STATE OF THE SANDERSON 2020 REACTION AND TAKEAWAYS

[@Syko1985]

Sanderson is a publishers dream, he can churn out high quality books faster than anyone

[@Oricus12843]

In regards to him writing more Cosmere based on fan feedback: He's said on multiple occasions that the Cosmere is his lifes work and he wants to be able to tell that story as much as possible. He seems pretty good about taking breaks from it when he needs too, but I think on a personal level he's just as excitied to provide more Cosmere as we are to consume it. There isn't a single press event where he isn't dangling some information from a stick for his readers to pour over. So I think if he's giving more Cosmere, it's more of a symbiotic project for us and him. That's my take anyway.

[@legenddairymilk2280]

Brandon Sanderson's a beast omg

[@JacesSanctum]

The schedule he laid out for Stormlight 5 is the same time period that he's wrote the previous books over. 1 year to write it, then 6 months of revisions.

[@ebnovels]

I’m just surprised since it’s basically the end of a series, you know? Meaning the end of arc 1, not the whole of SA 😄

[@JacesSanctum]

@@ebnovels To be fair part of Brandon's productivity is that he's a master outliner, so he's had most of what he'll write out planned for years. Considering how long he's been writing professionally as well it probably isn't too hard for him to set realistic deadlines(for himself, anyway, lol) and then meet them.

[@FebbieG]

I think he did the detailed outline of Stormlight 5 at the same time as Rhythm of War, so that's a good chunk of his work already done.

[@JacesSanctum]

@@FebbieG That too! A lot of his RoW work was reworking the outlines.

[@meghanh6978]

I need some of Brandon’s motivation.

[@QandTG]

Love the State of Sanderson! And It's just mind boggling that he has all these things in his mind at once! lol. And he's so orderly, it's so cool and one of the reasons that make him my favorite author!

[@Mylhibug]

I literally just finished reading the State of the Sanderson 2020 when this video dropped. Mr. Sanderson has a way of making even the most productive writer look like a slacker. I enjoyed your insight and agree with you regarding the whole letting the readers decide what he writes thing. I want his stories, not what others think. Thanks for sharing.

[@ebnovels]

Thanks for the nice comment!

[@fadingwestphotography2950]

I'm betting that he already has a lot of SA 5 written or at least outlined which will help him get through it quicker

[@albinodeer7449]

He said he had to outline 4 & 5 together to make sure he had exciting stuff left for the last book, and not just a jumbled mess, so yeah, he does have an outline there 😉

[@charlestruppi7793]

@@albinodeer7449 I think book 5 is “easier” because he already knew where the front 5 SA books would end up. Once he knew the ending, outlying 4 and 5 at the same time became a natural process. Can’t wait.

[@PonderingsOfPete]

I think the main reason behind these novellas about side characters is simply because “hey the stories are there.” It goes back to how he creates and what his passions are. He’s loved side characters since he was a kid. He used to create stories for random side characters when he read books as a kid. That’s why we got Hoid. And I think it’s awesome. It’s one of the things that sets him apart. Beside the “writing machine go brrrrrrr” that is Brandon.

[@amandamarques9066]

Impressive, just as organised as George R. R. Martin. LOL

[@joelvburke]

I think that Sanderson is asking for fan feedback mostly on the format and medium of this future content, not on the content itself, per se.

[@DanielSClouser]

Sanderson uses feedback to make the story more like what *he* wants, not more like what readers say they want. For example, the Dawnshard beta readers all said that the mystery was too obvious. So he added a POV from the "mysterious" character to make it *totally* obvious. You see, it wasn't supposed to be a mystery at all. You were supposed to be like, "Oh no! This person isn't who they say they are, and it's ominous and creepy but I also might be starting to like them!" What he seems to want to workshop with Mainframe is how to work with other authors and the format, and then gauge audience reaction for how well the stories do what *he* wants them to do. I am all for rolling that out to the Cosmere, if it works. To finish the main Cosmere story, Sanderson has to write 7 more books *each* of Mistborn and Stormlight, sequels to Elantris and (maybe) Warbreaker, and a whole trilogy for Hoid's backstory. Just that could consume the rest of his life. But under "Other Small Projects," he also listed like 8 different Cosmere books that have nothing to do with those. When will he do the smaller Cosmere projects?

