Portrait of American fantasy creator Brandon Sanderson taken on June 3, 2011.
Sfx Journal | Future | Getty Photos
Brandon Sanderson requested Kickstarter followers for $1 million to self-publish 4 novels he wrote through the pandemic. Thirty days later, his marketing campaign has topped $41.7 million from greater than 185,000 backers and is the most-funded Kickstarter in the crowdfunding site’s history.
Sanderson’s marketing campaign surpassed the earlier file holder in simply three days, topping the $20.3 million in funds that smartwatch company Pebble Technology generated in 2015.
With the mission efficiently funded, Kickstarter will take a 5% payment from the funds collected, or greater than $2 million.
A well-established determine within the sci-fi and fantasy novel area, Sanderson has revealed greater than 50 books since 2005. He’s greatest recognized, nonetheless, for creating the Cosmere fictional universe, during which most of his novels are set.
That is the second time Sanderson has turned to Kickstarter to publish his work. In 2020, he generated $6.7 million in funds from almost 30,000 backers to supply a leather-bound tenth anniversary version of his novel “The Method of Kings.”
The marketing campaign acts as a preordering platform, permitting Sanderson to get a greater gauge on how many individuals are interested by buying his work in order that he can have the right quantity printed.
Those who backed the marketing campaign will get entry to those new titles as digital e-books, audio books or bodily copies based mostly on their donation stage beginning January 2023. Individuals who spent over a sure threshold may also obtain eight month-to-month subscription bins of things associated to Sanderson’s work over the course of subsequent yr.
“We’re a easy bookstore,” he wrote in his marketing campaign. “We will simply promote a e-book or a bit of swag that’s already in inventory or will likely be in inventory quickly. However planning out a whole ’12 months of Sanderson’ takes setup and monitoring we aren’t able to at Dragonsteel Books.”
