From Living in Shambles to Becoming a Published Author and Founder of a Publishing House by C. P. Dunphey

    Very often in life, things seem to spin out of control under our noses and before we can even attempt to prevent the damage, our lives are changed forever.  A problem in life, that I feel very often becomes an inspiring element of writing for authors, is the idea of being in control.  I know that nearly every time terrible or life-changing events happened to me, I always streamlined my creativity into writing to exert and project these emotions onto a form of media that I could display and show to others. 

    Authors have forgotten the purpose of being a writer.  It’s not the money.  It’s not the attention or the fame.  The purpose to be a writer is to be heard.  We feel things everyone else does, we imagine things everyone else does.  The only reason we put it to paper and the majority of the population doesn’t, is because they don’t want to be heard.  But as different as we authors may be, it is often that life can have different ideas for us than we originally imagined. 

    In November of 2015, I had begun to work on what would become the foundations of my publishing house.  I was at an all-time low and was at risk of losing my home.  I worked day and night on a manuscript and scourged the internet for information and tips on how to be successful at writing.  I learned a lot, as I had been for the last 4 years that I had spent working on this manuscript.  I was in college at the time, studying English.  I was the Chief Editor at the Fiction Writing Society of USM and I had a lot going for me.  Unfortunately, these positive things didn’t prevent me from experiencing problems with my employer.  My online businesses were falling and due to scheduling conflicts I could barely work.  I decided to continue with my manuscript and push forward.

    Fast forward to January 1^st of 2016.  My longtime girlfriend whom I lived with broke up with me because I would rather work on my manuscript that I had spent 4+ years on than go to the bar with her for New Years.  I decided to let her keep the house and offered for myself to leave.  I did.  I ended up sleeping on couches and out of my truck for almost a month and a half.  Problem after problem hit me.  No restraint.  Because that’s what life does.  It hurts you most when you are down. 

    So what did I do?

    Remember how earlier I was talking about funneling stress into creative projection?  That’s exactly what I did.  I funneled every single spark of creativity into the manuscript.  I worked day in and day out on it, while creating a publishing house that would end up being called Gehenna Publishing House.  I made connections, created viral marketing plans and campaigns, created promotions, policies, budget plans, etc.  All the meanwhile, I worked on my manuscript at least 4 hours a day.  This was while I had a semi-full time job and a class schedule at USM.

    Fast forward to May 31^st.  Plane Walker is published as the first official publication of Gehenna Publishing House (aside from some short stories).  Fast forward to April and May.  Gehenna signed on Brandi Perry, award winning author from Mississippi (where the publishing house is based).  Fast Forward to late April.  Plane Walker broke the Amazon Hard Science Fiction Bestsellers List at #2.  The novel has garnered positive reactions and the momentum continues to build.  Gehenna is growing and one day we hope it will be a household name.  We’ve spoken and interviewed countless authors and authorities in Science Fiction and Horror (yet to be released, that’s for the upcoming newsletter! Subscribe below!) and things have honestly steamrolled.

    I guess my whole point of this post is to remind you, authors, readers, and everyone else that life will always be out of your control.  I don’t want to sound like some egotistical or narcissistic guy.  I just want you to learn from my own experiences.  Nothing great ever came easy.  Don’t let life beat you down.  And never, EVER, give up on your dreams.  No matter who doubts you or who leaves you.  You were meant for a purpose and nothing should ever prevent you from achieving that.

                      Plane Walker on Amazon 

    Thank you so much for reading this.  I hope it helps you.  If any of you ever need advice, consultation, editorial help, tips, etc. always feel free to email me at: cpdunphey (at) gmail dot com.  I will always be available for authors and readers alike.

About the Author:

C. P. Dunphey

C. P. Dunphey was born in Staten Island, New York.  He grew up in Southern Mississippi and had an interest in writing since he was very young.  In 2015, he founded his own publishing house, Gehenna Publishing House.  His first novel, Plane Walker, was released in 2016.  He hopes to further his writing as well as offer authors opportunities to be heard and read, his dream being that Gehenna Publishing House becomes a household name.  The sequel to his novel, Plane Walker, titled Heiron, is slated for release in early 2017.

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