Publishing Then and Now: With Brandon Sanderson and Lynn Buchanan

[@pickpocket293]

Very classy of Brandon to take time and resources to give exposure to the budding author. Kudos.

[@joshhickeysmoviereviews]

14:50: "Be wary of anyone who claims to know the future. Anyone!" -Wit

[@astevenswrites]

Ten years to get an agent! Props to Rachel for writing what she wanted and believing in it through all the waiting. I've heard good things about The Dollmakers--congratulations on the launch! I chose to go indie myself for my debut for a plethora of reasons, but I wish you nothing but success in your career. Thanks for hosting this and being a generally cool guy helping and promoting change in the publishing industry, Brandon!

[@joshhickeysmoviereviews]

Just popped in to say "Hi, Lynn. Ordered my copy of the Dollmakers this week, and it should arrive from Amazon either today or tomorrow! Can't wait to read it!"

[@agnishom]

I am reading her book now. It is great so far. I am 25% in. Learning from Brandon has paid off!

[@Valkrill]

I just finished the 1st round of revisions on my 1st novel ever. It's currently sitting around 129K words as I work on round 2 of revisions before letting beta readers give it a go. It's a bit of an interesting combo of sci/fantasy and possibly grim dark 🤔 I'm not quite sure the genre niche. But I do feel I've created something wholly unique, and definitely didn't chase any trends, if anything I was worried that agents/publishers may not see what I see. But I trusted myself and did what I wanted anyway, and I'll never regret that. I'm obsessed with my world, my characters, and my story. Hopefully that translates to others. Thanks for all the inspiration Brando Sando.

[@Sue-pn7mq]

This is so amazing, congratulations!

[@anthonypeterson5565]

Congratulations! Sounds interesting!

[@merlinleonhardmarquard6245]

I’d be interested to read it, ngl 😂

[@AuthorWorldbuilder]

I remember her as the TA when I took the class. I am glad that her book is finally coming out!

[@amberakart]

This entire conversation explains exactly why I was raised surrounded by people with horror stories about BOTH indie publishing and traditional publishing. The industry has changed and fluctuated so much within a single lifetime that advice from 10 years ago can't really apply to today. I love to hear that traditional publishing still can be a useful path for people to trust. Totally gonna try to get a copy of Dollmakers because I love to read stories with character's that change throughout their story, and also curious about that chaos mentioned. Lol.

[@violentfrog_]

Speaking of Elantris, I bought it when it came out based on the cover, really enjoyed it, and then dropped off reading novels. Years later, I wondered, whatever happened to that Elantris author? turns out he'd been very successful LOL

[@MetokurAssistant]

It's so sweet, you can just tell how proud of her he is.

[@themightybusetto1]

Just learned about her book, looks incredible, so excited to read it buying it tomorrow!

[@synegg9414]

Thanks so much Lynn and Brandon! I’m about 2/3 through The Dollmakers and it’s absolutely beautiful. Brandon just want to say thank you, your lectures taught me so much for getting my own book done. Keep being awesome!!

[@CyborgSlayerNila]

Ooohh I had heard about the Dollmaker last week and added it to my list! Can't wait for the audible 🙏🏽

[@calebharmon7404]

I can’t remember the last time a premise hooked my like that Dollmakers premise.

[@byaustingragg]

Hey Brandon & Lynn, thanks so much for doing this chat. I recently went out on submission (also recently did a mentorship with your friend Jason Denzel via SFWA!) and found this video VERY insightful. Your business classes and Writing Excuses were instrumental to me honing my craft and getting an agent. But finding current industry trends and experiences is always hard because this industry is so hush hush. HUGE THANK YOU. So insightful. Hope to meet you both at a con or signing someday!!

