Brandon Sanderson's Blog, page 75

It's finally out.

I'm sitting here on a plane, flying to Minneapolis after signing 1280(!) books last night at the midnight release of A Memory of Light. That marks it as my largest signing ever, though a whole lot of readers (understandably) grabbed their pre-signed books and ran off to read them, rather than waiting for a personalization.

Harriet did a reading, which my good friend Earl filmed (along with the Q&A). I'm sure he plans to post that as soon as the editing is done, and we'll get you a link. I'll be doing many more signings and readings in the coming weeks. (Of special note is the signing in Lexington, where the bookseller wanted me to let you know that he has been able to get Michael Whelan to send prints of the cover of A Memory of Light. See below this post for details.)

A lot of people are asking what it feels like to be done. That's an odd question to consider for a couple of reasons. In some ways, the Wheel of Time was "done" for me when I read Robert Jordan's last scene back in 2007. The work wasn't done, of course, and I had a very long road ahead of me. And yet, I'd read the ending. We managed to get it into the final book virtually unchanged, with only a few minor tweaks here and there. The sequence (it is more than one scene) that I am referring to most of the time when I talk about this encompasses the entire epilogue of A Memory of Light. Once you get there, you can know you're reading Robert Jordan's words, though of course there are other scenes scattered through the book that he worked on too.

So that was one ending, for me. Another came in January of last year, when I finished the rough draft of this book. Still, there was a great deal of work to do, but I was "done" after a fashion. From there, I transitioned from writing a new Wheel of Time book to doing revisions—and for the last time ever.

Another ending came for me when I handed the book over to Maria from Team Jordan to handle all of the final tweaks from the proofreads and copyedits. That happened late last summer, and with some regret, I stepped away from the Wheel of Time. Like a parent (though a step-parent in this case) waving farewell to a child as they leave the home, I no longer had responsibility for this book in the same way. I was done.

And yet, I wasn't. This month and next I'll be touring for the Wheel of Time. That will probably be the final ending, seeing all of you and sharing in your mixed joy and regret at the finale of this series. Over twenty-three years ago now, I picked up The Eye of the World for the first time, and my life changed. A lot of you have similar stories.

I know how you feel. I've been feeling it for five years now, ever since I read that last scene. There is no glossary in this last Wheel of Time book. We wanted to leave you with the memory of that scene, as Robert Jordan wrote it, for your final impression of the Wheel of Time.

I'm happy I can finally share that scene with you. After five years of waiting, I can talk about it with others and reminisce without having to worry about what I'm spoiling. I hope to chat with as many of you as possible in the upcoming months. For those who can't make it, I'll post some responses to frequently asked questions below.

May you always find water and shade.

Brandon Sanderson

January 8th, 2013

Question: Why aren't you coming to my city? And why do you so often go back to the same places?

Answer: I wish I could get everywhere, but I'm only one person, and touring is rough on the constitution and on the writing. I do try to go new places on every tour, but I also do visit some places repeatedly. This is because certain bookstores and booksellers have supported me since the beginning of my career, when others weren't interested in having me. I feel it important not to skip these stores now that I'm releasing what will likely be the bestselling book of my career.

Question: You said something about cover art prints of A Memory of Light?

Answer: Yes! Brian from Joseph-Beth is one of those booksellers mentioned above. From the start of my career, he's been in my corner, rooting for my books to do well. (And he has probably hand-sold more copies of my books than any person other than myself.) He tends to do awesome things for booksignings. This time, he called up Michael Whelan and asked if he could somehow get prints of the cover to sell.

The result is that we're going to be selling them at that signing, and ONLY that signing. In fact, so far as I know, this is the only place to get prints of the cover painting right now. Mr. Whelan has already signed each one, and I'll be signing them when in Lexington. [Assistant Peter's note: Michael Whelan will also sell them on his own website—we'll put up a link later—at the same price ($95), but getting it from Joseph-Beth will be faster. If you're not going to the signing you can order it here. There may also be a few prints of the The Way of Kings cover painting available at the signing itself.]

Question: Any news on the Wheel of Time Encyclopedia?

