I struggled with seeing myself as an online publisher. Publication prior to this course felt very creative to me, such as the creation of a book and all the processes that go into releasing such a creative venture into the world. For my entire life, many made the assumption that due to the ferocious amount of reading I did, that naturally I must have this burning desire to write a novel of my own. I have never been the creative type through. I have never been what Debbie Chachra describes as a “maker” (Chachra). I am not a maker, I critique, and I comment, but I never have and probably never will create my own story. This lack of creation does not mean I am not my own publisher though. Reviews are an integral aspect of the book publishing industry as coming from my own experience as a reader a company’s marketing strategy has to be creative and enthralling to hook me into picking up one of their latest releases, whereas certain reviewers I trust to the utmost degree and I would read absolutely anything they would recommend without question.

Shaping my online publication did not just occur in the blogosphere rather all aspects of my internet experience underwent an evolution. Over the years I had built my own “personal cyberinfrastructure” (Campbell) which encompasses everything I have cultivated online, which is grown to encompass more than just my love of reading, but also some of my passions such as history and U.S. politics. It has been over the course of the semester that my “personal cyberinfrastructure” was honed into representing who I am online specifically into my online brand, ClaryNathanWill. My brand is centred around my love of New Adult literature and my desire to decrease the stigma surrounding the genre through introducing readers to the genre and making them fall in love with it through my reviews and recommendations. My online publication occurs through multiple channels from Twitter, to Instagram, to Goodreads, and to my blog which will all assist me in achieving my goals of decreasing stigma and increasing readership of New Adult books.

Through all the channels that showcase my online self, I have built and cultivated an audience. Tara Chittenden discusses female teen identity and the blogosphere she specifically looks at “the importance dialogic interaction with other bloggers for how teens come to understand their own identity and cultural tastes” (Chittenden, 505). I cannot deny that who I am as a person has been shaped by the internet and the interactions I have on multiple platforms. Growing up with the internet informed my interactions on it, causing me to be honest and open with people online. Therefore, I have been open with my cultivated audience as well. There is an intrinsic trust within the New Adult book community, as the topics are taboo, and some readers are more comfortable than others about declaring their love for the genre outside of safe spaces online such as the many Facebook groups set up by authors for their fans. There are many authors within the genre that write under pseudonyms in order to keep their work from falling into the hands of their family members and friends. The majority of the community, and those who take in my content whether it be blog posts, or tweets are primarily not teens, but I am still and in my last year of my teens I have really come to understand my identity through interactions within the online community I am a part of. With continuing my blog, I hope to create another safe space for new adult readers, young and old and to be a place for the breaking down of the stigma, a place where more and more readers can be more comfortable with expressing their passion for new adult literature.

My public did not just extend to fellow fans of New Adult books, but to the authors themselves. The course concepts that have stuck with me the most have been the aspects of John Suler’s Online Disinhibition Effect. The effect of minimizing authority (Suler), is most applicable to my audience. I have interacted with authors both in public and online, both circumstances have had varied results. It took meeting my favourite author Cassandra Clare three times in order for me to speak coherent sentences to her. Online through I have interacted with her and many other authors easily, using both Twitter and Facebook. As both my public and blog grow, I hope to speak with even more authors and thanks to the effect of minimizing authority many of the roadblocks that existed before the internet will not stop the flow of conversations online between readers and authors.

The work I have done the last semester in growing my online self, my online publication and my online brand is work I will continue. I was blogging before this semester started and I intend to keep blogging for years to come. I have always desired to help others find books to fall in love with, and blogging will help achieve this goal. My blogging goals consist of continuing to post regularly into 2019 and to start a series of weekly wraps up in order to review even more books alongside the ARC reviews that I have been doing for months. When it comes to reviewing, I am so grateful for all the opportunities I have had and I cannot wait to review even more amazing books next year.

