Fiona L. Woods's Blog, page 402

What will it be?Panzer was out in the Catosphere when he ...

What will it be?Panzer was out in the Catosphere when he followed some news crumbs to The New York Times site.

There my big kitty boy-reporter learned that, according to a post by David Streitfield and Charles V. Bagli, there are more rumors circulating about Amazon. Now before you run away screaming, these are not bad rumors.  It's being bandied about that Amazon may be opening a bricks and mortar store in New York city. Or may be opening office space in New York city. Or may be opening a warehouse distribution center in New York city.

Panzer says, "That's the thing about rumors. There's never just one."

To read the full post, tootle over to Amazon real estate

Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Amazon? Not German Publishers.

I saw it coming. Did you?Panzer was doing his usual search in the Catosphere for the latest news today. My big, bad, black kitty stopped in at the Biz Community blog. He found a post about Amazon in Germany.

According to the post, Heinrich Riethmueller, President, German Publishers and Booksellers Assn., says German publishers are well-positioned to withstand an Amazon invasion. Publishers have had a year to watch Amazon's movements in Germany. Not only is Amazon dealing with tax issues there, but in August German authors started a petition similar to Douglas Preston's Authors United petition.

Panzer says, "Is Amazon sending a representative to Frankfurt, Germany, for the International Book Fair? Why? It sounds like they're not welcome."

To read the full post, tootle over to German publishers

I Know Something You Don't Know

Can you find the hidden big bad kitty?Panzer went to visit novelist Margot Kinberg's blog Confessions of a Mystery Novelist today. My big bad kitty boy found a post there that is well worth a writer's time to read.

Ms. Kinberg posts about the author device of letting the reader know an important clue the story "detective" doesn't know. If handled correctly, this can add suspense to the novel as the detective finds the clue. However, if handled incorrectly, the detective can look like he needs to find a new occupation. She includes examples from six well-known crime novelists' books to illustrate her points.

Warning: Since there are several examples included, this is a LONG post so you'll need a very BIG cup of tea this time.

To read the full post, tootle over to if only

EU Investigating Amazon in Luxembourg

Anybody else want to get in line?Panzer was out in the Catosphere today and stopped in at the New York Times site. He found a post by Mark Scott with breaking news about Amazon.

Scott lets us know that the European Union has opened an investigation into Amazon's office in Luxembourg. The investigation looks at the possibility Amazon may have gotten special tax treatment from Luxembourg.

Amazon says "No."

Luxembourg says "No."

But, the investigation continues.

Panzer says, "The line just keeps getting longer against Amazon."

Be warned, you'll need a HUGE cup of tea because this is a LONG post.

To read the whole post, tootle over to Amazon in Luxembourg

A New Panzerism

Panzer on Hypnotism:

Mom said she's worried that her little kitty boy is overweight. She said she wants to try hypnotism for the weight problem.

Well ...

Okay ...

Mom, your eyelids are getting heavy."Mom, repeat after me,

I will not worry about the kitty. He's not overweight, just big-boned ... I will not worry about the kitty. He's not overweight, just big-boned."

Three Sides To The Amazon vs. Hachette Fight?

You should have seen this coming.Panzer was out in the Catosphere today and stopped in at bestselling author C.J. Lyons' blog No Rules Just Write.

My bad boy super reporter found a post about the Amazon/Hachette contract dispute. Ms. Lyons' post addresses the issues in the dispute from an interesting perspective. Instead of using the the two sided argument of Authors-Hachette vs. Amazon, she uses the three sided argument of Authors vs. (Hachette vs. Amazon).

Ms. Lyons points out that publishers (Hachette and others) long ago gave up book distribution. This gave rise to book distributors (Amazon and others). Authors have traditionally chosen to have nothing to do with either of these business models. Most authors have not looked at the changing landscape nor prepared for it. And therein lies authors' problems with the Amazon/Hachette contract dispute. Authors have no say in this dispute nor should they, as they have nothing to do with either the publishing side or the distribution side of this dispute.

Panzer says, "Didn't they ever hear of don't put all your eggs in one basket?"

To read C.J. Lyons' post, tootle over to Three Sides to This Fight?

Of Amazon, Ellora's Cave and Dear Author

I don't want to know about this.Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere and stumbled over an interesting post at publisher Melville House's site.

Melville editor Sal Robinson's post addresses the issues with erotica publisher Ellora's Cave.  Ellora's Cave brought a law suit against Dear Author blogger Jane Litte.  Ms. Litte wrote a post about Ellora's Cave's finances.

Now my big bad kitty boy knows nothing about erotica or Ellora's Cave or their finances. What drew him to the post was the title, Is Amazon responsible for the Ellora's Cave fiasco? Most of the post is about EC's finances. In addition, there are some interesting points included about Amazon's search algorithm and its possible impact on EC's sales. However, there are other points about why and how the search algorithm might not be picking up EC's books in the potential buyers' searches.

Panzer says, "Do you suppose Amazon is responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs? They seem to be responsible for every other bad thing that's happened in the world."

To read the latest about the destruction of the world as we know it by Amazon, tootle over to Melville House

Two Free Audios From Kaye George

FREE! FREE! Hurry!Panzer was out visiting some of his writer friends today. He stopped in at Kaye George's blog Travels with Kaye.

My bad kitty found a great big surprise for you there. Kaye is giving away two FREE audio short stories at her website. She has a link at the bottom of her post to the FREE audios.

To get the FREE audios, tootle over to Travels With Kaye

Literary Agent Asks Clients To Join Authors United

Today Panzer was cruising in the Catosphere when he felt a thump. The Panzermobile got caught in a tractor beam and pulled over to the New York Times site. There my bad boy found it was a post by David Streitfeld that caught him.

My tummy hurts I have no literary meritTurns out Authors United has a new standard bearer. Literary agent Andrew Wylie has sent a letter to all of his clients asking them to join bestselling author Douglas Preston's Authors United group and quite a few of them have agreed to join. According to Mr. Streitfeld's post, Mr. Wylie says Amazon's lack of marketing some books will lead to the "end of literary culture in America."

Panzer says, "But ... wait. Does that mean my books sold now on Amazon don't contribute to the literary culture? Don't my books have literary merit?"

Warning: You'll need a very b-i-g cup of tea. This is a very l-o-n-g post because it has quotes from not only Mr. Wylie but some of his clients as well.

To read the whole post, tootle over to more Authors United

Stephen King Says Dead Tree Books Are Here to Stay

You've got to watch this!Panzer is a big admirer of Stephen King and his writing.

So, when he found a post by Maryann Yin at GalleyCAT about Mr. King, he did the happy cat dance. Then my big bad boy jumped in the Panzermobile and rushed back from the Catosphere.

Although the post is about Mr. King's views on the future of dead tree books, there's another link near the end of the post to a long video interview at The Huffington Post site that contains much more.

To read the post and watch the video, tootle over to Stephen King Predicts That Physical Books Are Here to Stay - GalleyCat