[@AlcheonArt]

Sometime you need to choose on what feedback to listen to and what feedback to ignore. He explained this. Sometimes some feedbacks ruin the direction of the story and emotions he wants to convey and i'm glad he does this. You don't need to please everybody

[@SirSpeedWagon]

A freaken film company, what?! Dude, I love Brandon Sandersons. Elliot, Thank you for going through some of the state of Sandersons. It's greatly appreciated

[@eleanorjones26407]

Interesting... As of yet all I've read of his is Skyward 1&2 and Mistborn: The Final Empire I was hoping to get more of the other characters honestly in Skyward 3... I think he probably has an inkling of peoples main problem w/ Starsight which was generally not enough of Jorgen and crew. + That production company stuff sounds super interesting. I'd love for him to use some of his earnings and popularity to do stuff in that sphere. Maybe he will eventually be able to chip away at Hollywood's monopoly. ...but who knows

[@ebnovels]

He has so much material, he could basically start the next MCU 😆

[@ZamWeazle]

Can you imagine if Rothfuss or Martin did this every year? 😆

[@lucaleone4331]

Im currently reading through the Rithmatist and I can definitly see it as a perfect anime, I imagine it has that dramatic chalk drawing similar to Beyblade or Yugioh (you know how Anime has to take simple normal things and make it EXTREME) I even get Full Metal Alchemist vibes (especially early FMA when they still draw with chalk and Scar is going around killing alchemists)

[@ebnovels]

Hahaha, I could totally see it as an anime 😂

[@AbbySalter]

Im so excited for all the Sanderson releases! I love the Skyward series

[@babsikro1252]

Every year I wait for his state of sanderson. I started readinf his Alcatraz series with 13 and I am still waiting for the final book! I always feel like I am the only one who is mainly excited for his updates because of Alcatraz. Don't get me wrong, I love his other books, but Alcatraz has a special place in my heart and we finally have a tentative release for 2022!

[@sentient.ball.of.stardust]

I am in LOVE with the idea of audio dramas! As a kid i used to listen to what was back then called, radio theatre, and i believe that is what brought on my love of audio books. Also, having collaborations is basically my favourite author introducing me to new people they think i can be friends with. And after The Original i have zero doubts about the quality of the colab authors. I doubt Brandon will avoid doing anything to placate his fans, i think his request for feedback is about the medium not the content. And i absolutely respect and appreciate him for it.

[@thomasfarrier9520]

My god! His output is completely insane and it doesn't seem to be slowing. Meanwhile a lot of people have been waiting for The Winds of Winter for the past three centuries!

[@kostastsiknis154]

Sanderson will probably write enough books to fill an entire library. The dude is a writing beast.

[@snakebagel9729]

I feel like George rr Martin , Patrick rotfuss and Brandon Sanderson must all share the same type writer.

[@colincollins]

Sanderson keeps hogging it and the other two are like, "Fine, I've got other things to do, anyways!"

[@omegalpha777]

The difference is that George RR Martin uses only one finger, while Brandon Sanderson invokes the power from the underworld to manifest ten hands

[@lalalaurenlibby]

I was so excited about him saying that they are going to try and put together a picture book of the stories Wit tells within Stormlight! I was just thinking about that last night during my commute home. I would love an illustrated collection of all of the stories Wit has told so far - “The Girl Who Looked Up,” “The Dog and the Dragon” and Fleet (I can’t remember the name) and I’m sure there are more.

[@pinkscampi]

Downloaded the first mistborn last night based on your recommendations. I wanted to try Sanderson. Plus he has so many books! Hope I like him

[@ryanvance1020]

it’s soooo good. let me know what you think of it

[@charlestruppi7793]

It’s great.

[@Rendref]

Spensa kinda sounds like british Spencer. Reminds me "British people like Peta Paka!" :-)

[@elsetexter7904]

Fangs out; I love it. Sanderson is so gracious in that he churns what we crave, and I do so want him to write what makes his heart race. I have no doubt he can get me on board to anything he cares to venture into.

