Fiona L. Woods's Blog, page 201
February 8, 2022
Draft2Digital Acquires Smashwords - Smashwords Blog
Good or Bad? Not sure yet.When Panzer checked his email this morning he found one from Smashwords.
According to the email, Smashwords is being acquired by Draft2Digital. Following the link in the email, Panzer read all the available information about the sale. The sale will be complete on March 1. The Smashwords name/brand will no longer be used. Although the link included in the post isn't clickable, it says there will be an online Q and A tomorrow about the acquisition.
To read the full announcement tootle over to Draft2Digital
February 7, 2022
A Panzerism
Yuk! *Panzer on color coding:
Note to self: Remember ...
White paint does not taste like milk.
* From Cat Wisdom for humans
February 4, 2022
The BigThrill Online Magazine - February Issue
Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere he made a stop at The Big Thill site. There he discovered the February issue of the International Thriller Writers online magazine is posted.
I love that J.P. Beaumont hunan.
The new issue of The Big Chill has interviews with several authors, including one of Panzer's favorite authors J.A. Jance. Our kitty boy loves listening to Mom read J.P. Beaumont books to him. The online issue is free and will remain posted until the next issue is ready.
To read the new issue tootle over to The Big Thrill
I love that J.P. Beaumont hunan.The new issue of The Big Chill has interviews with several authors, including one of Panzer's favorite authors J.A. Jance. Our kitty boy loves listening to Mom read J.P. Beaumont books to him. The online issue is free and will remain posted until the next issue is ready.
To read the new issue tootle over to The Big Thrill
February 3, 2022
Amazon raises price of Prime membership by $20 to $139/year - GeekWire
Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to the GeekWire site. There our speedy little kitty boy found a post about Amazon Prime.
It's not a surprise to me.
According to the post by Taylor Soper, Amazon announced it is raising the price of a Prime membership to $139 per year. The price increase is necessary to cover the company's increased shipping costs and increased wages costs. The new price will go into effect on February 18.
Panzer says, "This little kitty expected the membership price to go up after seeing all the employee wage increases."
Note: This is a long-medium post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a large muffin for today's reading.
To read the post tootle over to Amazon Prime membership
It's not a surprise to me.According to the post by Taylor Soper, Amazon announced it is raising the price of a Prime membership to $139 per year. The price increase is necessary to cover the company's increased shipping costs and increased wages costs. The new price will go into effect on February 18.
Panzer says, "This little kitty expected the membership price to go up after seeing all the employee wage increases."
Note: This is a long-medium post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a large muffin for today's reading.
To read the post tootle over to Amazon Prime membership
February 2, 2022
73 Writing Contests in February 2022- No entry fee - Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity
Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity site. There he discovered a post about writing contests in February.
There's something for everyone.
Erica Verrillo's post includes 73 writing contests with February entry deadlines. There are competitions for flash fiction, short stories, novels, poetry, and nonfiction. None of the competitions has an entry fee. There are restrictions for some of the competitions.
Panzer says, "To make sure your entry isn't disqualified always read the submission rules."
Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a large muffin for today's reading selection. Depending on which competitions you're interested in reading about, you'll need to decide what else to bring to eat and drink.
To read the post tootle over to writing contests
There's something for everyone.Erica Verrillo's post includes 73 writing contests with February entry deadlines. There are competitions for flash fiction, short stories, novels, poetry, and nonfiction. None of the competitions has an entry fee. There are restrictions for some of the competitions.
Panzer says, "To make sure your entry isn't disqualified always read the submission rules."
Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a large muffin for today's reading selection. Depending on which competitions you're interested in reading about, you'll need to decide what else to bring to eat and drink.
To read the post tootle over to writing contests
February 1, 2022
Publishers, Agencies Start Receiving Subpoenas as DOJ-PRH Case Ramps - Publishers Weekly
Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere he decided to make a stop at the Publishers Weekly site. With no digging at all in the posts there our illustrious kitty boy found one about the Department of Justice and the Penguin Random House court case. Panzer told you about the court case back in December.
Why 10 years?
According to the post by Rachel Deahl and Jim Milliot, subpoenas are being issued in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) court case to block Penguin Random House's (PRH) acquisition of publisher Simon and Schuster (SS). Publishers and literary agencies are receiving subpoenas from the DOJ, PRH and SS. While the DOJ is only asking for information from 2019 and forward, PRH and SS are in some instances asking for 10 years of information. Gathering the information is part of the Discovery Process to determine how much, if any, damage publishers and literary agents (authors) would suffer if the acquisition is allowed to proceed. Publishers who have received the subpoenas state it will be time consuming and expensive to comply.
Panzer says, "Hmm ... Let's see. ... PRH and SS want 10 years of their publisher competitors' publishing information. Of course, they say they won't look at it only their attorneys will."
Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a muffin for today's reading.