Answer: Harriet was asked about this at our signing, and she said that it was well on its way. This is not simply an update of the Guide released way back when, but is a comprehensive encyclopedia. It will contain art, and it will include things from Robert Jordan's notes that didn't make it into the series. (Note that the Waygate Foundation, a charity organization, is running a charity drive tied to the Encyclopedia right now.)

Question: What about the outriggers? (The sequel trilogy to the Wheel of Time series that Robert Jordan had planned to write.)

Answer: It's not going to happen. Harriet and I are both firm on this. Robert Jordan wouldn't have wanted it to happen. He said that he wanted the series to be finished, but he did not want anything more. (He was even uncomfortable with the idea of someone like myself finishing the series.)

Beyond this, at the Q&A on Monday, Harriet revealed something I previously haven't been able to tell you but that I've known for quite some time—that Robert Jordan didn't leave much of anything in the way of notes for the Outriggers. There are, quite literally, only two sentences of explanation from RJ telling us what the plot of the outriggers was to be about.

So no, no outriggers. I highly doubt you will see the prequels either, and for similar reasons. All good things must come to an ending. And this is ours.

Question: Why a delayed ebook release for A Memory of Light?

Answer: This is not my decision or Tor's decision, but Harriet's. She is uncomfortable with ebooks. Specifically, she worries about ebooks cutting into the hardcover sales. It isn't about money for her, as the monetary difference between the two is negligible here. It is about a worry that her husband's legacy will be undermined if sales are split between ebooks and hardcovers, preventing the last book of the Wheel of Time from hitting number one on either list. (Many of the bestseller lists are still handling ebooks in somewhat awkward ways.)

As the last books have all hit number one, she doesn't want to risk one of these not hitting number one, and therefore ending the series on a down note. (Even though each Wheel of Time book has sold more than its predecessor, including the ones I have worked on.) I personally feel her worries are unfounded, and have explained that to her, but it is not my choice and I respect her reasoning for the decision. She is just trying to safeguard Robert Jordan's legacy, and feels this is a very important way she needs to do so. After talking about the issue, we were able to move the ebook up from the originally planned one-year delay to instead come out this spring.

I'll try to update the blog with more questions and answers as I think of them during the tour, or as people ask them to me. Thank you all for reading, and enjoy the final book.

More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com

YA Novels + AMoL 8:00 Q&A Map + Updates

Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive cover reveal for my YA post-apocalyptic novel STEELHEART that's coming out from Delacorte in September. Check it out here.

Also, Tor.com put up the prologue and first chapter of my YA fantasy THE RITHMATIST that's coming out in May. Read them here. (Illustrations by Ben McSweeney, who also did the Shallan's Sketchbook illustrations in THE WAY OF KINGS.)

Right now Harriet and I are busily pre-signing copies of A MEMORY OF LIGHT at the BYU Bookstore for tonight's midnight release. There were about 150 people in line this morning at 7:30 when the bookstore started handing out numbers and letting people go home and rest until this evening. Harriet will be going back to her hotel before the midnight release, but she will be at the reading/Q&A that is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. (doors open at 7:00) at the Provo High School Auditorium (map below)—repeat, the Q&A is NOT at the bookstore itself! The bookstore will open its doors around 10:30 p.m. and books will be handed out at midnight, after which I will do personalizations by book number order. Complete details are here. Hope to see many of you tonight!

On Friday I posted about Hugo Nominations and offered to send THE EMPEROR'S SOUL to any Hugo voters. Writing Excuses has a list up of all the award-eligible works of the Writing Excuses team. And our first episode of the year is a microcasting episode on these topics:

Why do some authors only ever come out with one or two books?
What's your process for writing fast under artificial deadlines (NaNoWriMo)?
How do you avoid getting bogged down in explanation?
What happened to your Hero of a Thousand Faces episode? (Whoops! See below.)
Are there concerns or pitfalls regarding the use of metaphors and similes in genre fiction?
What are some pitfalls to writing short stories?
How do you write sex scenes? (Note: This particular question resulted in an entire episode back in Season 7. Shanna Germain to the rescue!)
Have any of you included original poems in your work?


More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com

Hugo Nomination Season

Hugo nomination season is upon us! If you are unaware, the Hugo Award is given by fans attending that year's Worldcon. (This year's convention will be held in San Antonio, Texas. I do plan to attend, as I went to Dragon*Con last year, and I try to vary which one I go to.) To nominate for the Hugo Awards, you have to be a member of this year's convention or the previous year's or following year's convention, and the nomination form is here.

