AMoL Update

I managed to get through my re-read of Knife of Dreams earlier in the week, with a focus on certain characters I'm writing on right now, and so I've found time to get a few thousand words in on the rough draft.  Our percentage bar ticked up by 1% for the first time in a couple of weeks.

Remember, each of those percents means 4k words, which for a lot of writers is an entire week's worth of writing.  I have a goal of 10 during good weeks, but these last few weeks I've felt very good when I've managed half of that.  Usually on tour, I don't write at all.  It's just too grueling to be driving to a new city each day, signing and meeting people, then spending the days visiting other bookstores and signing the books on the shelves. 

Anyway, we're still inching away toward my goal of being to 400k words by the end of December. 

Updates

Mistborn Two: New Annotation  Chapter Forty Eight

Warbreaker:  Copyedit is done and turned in.  I actually got this done earlier in the week, but was bouncing around too much doing other things to get the percentage bar updated. 

Mistborn Three:  Finding the book is still spotty, since the bestseller list spiked another round of sales.  Right now, my agent says that Borders stores are slightly more likely to have copies than B&N.  However, the best place to find copies are places that I've visited recently on my tour.  I think Sam Weller's may even have a few numbered copies left, though those may be gone by now.  (Call them first, I'd suggest, to see if there are any still there.) 

Note that I'll be signing in San Diego this evening, and Mysterious Galaxy is well known for its willingness to get books to people. (They have a webstore which sells signed first editions across the world.)  I'll bet if you call them today before 2pm Pacific, they'd be willing to get you a copy personalized and then ship it to you.  Heck, if you call between 2 and 4, I'll bet that Dave and I are there signing still and you can tell me personally what you want me to write in your book.

Mysterious Galaxy
7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
Suite #302
San Diego, CA 92111
Tel: 858.268.4747

A Memory of Light:  I've had a couple of inquiries about the percentage bar here.  I think I warned you way back in June that October would be a rough month for progress on the book, since it's hard to write when I'm on the road.  But I'm still trying.  Right now, I feel that I need to refresh my memory a little on the series, since I finished my read-through way back in March.  So I'm re-reading KNIFE OF DREAMS at the moment.  The progress bar doesn't reflect this, but I AM making motion through the book.  I want to be careful to do the novel right.  But I still anticipate being able to finish by the end of December.  You may see the percentage bar tick up a few more points during the next few weeks of tour, but it's not going to go at the speed it did during August when I was pulling twelve and sixteen hour days writing because I knew that October was going to slow me down.

Lucky #21

You all have my very most sincere thanks.  I got a call from Tom Doherty, CEO of Tor, about an hour ago.  It appears that we were not only successful at getting on the New York Times Bestseller list, we were several magnitudes more successful than I dared hope.  I had thought that maybe we would be able to hit #35, last number on the adult hardcover list.  We actually came in at #21. 

This makes THE HERO OF AGES the #2 fantasy book of the week, behind Bob Salvatore's new book, and marks Mistborn Three as one of Tor's most successful fantasy new releases of the year.  (It might actually be THE most successful new Tor fantasy of the year.)

This happened because of you.  Thank you so much for reading my books.  Hitting the Times list is a little thing, really, when compared to the enormous privilege it is to tell stories for a living and to have you all as readers. 

Thank you.

More Distribution Problems

Just an update on the distribution of Mistborn Three.  Tor just ordered an emergency reprint, since we managed to sell out last week.  (In case you're wondering, that's great news--though we kind of wish they'd just printed more in the first place.)  So it's going to be hit-or-miss when finding the book this coming week still.  Some that didn't get it on shelves last week will be putting it out, but the ones that DID put it out are almost all sold out.  Ah, well.

I'm off on book tour as of tomorrow!  If you ordered a signed hardcover of Mistborn One or Elantris through my website before this evening, we're sending those out soon. They're signed and ready.  If you order anything between now and when I get back, though, there will be a delay in getting it to you.  (Becky will be letting people know this when they buy books.)  When I return, we should be ready to launch the Mistborn Posters and Alcatraz signed hardcovers for those who are interested. 

And, in order to post something very random, how about a link to a guy who recorded a song based on Elantris?  Obviously, this is an artist to keep an eye on.  ;)

My Unpublished Books

I enjoyed my short trip to LA for the trade show.  Now I'm back for a day, then heading out on the more meaty part of Book Tour.  LA, I'll be back to see you later in the week for some official signings.

In the mean time, I've written an essay for you.  It's been a while since we've had a EUOLogy (for those who don't know, EUOL is my nickname on the TWG forums, and the essays on my site are named after that.)  This one started as a post on a forum thread, then outgrew that context, so I decided to post it here for you to read.  It's an explanation of some of my unpublished novels, and how I ended up where I am now.  I think a lot of you will find it interesting, but it kind of rambles a bit.  Just a warning. ;)

I'll see you Las Vegas people on Tuesday.