Bibliography

Debbie Chachra. 2015. “Why I Am Not a Maker.” http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/01/why-i-am-not-a-maker/384767/

Gardner Campbell. 2009. “A Personal Cyberinfrastructure.” EDUCAUSE Review 44 (5). http://er.educause.edu/articles/2009/9/a-personal-cyberinfrastructure

John Suler. 2004. “The Online Disinhibition Effect.” Available from: Cyberpsychology & behaviour 7.3 (2004): 321-326. http://truecenterpublishing.com/psycyber/disinhibit.html

Tara Chittenden. 2010. “Digital dressing up: modelling female teen identity in the discursive spaces of the fashion blogosphere.” Journal of Youth Studies http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13676260903520902

The post Essay #2: My Publishing, Blogging, and Online Journey appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

Here are my community guidelines:

1. Be nice and be respectful.
   • Treat others the way you would want to be treated.
     • This is the ultimate rule
2. No bashing of authors, and books.
   • This blog is supposed to be a positive place.
     • It is okay not to like a book, but please do not attack an author or writing it or a community member for liking it
3. No xenophobic slurs or language.
   • The term xenophobia encompasses (but is not limited to)
     • Racism
     • Sexism
     • Ageism
     • Homophobia
4. No shaming of community members
   • For such things as:
     • What people chose to read
     • How people live their lives
5. ClaryNathanWill reserves the right to delete any comments that break any of the above rules

My experiences in online communities for the majority of my time on the social internet has made me a fan of community guidelines. Prior to reading NA the majority of the time, my world revolved around Young Adult books. The communities surrounding Young Adult books are toxic environments. My mind immediately goes to Cassandra Clare and the Shadowhunters fandom. It blows my mind that there is a portion of the fandom that loves the books but hates Cassandra Clare, to the point that she is not comfortable at a book signing without a bodyguard due to the huge amounts of death threats she receives. She has been pushed off of her Twitter and Tumblr many times over the last few years, and every time she does come back I consider us very lucky. She shares so much on Twitter and Tumblr for her audience from snippets and teaser from her upcoming releases and to beautiful fan art. To see her receive so much hate, enough to make her take social media breaks for her own health has always hurt me, as I want so much better for her. If more people in that community would work towards being respectful, I really believe a positive corner of the internet could be built.

For me having joined the NA community was finding that positive corner of the internet. NA fans are some of the most progressive, open-minded, and respectful people I have ever encountered online. From authors holding retreats for fans at their houses to holiday card exchanges within the community, NA communities are positive in ways the YA communities could never be. Maybe it is an age thing? Less angsty teens, more moms. I believe it stems from the attacks against NA readers and NA books outside of the community bubble, these attacks make us cherish the positivity in our community and only bring us closer together. As YA becomes more mainstream I fear only more drama and negativity rising up among YA communities.

The post Week 12 Process Post: Community Guidelines appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

It is the nature of book blogging to be on multiple platforms, pushing out content on multiple platforms. Besides maintaining blogs many book bloggers maintain their Goodreads account, post beautiful #bookstagrams on Instagram, push affiliate links and promotion graphics through tweets, reblog fandom related posts on Tumblr, and communicate with other book bloggers in communities on Facebook.

This is a lot, that is why the most prolific reviewers, review full time. While many others pick and choose what tasks above to do in order to balance the rest of their life with book blogging.

I have been maintaining a Goodreads account for years, to the point that a few years ago I was one of the top fifty reviewers in Canada (back when I reviewed Young Adult books exclusively).

I have over one hundred friends on the platform, coupled with over one hundred followers. I spend time posting updates and cultivating lists. When I review books that are mentioned in my blog posts I link back to my blog, which has improved my blog’s traffic. This channel is such an important one for book blogging and in my view is essential to be doing if you want any success in the field.

The channel in which I receive the most traffic to my blog is actually Twitter.

For many years I used Twitter to read peoples Tweets which I would occasionally re-tweet and/or like, but since I’ve been blogging I will Tweet out my latest blog posts and make sure to mention the handle of the author or authors relevant to the post. Here is a very successful example…

Due to tagging these authors, and thanks to them sharing it to their followers through likes and retweets my total impressions and engagements are much higher than an average tweet of mine. This post, If You Liked This NA Book You will Love This NA Book has done really well.

Finally, I put some energy into using NA Facebook groups.

Here are just some of the Facebook groups I am apart of, all of these are groups started by NA authors themselves and are then monitored by their assistants or fans they have hired as moderators of the groups. The group on the top of the list, Karina Halle’s (Anti)Heroes is a group I post regularly in including a post which plugged an author spotlight I did on Karina. That blog post is one of my most successful to this day, and I got such great reception on it in the comments on the Facebook post.

I have made my choices to not put my energy into Instagram or into Tumblr. In the case of Tumblr, I feel as if I outgrew the channel as there is a platform there for YA books, but not as much so for NA books. When it comes to Instagram I just cannot compete with the pretty photos due to reading most of my books as e-copies and my iPhone camera deciding it is just not going to focus on anything ever again.

