#794: Brandon Sanderson on Building a Fiction Empire, Creating $40M+ Kickstarter Campaigns, Unbreakable Habits, The Art of World-Building, and The Science of Magic Systems

#794: Brandon Sanderson on Building a Fiction Empire, Creating $40M+ Kickstarter Campaigns, Unbreakable Habits, The Art of World-Building, and The Science of Magic Systems

Brandon Sanderson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Stormlight Archive series and the Mistborn saga; the middle-grade series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians; and the young-adult novels The Rithmatist, the Reckoners trilogy, and the Skyward series. He has sold more than 40 million books in 35 languages, and he is a four-time nominee for the Hugo Awards, winning in 2013 for his novella The Emperor’s Soul.

Sponsors:

Cresset prestigious family office for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs: https://cressetcapital.com/tim (book a call today)

Seed's DS-01® Daily Synbiotic broad spectrum 24-strain probiotic + prebiotic: https://Seed.com/Tim (Use code 25TIM for 25% off your first month's supply)

Wealthfront high-yield cash account: https://Wealthfront.com/Tim

New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional 0.65% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/2026 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest. Experiences will vary. Outcomes not guaranteed. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.

*

Timestamps:

00:00 Meet Brandon Sanderson

07:10 Soundcheck Fun and Memory Skills

11:21 Brandon's Writing Journey and Creative Process

25:35 Teaching Creative Writing and Publishing Insights

38:08 Brandon's Early Reading Experience

44:18 Discovering the Magic of Storytelling

45:32 A Journey from C Student to A Student

47:02 The Influence of a Great Teacher

48:51 Understanding Narrative and Plot

56:42 The Art of Character Development

01:09:42 Balancing Writing and Personal Life

01:24:04 Meeting Editors and Early Struggles

01:24:30 First Book Sale and Financial Realities

01:25:28 The Danger of the Second Book

01:25:49 Hitting the Bestseller List

01:26:34 Amazon and the Changing Market

01:29:03 Entrepreneurial Shift and Direct Sales

01:36:45 Building a Team and Crowdfunding

01:42:50 Kickstarter Success and Lessons Learned

01:52:22 COVID and Creative Freedom

02:02:53 Brandon Sanderson's Colbert Report Cameo

02:03:48 Kickstarter Success and Subscription Boxes

02:09:01 Test Readers and Feedback Process

02:14:16 Warbreaker and Creative Commons Experiment

02:22:50 Navigating Publishing Deals and Platforms

02:33:26 The Wheel of Time Opportunity

02:42:36 The Call to Finish The Wheel of Time

02:43:10 Negotiating the Deal

02:43:56 The Struggles of Mistborn

02:45:02 The Cosmere and Building an Audience

02:48:25 The Death Spiral in Publishing

02:52:29 Magic Systems and Their Importance

03:00:39 Sanderson's Three Laws of Magic

03:14:35 The Zero Law and Final Thoughts

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss

Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jaksot(859)

#807: In Case You Missed It: March 2025 Recap of "The Tim Ferriss Show"

#807: In Case You Missed It: March 2025 Recap of "The Tim Ferriss Show"

This is a special inbetweenisode, which serves as a recap of the episodes from last month. It features a short clip from each conversation in one place so you can easily jump around to get a feel for ...

22 Huhti 202545min

#806: How Rich Barton Built Expedia and Zillow from $0 to $35B — Audacious Goals, Provocation Marketing, Scrabble for Naming, and Powerful Daily Rituals

#806: How Rich Barton Built Expedia and Zillow from $0 to $35B — Audacious Goals, Provocation Marketing, Scrabble for Naming, and Powerful Daily Rituals

Rich Barton is the co-founder and co-executive chairman of Zillow, a company transforming how people buy, sell, rent, and finance homes. Before Zillow, Rich founded Expedia within Microsoft in 1994 an...

16 Huhti 20252h 25min

#805: Philip Goff — Exploring Consciousness and Non-Ordinary Religion, Galileo's Error, Panpsychism, Heretical Ideas, and Therapeutic Belief

#805: Philip Goff — Exploring Consciousness and Non-Ordinary Religion, Galileo's Error, Panpsychism, Heretical Ideas, and Therapeutic Belief

Philip Goff is a professor of philosophy at Durham University. His main research focus is consciousness, but he is interested in many questions about the nature of reality. He is most known for defend...

9 Huhti 20252h 16min

#804: Robert Rodriguez, The Wizard of Cinema Returns — The "Fear-Forward" Way of Life, How to Overcome Self-Doubt, Learning to Love Limitations, and Counter-Intuitive Parenting That Works

#804: Robert Rodriguez, The Wizard of Cinema Returns — The "Fear-Forward" Way of Life, How to Overcome Self-Doubt, Learning to Love Limitations, and Counter-Intuitive Parenting That Works

Robert Rodriguez is a film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor, and composer. Rodriguez has written, produced, directed, and edited a series of successful films including El Mari...

2 Huhti 20251h 44min

#803: Craig Mod Returns — Epic Walks in Japan, The Art of Slowness, Digital Detox, Publishing “Impossible” Books, and Choosing Beauty Over Scale

#803: Craig Mod Returns — Epic Walks in Japan, The Art of Slowness, Digital Detox, Publishing “Impossible” Books, and Choosing Beauty Over Scale

Craig Mod Returns! Craig is a writer, photographer, and walker living in Tokyo and Kamakura, Japan. He is the author of Things Become Other Things and Kissa by Kissa. He also writes the newsletters Ro...

27 Maalis 20252h 28min

#802: Craig Mod — The Real Japan, Cheap Apartments in Tokyo, Productive Side Quests, Creative Retreats, Buying Future Freedom, and Being Possessed by Spirits

#802: Craig Mod — The Real Japan, Cheap Apartments in Tokyo, Productive Side Quests, Creative Retreats, Buying Future Freedom, and Being Possessed by Spirits

Craig Mod is a writer, photographer, and walker living in Tokyo and Kamakura, Japan. He is the author of Things Become Other Things and Kissa by Kissa. He also writes the newsletters Roden and Ridgeli...

25 Maalis 20252h 15min

#801: In Case You Missed It: February 2025 Recap of "The Tim Ferriss Show"

#801: In Case You Missed It: February 2025 Recap of "The Tim Ferriss Show"

This is a special inbetweenisode, which serves as a recap of the episodes from last month. It features a short clip from each conversation in one place so you can easily jump around to get a feel for ...

21 Maalis 202544min

#800: Ev Williams — The Art of Pivoting (e.g., Odeo to Twitter), Strategic Quitting, The Dangers of Premature Scaling, Must-Read Books, and More

#800: Ev Williams — The Art of Pivoting (e.g., Odeo to Twitter), Strategic Quitting, The Dangers of Premature Scaling, Must-Read Books, and More

Ev Williams is the co-founder of Mozi, a new social network that helps you connect in person with the people you care about. Over the past 25 years, Ev has co-founded several companies that have helpe...

19 Maalis 20251h 3min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
mimmit-sijoittaa
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahapodi
rss-rahamania
pomojen-suusta
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
juristipodi
rss-myyntikoulu
rss-seuraava-potilas
rss-lahtijat
rss-draivi
leadcast
sijoitusovi-podcast
asuntoasiaa-paivakirjat
rss-startup-ministerio
rss-sami-miettinen-neuvottelija
rahapuhetta
rss-h-asselmoilanen
rss-turha-edes-yrittaa