In two days, fantasy authors increased $19 million on Kickstarter to self-publish new novels

March 7, 2022: -Brandon Sanderson asked folks on Kickstarter for $1 million to self-publish four novels he wrote in the pandemic. They funded him in 35 minutes.

After two days, 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 publishing, eclipsing a previous Sanderson campaign that increased $6.7 million.

A prolific sci-fi and fantasy author, Sanderson is well 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 is helping finish the final three novels in Robert Jordan’s “Wheel of Time” book series, recently turned into television series by Amazon.

Sanderson’s Kickstarter offers backers four new novels set in Cosmere, as digital e-books, audiobooks, or physical copies based on their donation level. People who spend more than a certain threshold will receive eight monthly “swag” boxes of items related to Sanderson’s work.

As the owner of a book company named Dragongsteel Entertainment, Sanderson uses Kickstarter to drum up enough funds to have enough books available to meet demand, so he is offering a year-long subscription box service.

Many artists are turning to Kickstarter to fund projects and assess consumer demand. Readers want more from Sanderson.

“It started this all off by doing my best to surprise you,” Sanderson wrote in a Kickstarter update on 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 the reveal and woke up to a phenomenon.”