Kern Carter's Blog, page 53
March 7, 2022
Learning From Brandon Sanderson’s $21 Million Week
Breaking down the lessons from Sanderson’s $21 million Kickstarter campaign.
Image from Sanderson’s Kickstarter campaignWho would think that an author would amass the highest Kickstarter campaign of all time? But that’s exactly what superstar fantasy writer, Brandon Sanderson, was able to do with his latest crowdfunding pitch.
This is not a normal situation, so we’re not going to talk about how you can replicate it. But as you’re hopefully coming to realize with Writers Are Superstars, when publishing connects to pop culture, there’s always a lesson.
What happened?Last Tuesday, March 1, Sanderson took to his YouTube page to share with his fans that he’s been quietly working on four new books he plans to release in 2023 (It’s actually five, but one is a middle grade book that he plans on potentially turning into a graphic novel).
Sanderson is calling this “Year Of Sanderson,” and each book will be released quarterly throughout next year (more on this later).
That wasn’t really a groundbreaking announcement, but what made the publishing world take notice is that Sanderson said he will be releasing the series independently. To fund this release, he started a Kickstarter campaign, and $21 million later, it’s become the largest campaign in Kickstarter history.
How did this happen?We started this piece by letting you know upfront that this isn’t normal. No one reading this is going to make millions in a day off of a Kickstarter campaign for books that aren’t even completed yet. But you don’t need to.
If we want to learn from this, let’s take a step back and breakdown how this happened.
I watched the full announcement clip on YouTube and everything you need to know to show you why and how this happened is in there. First, he’s Brandon Sanderson. He’s a 15x bestselling author and beloved in the fantasy community. That’s obvious.
What’s also intriguing is that on any given year since he’s been published, Sanderson spends between 80–120 on the road, mostly at conventions. That’s about a third of the year spent meeting with fans, making new ones, and endearing himself to the community that has clearly welcomed him with open arms.
All that travelling stopped in 2020 when you know what happened, and Sanderson invested that time into writing and his family. Not travelling for a third of the year allowed him to execute on ideas he wouldn’t have had time to create if he had been on the road. And as he said in the video, if you give a prolific writer like Sanderson free time, he’s going to write.
What can you learn from this?This is really why you’re here, right? How does any of this apply to you, especially since you don’t have legions of fans and followers. Let’s talk this through:
Sanderson rededicated himself to writingYes, it was forced because of the pandemic, but the lesson still remains. You may not be distracted by a heavy touring schedule, but you have work, maybe you have kids, and other real-life responsibilities that prevent you from writing as much as you can and probably should.
But you need to sacrifice something to give yourself the space needed to create your best work. Maybe you wake up earlier or go to sleep a bit later. Maybe you go straight home after work or write on your lunch breaks. Either way, you need to dedicate time to your craft.
Sanderson gave his fans optionsThe format of the Kickstarter campaign probably contributed to this, but Sanderson did something he would not have been able to do with a traditional publisher. He offered his fans bundles.
At the lowest tier, fans can pay $40 for the e-book version of all four releases. At the top of the offers, Sanderson fans can pay $500 for all versions of each release (print, audio, e-book) plus eight months of swag to cover the remaining months of the year. The swag will include clothing plus other Sanderson oddities based on themes from these books.
What options are you offering your readers? What are you doing to make them feel a bit closer to you as a person and not just another writer? You might say that you’re just a writer and that you don’t want to offer anything else. If that’s the case, what else can you offer that’s in the realm of writing?
What about pieces of writing that you haven’t made public to anyone else? What about a short video that describes your writing process, with clips from the spaces you actually write? What about stationaries with excerpts from a novel you’ve already released?
If you want to connect more deeply with your readers, give them an opportunity to connect more deeply. At the very least, you’ll stand out and be top of mind when you try new offerings, and that’s where you want to be with your readers.
Sanderson communicates with his fansSanderson wasn’t spending a hundred days on the road because he wanted to. He admits in his video that he has wanted to cut back for years but didn’t want to disappoint his fans. That kind of presence and exposure goes a long way with readers. Speaking to Sanderson, seeing him in person, further ingrains him into their world. And like I always like to say: having one fan is like having two, because if they like you, they’ll likely let someone else know.
You may not be able to attend conventions at the same pace, but you can go to local readings. Wherever you reside, there’s likely some kind of literary community. Have you made yourself known among that group?
What about online communities? Have you joined any? Are you an active participant? Exposure matters, and the more ways you can authentically show up, the more those communities will take notice.
There’s a superstar in you. We know it. You just need to bring it out and we’re here to help make that happen. Every time culture makes a move, we’ll be there to catch it and breakdown the lessons you can learn so you can apply it to your own career.
Did you enjoy this piece? I’m an author who genuinely loves studying the publishing industry, so follow and share if you’re down for the ride. We’ll keep dropping weekly insights on how publishing connects to pop culture.