The Last Two Metals...

A lot of people have been emailing me with questions about the third book.  I'm flattered that so many of you enjoyed it; you've laid  to rest many of my worries about the risks I took with the story.

Two questions are dominant:  What are the last two metals?  And will there be more Mistborn books?

The first question will be answered on the Mistborn Poster we have in the works.  (Here's another draft of it below.)  However, if you really, really have to do know, I have posted an answer in the spoilers thread on my forums.  There is also an answer to the second question. Warning, there are a LOT of spoilers in that thread, both about this book and about potential other Mistborn books. 

Mistborn Two Kindle! (+ Brandon's UVU Talk)

Two things for you today.  First off, it appears that Mistborn: The Well of Ascension is finally out for the Kindle.  It looks like they released Mistborn 3 as well.  That means we can prod Tor to be putting them into other formats too.  I don't like the DRM nature of the Kindle edition, but I know a lot of you have been asking about this.  We bugged Amazon quite a lot on it, so I hope that those of you who have Kindles and have been waiting actually go grab the books.  ;)

Secondly, I'll be doing a presentation at Utah Valley University this coming Monday.  Press release is below.

Copies of Hero of Ages are slowly trickling into those stores that didn't get them on Tuesday.  It appears that Barnes and Noble got them in first and on shelves--but is now quickly selling out, since they didn't order enough copies in the first place.  Borders and Chapters were slower getting them on shelves (particularly on the west coast) but they order more copies, so they're going to have more in the long run.  Hopefully, we can get B&N to reorder!  And, as always, it's good to give your local independent a call.  Even if they don't have the book, they can get you a copy.

Press Release:

Science Fiction Author Brandon Sanderson to Speak

October 20, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

UVU Library Lecture Hall (LI 120)Brandon Sanderson, a nationally recognized science fiction and fantasy author, will read from his newest novel, Mistborn: The Final Empire and speak about the importance of genre fiction, such as science fiction and fantasy, at 1:00 pm on Monday, October 20 in the UVU Library Lecture Hall.  (Note, they got that wrong.  I'll be reading from MB3, not MB1.  Ah, well.)

In 2005, Sanderson published his first novel, Elantris and then went on to write the Mistborn trilogy. Sanderson published a middle-grade children's book, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, in 2007 from Scholastic Press.

Tor Books announced in December 2007 that Brandon was chosen by Robert Jordan's widow to write the final novel in Jordan's bestselling Wheel of Time fantasy series. The final book, to be titled A Memory of Light, will be published in fall 2009.

In addition to his writing, Sanderson teaches a creative writing class focused on science fiction and fantasy at his alma mater, Brigham Young University. Sanderson graduated from BYU with an English degree and then went on to complete a Master's in creative writing there as well.
Sanderson's visit, sponsored by the UVU Library, is free and open to the public. The UVU Bookstore will have Sanderson's books available for purchase at the event, and Sanderson will be available for questions and book signing.

Brandon lives in Provo with his wife, Emily, and their young son, Joel.

Distribution Problems (Again) + Q&A

Thank you to everyone who came to the release party at BYU, or who is planning to come to Sam Weller's tonight!  Last night was a blast.  We're going to have to come up with better ways to keep the line moving at these things.  I hate thinking of people standing around for THAT long just to get a book from me.  (Next time, I think I'll sign and number all of the copies first--then people can pick one up at the register, get their number based on where they were in line, then take off if they want.  Then, if they want a personalization, they can wait to talk to me and get me to write their name in it.  That should make things move much more quickly.)

I do want to note that a lot of bookstores didn't get the book out yesterday.  (Grrrr....)  There were some distribution problems (not Tor's fault) and so about half of the stores didn't get books on the shelves.  (In some cities in the far west, none of them got the books on time.)  However, it looks like things are picking up, and a lot of stores that didn't have them yesterday have them out today.  By the end of the week, they should all be on shelves.  Please, give your bookstore a call before you drop by--I hate to think of people driving all over to find the book.  (Though if they don't have it out yet, there's a good chance it's in the back, so you could always poke them about that.)

Also, we have a very nice review up at SffWorld.

Finally, I'm doing a spoiler-filled Q&A about the book and the series on my website.  Don't look unless you've read the book!  Feel free to post there questions you have for me, and also feel free to just generally discuss the book with others. There are several other threads about it on my forums as well.

It's Here!

Mistborn, the Hero of Ages is out!  (Buy from Amazon, or buy from your local independent.)

Poster contest is over (we'll draw for that soon here.)  Sam Weller's is no longer taking pre-orders. 