[@alicehaslonghair]

On the topic of indie authors and bookstores not carrying your book... My local bookstore does not actually carry her book. I had to order my physical copy online. The clerk I talked to basically told me that if you are a debut author, you basically have to go "TikTok famous" for bookstores to put your books on their shelves, even for a traditionally published debut. I will say that I did immediately request her books at our library, so hopefully some local readers come to read and adore it as much as I have through checking it out from there ( and maybe going online to buy their own copy as well)!

[@chrisfierro17]

I gotta say... Brandon is looking phenomenal. Very well-rested and the beard makes him look like the fantasy sage he actually is.

[@jordanbraginton7640]

He looks a little thinner too! I can't be sure, but you are right, he looks great!

[@koijoijoe]

I got one of the UK copies of The Dollmakers with sprayed edges and was signed! It's beautiful! It's cool to see these smaller UK stores making a bunch of special editions, really want to see it continue. Congrats on the launch!

[@eissbott]

nice, can you tell the name of the store? I love these kinda of limited or special print editions.

[@booksbooksbooksbooks-l6h]

​@eissbott they are on inkstonebooks store. Sorry tried to comment this hours ago and realized my other accounts getting auto filtered by spam protection :( they still had them yesterday when I looked! They are also numbered, and very great looking

[@Avid_Reader]

Half a million people or so will watch this. If even 10% of them buy your book, you're off to a good start. Kudos to Brandon for helping promote you. Petrik Leo got an advance copy and gave it high praise. Good luck, I wish you much success!

[@robbybevard8034]

It's a nice thought but the subscriber count isn't the same as the views count. Vids get about 30K views usually, 100K as an outlier if its a hot topic. Still, 10% of that would still be a great boost!

[@brandibadgett2587]

Love the discussion. I'm planning on self publishing my first book this October and it has been overwhelming learning all of the steps. ❤

[@redmatter20]

Id love to see a video of Isaac detailing his map-making process! Also ordering dollmakers right away!

[@joelwcrumbley]

New writer here, thank you for this video!

[@joshhickeysmoviereviews]

Ooh, what do you write?

[@joelwcrumbley]

@@joshhickeysmoviereviews I just finished a YA Novel in march and working on a traditional Fantasy novel now! I also have a children's book out called Wild Feelings. What about you?

[@joshhickeysmoviereviews]

@@joelwcrumbley I'm not a writer, unless you count movie reviews

[@charanko.]

thank you lynn and brandon for collaborating and for fulfilling your goals as authors, and thank you brandon for posting this video! as an aspiring writer, advice centered on publishing is oh so useful, and some times goes completely over my head when considering the full writing process. lynn i love the cover of your novel, especially the shape of the lantern. is that a diamond ?

[@williamloria5089]

Dollmakers sounds like a cool premise. Definitely gonna check it out

[@alfapa12]

I always find this kind of videos very encouraging to move me to finish writing my first book, thank you very much!

[@jstrobel3620]

Hi! I’m currently trying to break in myself! Thank you for this - it was very helpful!

[@ClevePanike]

Thank you for the helpful information as always! Your experiences are invaluable

[@Priscellie]

Great conversation. Congrats to Lynn on her debut!

[@lol55832]

This was so unbelievably informative - as someone whose just starting out. Thank you!

[@grafffuller3265]

Thank you. This was really informative. The book sounds very interesting. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[@stone7858]

I am excited about this book🎉🎉🎉 on my TBR up next!

[@thedylanconen]

So interesting to learn more about publishing. I find indie publishing in particular to be an area I am really drawn to.

[@philippenachtergal6077]

17:20 Shifting to E-books takes time. People like to own paper book, feel them in their hands, sometimes go to sleep while reading. It takes times to warm up to e-books. I switched simply because I don't really have room for more books in my home... It can also be nice, especially with omnibus editions, to be able to search for all the mentions of that character that suddenly seems important 200 pages after being introduced etc..

