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“The reason that manuscript remains unpublished is not the sick, sad, selfish world, but because you have not published it yet.”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 The reason that manuscript remains unpublished is not the sick, sad, selfish world, but because you have not published it yet.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

Keeping 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!

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.