Fiona L. Woods's Blog, page 405

Douglas Preston-Hachette vs. Amazon

Guess what? You aren't the biggest tomcat.Panzer heard yowling and CATerwauling from the Catosphere this morning so he headed out in the Panzermobile. He followed all the noise over to the Publishers Weekly site.

My bad boy discovered bestselling author Douglas Preston is continuing his foray into the Amazon-Hachette contract dispute. Mr. Preston sent an email to the authors who signed his New York Times advertisement aimed at Amazon last month to be ready to start another initiative (claws unsheathed cat fight) against Amazon. Until Mr. Preston decides what his tactic will be this time, he wants his anti-Amazon 900 authors strong army to start a writing campaign of blog posts, social media posts and newspaper opinion pieces against Amazon

Panzer says, "Hey guys, did you every hear the phrase, 'Don't shoot  yourself in the foot?' I'm sorry to tell you, but in case you didn't know, nobody can tell a retailer they have to carry a product (book or ebook or whatever) if they don't want to."

If you want to read the whole post, tootle over to Douglas Preston

Amazon Introduces Tool to Self-Publish Children’s Books on Kindle - GalleyCat

Pop-ups?Panzer made a quick trip over to GalleyCAT today. He's been hearing about Amazon's new Kid's Book Creator and he wanted to check it out. He found a post by Dianna Dilworth about just that.

Now, you can build your children's book with illustrations, text and pop-ups on your computer and upload it when you're finished. Then you can see how your book will look on all the Kindle products. If you're satisfied, you can publish it to the Kindle Store.

Panzer says, "This makes me want to publish a Panzer, The Cat, children's book."

To read about this new publishing tool, tootle over to Amazon Introduces Tool to Self-Publish Children’s Books on Kindle - GalleyCat

One Author In Defense Of Amazon

Who's a kitty to believe?Panzer headed over to the Salon site today. He found an interesting post by author Neal Pollack about his experiences with Amazon. The post is strictly from the point of view of an author dealing with Amazon.

Mr. Pollack says he's published traditional (with the Big Five) novels and indie novels. He has now moved to Amazon's Thomas & Mercer publishers to do novels, novellas and novelettes.

Mr. Pollack doesn't understand all of the anti-Amazon rhetoric. He says as an author, all of his experiences with Amazon have been "fantastic." While he is not a bestselling author, they have supported his literary career by continuing to publish his work.

Panzer says, "Be warned: Like all the recent posts about Amazon, this is a very long post."

To read Neal Pollack's full post, tootle over to in defense of amazon

3 Espresso Book Machines To Open AT B&N Stores

Interesting development.Panzer headed out into the Catosphere in the Panzermobile. My bad boy stopped in at GalleyCAT and found a post there about Barnes and Noble's experiment with Espresso Book Machines. One machine each will be installed in three B&N stores on the east coast.

According to Barnes and Noble, customers can use the machines to print public domain books or their own books.

Panzer says, "Hmmm. Print On Demand at the neighborhood book store."

If you want to read the whole post, tootle over to book machines

A New Panzerism

I'll start right now.Panzer on Sobriety:

The thing about catnip is,

well ...

 I think maybe I should go on the wagon for a little while.

Exactly how much catnip is in the wagon anyway?

Dead Tree Bookless Library, Only Ebooks Allowed

I see what's coming. Do you?Panzer stopped in at The Guardian site today.  My little black kitty found a post by Alison Flood there about a new university in Florida.

The new Florida Polytechnic University will have 500 students when it opens this fall. It has a huge library building. 11,000 square feet to be exact!

But there are no dead tree books in that library building.

Instead there are computer terminals for the students to log-on and read their ebooks. Everything in the library is digital.

Panzer says, "Is our future here today?"

To read the whole post, tootle over to bookless library

Japanese Publishers vs. Amazon Japan On Ranking System

Explain please.Panzer hit the Catosphere at warp speed today. My bad kitty boy went over to the Asia & Japan Watch site at The Asahi Shimban. He found a post by Mayumi Mori about a shouting match going on between Amazon Japan and the Japanese publishers who use Amazon's store for ebook sales.

So, what's all the shouting about?

Amazon Japan has instituted a new publisher ranking system.  Publishers who pay Amazon Japan higher fees and have bigger ebook offerings receive higher rankings than those who don't.

Panzer says, "I don't understand. Are the higher fees for advertising or what? And, if you have more ebooks to sell, why shouldn't you have a higher ranking?"

To read the whole post, tootle over to Amazon Japan

12 Thoughts On Kindle Unlimited

What to do?Panzer made his first ever visit to the Steve Scott Site today.

Panzer doesn't know if you've heard, but everybody in the Catosphere has been talking about the Kindle Unlimited program. Some people support it and believe it's the best marketing tool since Kindle Select. Others hate it and won't join for the same reason they wouldn't join Kindle Select and restrict their sales only to the Kindle Store.

So, when my bad boy heard that Mr. Scott had a post with his views on the Pros and Cons of the Kindle Unlimited program, he took the Panzermobile right over to the site. Mr. Scott addresses the payouts from having your book in the KU program, how category rankings are impacted, how sales numbers might decrease if you don't join and more pros and cons to total twelve.

Panzer says, "Should I or shouldn't I join? I'm so confused. I don't know what to do!"

To read the post and make up your own mind about the Kindle Unlimited program, tootle over to Kindle Unlimited

New Kobo Aura-H2O Ereader Review

Me in the water? Not in your life-time.Panzer was over at the GoodEReader blog today. My bad boy found some big news for you there in a post by Michael Kozlowski.

Kobo has a new ereader called the Aura H2O.

And you'll never guess what it does.

It can be under water for thirty minutes and still work!

So you drop it in the bath tub. No problem. You drop it in the ocean at the beach. No problem.

The post is a complete, indepth review of all the features in the new Kobo ereader. Features reviewed even have accompanying videos showing how they work. There's also a "Pros" and "Cons" list at the end of the post. Consequently, this is a very long post. So bring a huge double latte.

Panzer says, "I want one and I don't even go near the water."

To read the entire review, tootle over to Kobo Aura H2O

Amazon Hachette Feud Could Change The Publishing World

What does the future hold?Panzer went over to The Guardian site today. My bad black kitty boy found a post there about the future of ebook publishing.

In her post Jennifer Rankin looks at the Amazon-Hachette dispute not from the standpoint of ebook pricing, but from what will happen to the business models of publishers and how they will reinvent themselves in the future. As an example, HarperCollins has already started doing direct sales from their website.

Panzer says, "So ... did Amazon really push publishers to change or were they already planning to make these changes?"

There is a second section of the post that's a recap of the Amazon-Hachette dispute. Because of this, the post is v-e-r-y, v-e-r-y l-o-n-g, so bring a HUGE cup of tea.

To read what changes might be in the future for publishing, tootle over to Amazon Hachette Feud