[@ufgrad2008]

Yah, when I bought my nook in 2010, one of the big deciding factors was a friend had let me borrow a (then) 10 book series and when I decided I wanted to own it too, I realized it could serve as the seed for an e-book library. Before then It was a bit of a chicken and the egg, wanting to move to the new platform and save shelf space, but not having anything on the digital shelf yet for the physical e-reader to be worth purchasing.

[@JasonDenzel]

Congrats on the new book, Lynn! This was a fun video to watch. Walk down memory lane when discussing what the industry was like back at the turn of the century. Fun fact: Robert Jordan sold the non-exclusive ebook rights to one of the Wheel of Time novels (Winter's Heart) to a DIFFERENT publisher than Tor. So this other publisher put out an inexpensive ebook with just the prologue before the rest of the book was published. It was a huge deal back then (1999 - 2000). They repeated that for a couple more books after that. In order to try and keep up, that's when Tor began their tradition of releasing chapter 1 of those books for free. Later, with Brandon's books, they made sure they had exclusives on the prologues.

[@TheVioletWolf]

Congratulations on the Book!!! The prestige!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@alicehaslonghair]

I absolutely loved The Dollmakers!! Such a unique world, and I loved the master/apprentice spin. I loved the cozy horror fantasy feel. I wasn't sure how I felt about the main character at the beginning to be honest, but the worldbuilding was so lovely that I was motivated to know what happened next (also, the worldbuilding premise reminded me of Attack on Titan, which I LOVED). But as the story progressed and her paradigm shifted, I grew to love her as a character. Just a fabulous book that I highly recommend!!

[@sugasheeze]

I love the cover art for The Dollmakers! I just ordered it, will hopefully bide my over a little while I wait on Stormlight 5 lol.

[@Taltosdreamer]

Thank you both for doing this ❤❤

[@Shawnbob82]

Just ordered the book. Looks really cool. im very much looking forward to reading something from someone who was a Sanderson student. The premise sounds like a cool anime.

[@tracyyann.]

Bought my copy on launch day! I’m excited to start reading it!

[@alessandrobruschi2445]

Thank you for a great video. Lots of good information that I will treasure.

[@jongrimm5613]

This was a great video. Thanks for sharing!

[@dereckcordova6954]

Oooh I'm so glad I watched this, the Dollmakers sounds like a really cool book! I'll have to snag it

[@coffeshrap]

Taking his class multiple times? I'd like to just join it once haha

[@dougfile6644]

Well you can at least watch his lectures on KZbin. That's pretty awesome.

[@coffeshrap]

True, but I'd like to be there for once.

[@joshhickeysmoviereviews]

I find this video interesting and I'm not even planning on becoming a book author. I do write screenplays and fanfic in my spare time though

[@Dr_Starfish]

I just bought the e book and am really enjoying it so far!

[@richjennings6101]

I self published 4 poetry anthologies and the hardest part for me is the marketing. Currently working outlining a novel I've been thinking of for a while

[@Staticclism]

A few chapters in and so far I can barely put it down!

[@RachelB.BookReferences]

My name is Rachel Lynn, lol. It's very weird to hear other people use it. This was a fun conversation to listen to... technology has changed so much, so fast.

[@nicklang6798]

Very good info. Just wanted to say I'm an indie and it sounds like the two road to publishing are almost the same. Waiting for them to get revised, lot of waiting around, working on your next book, ect

[@TheEccentricRaven]

Great insight from Brandon and Lynn❤

[@SpectacularWebHead]

I’m a new writer and this was very helpful! 🙂🙂

[@samuelleask1132]

Great discussion!

[@zaguldo]

It's interesting to hear about how publishers treat interior vs exterior art. I guess it makes sense because interior art is just another part of your story while exterior art is important for marketing too.

[@luisarevalo4645]

yei they mentioned legends and lattes!! every time I finish a deep sanderson saga... I go back to my orc barista and best boy thimble

[@Datenstreber]

I think Brandon is the start of the future in publishing. I see Dragonsteel, in the near future(5ish years), publishing other authors that are not part of Brandon's IP. We are starting to see it with Janci Patterson, but she is writing in Brandon's IP. In the future I see where BIG authors start their own small publishing companies and Dragonsteel will be the first.

