All posts by Michael Burge

Journalist, author, artist
Write regardless!

Writer, show off your assets!

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“These word-of-mouth moments are still the greatest form of promotion available, they are free, and many believe they are the only form of advertising that really works.”

IT’S not time for writers to stress about our writing (there’ll be hours of that later) just keep up a regular writing schedule and start creating social media assets. These are tools such as WordPress, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Goodreads and others which allow us to interact with other social media users and – importantly for writers – for readers to find and follow us to access our books.

Why do I need social media assets?

The social media has become the greatest shop window for writing the world has ever seen. Having multiple social media assets also increases a writer’s search engine optimisation (SEO) – your ranking on search results via search engines like Google (which you’ve already created your account within, I hope? If not, head back to Writer, identify yourself!).

Web of Fabulousness

By creating a cluster of social media assets using your real name, you are telling the internet you exist. As search engines aggregate information about you, they’ll notice you more when your name pops up on Facebook and Twitter and other social media sites. I call this a writer’s ‘Web of Fabulousness’ as it nets followers naturally (without you having to buy them).

AAM13HPutting the ‘social’ in social media

Use your social media assets regularly. Read, share and comment online as you normally would. Participate! Remember, it’s called the ‘social’ media. Like the level of socialisation that employees participate in at the coffee station, you share something, you learn something, and you’re sociable, which means keeping yourself a bit nice. Don’t do the hard sell, however. If someone’s at the water cooler flogging their cleaning products every day, you’ll avoid them, right? The key to social media participation is to do it genuinely without constant pressure to buy things.

Why is this essential for marketing and promotion?

Because these word-of-mouth moments are still the greatest form of promotion available, they are free, and many believe they are the only form of advertising that really works. If you want your work to find readers, participate in the social media.

Domain names don’t matter

In the early years of the internet, everyone was focussed on domain names, and there’s still a common fear that we need to buy a domain name before someone gets the one we want. While this used to be the case, it’s no longer essential to have a domain name to market something. I am a writer called Michael Burge who lives at Deepwater, NSW, and all my social media assets have my name, my vocation and my location embedded in them. If you google the terms: ‘Writer’, ‘Michael’ and ‘Deepwater’, you’ll find my website. If you google those terms and add ‘Facebook’ or ‘Twitter’, you’ll find my website, Facebook and Twitter accounts in one search. You don’t need to ensure people write down your domain name these days, just say: “Google ‘Writer Michael Burge’ and you’ll find me!” Even if they forget half the details, they’ll find you, thanks to what’s known as metadata.

Metadata is what matters

Metadata describes something (e.g. a writer, or a book) and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching. In the blogging world, metadata has been filtered-down into a process of creating tags and categories for each page of information you publish on your website or blog. I participate in the social media with a special interest in LGBTIQA+ equality, so if you google my name and ‘marriage equality’ or ‘LGBTIQA’, you’ll also find me, because I regularly use these terms as tags and categories. More on this process when we get to blogging. For now, let go of domain-name thinking, the world has moved on to metadata.

Usernames and User IDs

In order to generate good SEO and social media followings, using your real name is ideal for social media assets, however, in most cases your real name will already have been used by someone else. To counter this issue, social media platforms allow you to have a User ID, sometimes known as a ‘handle’, which is a form of nickname (for example, my Twitter handle and my WordPress URL both use ‘burgewords’); leaving you to label your asset profile with your real name. Think of a simple, short word that describes what you do and that nobody else in the world is using, and consider this for your URL and social media username or User ID.

WordPress is the way

Every writer needs a website, an online place to showcase our work to the world, allowing readers to find our books, and public relations (PR) people and journalists, booksellers and book trade people to contact us. Creating a website was once an expensive business that many writers needed to pay someone to do for us, but since the advent of the world’s largest blogging platforms, Blogger and WordPress, it’s been possible to create a free blog that works as a website.

A blog (a ‘web-log’) is not for everyone. I have a WordPress blog platform which I use as a website, and for more than three years I had a basic, free, WordPress account, recently upgraded in order for me to host video marketing material for around USD$160 annually. Set up your free site with your service provider of choice – it will be a major tool in your writing journey, and it will evolve.