Hope you enjoy the book!

One day left...

We've got a nice review up for the book in SF Weekly.

New Mistborn Two Annotation: Chapter Forty-seven.  This was a very important chapter in the book, so it's a double-sized annotation. 

My email was down earlier today.  Sorry about that.  (If you tried to email me through my website, you might have gotten an error message.  If you didn't, then it went through, so don't worry.) We've been sending out email newsletters and we accidentally overstressed the server load. 

Not sure what else to say.  Thank you all for reading, hope that you enjoy the book.  I'll be doing a Q&A about it on my forums here later in the week.  I'll post a link when the thread is live. 

(Take a deep breath, Brandon.  The next five weeks are going to be crazy.)

Release Week Is Here!

I've already gotten some emails from people who have seen the book on bookstore shelves!  (Bookstores aren't always that good at paying attention to when a book is supposed to be out, and will often put it on shelves when it arrives.  That's just fine; I can't imagine how difficult it would be to keep track of when each and every book's specific on-sale date is.)  From today on, all sales count toward the 'first week' sales of the novel, so if you can find a copy early, go for it!  (The 'first week' ends on Saturday.  So there's only officially five days in the release week to pick up a copy.)

I just sent out an email announcement to anyone who's emailed me through my website, so you might be getting one of those soon in your inbox. ;)  In case you don't get one, the text is simple.   Book Three is out on Tuesday!   (Though the email is a lot more long winded.) 

A lot of people have been emailing me, asking about the progress of the Copy Edit for Warbreaker.  Many are curious at just what a copyedit is, and whether I've hit a rough spot on the Wheel of Time book since the progress has been so slow lately.

Don't worry--work on AMoL is going just fine.  No rough points here!  I just had to cut back for a few weeks to take care of other obligations.  (I believe I warned you about them back in June.)  I pushed very, very hard through August and early September on the Wheel of Time book because I knew that I needed to get ahead in order to have a chance of hitting my deadline by December.  There were weeks when the percentage bar went up four or even five percent.  Lately, it's gone up one percent.  Remember, however, that my normal writing goal is 10k a week, and so cutting down to 5k these last few weeks hasn't been as big a stall as it might look.  (It's just a big one in comparison to the 20k I was often doing the weeks before.)

One of the big time eaters lately has been the Warbreaker Copy Edit.  This is the last chance that I, as a writer, get to look at and change a manuscript before it goes to press.  After this, the text is locked into place, and it's very difficult to make changes other than little proofreading tweaks.  So I like to take my time on a copyedit and make sure everything is how I want it.  I also take a lot of notes during this point for the Annotations, as this is generally my last time reading straight through a book. 

The copyedit arrives in a loose leaf form, having already been to a copyeditor.  Their job is to do very in-depth line edit, meaning they're not editing for story or character, but instead trying to make sure everything is consistent, properly formatted, and grammatically correct.  One of the big things I have to do in a copy edit is approve or reject any changes made by the copyeditor.  (Of course, there are rarely things to reject here--but occasionally you do something for stylistic purposes that might not be standard.  For instance, in Warbreaker, I wanted to have Kalad's Phantoms capitalized, despite the fact that the copyeditor wanted to make the Phantoms lower case.) 

Anyway, for you Wheel of Time readers waiting for me to turn full attention back to AMoL, this copyedit is the last big thing that I had on my plate.  I still have to do an Alcatraz 3 copyedit in February or so, but it will be very short.  I'm polishing off the last few bits of the Warbreaker copy edit now.  The only question now--and it IS a big question--is how much I'll be able to work on AMoL during book tour.  I'm hoping to get back to 10k a week by writing in the car during Dave's turns driving or during points when I'm in the hotel waiting for a signing later in the night.  We shall see!  I'm going to give it my best shot. 

As always, folks, thanks for reading!  And please consider picking up a copy of Hero of Ages this week.  ;)

Dragon's Keep Tonight

The book release party for Howard's new Schlock Mercenary collection is tonight at Dragon's Keep in Provo.  As I wrote the introduction for the book, I'll be there with Howard celebrating the release and signing books (both his and mine.)  Look for me from about 4-7ish.  We'll be doing a few live podcasts from 5:30-6:30!  Huzzah! (Address: 260 N University Ave, Provo, UT 84601(801) 373-3482)

I'll actually be bringing along copies of my books to sell, so if you've been wanting an out-of-print hardcover, I should have a small stack of them.  I'll also sign/number any copies of Alcatraz Two people have managed to locate, as I'm only up to number 35/50 on that book.  (I won't, however, be able to sign any Mistborn Three.  I know that some stores have begun putting it on shelves, but I've been asked by Tor not to sign any copies until next week.  Don't feel bad if you found one--good for you!  But I can't actually sign them for a few days.  Fortunately, I'll be doing a TON of signings next week.  If you live in the area, you should be able to find me without any trouble....)