[@Avid_Reader]

I agree.

[@ufgrad2008]

I suspect dragonsteel isn’t interested in developing the necessary ties to retail distribution for them to completely bypass traditional publishing.

[@ChandrewsArt]

I think Brandon has said in a past video that he doesn't plan to publish non-Brandon-IP books through Dragonsteel.

[@tiramisunsun]

I read the Dollmakers and it's one of my favourite books I've read in 2024. I loved the worldbuilding, the characters, the themes and the beautiful writing... Truly a promising author!

[@ryanicenhower5994]

Thanks for this. I'm an up-and-comer and this was very informative.

[@JEDSaje15]

Just ordered my physical copy on the website and used an audible credit. Gonna listen today!

[@Cody-92]

Hementioned my man Larry Correa!!!!! My favorite author with the Forgotten Warrior Saga!

[@writewithme-24]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

[@Gladical]

I actually think I remember seeing Lynn/Rachel in your lecture videos. iirc, she suggested a mental cost for magic use when you were asking for examples of costs for using magic. Anyway, 10 years to get an agent sounds terrifying. I only just started querying (again, after a gap of 3 years, although that first querying attempt was terrible and that manuscript might be permanently sidelined as a result)

[@andeeharry]

thanks for sharing

[@rmsgrey]

I don't think wanting to be traditionally published rather than self-published is that bad a thing - self-publishing, or, as it used to be known, "vanity publishing" is a testament that you think your book is good; getting something traditionally published means that a relatively impartial third party thinks your book is good (or at least that it will sell). Deciding "I don't want to put my book in front of the general public unless a publisher thinks it's worth reading" strikes me as a lot less arrogant than "I want to put my book out there for sale regardless of whether it's actually good or not!" On another note, while you can write for a market and chase trends and all of that, you can also write what you want to write - the sort of thing you enjoy reading - and wait for the market to swing around to meet you instead. In the long run, quality endures, while trends come and go.

[@SvanMagic]

I write what I want to write and if it sells, it sells. But knowing the trends will save you some time when queueing.

[@joshhickeysmoviereviews]

The bots are really inspired by this video

[@sirmarblecake9446]

Holy hell, they sure are. Just went on a reporting spree.

[@joshhickeysmoviereviews]

@@sirmarblecake9446 Hell? I think you mean Damnation! (:

[@Official_Dingo_Dango]

yay!

[@davidhamilton676]

If Dragons are a trend, Feel free to prepare - Vampires are next.

[@Exkajer]

Do social media really work right now? From my experience, almost everyone sees a huge decline in views and follows in the last year or so.

[@SvanMagic]

Social media is probably useless until you have a deal. It probably won't ever help you get a book offer.

[@Exkajer]

What about self?

[@SvanMagic]

@@Exkajer That's a good question. I've seen indie authors with already decent followings sell books because of their social media presence, but I don't think it's a ton. I think it's more from getting books out and building their platform than their time on social media. And personally, I think email is a better option for selling books than social media.

[@TheMondayKnights]

I could really do with some advice from Brandon around conventions and conferences. As he said in the video, Agents are reading slush, so the aim of the game is to talk to agents to get a solicited submission and move up the slush pile... the problem I'm facing is that I'm spending a lot of money to go to these cons, Agents are doing their panels then leaving outside the venue for their meetings, so it's almost impossible to meet them, and the traditionally published authors tend to hang out in their own social circles, and whilst they know me, because I'm un-agented and unpublished, they don't especially engage with me. Any advice to help break this stalemate?

[@lynnbuchananwrites]

For me, the most success I had with meeting agents at conferences/conventions came with signing up to have one-on-one pitch sessions or group critiques with them; something I know not all conferences or conventions have as an option. My advice would be to try and find the cons that do provide pitch or critique sessions, see if they have any agents you're interested in working with coming/participating, and try to get into those sessions.