Since you already have a Gravatar account, setting up WordPress will be easy as the platforms are linked (here’s how). Remember, if someone else is using your real name as their WordPress URL, think of an alternative name (like mine – ‘burgewords’) and use your real name as the profile User ID. The next part of the Write, regardless! series will be all about using a WordPress site.

Twitter is tops

Twitter is misunderstood. Before I was on it I believed it was the domain of navel gazers and people intent on telling me what it was like on the bus as they commuted… boring! It is all that, but used wisely, Twitter is also a fantastic distribution network for journalism, books and other publications.

Set up your free Twitter account, but remember, if someone else is using your real name as their Twitter handle, think of an alternative handle name (like mine,@burgewords) and use your real name as the profile User ID. Twitter will assist you to set up and start tweeting. Find my Twitter handle and follow me. I’ll follow you back if you send me a tweet (learn how to ‘tweet to’ someone). More about using Twitter for marketing in a later chapter.

Facebook is fab

If you have a Facebook timeline (the basic Facebook account to keep tabs on your friends) you can also create a free Facebook Page. Facebook will ask you to identify the type of business you are. Like me, the word ‘business’ might give you a jolt, but publishing your books will be a business, I assure you, so move past this with confidence. There is an option to select ‘Writer’. My Facebook Page allows me to promote myself in all forms of writing – non-fiction, fiction, journalism and playwriting.

The benefit of having a Facebook Page (your business) in addition to your Facebook timeline (your personal life) is that it gives you a place specifically for communicating about your books to an interested following. More about using Facebook for marketing later in Write, regardless!

A LinkedIn your chain (see what I did there?)

LinkedIn is a bit strange to me as it’s very corporate, but I embraced it as a social media asset simply because it adds to my Web of Fabulousness, and the basic version is free. Of all the social media assets I use, LinkedIn is the one that puts most pressure on me to upgrade to premium, paid services, but creating a free profile on LinkedIn allows us to add a list of our publications – which is great for promoting books. Find me on LinkedIn and create your profile. I don’t go behind the scenes on LinkedIn very often – I set it and forget it, and update things when I need to. You may want to participate there more often, especially if you are writing something in the corporate/employment sphere.

RENOIR'S READER Young woman reading a book, c.1875.
RENOIR’S READER Young woman reading a book, c.1875.

Goodreads is great

One of the world’s largest reader-reviewed sources of book information, Amazon-owned Goodreads is often described as ‘Facebook for readers’. Until you have published titles, you’ll only be able to create a reader’s profile, where you can share your reading experiences and follow authors and other readers. I was a Goodreads reader and reviewer for years before upgrading to my author page.

Instagram is interesting

I came late to Instagram – the place where people post images and not much more – but at the time of writing it seems to be where much of the action is on social media. Writers have started using intriguing ways of including words on this platform, despite being unable to share articles or links. It’s another thread in your Web of Fabulousness, and I found it a great way to connect with booksellers.

My social media asset is better than yours

Many in the day-job world love and swear by LinkedIn, as much as creatives swear by Pinterest and writers cannot sing Twitter’s praises loud enough. All platforms get eager, loyal followers who will sell their granny on the promise that if only you were on that same one, all your marketing problems would be solved. Try to move through this enthusiasm with a firm smile plastered on your face, accepting that not everything is everything to everyone. Choose your social media assets based on your interests, just ensure you don’t miss Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Goodreads if you want to promote writing and books. Don’t ask me about TikTok, I just don’t get it.

High rolling on the social network

People may try to convince you that social media assets cost money, that they need ‘premium’ accounts in order to be secure and give you a large audience. They don’t. All online entities have levels. Just create the most basic, free social media assets and ensure that when they try to sell you bells and whistles, you either decline, or understand why you’re saying yes.

Recap

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Get your social media assets sorted, adding your usernames and passwords to your safe place for future reference. This process will take a few sessions, but don’t get despondent! When you hit an obstacle, make a cup of tea and go back to it with fresh eyes. When you’re done, add your social media assets to your Gravatar profile (have a look at my Gravatar profile to see how that will look), that way, when you make that brilliant observation on The Guardian culture page, people will be able to find your full range of social media assets!

An extract from Write, regardless!

© Michael Burge, all rights reserved.

Write regardless!

Writer, identify yourself!

