After discussions that occurred this week, I decided to look into other ways to monetize my site. I made the choice to become an Amazon Associate. This means I can now get Amazon affiliate links, and I went this route because I am reviewing books that will primarily be bought on Amazon so why not place my monetization there rather than in banner ads that will distract from my content. When Monique spoke in class about her personal book review blog and how she uses affiliate links on it, it inspired me to test run them on mine. I also tried my hand at creating an advertisement. I actually…
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Week 8 Process Post: How Other People’s Work Benefits My Blog
Through discussion both in lecture and tutorial surrounding copyright and attribution, it got me thinking about just how much other people’s work benefits my blog. 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…
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Are You New to NA… These Are the Hockey Romance Novels You Must Read (and Mini Assignment #4)
I am going to come out and say it, I love reading hockey romance. 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…
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Are You New to NA… This is Where You Should Start
I was lucky when I started to read New Adult a few years ago that there were many reviewers that steered me in the right direction, so I want to do that for you now. There are important things to consider when jumping into NA for the first time: Don’t go hardcore or extreme right away! This might put you off NA forever. NA deserves a gradual entry, one should start with novels that tow the line between NA and YA. My recommendation for someone’s very first NA book is… Slammed tells the story of an eighteen-year-old girl who moves to a new city with her mother, after the death…
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Essay #1: The Descent of Online Democratic Dialogue into State Incited Violence
The existence of social media has brought a sense of democracy to the internet. Never before has there been a place where we can be seen as an equal, where a university student can talk directly to celebrities and corporations. This democratic dialogue has become twisted, and in places such as Myanmar what was being used for just a tweeted complaint from a consumer to a company has turned into state actors inciting violence through social media posts. This democratic dialogue that existed in the first place, was born out of widespread access to social media. John Suler writes on the online disinhibition effect, and how it presents itself in…
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Week 7 Process Post: My Struggle with Monetization
After discussion from tutorial, whether or not to monetize is on my mind. I am torn between whether or not I should run ads on my blog. On one hand, a little extra money never hurt anyone. I remember from my short stint on YouTube how satisfying it was to earn the 10 cents that I did (I have never received a cheque though, you need to make at least a dollar for that). I am a Starbucks barista and I live in one of the most expensive places to live in the world. As someone who consumed other blogs for years, I reaped the benefits of the blogs that I read did…
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Emma Scott’s Long Live the Beautiful Hearts ARC Review
Thank you so much to Emma Scott and Inkslinger PR for the advance copy of Long Live the Beautiful Hearts. Long Live the Beautiful Hearts went live early so make sure you pick it up right now! I need to preface this review by saying that YOU MUST READ BOOK ONE FIRST! The first book Bring Down the Stars, which I have previously reviewed is an amazing book. You must start there if you start with the sequel you ruin the ending of the first story and you wouldn’t want to do that. From Goodreads: “Never again would I allow my heart to become the plaything of someone else. Never…
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Peer Review #2: Grace in Adulting: True Tales of a Clueless Adult
Grace in Adulting follows Grace Mavko, the blog’s creator as she stumbles through the beginning of adulthood. In Tara Chittenden’s Digital Dressing Up: Modelling Female Teen Identity in the Discursive Spaces of the Fashion Blogosphere, she refers to blogs as, “online diaries.” From looking through and reading Grace’s blog it reads like I am receiving insight into what she would write in a diary. I love the persona she has built, how she is open about her struggles, and who she is on such a public platform. This second peer review is geared toward design choices though, so I will depart from talking about content. In terms of Grace’s themes and customization,…
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Week 6 Process Post: My Imagined Audience
This week’s prompt asks us to discuss our imagined audience… I want this blog to be a resource for all readers of NA. It does not matter if you are new to the genre or have been reading it for decades, there is something gain from reading my reviews. I have geared my design towards showcasing my Goodreads as I view my audience as dedicated readers who will have accounts on such a site. I have also geared my design towards helping authors with promotion, which is a huge element of NA blogging, through my contact information and my qualifications from working with Netgalley and InkSlingerPR being very clear on…
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Devney Perry’s Tinsel Cover Reveal
I am so excited to be apart of the team revealing the cover for Devney Perry’s Tinsel. The book releases on February 19, 2019. I am a huge fan of Devney Perry’s work, she is a newer NA author and everything she has written has been amazing. I loved the first and second book in the Lark Cove series, so I am extremely excited for the third instalment, Tragic releasing next month and the fourth book, Tinsel next year. Now what you have been waiting for, the cover… If you pick this up in paperback, here is the full cover… Here is the Goodreads synopsis: “Sofia Kendrick has always cherished her tiara. As the youngest daughter of…