By longstanding tradition, potential nominees avoid aggressive Hugo campaigning. Instead, we make a note of which of our works are eligible, so that they can be considered. In my case, I have Writing Excuses Season Seven eligible in the Best Related Work category.

I also have two stories that might be worth your time: The Emperor's Soul (Tachyon Publications, November 2012) and Legion (Subterranean Press, August 2012), both of which are novellas.

While I'm quite fond of both pieces, I think that The Emperor's Soul is more appropriate for award consideration. If you are interested in reading one of my works, I'd point you toward it—and I'd actually like to give you a free copy.

Therefore, if you are a valid member of this year's Worldcon or the 2012 or 2014 Worldcons, feel free to send me an email at ebooks@brandonsanderson.com requesting an ebook of The Emperor's Soul and saying which Worldcon you're a member of. No, you don't need to send me proof. I will trust your word on it. In this day and age, someone who really wanted to pirate a copy could do so at their leisure anyway.

Additionally, if you're a SFWA member considering nominations for the Nebula, you can find a link to download the story on the SFWA forums. A blurb for the story can be found below. Thanks for your consideration!

Brandon

From the Back of the Book

When Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance concealed only by the death of his wife. If the emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the empire will fall into chaos.

Shai is given an impossible task: to create—to Forge—a new soul for the emperor in less than one hundred days. But her soul-Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is confined to a tiny, dirty chamber, guarded by a man who hates her, spied upon by politicians, and trapped behind a door sealed in her own blood. Shai's only possible ally is the emperor's most loyal councillor, Gaotona, who struggles to understand her true talent.

Time is running out for Shai. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape . . .

More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com

AMoL Q&A time change! Also, Waygate Foundation & Updates

Planning to attend the midnight release of A MEMORY OF LIGHT at the BYU Bookstore? Want to see Robert Jordan's wife Harriet McDougal at the event? Then be sure to check out the newest details. Harriet can't stay up for the midnight release itself, but she will be pre-signing the books with me, and we will both appear at a reading/Q&A earlier in the evening of January 7th. This will NOT be at the bookstore itself due to space issues, but will take place at the nearby Provo High School auditorium at 8:00 p.m. So if you're driving or flying in from out of town for this event, make sure you go to the right place at 8:00 Monday evening! That's one week from today, folks. It's coming!

One thing among many that I find cool about the Wheel of Time fandom is how much readers like to help other people. There's one group in particular that has taken the idea of being "servants of all" to heart and gotten very involved in charitable activities. The group I'm talking about is called the Waygate Foundation, which launched this year (although its members have been involved in charitable giving for years though organizations involved with the big fan sites such as TarValon and Dragonmount).

Waygate's mission is to support and engage science fiction and fantasy authors and fans in global philanthropic endeavors. Board members include Harriet McDougal, Robert Jordan's cousin/brother Wilson Grooms, and me. Maria Simons is also a director, and the driving force behind the whole thing is Karen Campbell. Waygate's current campaign is called "A Story Begins . . . " and has a goal of raising $10,000 partially for Patrick Rothfuss's Worldbuilders charity—exactly the sort of charitable endeavor that Waygate wants to help other writers and fans become involved in. When the campaign's goal is met, Waygate will share a sneak peek at the forthcoming Wheel of Time Encyclopedia that Team Jordan is hard at work on.

For more information, please see Waygate's website and Facebook page. I think the way Waygate wants to help writers and fans give back to their community (and beyond) is a great idea, so I hope you will check it out.

Speaking of Facebook, my Facebook URL has changed. So if you used to visit my Facebook page via a bookmark or typing it in manually, the new URL to use is facebook.com/BrandSanderson. Now the link matches my Twitter handle, twitter.com/BrandSanderson. If you're curious as to why that is, Twitter handles max out at 15 characters, and BrandonSanderson is one character too long. With that restriction, BrandSanderson seemed like the best option that was available. Facebook has no such limit, but there are plenty of other Brandon Sandersons out there, and one of them already claimed the full URL on Facebook. Alas!

