From CNBC:
Brandon Sanderson asked folks on Kickstarter for $1 million to self-publish four novels he wrote during the pandemic. They funded him in 35 minutes.
Two days later, Sanderson’s campaign has topped $19 million from more than 76,000 backers — and he’s still got 28 days to go. It is already the most-funded Kickstarter for a publishing project, eclipsing a previous Sanderson campaign that raised $6.7 million.
A prolific sci-fi and fantasy author, Sanderson is best known for creating the Cosmere fictional universe, in which most of his novels are set. This includes the “Mistborn” series and “The Stormlight Archive.”
Additionally, he helped finish the final three novels in Robert Jordan’s “The Wheel of Time” book series, which was recently turned into a television series by Amazon.
Sanderson’s Kickstarter offers backers four new novels, three of which are set in Cosmere, as digital e-books, audio books or physical copies based on their donation level. People who spend over a certain threshold will also receive eight monthly “swag” boxes of items related to Sanderson’s work.
As the owner of a small book company named Dragonsteel Entertainment, Sanderson used Kickstarter as a way to drum up enough funds to have enough books available to meet demand and so that he could offer a yearlong subscription box service.
Link to the rest at CNBC
PG wonders whether any visitors have heard of a fantasy author getting an advance of $19 million for a four-book deal under which he will be entitled to all the publisher’s revenue from sales of the books with no obligation to earn out the advance.
If anyone sees any interesting comments on this news from the traditional publishing industry, PG would appreciate a link or message via the Contact PG link at the top of the blog.