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JOURNALIST and writer Michael Burge spent over six years writing full time, including three years contributing online articles, before embarking on the publication of a range of books across 2015-2016, titles he wrote while developing a social media readership.

The Write, Regardless! series of no-nonsense articles explains how Michael went from a good writer, to an Amazon bestselling author (without getting ripped off along the way).

Is Write, Regardless! for me?

“The reason that manuscript remains unpublished is not the sick, sad, selfish world, but because you have not published it yet.”

Here’s a checklist. I’ll be honest and upfront in these posts. I’ll also keep things light, because I have just finished publishing some very serious books, and I need a lift! I’ll link to Wikipedia quite often, so if you don’t like updated, peer-reviewed, democratised information, Write, Regardless! is definitely not for you.

Wikipedia? Are you serious?

I regularly consult Wikipedia because many online entities don’t really want us to know exactly how they work (so they can charge us money). At Wikipedia, other people have spent time sharing how things work, and I’m assuming you’ve got enough of a bullshit monitor that if someone hacked Wikipedia and posted: “Marilyn Monroe was actually a donkey”, you’d work out they’re trying to trick you, right?

If you don’t identify yourself as a writer, no one will do it for you.

Hopefully you’re coming with me on the crazy ride that the Write, Regardless! series will be, aimed at anyone who can write, or perhaps has a ’embarrassing’ manuscript sitting in a desk draw or on a computer somewhere. The reason that manuscript remains unpublished is not the sick, sad, selfish world, but because you have not published it yet. Time to get real, join the publishing industry, and do it yourself. Many thousands of successful writers have taken this path before you. Many have been ripped off by charlatans, and I am here to help us avoid that.

Don’t start by writing anything

Writing is way down on the list of jobs you need to start doing. I’ll assume you know how, have some work under your belt, and a regular writing schedule. Your first task is to identify yourself so readers can find you. There are a few ways to do this. The ones I know about are Gravatar and Google. Because you are the best spokesperson of your work, in fact probably its only spokesperson, eventually you’ll want readers to find you.

Gravatar is good

A ‘globally recognised avatar’ does a really cool thing – wherever you participate on the internet, a Gravatar lets your identity follow you, and if people like the comment you made on The Huffington Post, they’ll be able to find your website, and therefore maybe get interested in your writing. That’s called being discoverable. If you’d rather hide behind a name like ‘Hawkwind Gamester of the Windy Witches’ and have no identifiable online presence, go for it, but best put that name on all your books, not your real name. If you want people to start identifying and understanding you, and therefore your books, get a free Gravatar account today, with a real headhot of yourself. Gravatar accounts go hand in hand with WordPress websites (more on those in coming articles).

Google is good

A few years ago, Google got even savvier than it already was and started allowing people access to a Google account linked to all kinds of portals, including Blogger (the alternative to WordPress for website hosting). The best part about a Google account is it lets Google know what you’re up to. Don’t be scared! Telling the world’s largest online information aggregator what you’re up to is called publicity, essential for publishing (see what I did there? The root word is the same in publish, publicity, publication… your public, darling). Sign up for a free Google account. Here’s mine.

Set and forget your Google and Gravatar accounts

You’re not going to need to go in and out of these places very often (phew). Eventually I’ll explain how to update them automatically without leaving your website. For now, the only other thing to do is to keep a list of your account names and passwords – you’re going to end up with a few of them during Write, Regardless! Keep them somewhere safe and accessible.

google-monster-1Keeping online platforms in their place

Online platforms will continually promote ‘bells and whistles’ (attractive additional features or trimmings). Very often, they’ll try to trick you into thinking you need ‘premium’ products, or provide extra information like your email address or your mobile phone number, in order to increase your security levels or to maximise your visibility. I have the most basic accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google, SoundCloud, YouTube, Canva, Ingram Spark, Amazon Author Central (don’t freak out at this list, I will explain them all in future articles) Gravatar and MailChimp, and until recently the free WordPress account, which I upgraded only so I could host video/audio marketing content. Stay on your guard when navigating online platforms. Don’t click ‘yes’ unless you’re sure you have to. ‘Cancel’ or ‘skip’ buttons are best unless you’re sure you want to alter something.

Sharing information

Online platforms will sometimes ask your permission to share your information with your followers, which you’ll want to do, since it’s these networks of friends, family and interested people who are our readership base. Say yes to those prompts, it’s simply a legal requirement of the platform to ask.