Anyway, I used to have two different URLs on Facebook, one of them my profile and one of them a page. Both locations posted the same things, so if you were following one but not the other, you didn't miss out on anything I said—but the conversation in the posts' comments was fractured into two and switching back and forth between the two got confusing. Well, Facebook finally allowed me to combine the page into my profile, so everyone who had hit "like" on my Page is now a subscriber to my profile. (There were about 5,000 of you who were following both locations before.)

Facebook still has a way of usually hiding my updates from your newsfeed, so if you want to make sure you see all of my posts, go to my profile and mouseover the "Subscribed" button. Under "Show in News Feed" click on "Settings . . . " and pick "All Updates." You can also put a checkmark by "Get Notifications" if you really want to make sure you never miss anything I post. That may be a bit of overkill though, unless you're just that interested. My assistant has also uploaded a new Twitter posts archive showing what and who I was talking about/to on Twitter for the last six weeks or so.

Earlier this year when I went to Chattanooga for a convention, I sat down with Derek Pearson for an interview. It's about 20 minutes long and covers a wide range of topics. There's a tiny bit in there about working on the Wheel of Time, but it's mostly about how I got my start as a writer. Check it out.

Writing Excuses has three new episodes, finishing off our seventh season. Episode 52 is another microcasting episode, talking about embarrassing early projects of ours, how to tell if an idea is too big for a particular story, how to avoid discouragement, and how to handle multiple magic systems in one book. Episode 53 talks about Secret History, which is a type of alternate history where historical events are given fantastical explanations (such as with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). And the final episode, Episode 54, talks about four ways the publishing industry is changing. Next week marks the beginning of season eight!

More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com

Signing & Magic Draft in Salt Lake area Saturday

Just a quick reminder that I have a signing up in West Valley tomorrow, followed by a Magic draft. The signing is focused on the Mistborn RPG, but I'll have my other books there too. Hope to see many of you there! Details below.

Signing & Magic Draft, Epic Puzzles & Games, Salt Lake City

Date: 12.22.12 Time: 1:00 pm-7:00 pm

Place: Epic Puzzles & Games

Address: 3612 West 4700 South #4

West Valley City, UT 84129

Phone: (801) 982-0167

Schedule:

1:00 p.m.: Signing

3:00 p.m.: Magic Draft. Call for buy-in registration information.

More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com

Utah events this week + Updates

Writing Excuses has two new episodes this week due to a goof on our part. We had planned to hold Mary's brainstorming episode back until the spring, but we forgot that there was a direct followup episode. The followup got released first and people were confused, so we've gone ahead and made it a two-episode week. Here are the episodes in chronological order: episode 51, Brainstorming with Mary, and THEN episode 50, Outlining the Mary Way.

InkWing has a new blog post up about their December deadlines and the Windrunner pin, which they're giving away in each T-shirt order, or which you can get by entering the contest in the blog post comments.

I have two events in Utah this week.

Dragons Keep Magic The Gathering Draft & Signing, Orem
Date: 12.13.12

Time: 6:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.

Place: Dragons Keep

Address: 48 W 300 N

Orem, UT 84601

Phone: (801) 225-5215

Schedule:

Draft: 6:00 p.m.

Signing: 9–10 p.m.

Limited amount of potential draft participants; sign up now.

Cost: $12.00 Dragon's Keep Standard Draft Pricing and Prizes

This one will focus on ALL of my books, and while there might be a few copies of the Mistborn Adventure Game for sale, this is my holiday signing for Utah Valley. Because of that, we'll bring a lot of copies of various things to sell.

Worlds of Fantasy at the Salt Lake City Library
Date: 12.15.12

Time: 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

Place: Salt Lake City Library

Address: 210 East 400 South

Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Phone: (801) 524-8200

Schedule: See the library website for the full schedule, which begins at 10:00 a.m.. My events are as follows:

Fantasy Literature and the Re-imagined Myth with Brandon Sanderson

12:00 noon–1:00 p.m., Nancy Tessman Auditorium

Sponsored by Utah Humanities Council

A discussion exploring the questions; from whence did Fantasy Literature Rise? What is its place in contemporary culture? Where is it going?

Brandon Sanderson Q&A: World Building

1:30–3:00 p.m., Lower Urban Room

Brandon Sanderson Signing

3:30 p.m., Night-Flight Comics at Library Square

Bookplates for A MEMORY OF LIGHT will be available.