While you’re here, read my new novel, BOYS AND GIRLS SCREAMING.
[image error]Learning From Brandon Sanderson’s $21 Million Week was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
March 6, 2022
Knock Knock…..It Is Your Soul’s Calling
Photo: ‘Descend to find you Soul’ artwork by AuthorIn our Western world, we forgot about essential initiations that lead us to a grander, more meaningful way of being—ways that lead us to our unique calling.
I have to think of a Vision Quest that Lakota Indians undertake at a young age and later in life when needed. In these quests, young tribe members try to open a door to the spiritual world to find their path in life.
Our lives have become like a ‘Standard Game of Security building.’ This is a term that I borrowed from Bill Plotkin’s great book Soulcraft.
In this shallow way of living, we reduce our lives to comfort and security. We no longer recognize our own depth and connection to others, nature, animals, and earth, as a whole. We also stop taking risks out of fear of losing our comfort and security.
I think we are scared to embrace the uncertainty of life in general. But what is this uncertainty really? And what makes it so scary?
Don’t call it uncertainty, call it to wonder. Don’t call it insecurity, call it freedom. — Osho
As Osho once said, uncertainty is really the quality of wonder. There is nothing wrong with uncertainty.
The free dictionary defines ‘to wonder’ as follows:
To be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel
We all know the moments when we are filled with awe or amazement. Take a minute and think of a moment where life just swept you off your feet.
I can think of so many moments, as a child, where I was just in awe of nature—the beauty, its unbelievable and unforgiving powers, and its rhythms. I am still in awe of nature.
In an article called “Embrace Your Feelings of Insecurity,” I wrote about the deeper meaning of insecurity.
At its core it really is the pure state of not knowing.
Osho calls it freedom. For me, these are different ways to describe the open state of being. When we dare to be in a state of not knowing, we are totally free.
How did we get here?
In our modern life, and with our scientific way of looking at things, we have tried to define everything. We ‘fixed’ our lives so that it became controllable.
But problems arise as soon as we try to define life. They are problems because we use force to hold on to things, but life is always changing and transforming and therefore never stays the same. Holding on to life as we think we know it, is like trying to grab water with our hands.
We have to admit that, at its core, life is one big mystery. It is always fleeting and unknown.
To enter the mystery, we have to let go of the known definitions and images we have of ourselves and our world. These definitions and images are not the things themselves; they merely point to them.
We need initiations to enter this world of the unknown depths; our soul’s depths. But there are no initiations anymore in our modern world. What’s left are stories and movies about (super)heroes and going against the grain to follow your own dream and calling. Of course, all these personas and heroes portray ourselves and our own struggles. We can all relate to the (super)hero, but in real life, it is not so easy to embody this hero.
We are not encouraged by our culture to follow our soul’s calling. It is sad to see how many problems arise out of not listening to or recognizing this calling. I think of depression, staying in dull jobs, and a lack of intimacy with your surroundings.
Often we try to mute the symptoms that point to these problems. We mute them with medication, addictions, buying unnecessary things, and seeking validation and answers outside ourselves.
Photo: ‘Where will this path lead us? by AuthorIt is a scary thing to go down the lonely road when your soul is calling. We have to travel alone and on our own.
There are many risks down that road; risks of being ridiculed or laughed at. People that just don’t ‘get’ you. There is the risk of standing on your own. We don’t want that, we want to blend in.
Finding your own way means creating an original life for yourself, not a copy and paste life from what you see in your surroundings and culture at large.
But maybe the biggest risk is accepting and embracing your wild nature. To surrender yourself to the raw and sensual energy that your soul emits. This pure love and lust for life that seems out of control. And that scares us. It is out of control because it is free in and of itself.
So, what will happen?
Maybe we will find our own autonomy. Beyond validation and approval from others. Beyond conforming and seeking acceptance.
Maybe for the first time, we will find our original and unique voice. Maybe we will find a pure love for life. Maybe we will find new energy that propels us to do things we really love.
Wouldn’t that be great? Trusting our own calling and, therefore trusting it in the world around us. In that way, we can start to lead the way—a way where we show that it is essential to follow your soul’s calling. A way where we become vibrant, alive, and free; where we soar!
We can create an original life where our way of living is based on life-affirming principles of our soul—on love!
Follow your soul’s calling!
Thank you for reading. I really hope that something in this article resonates with you. I am curious what that is. Let me know in a comment what you think and feel!
[image error]Knock Knock…..It Is Your Soul’s Calling was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
March 5, 2022
Living Journey
Photo by Shifaaz shamoon on UnsplashI’ve hit rock bottom and I've survived.
I am just here to let you know you can too.
You can survive today,
maybe tomorrow,
and even next week.
You can survive,
to one day live.
Survive today,
so you can live tomorrow.
See another day, and another, and another.
[image error]Living Journey was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