[@TheMondayKnights]

@@lynnbuchananwrites thank you, that's really helpful. I did attend one of those earlier this year and it seemed much more helpful, even if it did feel slightly more like "pay to play". I think I agree with you, these options seem much better in the long run. Most helpful. Thank you

[@billyalarie929]

“Napster happened-do you know Napster?” “No” *glass shatters aggressively in the background* OH N O

[@JGirDesu]

She’s 27 and should definitely know of Napster unless she didn’t have access to a PC as a teen lol

[@stevenwojtysiak6392]

I think the iPad came out in 2010, and the Kindle came out in 2007. This might be incorrect, but I believe it was the Kindle releasing an app for the iPad that really kicked off the e-book trend.

[@MrBlitsBlits]

Question for Brandon and other writers: Readers forman image of the characters based on what is written on the books. It is a single and relatively clear view. You as a creator have a much more complex shape of the character and it has probably gone through several iterations as you need to make changes to them as your vision for them matures or you need to make changes to fit the story. You have probably several ideas of the past, present and future of the character which the readers do not know. How clear is this image of yours? Is it difficult to keep it all straight?

[@wealthyllama6570]

It depends on how the view impacts the story. If one character loves the hair of another, that hair should be described fairly well. If a character is fulfilling a role really well (like a gruff policeman or something) we don't really care about the colour of their hair. The reader will insert what they think a gruff policeman looks like. If you read critically, you'll notice more that most characters have very sparse descriptions. Main characters have a LOT more descriptions but overall it's fine to just let the reader have creative control over the actual image. Paradoxically, the less control you assert as an author, the easier it is to keep it all straight. As a rule, people care more about character actions than they do character descriptions. A reader isn't likely to care that my female protagonist has beautiful long hair, but when she puts it into a bun so it doesn't get into her face while she works on (mcguffin) then her hair is part of the story, not just part of the scenery.

[@SvanMagic]

Some authors know exactly how their characters look. I can't even picture my characters in my head, only their behaviors.

[@symbolguy3609]

I decided that I wanted to be an author when I was in middle school. I was 12, and I’m 27 now. My fictional universe started off extremely small. Small cast of characters, small lore, and small number of books intended. I wasn’t thinking big enough. As I got older, however, I created more characters who are more diverse in terms of ethnicity, religion, skin color, orientation, and mental health. I created lore that sees a different take on Earth’s cities and their histories, and the universe’s cosmological background and makeup. I created my own fictional take and mixture of hard science, and as coined by Brandon Sanderson, hard magic. I have small themes for every story that tie into each the even bigger theme covering them all. All of these define my current overarching story, and it’s been steadily growing since

[@lynnbuchananwrites]

For me it really depends on the character! Some characters I don't start out with a really firm idea in terms of design, or even what their arcs will be, and those elements take shape over the course of drafting and revising their book. Other characters I have plans for that span across multiple books, so I'm a lot more deliberate with how I design and portray them, keeping in mind as I do what I want them to accomplish not only in any given book I'm writing, but in the series as a whole. Keeping those characters consistent is a lot trickier, and I've definitely painted myself into corners--and contradicted myself--before 😅

[@arkadejones2271]

I have a basic image in my head for each character, but I don't typically get too detailed with it. I'm more concerned with who they are on the inside, what drives them, and figuring out how they will react in any given situation.

[@romanglinnik8073]

I came for the industy insights and stayed for Brandon's beard.

[@kylemills7161]

I'm about a third of the way through The Dollmakers, enjoying it so far, though I don't like the main character (which is intentional, right). I'm invested in seeing where it is going though

[@joshhickeysmoviereviews]

16:30: I don't use audiobooks, because the narrators are always too slow for my ADHD/Neurodivergent brain, and I don't use Ebooks because you don't actually own them. Physical media all the way, baby!