Here is the Salt Lake Library's press release on the event:

Popular Fantasy Author Brandon Sanderson Speaks at The City Library

Highlights Worlds of Fantasy Exhibit on Display

December 10, 2012—Salt Lake City—Fantasy is a major component in our cultural zeitgeist. The past decade has been filled with literature, film, games, and art that capture society's desire for the exploration of magical worlds. From Harry Potter to Game of Thrones, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time, Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, our pop-culture world is one obsessed with fantasy. Join The City Library for a series of events highlighting the mystical and magical.

On December 15, The City Library will be transformed. An ongoing exhibit featuring sets and pieces from a locally-produced fantasy film, Flight from Shadow, will be the backdrop for a series of fantastic events, including an all-ages costume contest—from the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Robert Jordan, wand-making classes, film screenings, book browses, tours of the exhibit, and a performance by the Salt Lake Pops Orchestra.

The feature of the December 15 celebration is a lecture with famed author Brandon Sanderson, beginning at 12pm in the Main Library Auditorium. Sanderson is best known for finishing Robert Jordan's epic series, The Wheel of Time. The final installment of this series will be released on January 8, 2013. Sanderson will also host an intimate Q&A, focusing on world-building, followed by a book signing.

Other Worlds of Fantasy events continue through the month of January, including Dungeons and Dragons at the Chapman Branch, and a continuation of the Fantasy Genre Speaker's Series, focusing on art, film, and deconstructing Middle Earth.

The Genre Speaker's Series is funded by the Utah Humanities Council, and Worlds of Fantasy has been sponsored by The City Library, University of Utah Department of English, Fort Douglas Military Museum, McGrew Studios, Wagonland Adventures, Absinthe Hair and Grooming Parlor, Razor's Edge, Abbie Warnock Photography, Badali Jewelers, Wheel of 9 Productions, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, The Downtown Alliance, Gryphon Games, Night Flight Comics, Utah Film Commission, and Marcela Torres.

For more information on Worlds of Fantasy at The City Library, visit www.slcpl.org/fantasy.

More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com

Signing Thursday in West Jordan

Just a quick note to remind you that I'll be signing at the Jordan Landing Barnes & Noble tomorrow. Details are below. I also have signings this month in Orem, West Valley, and the Salt Lake City Library. Some of those include Magic drafts. See my events page for details.

Date: 12.06.12

Time: 6:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m.

Place: Barnes & Noble Booksellers - Jordan Landing

Address: 7157 Plaza Center Drive

West Jordan, UT 84084

Phone: (801) 282-1324

Type: Signing

Notes: Brandon will sign any book you bring that he wrote, but it's nice to support the store hosting him by buying something in the store that day (it doesn't have to be one of Brandon's books!).

More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com

A MEMORY OF LIGHT happenings + Updates

A MEMORY OF LIGHT happenings + Updates

This post will have quite a few random tidbits. First off, my friend Tracy Hickman wrote to tell me about a holiday serial novel he and Laura are putting up. If you preorder, you can read and comment on the chapters as they're written.

Irene Gallo at Tor.com posted a picture of the first printed copy of A MEMORY OF LIGHT. This is called an F&G (folded and gathered pages). The book comes out next month!

Most of my A MEMORY OF LIGHT book signing tour has been announced and posted on my events page. There are still a couple of Canadian dates to be added, but Tor should have those finalized soon. If you want email reminders when I'm near you, tell me your city at this link. I also have a handful of events in December, including this week in West Jordan.

Tor.com also put up a video where Harriet McDougal, Tom Doherty, Jason Denzel, Pat Rothfuss, and I talk about A MEMORY OF LIGHT. Check it out.

This is the last week for the A MEMORY OF LIGHT audiobook/iphone case promotion that I talked about a few weeks ago. If you buy the CD version of the audiobook, you can get a free iPhone 4/4S case. Details are here.

Moses Siregar III has an interview with Jason Denzel on the Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing podcast. It talks a lot about A MEMORY OF LIGHT, as well as other things Jason is involved in.

Writing Excuses has a couple more episodes: one on the Pixar rules for writing a compelling story, and one on beginnings. There are also two more bonus episodes we recorded for NaNoWriMo, which ended a couple days ago. I hope many of you reached your writing goals for November!