The post Week 11 Process Post: Transmedia Integration and Channels appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

I sincerely hope you consider picking up some of Fiona’s books after reading my breakdowns and thoughts surrounding them. She has so few reviews on Goodreads but has written some phenomenal stories.

I am going to discuss the books in the order I read them…

Vouyer

Goodreads synopsis: “I didn’t know she was my student the first time I paid to watch her at Voyeur.
Once she walked into my classroom, another smiling college freshman, I knew I should stop going. Stop watching. 
But I couldn’t do it. Everything about her makes me want more, and once I realize she wants me too, the temptation becomes irresistible. 
The worst part is that she has no idea her professor is the one watching behind the glass. 
I just have to hope that once she finds out the truth, she wants the same thing I do. Because now that I’ve seen all of her, I can’t look away.”

Voyeur was an enthraling read that hooked me into Fiona Cole’s works instantly. Warning this one is not for the faint of heart, it covers so many taboo topics I would not even be able to name them all. How quickly I was connected and emotionally invested in the characters astounded me, and you will soon see that this is a pattern with Fiona’s books. If you are a seasoned NA reader be prepared to fall in love with this one.

Are you interested? Pick it up here (*affiliate link*): https://amzn.to/2RXbOmb

Deny Me

Goodreads Synopsis: “Jameson King.
My best friend’s brother and the person who could make an Olympic sport of ignoring my relentless teasing and taunting.
I was a live-in-the-moment girl flirting with a man who always looked to the future. He was traditional, carrying the weight of his whole family on his broad shoulders, and I had been taught to never fall in love, focusing on my career instead of a future with anyone.
He tried to deny me, tried to deny the passion simmering between us, bubbling under the surface of every game we played.
But all that changed during one week in Jamaica. 
Falling into bed with Jameson was easy, but falling in love was out of the question.”

Deny Me tells the story of two people who have resisted getting together for years. Watching the two characters fall in love, and go through their ups and downs was so fulfilling. If you are in the mood for a quick standalone read this is a must read.

Are you interested? Pick it up here (*affiliate link*): https://amzn.to/2DIezol

Shame

Goodreads Synopsis: “The girl next door. Pretty. Sweet. Kind. 
Submissive. 
Until I met her, I was alone with the dark desires that I didn’t understand, that I couldn’t reconcile. 
She became my best friend, and then she became so much more. 
Desire. Disgust. Shame. 
Dominance. 
I wouldn’t have survived until college without her. When we were together, I was at peace for the first time in my life. 
But it was too good to last. 
Our appetite for pain and pleasure destroyed us. And all the drinks in the world weren’t enough to get used to missing her. 
On the verge of earning my degree, Ana walks back into my life, those gray-blue eyes still able to see right through me. It’s the chance I’ve been waiting for. One last chance to overcome my shame. 
If only it were that easy.”

Shame has been sitting with me ever since I read it. It is my newest addition to my NA required reading list (a post that will be coming soon) as it warps perceptions and really allows you to understand controversial issues. As the characters’ story begins with them in high school and follows them into adulthood not only is there amazing character development, there is an evolution in how both you and the characters understand. If you are a more mature reader, please consider picking this up.

Are you interested? Pick it up here (*affiliate link*): https://amzn.to/2TghLMq

Imagine Me

Goodreads Synopsis: “Shane’s her brother’s best friend and thirteen years older than her. Juliana knows his desire to be the loner and to never settle down.
But none of that stops her from showing up at his hotel room late one night.
Months later, she imagines every scenario for when she runs into Shane again. However, she never imagined him brushing off their scorching night together. She never imagined him calling her a ‘little girl’ who can’t handle a man.
His words ignite a fire in Juliana. If she has to date every single guy in Cincinnati, she’ll prove that she is more than capable of “handling” a man. Except Juliana and Shane can’t stay away from each other, so they set up some rules; only sex, and no telling her brother.
It doesn’t take long for the sex to turn into feelings, and Juliana can feel his icy exterior melting. Is he willing to risk his best friend for a chance at love?
For Juliana, that might be too good to imagine.”

Imagine Me features characters previously introduced in Deny Me, so I recommend reading both of them and reading Deny Me first. Another book with great characters, another book where I saw myself becoming so incredibly invested very quickly in Juliana’s life and happiness.