[@neondemon5137]

You can speed up the audio like on KZbin if it's too slow for you. My hands and arms are busted so it's a godsend.

[@Echinder]

I buy physical for books I care about. But pretty much only read them as audiobooks nowadays. This is due to time. I can drive or cook or clean and listen. But outside of that time it's too much of a tradeoff to read when I have other projects that need doing and thinking. And yes, pretty much listen at x1.75 to x2 speed. And that's faster than I can read physically

[@zenthepoet.]

Adoooonalsium

[@neondemon5137]

🎉🎉🎉

[@noamsacks2937]

i want to publish my book in south africa. what do you recommend. anyone? it is a cozy fantasy book called tea or coffee

[@Burgalo2001]

😅

[@trolledchaos6531]

I know you probably hate it Brando, but that beard is fantastic.

[@rrael]

I know he's friends with Paolini, but it's important to note that Paolini was NOT self published. He was family published, with an enormous amount of money and support behind him. No ordinary person would ever get those mediocre fantasy books published without a pile of cash behind them.

[@docstockandbarrel]

👍🏻

[@tobiasweber2517]

wait wait wait wait did you tell me to go read stormlight archive and its not finished yet? ive never read something that wasnt finished (execpt one piece but its on a somewhat 2 week release schedule so it doesnt count) how am i to cope with the agony of waiting. unless i reread Wot again that always takes its time

[@chadjones1266]

Tasks again

[@BruceWayne15325]

With the advent of AI and non-authors flooding the market with 100% AI written garbage, I suspect the days of indie publishing are near an end. I think customers will get fed up with inaccurate and poorly written books, and only stick with authors and publishing companies when choosing new books.

[@劉禎-s7k]

Isn't she a windrunner ?😂😂

[@UserMcName]

I’m sorry.. 😳 fantasy authors have to pay for their own maps and interior artwork? Wtf? Is it just me or is that absurd? Sounds like trad publishing is the new vanity press. 🤷‍♀️

[@dcruz55]

Amazon is currently limiting AI books to 4 per day. No talent books that are computer generated and published by people who do not write. That puts me off of Indi publishing completely.

[@dovekie3437]

She is extremely anxious.

[@watcherofthewest8597]

And now, you better be a woman author and your story better be about a woman protagonist taking on some sort of power structure or, as a new author, you ain't getting published.

[@byaustingragg]

This is a bad take. There are plenty of publishers doing what Baen books does 😅

[@sefflikejeff1917]

Ah yes, I'm sure you have a lot of relevant experience with the publishing industry. And women. /s

[@watcherofthewest8597]

@@sefflikejeff1917 zero in first, some in the second. But I have eyes and can read. This isn't controversial and is obvious to anyone that new author scifi fantasy, particularly ya, is dominated by women and most the books are women protagonists, who are in some way taking on power structures.

[@letcreativity7372]

There absolutely are and Im not mad about it as women had very little opportunity to have their voices heard in the past. If I may recommend a non-fiction book based on history of women’s experiences but the author (a woman) had to write it based on a lot of men’s accounts of events because thats all that was available. The book is The Floating Brothel

[@watcherofthewest8597]

@@letcreativity7372 thank you for the recommendation. I understand the progressive attitude of voices being lifted up, however I think it's a bad path to go down because you are now effectively fostering art, not based on criteria of the art, but on the person who produces that art. I don't think the argument that because men were primarily published in the past we must now publish more women. That is not fostering the growth and excellence of the art, it is purposefully promoting the opposite regardless of the unfairness or bigotry of the past or even the present.

[@NorthWoodsAmbient]

That random girl was annoying and a waste of time to listen to. Just Sanderson only please

[@dayoffnow]

Wow. I enjoyed their conversation and found it interesting and helpful.

[@Burgalo2001]

You're not right

[@Shawnbob82]

Not cool bro. We don't do that here.