Here are two more cool pieces of fan art. The second one is a painting that the artist Megan brought to show me at my signing in Idaho Falls. Thanks!

[image error]

Finally, the blog The Ranting Dragon is having a "cover battle" that I thought was pretty cool. You can vote for which cover art/design you like best, and the top vote-getters will face off against each other for . . . supreme domination or something. The competition is quite stiff, but the ebook cover for THE EMPEROR'S SOUL (art by Alexander Nanitchkov, design by Isaac Stewart) is in the first round. I love this art and the design, so I'm happy to see it nominated! You can vote for whichever cover you like, and you can also write in other options. For an explanation of the different rounds see here.

More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com

Fan Art, Shirts, NaNoWriMo

InkWing, which does Mistborn and Stormlight Archive shirts, has a new blog post announcing Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, as well as a limited edition Windrunner pin. Plus they have a contest for a free T-shirt. Check it out.

This week's Writing Excuses podcast episode talks about raising the stakes—putting things at risk for your characters. We have also recorded a couple of pep talks for those of you participating in National Novel Writing Month. Here's one from Mary and me, and here's another from Dan and his brother Rob.

The last few weeks I've been sharing on Twitter and Facebook some fan art that people have emailed me about. I love seeing people's interpretations of what they read, so keep it coming!

More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com

A MEMORY OF LIGHT Release Events

This is going to be a long post. If you want to know how to get numbered copies of the book, scroll down.

Tor is almost ready to announce the book tour. When it gets announced, all of the signings will be listed on my events page, so check out that page to see if I'm signing near you. I can tell you now that the tour will contain only US and Canadian cities, and it will be split into two sections.

I do plan to take a trip to Europe sometime in 2013, but it hasn't been arranged yet. If you want a signed copy of the book and won't be able to make it to one of my tour cities, there will be a couple additional ways to get signed copies. But if you want your book personalized, the best way to make that happen is to call one of the bookstores on my tour and ask if they can arrange it for you. As I'll mention below, the Weller Book Works signing by mail has already sold out.

The focus on my tour stops will be on getting everyone's books signed. I'll probably read and answer questions at every stop, but I will also try to pre-sign some stock so if you just want a signed book and don't want to stand in line for me to personalize it for you, you can just grab the book and go.

Harriet will be joining me on some tour stops; more details will be forthcoming when the tour is announced.

Some of the events might be ticketed, which means that the bookstore requires you to buy the book FROM THEM in order to get it signed. I've asked for this to happen at as few booksellers as possible, but each store has the final call. Why would they do this? Well, a lot of stores have to bring in extra staff (or even rent extra space) in order to handle an enormous event like this. In the past, they've spent this money and then had everyone bring in books they bought from Amazon to get signed. It makes them very bitter, as they lose money after all the work they put into holding an event. (In one famous case I heard of, a small bookstore held a signing where they spent hundreds on staff, promotion, and cookies, only to have over a hundred people, out of the hundred and twenty who came, bring in books they bought from Amazon.)

As I said, I've requested that the signings all be open to anyone. However, I can see the bookstores' point. Please be respectful and realize one of the reasons that places like Amazon can give you the books so cheaply is that they don't have to maintain or pay rent on expensive storefronts in retail areas. Support your local booksellers; it's because of them that we can have signing events. If possible, I'd ask that you go and buy the book from the store where you're planning to see me. You can buy it early and keep the receipt. If you bring the receipt with you to the signing, that's as good as buying the book at the signing. Generally, at ticketed events, as long as you buy any hardcover book, they will let you get your other books signed. So, for instance, you could buy A MEMORY OF LIGHT and then get it, THE GATHERING STORM, and TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT (or any of my other books) signed. And even if you don't buy your copy of AMoL at the signing, it's nice to support the store hosting me by buying at least one book (by any author) while you're there.

I don't know which events will be ticketed—or even if any will. I'm slowly gathering information on this. There probably won't be many that are, but I wanted to lay the groundwork just in case. I'll add more information to the events page as it trickles in.

