Some voices in the industry have frequently questioned Sanderson’s ability to maintain his ridiculous pace. We have seen authors with less impressive release schedules abandon their publishing careers due to burnout.
And yet, Sanderson has shown no signs of slowing down, promising us Skyward, Alcatraz, and Stormlight Archive sequels all within a span of two years.
Like most people, writing takes its toll on Sanderson, especially when he tackles massive projects. But unlike most people, Sanderson destresses by stepping away from those gigantic books and writing smaller novels set in different corners of his Cosmere universe.
But even with his incredible work ethic, readers expected Sanderson’s video to reveal some sort of mental breakdown. But no. Apparently, Sanderson is not human because he wrote five full-length novels in secret, hence the so-called Year of Sanderson, starting in 2023. The author’s video launched a Kickstarter campaign to finance the undertaking.
The goal was to raise $1 million. Backers were promised four novels in 2023 and monthly subscription boxes with items related to his work. Today, Sanderson has the highest-funded project in Kickstarter history, having raised a whopping $20.8 million in three days. Now, people are losing their minds. No one expected this level of success.
But it is not all sunshine and roses. A certain section of readers is unhappy; they hate the idea of people throwing money at a prosperous author like Sanderson.
They want audiences to disseminate some of that financial support among struggling authors that don’t have the backing of a traditional publisher. More to the point, they don’t understand why Sanderson is resorting to Kickstarter when he has a traditional publisher that has served him well for years.
They want him to leave these new opportunities to aspiring writers who need the boost. I suppose those sentiments have some merit. But let’s be honest; most of them are rooted in envy and bitterness. Sanderson did not steal $20.8 million from the pockets of consumers. They gave that money to him because they appreciated his work.
Remember when Ridley Scott criticized millennials because they refused to watch The Duel? This is just as insane.
Keep the following in mind.
1). Brandon Sanderson wrote five full-length novels. Do you know how hard that is? Some of you follow YA or romance authors who release 4 or 5 books a year, every year. But most of those books are 200-300 pages long. Sanderson writes 1000-page monsters.
I suppose James Patterson deserves a mention. Some of his books are pretty substantial in size. But he uses ghostwriters. He does not count.
2). Sanderson’s success comes after years of toil. He worked his ass off, accumulating rejections from publishers but persevering all the same until he got his big break. Stop looking at Sanderson’s success like it happened overnight. That $20.8 million is the result of 15+ years of hard work.
3). Penguin Random House paid Barack and Michelle Obama $65 million in a two-book deal back in 2017. Barack Obama is a former president of the United States. Michelle lands lucrative speaking engagements every other month. The Obamas have plenty of money. Did they deserve that $65 million?
Sanderson deserves every penny he has made thus far. You don’t have to support him.
From what I have seen, a person’s reaction to external stimuli is instinctual. If you felt envy when you heard Sanderson’s announcement, you did not choose to feel that way. It just happened.
But that envy becomes a problem if you nurture it to a point where you take to Twitter to denounce or downplay the author’s achievements. Let the man enjoy his moment in the sun.
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