Are you interested? Pick it up here (*affiliate link*): https://amzn.to/2qP2jK1

The Lovers

Goodreads Synopsis: “I loved him first. 
Jake was my best friend in college-my very straight best friend, until one night he was more. He may have ran after what happened between us, but I never forgot him. 
When fate puts us in the same place, five years later, he has a fiance by his side. Carina is beautiful, driven, and draws my attention almost as much as he still does. 
A game of truth or dare leads to a wild night and a relationship that has our feelings growing into something bigger than any of us intended. 
But what happens when our feelings deepen? Can I handle being with two people? 
If it means I can have him, I’ll love them both.”

The Lovers is Fiona’s latest release and features characters from Voyeur. I have read many books within the trope that The Lovers is set, but I found it to be very unique. Its uniqueness is a spoiler so I will not tell you why it is unique, but I would encourage a seasoned NA reader to pick this one up if the desire a bit of a surprise.

Are you interested? Pick it up here (*affiliate link*): https://amzn.to/2BaGtGX

I cannot stress any further how much I love the stories I have featured above by Fiona Cole. Please please please consider giving any of them a try.

If you like to follow Fiona Cole online check her out at any of the links below:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorFionaCole/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FionaColesLovers/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorfionacole?lang=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorfionacole/

Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Author Spotlight on Fiona Cole (and Mini Assignment #6) appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

Content

Chris mentions that he is not an expert specifically saying that he is not “a personal trainer or gym expert.” Due to the effect of minimizing authority that John Suler explains in his piece The Online Disinhibition Effect, it does not matter that Chris is not an expert as the internet minimizes the authority of an expert and further validates the personal accounts Chris provides. The content Chris produces is well informed, his use of hyperlinks is superb. Looking at the posts from a reader’s perspective, someone who does not frequent a gym, but rather a yoga studio, Chris writes in such an easy to comprehend way no matter the level fitness enthusiast you are. The posts do seem a bit long, but I do like the use of photos to help break up large chunks of text.

Chris has built an online persona, as someone who prioritizes their fitness and health. This prioritization is essential for the goals Chris has in his life. I think the blog would benefit from Chris’ about section being on the homepage rather than on page that must be clicked on. I would suggest placing it in the sidebar. It would allow for Chris to be upfront about not being expert and would complement the progress and journey nature that so many of Chris’ posts appear to be about. I thought the about was so well written, why hide it and make it harder to access.

Design

The design of Chris’ blog is clean and simple. This stylistic choice lends itself nicely as it allows for the content to shine. Now I will evaluate the blog based on points from our classes design lecture with Mauve Page:

• Balance: The blog is slightly asymmetrical which is a nice touch as the blog posts are bigger, cementing their importance on the site.
• Rhythm: The colours and typefaces are consistent throughout the blog. I like the use of colour in the body texts of posts to help emphasize certain things, such a nice touch.
• Contrast: The large pictures that accompany each new post are eye-catching and are the point of focus in my opinion. The next thing that my eye is drawn to is Chris’ recent post widget in the right sidebar. It is a nice touch, but right now it is full of Pub 101 work including Process posts, I think a reader who came just for fitness content would benefit from having fitness-themed posts easily accessible in the sidebar.
• Unity: The blog has an overall organized feel and all design elements are consistent throughout.
• UX/UI: I found at least with my wifi that the blog loaded efficiently despite large images. I looked at the blog on a mobile device and I loved how easily traversable it is in that form, I love the drop-down menu. One thing though is the Facebook button leads to Chris’ personal account rather than a page centered on the blog. You might want to not have your readership bombard you with friends requests, but rather have them like a page.

Overall the design for the blog suits the content and is great from a user usability aspect. The blog is very clear, has good navigation and great a great loading speed.

The blog’s content and design work in unity to display Chris’ fitness journey, and lend itself to inspiring others to try the same. Good luck with all your goals Chris, great blog!

The post Peer Review #3: Train, Eat, Sleep, Repeat: An Exploration of the Fitness Lifestyle appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

Let’s start with Acquisition…

My blog tends to acquire an audience from social media. This comes as no surprise to me as I have been actively using social media to recruit an audience. When you dive deeper into Social, my traffic appears to be only coming from Twitter. This also makes sense to me as I have been more active on Twitter than Facebook. In the past, (before this class) I had more viewership from Facebook when I posted about Author Spotlights in the Facebook Group for the author. I want to do more Author Spotlights in the future to take advantage of this. One of my new conversions then is to acquire more of an audience from Facebook.

