Among newer writers, VE Schwab and NK Jemisin are two I think have the goodwill for a very successful Kickstarter, even without a great amount of experience in distribution. Neil Gaiman is one Pat Rothfuss and George RR Martin are two others (don’t start in here about their publishing frequency it’s already tiring). The SF/F writers I think could do similarly are people who, like Brandon, have at least some merchandising/fulfillment experience to go along with their writing. In this case, however, Brandon & company’s previous experience in merch and fulfillment, on Kickstarter and off of it, works in their favor, in a way that someone doing a Kickstarter/fulfillment for the first time can’t realistically hope to match - even writers who have similar fan bases. Lots of people who have funded Kickstarters will tell you similarly what they’ve gotten is not always worth the money spent. Look, running a Kickstarter is hard I have any number of friends who have done them and all of them will tell you the effort it takes is immense, and what you get in return, after everything is said and done, isn’t always worth it. People are pledging to Brandon’s Kickstarter not only because they’re fans of his work, but also because they have confidence that a) he’s not going to do a Kickstarter fail and run off with their cash, b) that the quality of the books and swag boxes will be as advertised he’s not going to half-ass it. Certainly there are other writers as popular as Brandon, but it’s the backend bit here that I think is easy to overlook as being critical. Could any other currently working SF/F writer do this? I’m skeptical. The numbers this Kickstarter is generating are large, but in the larger context of his career, his ambition and his work, not ultimately that surprising.Ģ. In short: Almost uniquely among modern SF/F authors, Sanderson is positioned not only to have an audience large enough for a vastly successful Kickstarter, but he’s also positioned to follow through on those Kickstarter promises with an already-built organization. He’s done other Kickstarters and has developed a reputation for delivering on what he’s promised he and his crew have done the legwork in creating specialty items and getting them to fans. His writing and work ethic got him the nod to finish the Wheel of Time series, and when that was completed he was able to carry much of that vast fandom into his already existing fandom, and into his own work. Brandon published his first books the same year I did (we were in the same Campbell/Astounding Award class together), and since then he’s both been writing assiduously and developing a merchandising and fulfillment backend of the sort that almost no other writer has done. But I think it’s very important to stress the phrase “over the years” here. Kudos to Brandon - it’s nice to see his work over the years has led to this. Naturally, I have some thoughts on this! Here they are, in no particular order.ġ. This has naturally sent the SF/F publishing world into a bit of a tizzy, with people wondering What It All Means for publishing, and who else in SF/F, or fiction generally, who could do something similar. Announced today, the Kickstarter has already gotten $13 million in pledges, and it’s perfectly reasonable to suggest that by the end of the pledge cycle, it may end up between $20M and $25M in pledges.
#Quick thoughts series#
Very Quick Thoughts on Brandon Sanderson’s Mega KickstarterĬontext: Brandon Sanderson, who has been a #1 New York Times bestseller as co-writer of the Wheel of Time series and his own Stormlight Archives novels, announced a Kickstarter in which he offered four previously unannounced novels as well as a “Year of Sanderson” swag boxes, all to be delivered in 2023.
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