[@LaPtaVerdad]

Its absurd on how fast this man creates entire worlds and wraps them so fast O.o

[@TonyRobetson]

love the mainframe idea. the resurgence of audio-dramas is pretty cool, him doing some might get me to dive in. itd also be amazing to have authors have their own production company for their media ventures, might up the quality of adaptations. i totally agree that he, and creators in general, should make what he cares about. i was skeptical at first when he started changing genres but ive liked almost everything he's done. not really a fan of legion, but if it makes him happy to focus on that, go for it. (as if he needs my approval :D) thanks for all this info!

[@charlestruppi7793]

I think he always wanted to do more Cosmere but was wary because that type of interconnected universe over several book series was unprecedented. The fact that people love the Cosmere and his original vision can be fulfilled makes him very happy. It’s not a coincidence that the connections are getting more obvious (I’m looking at you Rythym of War).

[@alexnieves]

My biggest takeaway from Sanderson doing this is Way of Kings Prime. I'm sorry, he wrote an 800 PAGE PDF and then scrapped it?!

[@MasterZealot09]

I'm pretty sure that he wrote more than 10 novels before one was bought. The Way of Kings Prime is not the only book he's just set by the wayside. He wanted to write an Epic Fantasy series revolving around Dalinar and a planet of storms for YEARS, and when he finished either Mistborn or maybe The Wheel of Time, he realized that he didn't do a good enough job on the first book to the stormlight archive. It was also supposed to only be a 5 book series originally.

[@starsong7725]

.....And I've only read mistborn!

[@minerman60101]

A bit sad we have to wait for 2022 for that last Wax and Wayne, but it's great to have these updates at all as you say

[@raquelmarcalsantos]

I get more invested in Sanderson the more videos you upload ♥️

[@fredrickbass4994]

I don't know if anyone is pestering him about writing more Cosmere material, but I think the Cosmere is so interesting to people, that fans frequently ask him if he has even more books planned for the Cosmere.

[@SidneyHMusic]

I read some people were disappointed that Wax and Wayne 4 was pushed to a 2022 release but seeing how Brandon has planned his previous releases, it's easy to see why this is the case. He is man with a plan. The deliberate and timely release of Dawnshard lined up too perfectly to be a coincidence with the events which were eluded to in the last preview chapters of RoW. Same deal with Edgedancer and Oathbringer. And now, finding out the big reveal of a certain individual in the latest stormlight installment, it's easy to see why he needed to push RoW out before writing Wax and Wayne 4, else it would have spoiled things. So, to those who are disappointed--I totally get it--but also trust that there is a reason for it.

[@Haxerous]

W & W 4 was supposed to come out before RoW but got pushed back because of the time it took on finishing up Starsight

[@MasterZealot09]

Elliot, you should spend a few minutes watching the 17th shard podcast, checking their message boards, reading the coppermind wiki, reading Words of Brandon from signing events and live streams. You will then understand who is extreme levels of passionate about the Cosmere. It's also Brandon's Magnum Opus and his baby. He loves trolling and hinting to his fans. I don't think he's going to invent things because people want them, but he also wants to fully explore the Warbreaker world, the Elantris world, the White Sand world, Sixth of the Dusk, etc. On top of all of that he wants to actually put out the entire 'backbone' of the Cosmere, being all 4 eras of Mistborn, both eras of Stormlight (along with their respective novellas), and then the Dragonsteel trilogy. I think he really means what he said. He wants to test these other forms of media to see how they work in lower stakes stories before he risks messing up the continuity of the Cosmere. I do think it's really important to him that the stories mesh together and truly work the way he's designed magical aspects of these worlds. I.E. When taking Intent and Command into account. With the whole idea of Adolnalsium, the Dawnshards, and the Shards. The way the Physical, Cognitive, and Spiritual realms function. How Investiture functions, and how invest entities such as Cognitive Shadows, Spren, Seons, things like Nightblood, Vasher (and the other Returned), the Lord Ruler, Kandra, Hordelings (Aimians) function. Does that make sense? I apologize if that came off like a lecture.

[@nathanmortensen1225]

In regards to the Skyward Novellas, I would imagine that those characters will be important in book four, and that is the main reason he wants to give those updates. I haven't read the second one yet, so I could be very off base.

[@SengokuTheGouda]

Collaborative works always left me trepidatious until I read The Expanse series. Then I quickly got over that. The Original was also really good.

