Fiona L. Woods's Blog, page 384

Could Subscription Services Be The Future Of Ebooks?

Maybe ... Maybe Not.Panzer was tootling in the Catosphere today when he saw a ray of light beckoning him. Following the beam he found himself at the Publishers' Weekly site.

Our big bad kitty pilot discovered an interesting post about ebook subscription services. According to a post by Andrew Albanese, subscription services may be the next big thing for ebooks. Mark Coker of Smashwords moderated a panel at BEA whose participants included several of the ebook subscription services representatives. Most of the post features Andrew Weinstein of Scribd describing their service and how it works. Mr. Weinstein believes their policies are good for readers and publishers.

Panzer says, "I didn't see any mention of whether this is good for authors or not. And I didn't see anything about Amazon."

To read the full post, tootle over to ebooks subscription

Amazon Has 6,000 U.S. Jobs Available

Here's your chance to work at Amazon.Out in the Catosphere today Panzer found some news of interest at the Business Wire site. Our kitty boy found some employment news about Amazon's fulfillment centers in the USA.

According to the post, Amazon will be hiring 6,000 new employees. Amazon says their growth necessitates more employees to fill the demand. The post also states these are full-time jobs with full benefits, including educational benefits. There's a list in the post of the fulfillment centers that Amazon is hiring for and a link for job information. There's no mention in the post of jobs outside the U.S.

Panzer says, "Hmmm. I didn't know they helped pay for your education."

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon

What Your Home Page Needs

I love barbecue. But, oh the day after.Panzer is recuperating from the Memorial Day holiday. His kitty tummy is still full from the Monday neighborhood barbecues. Yes, you read that right barbecues. Our black kitty traveled the neighborhood looking bedraggled and begging for scraps. It seems nobody could turn that poor dejected boy down.

Our BIG bad kitty made a very quick trip into the Catosphere to visit the Search Engine Journal site.

According to a post by Shane Jones, if you want high visibility through Google, you need to pay more attention to your home page. Mr. Jones says Google puts a higher priority on longer posts and gives a higher ranking accordingly. Google satisfies readers' desires for long copy by their ranking system. There's plenty more covered in this post about supercharging your Home Page.

To read the post, tootle over to Home Page

Memorial Day

Memorial Day
We Remember

Agatha Christie Syrian Memoir To Be Republished

Her books are still in print.Panzer was over at The Guardian site today. Our big bad kitty explorer found a post about one of his favorite female mystery writers Agatha Christie.

According to Alison Flood's post, Agatha Christie's memoir of her travels in Syria with her husband is being republished by HarperCollins. Agatha Christie accompanied her husband Max Mallowan to Syria and Iraq in the 1930s. There she helped her husband at the archeological digs. The post includes several photos from the trip. The book is scheduled for an August this year.

Panzer says, "I got my first look at Agatha Christie in this post. She's in the first photo of the post."

To read the post, tootle over to Agatha Christie

Harlequin Books Available on CD

I can't have a CD. I don't have pockets.Panzer made a quick stop at the Publishers' Weekly site today.

According to a post by Clare Swanson, Harlequin in conjunction with HarperCollins will begin a new imprint called Harlequin Audio. These will actually be CDs not audio books. They will be made available to the library and retail market. Plans are to begin distribution on June 30.

Panzer says, "When will they get into the actual audio books instead of CDs?"

To read the post, tootle over to Harlequin audio

Former FMAM Editor Need Our Help

What are you waiting for?As regular followers of Panzer's adventures in the Catosphere you know our big bad kitty reports on all things indie related. Today, he's letting you know about a former indie e-zine editor/publisher who needs help.

Former FMAM publisher Babs Lakey is in danger of losing her home and has started a GoFundMe campaign. Even if you can't help financially, you can help by spreading the word through your Twitter and/or Facebook accounts with links to her GoFundMe page.

When Panzer was still a kitten and first dipping his toes into the publishing world, he was a finalist in one of Babs' writing contests. Without that validation of his work, there might not be a Cats and Crime today, so there's a special place in his kitty heart for the lady. There are probably many other stories like our kitty boy's because she's done much for the writing community over the years.

To read Babs GoFundMe page, tootle over to Babs Lakey GoFundME

Pre-designed Or Custom Book Covers And More For Indie Authors

Pre-designed? Who else used it too?Panzer, our big bad Catosphere explorer, decided to stop in at Guido Henkel's site today. It's been a long time since our kitty boy has been to visit Mr. Henkel and he's happy he chose today to do it.

According to Mr. Henkel's post, he's part of a new endeavor for indie author services. The new endeavor is called Covertopia. Indie authors can buy a pre-designed cover or order a custom cover at the site. Authors can also order layout services, formatting services, audio covers, postcards and more.

Panzer says, "The samples at Mr. Henkel's site make it look worth checking out."

NOTE: Panzer ignored the ad at the beginning asking for his name, clicked cancel and had no trouble reading the post.

To read the post, tootle over to pre-designed or custom covers

A New Panzerism

Panzer on being a Bad Boy:

For a while I was working on my Bad Boy image.

Girls really like that whole rebel cat routine.

But the more I studied it, the more I could see that Bad Boys and Incredibly Stupid are the same thing. I mean running in front of cars. Baiting the neighborhood dog.

I'm just not that stupid.

You know ... my Momma Kitty didn't raise no stupid kittens.
Let's drop all that Bad Boy stuff.
At least none that were male ...

Well ...

none with black fur ...

and named Panzer.

Is The Self Pub Stigma Gone?

Only the best will do.Panzer made a hurried trip into the Catosphere today. He was late for his after lunch nap and wanted to get to it before he fell asleep at the controls of the Panzermobile. Our kitty reporter of all things indie stopped in at the Indie Reader site.

According to the IR Staff, because indie publishing has been so easy in the past, a lot of material that was unedited, had bad covers and should have been left in a desk drawer to die a slow death was instead self pubbed. This lead to reader overload of ebook garbage and a bad reputation for everyone who self pubbed.

But, the IR Staff says the self pub stigma may finally be disappearing. The quality of indie books in general is improving. Indie books are being nominated for prizes and even winning some. Indie books are even making it onto some best seller lists.

Panzer says, "Humans should put as much time into self pubbing the best book they can as they put into talking about the book they self pubbed."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a b-i-g c-u-p of tea.

To read the post, tootle over to Indie Reader