So if you missed it, here’s the huge publishing event of this week: two days ago, science fiction and fantasy author Brandon Sanderson launched a Kickstarter campaign for four secret novels… which has already raised over 18 million dollars in less than 72 hours!
“Great, but how is that relevant to me?” you may ask. “I’m not a NYT bestselling author who’s been dubbed as the new J.R.R. Tolkien in epic fantasy. I don’t have millions of followers. There’s no way I could pull that off.”
And you’d be right: he’s probably the only author (or even creative in general) who can break Kickstarter like he just did. But that aside, what is truly interesting about this campaign is that he didn’t achieve this thanks to his millions of followers. So far, his campaign has been backed “only” by 74,000 readers, meaning that each backer pledged $250 (!!) on average.
And this is really the key here: the success of this campaign largely comes down to the way that Sanderson has cultivated, over the years, a legion of superfans. Fans who, in other words, are ready to pay hundreds of dollars to get four premium hardbacks, merch, book boxes, etc. And that is definitely a lesson for all of us here.
It’s not all about numbers
You don’t need hundreds of thousands of readers to make a living writing. You might only need a few thousand.
Most of the highest-earning indie authors I know write in a specific niche (or two). As such, they’re unlikely to reach a wide, general readership and become famous like Brandon Sanderson or J.K. Rowling. However, they have become prominent enough in their niche to have thousands of readers ready to buy every single book they release.
Think about it this way: you’ll earn just as much money from selling one book to 500,000 readers, as you would selling 25 books to 20,000 readers — and the latter is usually easier to achieve for indie authors (provided you’re prolific enough to write those 25 books, of course).
But it doesn’t stop there: if you’re able to build this kind of loyal following, you can start offering them premium, high-value items — like limited edition hardbacks, signed copies, book boxes, merchandise, etc. Which is exactly what Sanderson is doing with this Kickstarter (hence the $250 average pledge).
So how do you create such “superfans” in the first place?
Cultivating your superfan readers
Write amazing books
First, and most importantly, you need to write amazing books. The kind of books that pull readers in so much that they’ll immediately want to buy the next one — whether that’s because they loved your story, your characters, your voice, or the information in the book.
Of course, you then actually need to have that “next book” to sell to them. Which leads me to…
Be prolific
Think about the authors that you, as a reader, love the most. How many of their books have you read? I bet it’s more than one. Because here’s the thing: it’s hard to fall in love with an author after just one book. You might fall in love with the book, but not with the author.
That’s why it’ll also take more than just books to sway readers all the way. You’ll need a proper relationship with your audience.
Build a relationship
The easiest way to achieve this is usually through a mailing list. Of course, you can also leverage social media for that — like Sanderson did with his YouTube channel. The end goal is that you want to make them feel part of a community, let them further into your world (both fictional and personal), and interact with them.
Yes, interact. It’s not enough to just send them information and content. You also need to be approachable.
Be approachable
Before the pandemic, Brandon Sanderson spent a third of his time traveling to cons and tours to meet his fans, give talks, hang out with them, sign books, etc. And guess what? Readers love that, because it feels like they have a special connection with the author.
Now, you may not be able to do book tours or speak at cons like that, but you can be approachable online. Answer emails, respond to comments on social media, engage in conversations, etc. Heck, look at Sanderson (yes, him again) on Reddit: he responds to people on a daily basis — which is exactly how authors should interact with readers on social media.
Thinking you don’t have the time to answer every single email? Weigh the time one email takes you against how surprised and delighted the reader will be to find out that you actually took the time to answer. That one minute you spent will have earned you a superfan for life.
Of course, all this isn’t easy. It takes time, dedication, positivity, and probably a bit of luck. But it very much is possible to replicate Brandon Sanderson’s success on a smaller scale.