[@lilwinchester1417]

I had hoped he writes Warbreaker 2, but I guess we need SA 5 first with the big tie-ins to Stormlight before Vasher and Vivenna's story can go on

[@CudiBuddy4Life]

I know he’s not a horror writer and likes the fantasy-genre. But his worlds are so cool, I think it’d be fun to see him try a “small” novel in that arena

[@anissadiggins945]

I have turned my 11 year old into a fan!!! He is on the second mist born era 1! He comes down every few hours telling my his thoughts ! I love it

[@jasperkennethacasio1783]

I really love your opinions and I agree.

[@henrywayne5724]

Wait, WHAT. The leather bound Kickstarter made close to SEVEN MILLION BUCKS! That’s crazy!

[@alex626ification]

Novellas are like DLC, for Sanderson.

[@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace]

Elle is ON IT! lol thank you for this discussion!

[@po067typokijtygfdr7]

You realize how much of a mess the Cosmere would become once everything is said and done? 30+ main line books (size ranging from thriller to massive monstrosities) with a dozen or more novellas, books from other authors that are set in different planets that are both adult and YA, graphic novels, audio dramas, AND with potential movies / tv shows that might come out... jeez, just imagine how impossible this series would be to recommend 30 years from now.

[@amandaallen8945]

I would guess that people saying they’d like to see more of something spurs and generates ideas, even if those ideas are different from what they suggested. And he would probably be passionate about ideas that grow out of mutual love for an aspect of his stories.

[@excalibur3164]

Stormfather!!!

[@avi6837]

States of Sanderson are always a blast.. Looking forward to all the novellas and audio originals.. P.S. We need book shelf rearranged video 😂

[@michaelbaziotis8287]

I have yet to read a bad Sanderson book. I think 2ed era Mistborn is my least favorite but I still enjoyed it. Ironically Mistborn 1st era is quite possibly my favorite Sanderson series because of the way he ended it. HOWEVER...SA is sooooo good, I could be wrong. Lol. RoW was so incredible I can't wait for the fifth SA installment!

[@FatCandyProduction]

After wax and Wayne 4 there's skyward 4 and then Stormlight 5 (yes he's a madman)

[@olesrensen1863]

Reading the stormlighr archive book 3 atm, beeing the first experience with Sanderson. Still have no clue what the Cosmere is lol. I guess its something to do with some kind of multiverse, and those sentences that each chapter starts with. Cognitive, Spiritual and Physical world or whatever :). I do like the books so far, a bit long but he s a great wordsmith, no doubt about that. A bit to much superhero with the flying and transmutation and that stuff, but still an interesting magic system. I like the banished bridgeman who was banished and is now slaving for the voidbringers, hope he gets a storryline. Happy holidays everybody :)

[@avi6837]

About Reader's feedback for future projects.. I think he has so many ideas that he knows he will not be able to execute all of them (even with the collaborations) so he just wants to understand what we would like best.. And hell yeah! I want more cosmere stuff like sixth of Dusk / Shadows in the forest of hell..

[@kobbyquayson]

Elliot I just got around to watching the Rythm of War spoiler chat for part one and two after fi isving those parts in the book and I have soo many questions Is there's anyway you could kinda do a summary discussion

[@ebnovels]

We have a chat over on Worldhoppers! It’s better than just me since there are other viewpoints :D kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZ-rpGWqa7aMsMU

[@kobbyquayson]

Wow. That was fast. Thanks soo much

[@ebnovels]

You’re welcome! I’m actually awake when I posted this, as opposed to when my normal videos go up 😆

[@hockeyhalod]

I love the community he interacts with, but I agree with you. He should write what he wants. Alternatively, if he is unsure about something and wants fan feedback. I'm down for that.

[@Nxrth2001]

This was informative, and you made it funny lmao! I agree btw, keep it the way it is Brandon, its great!

[@LanaFeyah]

I'm always suspicious of authors who churn out books at lightning speed, unless they're Brandon Sanderson.

[@llauram3650]

agreeeeeeeeeed

[@ducky36F]

Damn a 10 part essay just to update his fans 😂

[@reiii69]

Of course who wrote a book just on updates...The man has extreme focus...

[@lucaleone4331]

Your pinkiness is so adorable with the pink sweater, blush/ highlight? and lips. Such a good look ✨ I definitely feel you on Sanderson leaning toward writing what the masses want. The cosmere is amazing, and his Avangers style, bringing together the universe is cool, but I hope he branches off and writes other stuff if hes interested in that too!