Next up is Behaviour…

I am glad to see my homepage has quite a lot of time spent on it. I worked really hard to build a homepage that reflects my entire brand including my Goodreads, and my work with PR companies. I am ecstatic about such a low bounce rate, I specifically made it so posts could be teased but one would still have to click read more, and I think that is paying off. My next three most viewed pages are actually Pub 101 assignments, first one is my post without words, then my meme, and finally my Superhero guest post. I am so glad to see these doing incredibly well as I put a lot of effort into my assignments and many of them are ideas I have had for a while that are able to flourish with some help from the assignment prompt. As I mentioned previously I have more Author Spotlights planned, I have two specific authors that I am really excited to write about. My other goal is to do more list style posts as If You Liked This YA Book… You Will Love this NA book and My Top 5 Most Anticipated 2018 Fall Releases are in list form and appear to be doing well. I’ve launched a new series called Are You New to NA? which when I look at my more recent analytics is doing well, and most importantly takes some inspiration from If You Liked This YA Book… You Will Love This NA Book as I am recommending NA specifically to new readers, just as that post did.

Now to summarise the conversions or goals I want to set and track for the rest of the semester:

1. I want to write more Author Spotlights and track acquisition from Facebook due to posting in NA Author Fan groups
2. I want to write more list/recommendation style posts and track the page views on such posts

The post Week 10 Process Post: Google Analytics appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

The post What ClaryNathanWill Has to Offer You (and Mini Assignment #5) appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

I also tried my hand at creating an advertisement. I actually looked into my analytics a bit and noticed some viewership on this new series of posts that I started on my blog. The series is all about where to start if you are new to NA books, posts surrounding this topic appeared to be lacking online so I was happy to fill the void. I also noticed on my analytics that people are coming to my blog from Twitter. This does not surprise me as I have been doing most of my promotion on Twitter, and authors have been sharing my tweets with their audience, further increasing my viewership. So I created a mock-up for a Promoted Tweet…

I am already linking to my blog posts in multiple tweets a week on my twitter feed. I have been advertising on there since the very beginning, and I plan to continue doing so.

The post Week 9 Process Post: Monetization and Advertising appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

I have had people compliment me on my widgets and sidebars believe that I have some vast knowledge of code and have done them myself. In reality, most of my fanciest widgets were made on Goodreads. Goodreads actually has a page that builds widgets for your blogs and lets you customize them to your heart’s content.

The other big contribution to my blog is all the banner and promotion graphics I get sent from the PR companies I work for. Someone at that PR company works hard to make the teasers and banners. I would love to attribute the work more, but I have no idea who these people who create these works are. I make sure to always thank the PR company for providing me with the book, but I never mention all the graphics they send me too. These companies push you to post these graphics everywhere, your blog, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook but are never concerned about attribution.

So thank you to every person at InkSlinger PR and Social Butterfly PR that tireless slaves over the wonderful banners, promos, and teasers I receive. Your work helps my work, which in turn helps the author who at the end of the day is someone we both want to help in the way we can.

The post Week 8 Process Post: How Other People’s Work Benefits My Blog appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

First of all, you need to understand that I am not a fan of hockey, not of sports in general. Why then do I enjoy the trope?!

Hockey Romance is the best way to convey a story on the premise that the guy has a reputation and the girl judges him for it. But as they fall in love as she realizes that he is more than just the rumours, that she never really understood who he truly was at the beginning of the story. This premise is such a beautiful way to read about two people falling in love. I have yet to pick up a Hockey Romance that I have not enjoyed.

I have detailed the first books in the best Hockey Romance series below, the text on the cover highlights how the perceptions of the characters change over the course of the story.

Check out the entire Pucked Series here: https://www.goodreads.com/series/155737-pucked

Check out the Him duology here: https://www.goodreads.com/series/166433-him

Check out the entire Brooklyn Bruisers series here: https://www.goodreads.com/series/164506-brooklyn-bruisers

Check out the entire Ivy Years series here: https://www.goodreads.com/series/123211-the-ivy-years

Check out the entire Off-Campus series here: https://www.goodreads.com/series/144827-off-campus

Thank you for supporting my blog, I hope you pick up one of these amazing reads!

The post Are You New to NA… These Are the Hockey Romance Novels You Must Read (and Mini Assignment #4) appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.