I’ve written for 451 Press at AnimeFansOnline.com for about 2 years now. I’m sorry to say it, but that has come to an end. After some recurring technical difficulties, we Bloggers received an e-mail letting us know that 451 Press was closing up shop.

Good Times

I enjoyed my time at 451 Press. Sure there was some stress and things got weird from time to time, but most of it was good. I learned a lot from writing Anime Fans Online. I did some stuff I wouldn’t have tried otherwise, and I’m better for it.

Why I’m going to miss the most is the community. The forum was a good place to go to ask questions of other writers. Technical issues, writing or just shooting the breeze, there was usually someone there to discuss things with.

Sure, there were rough times and disagreements too. The furor when the pay model changed, mostly because of new requirements for getting paid. The sporadic communication from the higher ups. Even the spammy looking site templates were a regular target of derision from inside and out. Getting through all that made me feel like 451 was going to be around for a long time. Even if I parted ways with them, it would still be there.

Shutting Down

The forums are closed and the bloggers are being removed from the sites. I noticed that my name is missing from the by-line on Anime Fans Online now. It’s probably only a matter of time before sites start closing altogether.

Time to move on.

I still have projects of my own to work on. FanaticSpace.com is moving along. I have a few other sites waiting in different states of preparation. I’ll be able to devote more time to them now.

Goodbye 451 Press. No matter what others may think, I’ll miss you.

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