One calendar month agoBrandon Sandersonrevealed that he had save four novels over the retiring two years , and he wasKickstarting their publication . Now , a week after the end of the crowdfunding campaign , we can definitively say that Sanderson ’s project has not only become the most - fundedKickstarterever at $ 41 million pledged , but stands far and away fromthe competition , having double the platform ’s last premature record book .
Kickstarterand crowdfunding have proved their importance for independent creators , butSanderson ’s successshould not be taken as ushering in a new measure for publication . While many base companies are using crowdfunding platform as a way of life to market - psychometric test their intersection without pull to them , or are using the political platform as an incentivized preorder programme , other creators are not set up for achiever the same way thatwell - knownoutlets like — to name one example — Boom Studiosis .
UltimatelySandersonsucceeded because he has gazillion of fans . He has worked intemperately , he has produced large work consistently , and he is an approachable , and by all accounts , humble and delightful man . However , it is important to commend that he is not an overnight achiever . He has spend two decades connection , working severely , writing heroic poem , and during that fourth dimension , he has had other people take risk on him . Everyone was a novice once , even Sanderson , and traditional publishing took a chance on his piece of work . It paid off , for a variety of grounds , but it was still a risk . Art call for endangerment . Publishing need risk .
Image: Dragonsteel Publishing
Self - publishing is a executable option for some writer , but it requires a lot of workplace beyond just compose a book and position it up on Kindle Direct . There are a number of boxes you need to tick for be a successful self - pubbed author ; you need a backlog of workplace for a unbendable income stream , well back prowess , a societal media presence , and a marketing budget . It ’s not simple , it ’s not easy , and the people who are successful spend clip and seat their own money in the mental process . Most of this is true even when self - publishing via a crowdfunding political platform , like Kickstarter .
I ’m of the belief that the great unwashed should follow up on the publication journeying that ’s right for them , whether that ’s self - publishing , crowdfunding , or traditional publishing . But some self - publishing should n’t be consider a viable option for everyone , and we should n’t act like Sanderson ’s success is going to dribble down to other the great unwashed .
or else , I believe that we should encourage traditional publication to bear on take hazard on books and authors . publication is an industry that is experiencingan upswing , even among fear that print is , universally speaking , dead . I hope that Sanderson ’s ( well deserved ) Kickstarter winner does not become the blueprint for publishing , but just another option for those who have the reach and fanbase to succeed .
For the rest of us , I hope that traditional publishing will continue to take risks , bear novel marginalized articulation , and re - commit in the mid - list writer so as to create a sustainable publishing ecosystem for authors .
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