We need to talk about what Brandon Sanderson just did

We need to talk about what Brandon Sanderson just did. 

For those who don’t know, Brandon Sanderson is a fantasy author. Primarily a writer of adult fantasy novels, he has also written middle grade and YA novels, as well as dabbled in the realm of graphic novels as well. He is probably best known for completing the Wheel of Time series after the death of author Robert Jordan, writing the last three novels of the series from Jordan’s extensive notes. 

The other thing Sanderson is known for is writing a lot. Like, a LOT, a lot. In a genre of fiction where fans joke about the long wait for Game of Thrones books, and the final book in the Kingkiller trilogy, Sanderson is the opposite of that, usually putting out multiple books a year, with at least one of them being several hundred pages long. He schedules out his work far in advance, and keeps his audience well informed of what he’s working on. He posts weekly YouTube videos updating how far along he is in whatever project he’s working on, and he is usually working on multiple series at once. He is currently in the middle of (one of) his magnum opus, The Stormlight Archive, a series of ten books. Four books have been released so far, each one over a thousand pages, and there’s every expectation that the remaining books in the series will be just as big. 

What’s fascinating about this is that each of these books has come out pretty much exactly as Sanderson has said they would. He’s constantly working and putting out new material, and in a world where fans have been waiting for Winds of Winter for eleven years now, that’s a fresh change of pace. 

Then Sanderson posted a YouTube video here. 

He asked that you watch it without reading about it first so I’ll give you a chance to watch the video if you want and then come back to read what exactly we need to talk about Sanderson’s announcement. 

You back?

Ok, for those who insisted on skipping what he had to say in the video, Brandon Sanderson has written five new novels in secret. In addition to keeping up with the output that he has been communicating to his fans about (an output that puts many of the other big name fantasy authors to shame) he has been writing additional novels, totaling five over the past two years. 

So why is this something that we need to talk about? “Writer writes more” is not exactly an unexpected turn of events. And if you were to ask any fan of fantasy what high profile author has most likely written five books in secret during the pandemic, most of them would probably guess Sanderson. 

What we are going to focus on is the four books that he plans to release next year. Four of the five books are full length novels that he plans to release every three months next year through a Kickstarter. Those that back the Kickstarter will receive the books every three months in the year of 2023. For mega fans who want even more from the author, you can back the Kickstarter at a higher level and receive a box of swag and goodies every month that you don’t get a book. Four months of getting a new book from the author, and eight loot boxes, each one themed after a different character or universe that the author has created. 

It’s important to note at this point in the article that the Kickstarter for these books is the most successful Kickstarter of all time. Not the most successful book Kickstarter. Not the most successful creative project Kickstarter. The. Most. Successful. Kickstarter. Of. All. Time. And growing. 

As of this writing the Kickstarter has been backed to the tune of $26 million and there is still two thirds of the month to go. 

Like every industry in the world, especially in creative spaces, the future of publishing is in flux. It has simultaneously never been easier, or more difficult to find success as an author. Independent publishing has seen great successes, but is still largely a wild west of how to try and get your books in front of an audience. And Brandon Sanderson, in a little over a week, raised $26 million to put out four books. 

Now, this isn’t to say that every would-be author should be jumping onto Kickstarter to fund their next big YA dystopian trilogy, and expect instant success. Brandon Sanderson was obviously a very successful author before this announcement, and it’s that success and the following it has created that has allowed him to see the kind of response that he has. But what Sanderson has done is created a blueprint for how an author might be able to find success in a way different from traditional publishing. 

Look, Sanderson is a fantastic writer. And if all he did was sit in a room and write all day, it’s very possible he would still be a very successful fantasy author based on the merit of his work alone. But in addition to being a good writer, Sanderson clearly has a good feel for business as well. He has built an industry around his work that has allowed him to succeed in this field. He has two podcasts (Writing Excuses and Intentionally Blank) as well as a YouTube page with frequent posts. He has a writing course that he teaches at BYU, with all of the lectures uploaded for free online that anyone can access. He has written adult books, YA books and middle grade books, giving almost anyone at any reading level an access point to his work. 

He has put out a massive amount of content for free. You can go to his website and download one of his novels for free right now. If you sign up for his newsletter, you can get another one for free. He has signings and book readings all over the world, and last years (again while writing five secret books) he and his team put together a virtual convention for fans. 

All this to say that Sanderson isn’t just in the business of writing books. He is able to control the narrative of what being Brandon Sanderson means. And this month, he made $26 million because of it. 

So what does this mean for the future? Well, who knows? I would not be one to try and predict anything about the publishing industry any time in the future. But for those trying to find success in a non-traditional route, Sanderson is laying out a blueprint of how to be an author in the modern age. He’s a promoter for his own work. He’s a part of his own narrative. And he’s succeeding.