Fiona L. Woods's Blog, page 410

Amazon-Hachette Contract Dispute Continues

I can't get away from it. It's everywhere!Panzer just can't get any quiet. Just when he thought he might be able to get a nap, the CATerwauling started again. My bad boy dragged his sleep deprived body into the Catosphere and discovered all the latest over at The Passive Voice blog.

As my poor kitty told you earlier this week bestselling author Douglas Preston was circulating a letter to Amazon. He managed to get 300 authors to sign it.  Now bestselling indie author Hugh Howey is circulating a letter supporting Amazon which has 3,000+ signers.

Panzer says, "Will you guys just sign the contract and get all this over with. I've got to get some sleep!"

To read the latest on the Amazon-Hachette dispute, tootle over to Amazon-Hachette fight

Cozy Chicks: THE TOP TEN THINGS PEOPLE HAVE SAID TO ME AT BOOK SIGNINGS

My ears still hurt!Panzer is recuperating from all the fireworks and noise on July 4th.

But he left this link to the Cozy Chicks blog for you to enjoy a laugh ... Cozy Chicks: THE TOP TEN THINGS PEOPLE HAVE SAID TO ME AT BOOK ...:

Fourth of July

Fourth of July
Independence Day

Have a safe and happy 4th of July

300 Authors Join Amazon-Hachette Contract Dispute

Don't try to understand them.It's happened again. Panzer hasn't been able to get any sleep today. There's been CATerwauling going on all day.  When my bad boy couldn't stand the noise any longer, he went out in the Panzermobile. He searched and he searched all over the Catosphere. Finally he found the answer at Publishers Weekly.

All the yowling is about the Amazon-Hachette contract dispute. Panzer told you about the ongoing disagreements in his Amazon doesn't need Hachette post. Now, it turns out Hachette's authors are jumping into the contract negotiations. Bestselling author Douglas Preston has drafted a letter to Amazon. So far he's gotten 300 authors to sign it. In the letter he asks Amazon to stop the slow response times for the availability of Hachette books. Since Hachette hasn't agreed to the new contract, Amazon is not making their books immediately available with the pre-order option. Also, shipment of books may take two to four weeks instead of immediately. The letter wants Amazon to proceed with the sales of Hachette's books as if the contract is already signed.

Panzer says, "Let me get this straight. Hachette won't agree to the contract, but you want Amazon to sell their books anyway? Hmmm. Shouldn't the authors be sending their publisher (Hachette) a letter telling them to sign the contract instead? But then I'm just a CAT. What do I know about how you humans think."

To read the full post, tootle over to authors ask Amazon to settle

Free Fiction Monday: “When Thomas Jefferson Dined Alone”

Hurry! Before it's gone!Panzer was out trawling the Catosphere looking for FREE stuff. Every once in a while he gets the urge to hunt for FREE stuff and today was the day. He stopped in at Kristine Kathryn Rusch's blog and found a FREE short story for you.

Ms. Rusch writes in all genres so you never know what you'll find in the short stories at her blog. This story has some spooky aspects and some time travel in it. That spooky stuff includes some history about U.S. presidents and their wives.

You should bookmark Ms. Rusch's blog. On Mondays she posts one of her short story FREE.  You can't download or share the story, but they're FREE for the week. At the end of the week the stories will only be available for sale at all the ebook (r)e-tailers: Amazon, Kobo, Nook, etc.

To read this story while it's FREE, you need to tootle over to Free Fiction Monday: “When Thomas Jefferson Dined Alone”

A New Panzerism

Equal is fair.Panzer on the fairness of things:

At first it didn't seem right.

You shouted and swatted me when I accidentally landed on your head in the middle of the night.

Then you said the punishment should equal the offense.

Now ...

I agree, you're right.

So ...

you deserve what I left in your new slippers.

Simon and Schuster Tells Libraries To Sell Ebooks?

"Quiet!"Panzer just can't get any sleep lately because of all the CATerwauling in the Catosphere. With his eyes barely open from the lack of cat rejuvenation he went out in the Panzermobile. He found the origin of all the noise over at the GOODEREADER blog.

GOODEREADER Editor in Chief Michael Kozlowski takes issue with Simon and Schuster over their new library contracts. Mr. Kozlowski says the contracts say the libraries will be forced to sell S&S's ebooks in order to be allowed to loan them to patrons. It turns out libraries selling books is illegal in some states

 ... and ...

being told to sell ebooks is making librarians irate in other states.

So, now we know what all the CATerwauling is about.

Panzer says, "Will I ever get to take a nap in a quiet place?"

If you want to read the full post about libraries and Buy It Now Buttons, tootle over to Simon and Schuster

Anne R. Allen's Blog: How to Plan a Novel without Actually Outlining: 3 ...

To outline or not?Panzer was over at Anne R. Allen's blog today. He found a guest post by author Nathan Bransford How to Flesh out a Vague Novel Idea Before You Start. My bad boy was doing the happy cat dance because he's always wondering about how others write their novels.

You see, when Panzer writes he outlines the first third of his story. He already has an idea of what he wants the end to be. So after he starts the actual writing and reaches the end of the one-third outline, he has a good idea of what needs to happen to get to the end. But my bad kitty knows that many writers don't even outline that much.

Turns out Mr. Bransford is one of them. No outline for him. In Mr. Bransford's post he explains the three steps he uses to expand the story idea into a full fledged framework (not an outline!) to base his novel on.

To find out how Mr. Bransford writes a novel, tootle over to Anne R. Allen's Blog: How to Plan a Novel without Actually Outlining: 3 ...:

Amazon Doesn't Need Hachette, But Hachette Needs Amazon

Let's take a closer look.It's been quite a long time since Panzer has stopped in at author and game developer Guido Henkel's blog. When he stopped in there today he found a post addressing the Amazon-Hachette dispute. You know, my bad boy has been following this Internet CATerwauling for a while now.

In his post Mr. Henkel explains why Hachette doesn't understand the changing publishing world. Hachette may be one of the biggest fish in the publishing pond, but it's turning into a very, very small pond. Publishers no longer have the clout to tell book retail outlets what they can and can not do. Amazon is arguably the world's largest book retail outlet and as such there's no incentive for Amazon to bow to Hachette's demands. On the other hand, there is a huge incentive for Hachette to agree to Amazon's and get their books back into the Amazon store.

To read Mr. Henkel's full post, tootle over to Amazon vs. Hachette

Barnes and Noble To Spin-Off Nook

What's next?Panzer was out in the Catosphere today to see what all the latest yowling was about. He followed all the noise to the Publisher's Weekly site. All the caterwauling is about the newest announcement from Barnes and Noble and their Nook plans.

Barnes and Noble's Board of Directors has decided to split the company into two companies. The retail bookstores will be one company and the Nook and college text books will become a separate company. The announcement of the split came with the release of the year-end sales figures that showed a 6.7% decline.

This spinoff of the Nook shouldn't really be a surprise to Panzer's friends here. It comes on top of Barnes and Noble's previous announcements of the deal with Samsung to co-brand a tablet and that they were leaving the audiobook market. Panzer told you about these two announcements earlier this month. And back in March he told you about their cuts to the Nook division.

Panzer says, "Are they trying to kill the Nook with a slow and painful death?"

If you want to read what Barnes and Noble's latest move for the Nook is, tootle over to Nook news