the sounds of shouting. Our brave kitty hopped into the Panzermobile and headed into the Catosphere. Following all the noise took him to the Publishers Weekly site. With no digging at all he found a brand new post about Barnes and Noble.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Barnes and Noble announced this afternoon the company CEO has been fired. In a release the company said the Barnes and Noble board of directors terminated (fired) CEO Demos Parneros effective immediately. The reason according to the release is CEO Parneros' "violations of the Company's policies." There is no mention of the exact violations except to say they are not financial or fraud violations.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... The violations must have been bad for him to be terminated immediately."

I'm ready for a nap now.

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

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble

What Audiobooks.com's CEO Thinks Of The Industry's Double-Digit Growth - Forbes

Today, as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere he decided to make a stop at the Forbes site. With just a little digging our intrepid kitty traveler found a post about audiobooks.

That's a big increase in sales.

According to the post by Adam Rowe, audiobook revenue and sales were up in 2017 compared to 2016. Revenue was up by 29.5 percent and sales were up by 22.7 percent. In an interview Ian Small CEO of Audiobooks.com stated he believes this growth will continue. Audiobooks,com is a subscription membership site. The company has expanded business into new English and non-English speaking countries.

Panzer says, "This little kitty better start getting into audiobooks."

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 Audiobooks.com

A New Panzerism

Panzer on gambling:

What's His Name told Mom cats don't like to gamble.

He said scientists did a test. The test was a choice between two doors.

One door had a meal behind it every time ...

And ...

The other door had a larger meal behind it, but not every time.

The cats always chose the door that had the meal every time.

What's His Name said that means cats don't like to gamble on the door with a big meal but only sometimes.

Well ... Once again What's His Name is wrong.

See ... No pockets. No leftovers.

The test wasn't about gambling.

It was about leftovers.

Since cats don't have pockets that means carrying leftovers from those big meals is really, really messy.

So ... Cats never gamble? I wouldn't bet on it.