Celephi Press

In the course of preparing Children of the Halo for public print release, I've learned a number of things.

Which isn't to say these are the right things, however... They're just things. I've managed to pick up.

I originally finished the first draft of Children of the Halo on May 24, 2008. It was a proud moment for me, marking the completion of a project that I'd wanted to do nearly my whole life, but lacked the motivation to actually set out and do. I'd started work on it some time in 2007, plotting it out, designing the characters and places. Making sure Eiden Myr was... well... realistic enough to want to read about. (I later found out that the world's name, Eiden Myr, was originally someone else's. Still, my Eiden Myr is completely different from Terry McGarry's. At least, I would hope. I still haven't gotten aroun to picking up a copy of his book.)

In February, I decided it was time to start writing, and so I did.

Two-hundred and twenty thousand words later, it was finished.

But, as I learned, it was not yet finished. I had grandiose plans for my premiere opus. As it turned out, finishing the draft was merely the first step in a much grander staircase.

Thus started revisions.

Now, I'd posted my draft chapters through deviantArt, and I'd managed to get a small following. Nothing special, but I did happen to meet Trista Godfrey, who, as you know, is the author of Dreaming Again and Throne of Darkness.

Still, keeping in mind that I'd already taken first publishing rights, my options for publishing Children of the Halo were limited.

Until I'd found a post on Novelr and it opened my eyes to the wonderful world of webfiction. I set out and bought myself a domain and some hosting, sat on it for a month while I gathered my plans together (and started work on the revisions), then started to post.

The book's almost done the final revision for the web. As of October 20th (possibly sooner, should I get all my artwork in on time), the book will be made for sale through Lulu.

As the time grows nearer to the publishing date, I've realized there are a number of things I must take into consideration, and a number of resources I've found online will help me do just that.

Promotion: I've found Eli James' post on Novelr, The Ultimate Blook Guide: Blogging Your Book to be of invaluable assistance in this respect. If not for this post, I doubt Children of the Halo would have as many readers as it does. (Not to mention Webfictionguide.com, who I happen to get the majority of my hits from.) As the time approaches, I've also found the post Best and Worst Press Release Sites to be of great assistance. The author rates the sites available for making press releases, and just from this post, I've already chosen the service I'll be using to announce the release of Children of the Halo.

Now, obviously there's much more to be figured out and learned over the coming weeks and months, but thanks to the help from many of the sites I've already mentioned, it's going to be that much easier. Which is to say, it'll be tough, but at least I have reliable guides along the way.

Peace,

EJ.

Hey everyone.

Celephi Press is proud to announce the release of the first chapter of Trista Godfrey's Throne of Darkness! Show her your support by visiting the site and commenting!

I'd also like to mention that this is Trista's second novel being posted through Celephi Press. Be sure to check out her other work-in-progress, which she collaborated on with Birkley Stredder, Dreaming Again.

Throne of Darkness:

In a room hidden away from the world a throne in Erost sits in darkness. Years it had been ignored until the cunning devices of a man fueled by greed sets his sights on it.

Across the border, the tragic toppling of a religion would strike the first cord in the spiders’ web and signal the end of a country that withstood the falling of the Moons.

Thrown into a world of political intrigue, the delights of human desire, and the ploys of a deadly enemy, one child will grow up to be the greatest enemy and biggest hope for Erosts fate.

Once the light shines on the Throne, only those strong enough will survive to live and love.

Also, I'd like to mention that if you'd like to host your webnovel on Celephi Press, please send an e-mail to ejspurrell@celephi.com for terms and conditions.

Thanks!

EJ.

Just a heads up for all you folks who are fans of Celephi Press. Celephi Press is about to undergo several major changes. Just how far these changes will go have yet to be seen.

However, these changes will NOT affect the contents of Celephi Press, merely the design. I'm very interested in hearing your comments on the matter, and willing to accept any suggestions offered.

So be prepared. The redesign efforts will begin soon. Sooner than you may think.

In other news...

Actually, I don't have any other news. But stay tuned!

EJ.

Hey everyone, I'd just like to give you all the heads up that Children of the Halo is now listed on the Web Fiction Guide!

The Web Fiction Guide was started in an effort to bring together a community of web fictioneers in a place where people could rate, review and share their own works and the works of others.

So far, I have to say I'm very impressed with the way the site is set up. Users can submit their own stories, then create an account to read, review and recommend other web novels.

However, I do have two minor nitpicks. The site is still very new, so I won't fault the webmasters for this, but there seems to be a bug in their listing system. For some reason, it will only show the first two pages of listings. After that, the "More..." button disappears, leaving the rest of the listings unseen. Not sure what could be causing this other than an error in the code. The site uses the Wordpress blog-management system. I don't know if this is a problem that can be fixed easily, but I hope that it is.

Secondly, the site is devoid of any community structure in the way that all it does is provide listings and reviews-- It'd be nice to see some forums, or failing that, a shoutboard of some kind.

But all in all, an excellent site worthy of mention and promotion. I've given my Stumble. Have you?

Also, I'd like to mention that Children of the Halo has also been listed on onlinenovels.net, a listing of dozens of webnovels. Show them your support!

Also, there is now a Facebook Fan Page for Children of the Halo. Be sure to become a fan!

EDIT: The listing problem at webfictionguide.com was repaired. Ahh, the power of Server...

Here it is, the first of the Celephi Press "Children of the Halo" teaser/trailers! Make sure you make it a favorite on youtube!