Internet fears

The internet can be a big scary place, and rip-off merchants are out there, sure, but I have not come across any real monsters. The only times I have wasted money on my publishing journey was through being ill-informed. The main internet shenanigans I see are the corporate obstacles that big companies place in the way of their competition, and sometimes writers have our pathways impacted by these shifts that are out of our control. Move bravely between giants!

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Recap

Get your free Gravatar and Google accounts sorted, start a safe place for usernames and passwords, then get on with your day job secure in the knowledge that the internet now knows who you are. Don’t be scared, because that means readers! (Whoosh! There go your internet fears!).

An extract from Write, Regardless!

© Michael Burge, all rights reserved.

Books, Rebels

Collective courage

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I’M pleased to announce the publication of another work of non-fiction – Pluck: Exploits of the single-minded. Here’s an extract from the foreword:-

The articles in this collection, written between 2009 and 2015, have one thing in common: courage. I am not referring to the guts it takes to climb Mount Everest (although there is one amazing climbing feat in one of these stories), I mean something that runs deep in the soul and can be drawn on to face moments in life as significant as conquering a mountain.

‘Pluck’ is a bit of an old-fashioned word, one you might notice in a 19th century novel or a genteel play, used to describe a person who does something unusually brave, or lives their life in a manner that sets them apart.

For me, the word is slightly pejorative, in that calling someone ‘plucky’ pigeonholes them as a certain type, the same way that descriptors like ‘tomboy’ and ‘pansy’ signal something only fractionally better than other words we might not use in ‘polite’ company.

Chronologically, the earliest of these articles was Grit & Gentility, an analysis of the amazing voyage undertaken by one of Australia’s pioneer settler families, the Pitts. My inspiration was Germaine Greer’s study of Ann Hathaway in Shakespeare’s Wife, where a whole life needed to be drawn in the absence of primary sources. To bring Mary Pitt into focus, I took the small amount of evidence about her, and used a contemporary tool – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice – as a shortcut to Georgian sensibilities around marriage.

While editing and writing for Blue Mountains Life magazine, I instigated a two-year cycle of writing about women who’d had an impact on the region’s cultural heritage, or been impacted by it. This research allowed me to explore a region I had more than thirty years’ association with, and led to pieces on the famous, such as Nellie Melba; unsung media pioneers like Beryl Guertner; and explorers like Katie Webb who had been relatively sidelined.

Many of the people in these articles are those whose work I admire, and whose lives I analysed for times where they needed to engage a little pluck, and got a very bad name in the process. Judy Davis’ ‘difficult’ tag, particularly while shooting her first international role in A Passage to India, has rarely been analysed in the context of a young performer facing-off an older director, and was another early piece of writing that led to others in a similar vein, particularly about female performers, of which there are many in Pluck.

There has long been a scarcity of writing about Australia’s great ‘pink expats’ – the likes of costume designer Orry-Kelly and writer Sumner Locke Elliott – simply because they left our shores and barely registered as Australians. I have sought to reconnect them with their homeland and look at how far their courage took them.

I also wrote on another Australian icon, Matthew Flinders, to shift the perspective from his sexuality to the homophobia he may have been subjected to, and how that discrimination still preys on Australian men two centuries later, when considering the coming out of Ian Thorpe.

It was high time for another look at the rural origins of singer-songwriter Peter Allen, another ‘pink expat’ who wrote his way back into Australia’s heart by penning songs about travelling, starting with his iconic bush poem ‘Tenterfield Saddler’.

Writers also feature heavily in this collection, and my ongoing fascination with literary reputations damaged by snobby naysayers, such as that of Shakespeare; but also how oeuvres are formed, in the case of Agatha Christie and the clues I found to her infamous disappearance.

Scattered throughout are various people who are not famous, but are notable for the courage they drew on when faced with emotional challenges.

Looking at this collection, I am reminded that in 2009, after years of waiting for someone else’s permission, or for validation that was never going to come, I determined to make writing my primary focus as an artist, a leap of faith that felt more than a little plucky.

Pluck begins and ends with E. M. Forster. My inspiration is always his courageous writing legacy, and what he left to generations of gay writers in his wake.

© Michael Burge, all rights reserved.