Author Buzz

Where Authors & Readers find each other

questions

How many words should a novel have? That’s a question I’ve seen many times. Just recently, user Burty Burtman asked in the forums, “How long is a novel?“ The answer is that for novel word counts it depends. Any numbers you can get are, at best, rule-of-thumb with many exceptions. […]

How many words should a novel have?

25th April 2024 in Advice tagged novel / questions / research / word count by Matthew Brown

bionic hand and human hand finger pointing — Recently I grilled ChatGPT about what it would take to be a full-time author and writer in the UK. A lot of what the AI said was common sense. It sounded right although you should probably do your own homework as ChatGPT is very good at being confidently wrong. My […]

Everything you need to know about being a UK author ...

8th May 2023 in Advice tagged Author Platform / blogging / ChatGPT / demographics / guide / hard work / ideas / networking / questions / readers / sell more books / social media / success / technology by Matthew Brown

One way to generate engagement on social media is to ask interesting and fun questions. They do not have to be serious questions but they do have to be enjoyable to engage with. For example, a fantasy fiction writer might ask, “if you were transported to the shire on a […]

Platform building: Ask fun questions

4th March 2023 in Platform Building Prompts tagged fun / questions by Matthew Brown

close up of beer bottles on wood — One powerful way to increase engagement on social media is to pose open-ended questions. Such questions can often start a conversation (or even an argument). This will make your social media account seem more lively and evidently engaging. Try it out and let me know how you get on.

Platform Building Tip: Ask questions on social media

18th February 2023 in Platform Building Prompts tagged Author Platform / questions / social media by Matthew Brown

woman shouts on man using megaphone — While heated debate too often can be tiring, the occasional question that splits the audience can lead to a lively exchange. Try to think of a few hot button topics that your readers would likely respond well to. Especially if you address the theme or topic in your book(s). This […]

Platform Building: Experiment with controversial questions

19th November 2022 in Platform Building Prompts tagged Author Platform / questions by Matthew Brown

man in blue and brown plaid dress shirt touching his hair — Ask your readers about what challenges and problems they struggle with. We rarely find anyone showing an interest in our problems so when someone does we feel drawn to them. By being genuinely interested in your community, you will build stranger bonds and brand loyalty.

Platform Building: ask your readers about their pain points

8th October 2022 in Platform Building Prompts tagged Author Platform / pain / questions by Matthew Brown

person holding whiteboard — On your prefered social media platform, ask your followers some open-ended questions. You might also want to post a poll. This benefits you in two ways: First, your followers are enticed to interact with you which is usually good for the algorithm. Second, you will have a pre-made blog post […]

Platform Building: Ask some questions

17th September 2022 in Uncategorised tagged Author Platform / questions / social media by Matthew Brown

I do not know everything – some might say I know nothing – but I am fairly okay at going out and learning stuff. A lot of time what I learn becomes a blog post. In that spirit of finding stuff out, what are your burning questions that you have […]

What are your burning questions about publishing?

27th February 2021 in Site News tagged publishing / questions by Matthew Brown

searching all of time and space — Do you have a question that you would like answers to? We may be able to help. It is quite common to have questions. Questions are nothing to be ashamed of. Not getting answers – now that’s a bit silly. Fortunately our community seems to be pretty good at answering […]

Searching for answers? Ask the community.

10th April 2019 in Author Buzz tagged answers / community / questions by Matthew Brown

empty chair — Who would miss you? If your blog was deleted tomorrow and you and all your books were replaced by pod people, who would notice? Thanet Creative have told us that we are in the middle of Doppelganger Week. (I know because I wrote the post). That got me thinking – if […]

Who would miss you when you are gone?

7th February 2018 in Advice tagged Author Platform / people / pod people / questions / Thanet Creative Writers by Matthew Brown

women — There seems to be a significant gender bias in publishing in this country. We ask if the UK publishing world is one ruled by sexism? Unfair attitudes In 2015, The Guardian published the story of a female author who showed that gender was getting more consideration than talent. Catherine submitted […]

The problem of gender bias in publishing

23rd January 2018 in Publishers tagged gender bias / publishing / questions / sexism / women by Matthew Brown

At what point can you say that you are not just a writer but an author – in other words, makes you an author? The cut-off point for a writer is easy. If you write then you are a writer. Yet we could hardly say if you “auth” then you […]

What makes you an author?

12th November 2017 in Advice tagged Author / questions / words / writers by Matthew Brown