Book Review: Dragon Poems for Smiletrain

Panzer and I happened to come across this little ebook " Dragon Poems for Smiletrain" compiled by M.R. Mathias  and L.M. Stull. While neither Panzer nor I usually read poetry, this one is raising money for the charity Smiletrain.

The anthology contains twenty poems. There are some humorous poems, some sad poems and some cute poems. All about one of my favorite things: dragons.

Panzer gives it four paws up. He doesn't like poetry or dragons, but he does like charity giving!

This ebook is rated G and is for the whole family.

Available at the Amazon Store for the Kindle.

*****

Is anybody else having trouble with this new blogger? Panzer says, "GRRR." Hiss. Hiss. Hiss.

Karen Woodward: Self Publishing on Amazon: Kindle Direct Publishin...

Panzer and I took three of his friends for a ride around the Catosphere today. The big boy wanted his friends to see how much fun the Catosphere is.

Guess what Panzer and his friends found? A great post at Karen Woodward's blog about publishing using Kindle Direct Publishing.

This is a complete plan of how to publish at KDP. And I mean COMPLETE. Everything is here: from opening your account at KDP to uploading your cover.

Let's be truthful. KDP is not the easiest place to publish. Karen gives you a helping hand up the ladder.

So, if you need a course on how to upload you file, tootle on over to  Karen Woodward: Self Publishing on Amazon: Kindle Direct Publishin...:

Book Review: The Cat's Whiskers

It's been quite a while since Panzer has found an ebook for us to review.

The Cat's Whiskers by Christopher J. F. Gibson has five short stories about . . . Ta Da . . . cats. Actually, there are four cats and one kitten -- one for each story.

These are not mysteries.  They are cute little slice of life stories. We get to meet each cat (or kitten) and the person (or persons) they own. These are little cat adventures, but nothing like what my bad boy Panzer gets into! This is an ebook for cat lovers.

The ebook could stand to have another formatting and editing. But it wasn't bad enough to get Panzer too upset.

Panzer gives it three paws up.

The Cat's Whiskers is available from Amazon for the Kindle.

Panzer gives it a G rating for the whole family.

Business Week: Amazon vs. Publishers

Everybody knows how much Panzer and I love our Kindle. By extension, that means we love Amazon. Right?

Well, Panzer was doing a little search for Amazon information with our good friend Google.

Guess what he found? 

Brad Stone has an interesting article at Business Week called Amazon vs. Publishers: The Book Battle Continues. It seems Amazon has been approaching publishers about POD for their slower selling books. So far, Amazon has met with resistance from the publishers.

Hmmm. Want to know why?

Panzer says tootle on over to Business Week. and read all about it.

Canadian Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple

Panzer has been chasing something interesting floating around in the Catosphere.

As if Apple didn't already have enough trouble with the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Maricris Liboon posts at the Amog blog that Apple has been named in a Quebec class-action lawsuit. This lawsuit accuses Apple of ebook pricing irregularities in Canada.

Read the details at Apple Faces Antitrust Lawsuit in Canada.

Writing Your Author Bio

Panzer and I were out in the Catosphere looking for more branding ideas today. We stopped in at one of his favorite blogs Writer Unboxed.

Panzer is doing the happy cat dance. He found author Keith Cronin's post "Five Ways to Fix a Boring Bio" just what he was thinking branding should be. Cronin explains how to add vim, vigor and verve to your author bio.

Let's face it, your author bio is a major part of your branding. This is where your readers can get to know the real you. And Cronin explains exactly how to tell your readers about your life (well, sort of).

So tootle on over to Writer Unboxed.

And remember: Panzer picked Keith Cronin's post. You have been warned.

Can Ebook Data Reveal New Viral Catalysts to Spur Reader Word-of-Mouth?

Over at the Smashwords' blog, Mark Coker posts about ebook data and how it can be used to find new viral catalysts.

Huh? Don't know what a viral catalyst is. Don't feel bad! Neither did Panzer.

But don't worry. Mark Coker has a new ebook out that explains all about viral catalysts and more. And, if you go the Smashwords' blog, you can pick up a free copy of the ebook. You can also watch Mark's presentation at the RT Booklovers Convention in Chicago.

So, tootle on over to  Can Ebook Data Reveal New Viral Catalysts to Spur Reader Word-of-Mouth?  and learn all about viral catalysts.

Oh, and be sure and read the Comments section, too.

Free ARCs Contest at Lesa's Book Critiques

Okay, everybody knows how Panzer loves free stuff, right? Well, he found a contest at Lesa's Book Critiques blog where you can win free ARCs (Author's Review Copies)! Dead Tree books? Are they talking about Dead Tree books? Yes, yes, I know. But, you will love these books. And they are free!

To enter, all you have to do is email your name and mailing address and which book you want. How simple is that?

Go to Lesa's Book Critiques  blog right now. Time is short to get your entries in. The contest ends May 3.

Jan Friedman's 5 Principles for Using Facebook

Panzer and I were looking around the Catosphere for some help with setting up a Facebook page. Our search took us over to Jane Friedman's blog. Ms. Friedman, a past Writer's Digest publisher, has a post about the five principles for creating a high traffic Facebook Fan Page.

Her five principles are more about the dos and don'ts of using your Facebook Fan Page for marketing. Which is actually what Panzer and I were wondering about.

No -- we don't intend to be one of those, "Please, please, please. Oh, please. Like My Page!" authors.  We hate those whiny sites that are trying to get as many "Likes" as they can. Guess what? Ms. Friedman doesn't like them either!

So, to get your daily dose of dos and don'ts tootle on over to 5 Principles for Using Facebook.

Your Author Platform According to Elizabeth Craig

Panzer has been searching the Catosphere looking for ebook marketing ideas.

He's got some of the same questions you have about book promotion. Wondering what an Author Platform is? Wondering how to set one up? Wondering if he even needs one? And, finally, wondering how much he really needs to do to have one?

Well ...

According to author Elizabeth Craig, not as much as he thought. She breaks setting up an Author Platform into four steps.

Panzer discovered he has most of it already done. He didn't even know he was building an Author Platform when he was doing it!

So, tootle on over to Author Services At The Bistro and read Guest Author Elizabeth Craig and her writing tips and see if you already built your Platform.