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H. G. Wells. c.1890 — The 2017 H. G. Wells Short Story Competition shortlist has been announced. The Short Story Competition shortlists were posted Thursday 21 September, H. G. Wells’ Birthday. There are two prizes on offer. The Junior Competition with the Margaret and Reg Turnill Prize of £1000 The Senior Competition with The Grand […]

2017 H. G. Wells shortlist announced

22nd September 2017 in Competitions tagged Competitions / Folkestone / H. G. Wells / Shortlist by Matthew Brown

bug — If you are having difficulty creating an account, please let us know. Some users have reported that while they can sign-up via a WordPress.com account, they cannot always complete the sign-up process directly. This is why we desperately need more beta testers. Rest assured that we are keeping an eye […]

If you have trouble signing up

21st September 2017 in Site News by Matthew Brown

Monkey at a typewriter — Do chaos and good writing go together? This is a question we are about to avoid but not entirely. Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best posts on the Author Buzz UK network. In case you are wondering, a certain amount of chaos is normal for the creative mind […]

Chaos and Good Writing

16th September 2017 in Site News tagged blog / blogging / buzz by Matthew Brown

Contract — Getting published is not easy. Getting a literary agent helps but getting an agent is no easy task. This article is an update to one I published on the now retired Thanet Creative Writers website which has now moved into the Author Buzz UK blogging network. The advice in “How to […]

Getting a good literary agent

9th September 2017 in Agents tagged agents / Jane Friedman / literary agent / Piers Blofeld / Science Fiction Writers of America by Matthew Brown

thief — A mistake new authors make is to hide what they are doing in fear that someone might steal their ideas. No one is going to steal your ideas – here is why. To illustrate the point, we told Tumblr what we were going to write before we had even written it. […]

Relax, no one is going to steal your ideas

7th September 2017 in Advice tagged beta readers / fears / ideas / sharing by Matthew Brown

science fiction — Researching where to submit short stories can be something of a chore but if you happen to be looking for Sci-Fi magazines accepting submissions (and paying) then you might well be in luck – we have five of them. UK Sci-Fi magazines Interzone Interzone was founded in 1982 and counts Michael Moorcock, Sir Arthur […]

5 Sci-Fi magazines accepting submissions

5th September 2017 in Advice tagged list / magazines / publisher / Sci-Fi / UK / US by Matthew Brown

lights — With a book, readers know what to expect because the author’s intentions are clear from the title, the cover and the blurb on the back. Are you doing the same with your blog? Recently, we talked about author blogging and what authors could blog about. One thing we did not talk […]

Authors, are you making your intentions clear

11th August 2017 in Blogs and blogging tagged Author Platform / blog / blogging / intentions / Matthew Munson / Thanet by Matthew Brown

Can and dog — Should authors blog? If so, what should we be blogging about? Blogging, like social media, is often touted as the golden ticket to book sales. It rarely delivers on this promise. Of course, they don’t – there is no such thing as a magic bullet to make sales happen. However, […]

Should authors blog? What should they blog?

8th August 2017 in Advice tagged Andy Weir / Author / Author Platform / blogging / blogs / Jane Friedman / Neil Gaiman / WordPress by Matthew Brown

Blog — We have given our developer blog a make over and you are the ones who benefit. The fresh new look for our dev blog will help promote you, the members of Author Buzz and your groups. It will do this by showcasing the featured, recently active, and popular members and […]

Site News: Dev Blog Makeover

1st August 2017 in Site News tagged accountability / blog / dev / news / progress / users by Matthew Brown

Internet — It is the most common question I encounter when talking about this stuff, so today we are going to answer the question of how to become an author. At least according to the Internet. We asked Google “How do I become an author”. This is what we found. Write something […]

How to become an author (according to the Internet)

27th July 2017 in Advice tagged agent / Austin Macauley Publishers / Author / James Campbell / list / Nicholas Sparks / publisher / self-publishing / Sophie Kinsella by Matthew Brown

beta reading — Beta Reading is perhaps the most poorly understood craft of writing. If you might ever find yourself offering feedback to a writer, this guide might help you give the best feedback you have ever given. Beginners and expert writers alike frequently take part in mutual critiques and yet, for all […]

A Rough Guide to Beta Reading

19th July 2017 in Beta Reading tagged beta readers / beta reading / guide by Matthew Brown

proofreading — Beta reading, editing, or proofreading – how do you pick the right one? With so many services on offer for authors, it can be confusing when trying to identify which is right for you. Author Buzz UK is here to help demystify these terms and help you learn what role […]

Proofreading, Copy Editing, and Beta Reading

14th July 2017 in Advice tagged beta readers / beta reading / copy editing / proofreading by Matthew Brown