To read the post tootle over to DOJ case against PRHTo read the previous post about the case tootle over to trial date"
Why 10 years?According to the post by Rachel Deahl and Jim Milliot, subpoenas are being issued in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) court case to block Penguin Random House's (PRH) acquisition of publisher Simon and Schuster (SS). Publishers and literary agencies are receiving subpoenas from the DOJ, PRH and SS. While the DOJ is only asking for information from 2019 and forward, PRH and SS are in some instances asking for 10 years of information. Gathering the information is part of the Discovery Process to determine how much, if any, damage publishers and literary agents (authors) would suffer if the acquisition is allowed to proceed. Publishers who have received the subpoenas state it will be time consuming and expensive to comply.
Panzer says, "Hmm ... Let's see. ... PRH and SS want 10 years of their publisher competitors' publishing information. Of course, they say they won't look at it only their attorneys will."
Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a muffin for today's reading.
To read the post tootle over to DOJ case against PRHTo read the previous post about the case tootle over to trial date"
January 31, 2022
A Panzerism
Panzer on multitasking:
I just can't get the hang of it.
I've tried it more than once.
And it's really, really hard.
I've tried to eat and sleep at the same time. Eyes closed.
At least the bowl is full.*
Nose first into the full bowl of food. Wake up.
Just can't get it right.
But I'll keep trying.
* From Cat Wisdom for humans
I just can't get the hang of it.
I've tried it more than once.
And it's really, really hard.
I've tried to eat and sleep at the same time. Eyes closed.
At least the bowl is full.*Nose first into the full bowl of food. Wake up.
Just can't get it right.
But I'll keep trying.
* From Cat Wisdom for humans
January 30, 2022
Amazon to pay $2.25M to resolve Washington state AG's claims of price-fixing on third-party products - GeekWire
Today, Panzer made a trip to the GeekWire site. With a little digging in the posts our intrepid traveling kitty found a post about Amazon and Washington state.
Now ... Back to important stuff.
According to Todd Bishop's post, Amazon has agreed to a consent degree with Washington state. Although Amazon doesn't believe the company did anything wrong, the company will pay the state $2.25M to end the case. The state's Attorney General (AG) contends Amazon was using price-fixing in the company's Sold By Amazon (SBA) program. The company's SBA program was discontinued in 2020. In the program a customer would order a product from Amazon, Amazon would then buy the product from the seller, and then deliver the product to the customer. The AG said because Amazon controlled the price the product was sold at on their site, that constituted price-fixing. There are several links to other information included in the post. One of the links included in the post goes to a site which explains why the AG's decision on price-fixing is incorrect.
Panzer says, "Hmm ... Looks just like print-on-demand (POD). ... Customer orders a book from Amazon. Amazon prints the book. Amazon ships the book to the customer."
Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a muffin. If you plan to follow the links in the post, bring a thermos of cocoa and three muffins.
To read the post tootle over to Amazon
Now ... Back to important stuff.According to Todd Bishop's post, Amazon has agreed to a consent degree with Washington state. Although Amazon doesn't believe the company did anything wrong, the company will pay the state $2.25M to end the case. The state's Attorney General (AG) contends Amazon was using price-fixing in the company's Sold By Amazon (SBA) program. The company's SBA program was discontinued in 2020. In the program a customer would order a product from Amazon, Amazon would then buy the product from the seller, and then deliver the product to the customer. The AG said because Amazon controlled the price the product was sold at on their site, that constituted price-fixing. There are several links to other information included in the post. One of the links included in the post goes to a site which explains why the AG's decision on price-fixing is incorrect.
Panzer says, "Hmm ... Looks just like print-on-demand (POD). ... Customer orders a book from Amazon. Amazon prints the book. Amazon ships the book to the customer."
Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a muffin. If you plan to follow the links in the post, bring a thermos of cocoa and three muffins.
To read the post tootle over to Amazon
January 28, 2022
Apps and tools authors can't live without - Build Books Buzz
Today Panzer made a quick trip to the Build Book Buzz site. With a little digging in the posts our busy kitty found one about apps and tools for writers.
Word and Scrivener are listed too.
Site owner Sandra Beckwith's post contains apps and tools for writers to make their work easier and save them time. The post contains descriptions and recommendations for 20 apps and tools. Sandra Beckwith asked assorted authors in her Facebook Group about their favorite apps and tools. The list is alphabetic and starts with Book Brush and ends with Word Swag. Some of the apps and tools have free version options and others don't.
Panzer says, "Mom and this little kitty have used some of these, but I've got to admit I never heard of the Save the Cat one."
Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a large muffin for today's reading. If you plan to follow the links to the different products, you'll have to decide what you want to bring to eat and drink.
To read the post tootle over to apps and tools
Word and Scrivener are listed too.Site owner Sandra Beckwith's post contains apps and tools for writers to make their work easier and save them time. The post contains descriptions and recommendations for 20 apps and tools. Sandra Beckwith asked assorted authors in her Facebook Group about their favorite apps and tools. The list is alphabetic and starts with Book Brush and ends with Word Swag. Some of the apps and tools have free version options and others don't.
Panzer says, "Mom and this little kitty have used some of these, but I've got to admit I never heard of the Save the Cat one."
Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a large muffin for today's reading. If you plan to follow the links to the different products, you'll have to decide what you want to bring to eat and drink.
To read the post tootle over to apps and tools
January 27, 2022
No post
No work for this little kitty today.Panzer here.
No post today.
Mom has a project for work to finish.
We'll be back tomorrow.