Finally, there may be a cap on the number of books I will personalize for you at a time. I'll sign all your books, but personalizations can take a while, so if there's a large crowd, to keep the line moving I may only personalize three books at a time. However, it's just fine if you want to go to the end of the line again and wait to get three more books personalized. I WILL sign paperbacks. I WILL NOT sign books I did not write—e.g. the Wheel of Time books before THE GATHERING STORM. Yes, people have asked; often about one per signing. However, for the signings on this tour where Harriet will be with me, she will be happy to sign them.

I will be doing two special signings in conjunction with the book's release on January 8th. Like with my previous books, I will be numbering copies in conjunction with these release events. The two events are: the BYU Bookstore midnight release and the Weller Book Works mail order event (SOLD OUT).

What does it mean to get a numbered copy? Well, just what it sounds like. If you get a book from one of the two release events, I'll number your copy. I intend to give out as many numbers as there are people who participate in those events (unless we run out of books). In a way, these numbers are less about being limited editions and more about getting a special add-on, an indication that you made it to one of the initial events. This is something I started doing for fun with my first book, and I had originally intended to limit the numbers to the first fifty people who got to me. However, I found that I felt bad stopping numbering if someone went to all the trouble to come to the release party, so I shifted to doing it this way.

I generally stagger my numbering so that lower numbers can be picked up from each signing. Each number is unique. I will rotate by 100s. (So, 1–100 are at BYU, 101–200 are at Weller Book Works, 201–300 are at BYU, etc.)

Each event will have its own rules regarding how you get your number and which number you get. Read on for info.

At 12:00 a.m. on January 8th, I will be doing the world's first signing for A MEMORY OF LIGHT. Numbers 1–100 will be given out at this signing. (Though everyone who comes will get a numbered copy unless they run out of books.) All numbers will be given out in the ORDER YOU ARRIVE TO WAIT IN LINE IN. Let me make this clear. It doesn't matter how early you preorder. Numbers will be given out based on line order. Details follow.

The line will start forming at the northwest entrance here:


In past years, people have started lining up even a few days ahead of time, so the BYU Bookstore is going to be handing out numbers to people in line to take some of the pressure off you. They will start doing this MONDAY MORNING at 7:30 a.m. Book #1 will go to the first person in this line at 7:30, #2 to the second, and so forth. You can only buy ONE copy of the book in the low numbers per person waiting. (In other words, if you are there in line, you can't buy #1–10 by yourself. You have to have ten people if you want to do that.) If you need multiple copies but don't have multiple people, that's fine—we'll give you #1 and then some higher numbers. This restriction goes for anyone in the first hundred spots.

Here are some more details from the bookstore:

Numbered tickets will be given out on Monday, January 7th, beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Numbered tickets will be given out in the ORDER YOU ARRIVE TO WAIT IN LINE.
You may hold a place in line for NO MORE THAN ONE PERSON for NO MORE THAN ONE HOUR. (The line will be largely self-policing, and exceptions will have to be decided mutually.)
If you're camping out ahead of time, be aware of the following issues:
Between December 14th and January 7th, campus will be essentially shut down.
This means that the Wilkinson Center will be completely closed each night between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m., and all day on Sundays.
This means NO BATHROOM ACCESS during the hours the Wilkinson Center is not open.
Also, if you plug something into an exterior outlet and blow a fuse like happened last time, no one will be around to fix it.
Sorry about this! We tried to arrange a way for the camping line to relocate to a local campground, but they will be either under construction or otherwise unavailable.
We salute your dedication.
Each person in line will only receive ONE ticket for ONE numbered book. ONE numbered book per ONE numbered ticket per person.
You will be asked to prepay for your book to receive a numbered ticket. If you have already prepaid, bring your receipt or confirmation number to claim your number, but that doesn't affect which number you receive. Please check in at the guest table to make sure your paperwork is in order for the book distribution.
Once you have paid for your book and received your numbered ticket, you are free to leave until right before 11:30 p.m., BUT:
The northwest entrance of the BYU Bookstore will be opened at 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. (exact time is yet to be determined) when the A Memory of Light Release Party will begin. Please check back here for more details as the day approaches.
There will be games, a drawing for prizes, and treats!
Beginning at 11:30 p.m., fans will be asked to line up, in order, according the numbered ticket that they received.
If you are not in your numbered location by 11:45 p.m. you will be asked to get in the back of the line. You will still need to present the numbered ticket to get the correct numbered book.
Once you have received your numbered book, you are free to leave or stick around to have the book personalized by Brandon.
The current plan is for people to be called up in groups according to their book numbers. So you don't have to wait in line the whole time; you can relax, go for a Denny's run, whatever. If you miss your number being called, go up with the next group after you get back.
Brandon will personalize up to three books per person in each signing group. If you would like to have him personalize more than three, then please wait until all the signing groups have had their chance.

