Sci-Fi Writer Gets $19 Million In Support On Fundraising Website To Self-Publish New Books
Author Brandon Sanderson woke up one morning to find that his Kickstarter fundraiser raised $19 million for him to self-publish four of his new novels.
Sanderson, 46, is recognized for his “epic” fantasy-science fiction books. He is best known for the “Cosmere fictional universe” that he has created in his stories.
“I started this all off by doing my best to surprise you,” Sanderson wrote in a Kickstarter update Wednesday.
“Now you’ve turned it back on me ... This is incredible, overwhelming, and a little unbelievable. I went to bed last night hoping people would enjoy my little reveal and woke up to a phenomenon,” he said.
Clearly Sanderson's fans want more. His fundraiser raised $1 million in only 35 minutes and grew to $19 million in just two days with 28 more days to go. The money he has raised accounts for the “most-funded” Kickstarter fundraiser ever.
Some of Sanderson’s most popular books include the “Mistborn” series and “The Stormlight Archive.” He also helped finish Robert Jordan’s “Wheel of Time” books series, which was taken on by Amazon to become a television series.
Sanderson plans to keep the titles of the four new novels “hidden for now.”
Sanderson offered anyone who donates to receive either digital e-books, audio books or physical copies of his new novels depending on the amount donated. He said the books will be delivered by 2023.
The fundraiser will allow Sanderson to have enough funds to keep up with the demand for his books and to create a “year-long subscription box service” on his own.
“Publishers need authors to be entrepreneurs these days,” Kristen McLean, the executive director of business development at NPD Books, which tracks book sales, told the New York Times when speaking about Sanderson's fundraising success.
“This is just going to build his profile and continue to drive the backlist sales of all of his books.”
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