[@kyleeclawson2581]

I’m not crazy about audiobooks. I don’t know why but it’s so much harder for me to focus on something that I’m listening to than something that I’m reading. So I don’t know how much I’m gonna like mainframe. Though if that eventually opens up the gate for movie and tv show adaptions of his Cosmere books I would be thrilled!

[@ryansutter9434]

Can’t wait for Wax and Wayne book 4! So I can rereading Mistborn Era 1 then start Era 2 and Secret History.

[@Jammer2727]

I think Sanderson has planned out the next decade already, so maybe reaching out to readers is just out of curiosity...

[@ryanfairfax1726]

So I’m trying to get out of the kind of novels like the Percy Jackson series, and was wondering if Mistborn and Six of Crows would help me with that. I’ve seen you do reviews on both, and I read Sorcery of Thorns after you reviewed it, so I have high hopes

[@charlestruppi7793]

Mistborn is amazing. Give it a shot.

[@pandabear0]

W O W

[@elezraita]

I think that Brandon is worried about not having time to provide all the Cosmere material he planned when he was young. I think he's been looking for ways to delegate the parts that can be delegated to others. He's talked about this before. I know that he wants to please his fans, but he will ultimately write what he wants. That's just the way he is. The problem is that he has so much planned, and maybe not enough time to do it all without help. I don't actually know if that's what this is about, but that's what I get out of it.

[@felipeiphar1129]

This man puts out more books than what i can buy, i love him so much

[@Okapeep]

I haven't read the Rithmatist yet, but I think I'll wait until brandon starts writing the sequel. I'm sure he'll get to it eventually; the man's a beast!

[@safinan8008]

Thank you for the news about Brandon Sanderson!!! 😊📖❄️🎄☃️ happy reading to u!! 💜

[@Abunchaponys]

Seems like Sanderson is trying to get some help with his lesser story line books. Give a good author his outline and then collaborate to get it done while he’s working the main story. Kinda like malazan?

[@danielleoliver1734]

Still no work on what I want most which are sequels to his 3 (current) stand-alones. One day they will get a sequel

[@nathanmortensen1225]

From what I've gathered, it's not that Sanderson doesn't want to write more cosmere, he just doesn't have a lot of time, considering how the final Stormlight book is slated for a 2038 release.

[@rachelbronson5749]

I read the Rithmatist in high school about 6 years ago and I’ve been impatiently waiting ever since 😅

[@violetavidal8441]

I'm loviiing your lipstick!!! Where is it from, if you don't mind me asking??

[@ankushnishad1165]

I think the more Cosmere material as audio drama and stuff because he already has things that he wants to do but is finding it difficult to make time for them. For example he turned White Sand into Graphic Novels and those are cannon. He has mentioned that some projects like the Threnody Novel and Warbreaker Sequel (two projects I'm personally most interested in) may not get written if he can't find the time for them since they are not that essential to the whole cosmere narrative (the Mistborn Eras and a trilogy on Sel are essential if I remember correctly). And more projects keep getting added, Sixth of Dusk sequel, Emperor's soul sequel etc. Now once Brandon mentions these projects then fans get excited about it, this is where I believe the 'demand' comes from. There also so many interesting shards that don't currently have novels attached to them that it feels like waste if we never get to explore them. I hope we get to see all of these things but seems like a lot, so for some smaller projects alternate medium projects and collaborations might work. This is just my opinion of course. I hope these projects turn out better than White sand, didn't like the Graphic novel and am still waiting for the prose version if Brandon ever gets around to it.

[@grandlancer]

12:25 Truth. I would much rather he write what he wants to and is passion about as, too often, group input is just a toned-down, edges-softened, grayed-out version of what could have been. Honestly, there are parts of Oathbringer and RoW that felt like that already.

[@GaaMacgfx]

I feel like him trying to do works outside of the cosmere first is a response to the White Sand graphic novel. Brandon kind of jumped the gun releasing a cosmere work in that media because a lot of people didn't like that story at all, and of course it would be kind of meh. It's the first time they did something like that. It makes sense he is being a bit more careful this time around.

[@andyyybell3116]

I'm really curious about how to become a beta reader for Skyward 3. Is there any requirement? And can we register for it?