The bookstore has asked me to get there a bit early so I can be finished signing and numbering all the books by 9:00 or so. Once I am done, they will let everyone in and we'll have a meet & greet where you can talk to me, ask me your burning questions, take pictures, etc. (The idea is that this will help the personalization line move more quickly after midnight.) There will also be things like trivia contests going on during this time.

Around 10:30 I will do a reading and/or a general Q&A, and at around 11:15 there will be a prize drawing. Then at 11:30 they want everyone to line up again in preparation for midnight, as explained above.

I will personalize as long as I can, but I expect this to be the largest crowd ever at a signing, and previous events have finished after 3:00 a.m. Since all of the books will be pre-signed and numbered, everyone will get a numbered edition if they come. As I'm local, you can always just come, pick up a book, and leave—then get it personalized at some other signing when things aren't so crazy. This will probably be a busy event, but it should be very easy to just come, get a pre-signed/numbered book, then buy it and take off without waiting in any lines after midnight.

Now, here's the important part. It's hard for stores to judge how many copies to order for this sort of event, and I'm worried that BYU might not order enough. THEY MIGHT RUN OUT. Therefore, they are letting you preorder to be assured you get a book. If you preorder, you get $8.75 off the cover price and you are guaranteed a book. If you don't preorder, it's first come first served. If a lot of people preorder, they will get in more books to make sure everyone who ordered early is covered.

So, for this event, I strongly encourage you to call and buy your book ahead of time. It will save you money and will make things easier for us. Let me say one more time, however, that you do not get your number based on when you preorder. You get it based on when you arrive in line, starting at 7:30 a.m. Preordering just guarantees that you get a copy, not that you get a low number. Still—please, please preorder soon so they can be sure to have enough books for the event.

Details:

BYU Bookstore, Provo, UT

12:00 a.m. January 8th (Monday night/Tuesday morning) (book released)

~9:00 p.m. January 7th (doors open)

7:30 a.m. January 7th (numbers distributed)

Preorder by calling (801) 422-2400 or (800) 253-2578, or by going to the BYU Bookstore website. (For the shipping option, choose "pick up at service desk.") You'll need to bring your receipt or confirmation number to the midnight release and stand in line with everyone else in order to get your number.

Weller Book Works is now SOLD OUT. All of the 1000 books they ordered have already been reserved by readers. If you want a signed copy of the book and won't be able to make it to one of my tour cities, there will be a couple additional ways to get signed copies. (I'll post details later.) But if you want your book personalized, the best way to make that happen is to call one of the bookstores on my tour and ask if they can arrange it for you.

I will be going to Weller Book Works in late December to sign, number, and personalize 1000 copies. Weller's will then ship them out; they will try to time the shipping so the book arrives at your door on the 8th. However, they're not allowed to deliver before that date, so they can't cut things too close and some books may arrive after the 8th. If that's the case, though, they'll try to keep the delay as short as possible. International orders will be shipped first, since those have the longest transit time. (Note that Sam Weller's cannot track packages internationally. They've tried.) I'm really very sorry that the shipping cost has gone up so much this year, but the size of a book like this limits their shipping options.

I am also going to be signing at Weller Book Works again in the middle of the tour, so if you want a signed book and can't make it to any of the other signings, that may be a good option for you. Any copies I sign for Weller's after December won't be numbered, however.

If you call Weller's or any other tour bookstore to order a signed book, please be certain to tell them (even if they don't ask) specifically how you want the book personalized. If you don't tell them specifically, they will have it signed but not personalized. Simply telling them your name is not enough. You have to tell them "I want it personalized to John" (for example). If you don't want it personalized, tell them "Signature Only" just in case.

Unfortunately, since I'm signing all the Weller preorder books weeks before the tour starts, Harriet will not be there to sign them as well.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope to sign a book for you at one of the tour events. Let me apologize in advance for how sloppy my signature is.

More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com