[@gerald112b]

Do writers have a Muse Elliot? Figuratively speaking of course. Are you worried the fans might be trying to talk over it.

[@swampdonk3y712]

You know she’s a booktuber because she is sitting in front of an ungodly amount of books, wearing a sweater, and wearing GIGANTIC glasses.

[@ebnovels]

I’d think talking about books and bookish things would be the biggest giveaway 🤣

[@joejoey7272]

Rothfus and Martin can learn a thing or two from Sanderson

[@M_aryAnne]

That’s funny I think Warbreaker is clearly a set up book for a series, I was disappointed by it. It is definitely my least favorite of the ones I’ve read and would love a 2nd book because I think it needs it. But just me I guess. But yes I agree I think he needs to write whatever he wants to write. And I think he could publish on his own and make so much more money then he does right now haha.

[@lyndseymurray8065]

Whaat? Warbreaker is my favorite book! 😁 I am disappointed there isn’t a sequel yet though.

[@sijsij555]

What a legend. We don't deserve this man!

[@TheCloser424]

Brandon is just awesome ❤

[@MKTraxel]

Is this supposed to be for tomorrow (Saturday)? Just thought you may want to hide it for now if so 😂

[@ebnovels]

Nope! :)

[@MKTraxel]

Well then yay for an evening update then!

[@bookemchristy4706]

How does he do all this????

[@UdyKumra]

I think Skyward 4 is going to return to focus a lot on Skyward flight as a whole, and so having development for other members of Skyward flight won't be needed for book 4, but could be useful to increase our investment in book 4.

[@ГеоргиПеев-й3ы]

Alright, I think that thing with letting other authors "help" him add more stuff to the Cosmere will be related to his Threnody and Sixth of the Dusk series/worlds as they are basically pretty much not only secondary, I would say even third tier Cosmere importance - SA and Mistborn being first tier, Elantris and Warbreaker being second tier, and then come those two. And he basically doesn't have time to realise those ideas of him for those two series himself, so he might just let some of those ideas be released as novellas that are co-written with someone else.

[@Vision-gn2jl]

god dang it netflix,hbo,amazon whats taking so long to pick up any sanderson series. they are so popular at this point it doesnt make any sense .

[@ebnovels]

Agreed!

[@chloeahey]

How did you get this up so fast!!!

[@Syrilian]

Legit question. Do we think he has a ghostwriter?

[@trewaldo]

Brandon Sanderson lays down his plans for 2021 onwards more intricately than how he expands the Cosmere universe. 😅 Great video, Elliot. 🤓

[@CupCakeUnleashed]

I think brandon might need to slow down a little lol

[@angelawesneski5029]

He's said many times that every time he chooses to write a book it's a little bit sad because there are dozens of other books that will never be written. I think he desperately wants to produce as many stories as possible, so some of the collaborations and novellas are ways to do that. I trust that these are all stores he is passionate about and they are part of what he really wants to do.

[@laiaal.3324]

I think he has so much Cosmere material to write that he feels he doesn't have time to write everythung and that's why he is trying to find other ways to be able to tell more things. Regarding the Skyward novelas, a lot of people disliked Starsight for the lack of the other crewmembers so maybe that's why he thought of telling what they are doing without changing his plans for Skyward 3. I prefer this way in which you can decide to read the novelas or not, amd he doesn't modify his own plans just to satisfy people.

[@Haxerous]

Yeah he has a lot of side projects for cosmere lined up but doesn't have time for it coz he needs to finish the primary books like Mistborn and Stormlight.

[@Haxerous]

When he says writing era 3 I don't he is talking about publication. I think what he is trying to say is that write all three together like Era 1 and then potentially publish them back to back like Era 1. So, it probably just means, outline + drafting in that 2023-2025 span.

[@Jammer2727]

SandersonFlix?

[@tadious9415]

I definitely agree that I want him to write what he wants to and the idea of crowd sourcing a story or series is a really bad one in terms of the quality! I would say though the way he's done most of his best works is through a lot of beta reader feedback. So him just doing his thing and what he wants to do, does involve feedback from readers which I would presume has helped him in some ways. I would guess he means that comment more in that way of taking into account fans ideas not letting fans run the show in terms of what he writes next.

[@hayleypatricia9940]

What are they slipping in this mans water