Here's another Annotation of Mistborn: The Well of Ascension.  Chapter Forty-Six.  It makes a very short mention of the spike in Zane's chest, which is--of course--a major plot of book three.  Have I mentioned that's coming out in just a couple of days?  Tired of hearing about that yet?  ;)  Just a warning--I'll be sending out an email this weekend to pretty much anyone who's ever emailed me before, letting you know about the upcoming release.

And at the Release Party, I wanted to give away something special to encourage people to come.  Last year, I gave out a Manuscript of Mistborn Three, a full year before it came out.  I'd give out one of Warbreaker, but it's already free on line, so that doesn't seem very special.  Instead, I'll be giving out a manuscript version of Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia, book three of the Alcatraz series, a full year before publication!  Just another reason to drop by BYU Bookstore on Tuesday night.  

Isaac Stewart Confirmed at Provo Launch Party! (+ Hero Preorder News)

NOTE:  There are reports that Sam Weller's has run out of books for pre-order.  This was true, but with a little emergency finagling we've managed to get them an extra few boxes.  So you CAN STILL PREORDER a signed, numbered edition.  With the arrival of these extra copies, they've extended the pre-order deadline to October 14th at 7:00 pm.  They will be giving the discount up until this day!  If you're planning to order a signed copy, you'll have to do so before then. 

Now, for news regarding the Provo Launch event, I've got another reason that it's going to be awesome!  Isaac Stewart, the artist who did the maps for all three books as well as all of the chapter icons inside the novel, will be in attendance.  He'll be signing maps and answering questions about being an illustrator.  So, you not only get a signed, personalized, numbered copy--you also get one that is signed by the interior artist.  (We're hoping to get him to Sam Weller's on the following day as well.)

In honor of this news, I want to give you a sneak peek at something Isaac and I are working on--a poster of Allomantic Metals.

It's not done yet--we're changing the border to be metallic and want to rework the title lettering above and below the symbol, so this is just a very early sneak peek.  Hopefully, within a few weeks we'll have this baby ready to sell. It will include all sixteen metals, with their Allomantic, their Feruchemical, and their Hemalurgic properties.  You really have to see this thing when it's blown up to full size--the level of detail on it is amazing. 

In other news, I've added a new appearance to the Book Tour schedule.  I'll be doing a casual, drop-by signing at the Borders in Costa Mesa California at the South Coast Plaza: (3333 Bear St # 142, Costa Mesa, CA)  This will be on the 22nd of October, and will be from 4-5:30.  I'll still be doing a more formal, official signing later that night in Huntington Beach.  Dave should be here at Costa Mesa with me too, so if you live in the area, be sure to drop by!

Two Interesting Notes

First off, I just wanted to confirm to people that Sam Weller's WILL ship internationally for copies of Mistborn: The Hero of Ages purchased at their release party.  So if you live overseas and want a nice numbered, personalized hardcover of Mistborn Three, then go right ahead and order!  Make sure you tell them which name you want in the book.

Secondly, I got this email from Emmett in Ohio, and thought I'd share:

You posted last week about reserving a copy of Hero of Ages so that the bookstores order enough books.  Well you were right about that.  I went to Joseph Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati Ohio today to reserve Hero of Ages and they only had 6 copies coming in.  That is a small amount for such a large store and I wanted to give you a heads up. 

Thanks for the heads up, Emmett!  Six copies is actually a respectable number for a store to get.  (Though I've sent an inquiry to my friends at Joseph Beth, asking if maybe they could order a few extra.)  On average, most stores are getting around six.  Though, since there are many who are getting twelve or eighteen, that means that there are a fair number getting one or two instead.  It all depends on what the district and regional sales people think the store is capable of selling. 

What all of that means is that your local store might run out.  This is the problem we had with Mistborn Two--the regional people weren't expecting the demand for that particular book to be high, and so the low-copy stores sold out very quickly.  (The high-copy stores were generally able to get more in soon enough that they didn't run out.)   So if you're planning to grab a copy of the book next Tuesday (Only one week away!) you might want to do as Emmett did and give your bookstore a call and reserve a copy.  (Or even order one specifically for you, so that they have a higher count registered at the store for next year, when they order copies of Warbreaker.)

Also, don't forget my Alcatraz Two signing!  It's on Tuesday (which is already 'today' for some of you.)  I asked the B&N and they said they'd be happy to reserve copies and hold them for those of you who can't get there until after the signing is over.  Just give them a name and (I assume) payment, and they'll have me personalize and number one for you.  (Though, 1strainbowrose, I'm sorry to say that #13 is already gone!  My apologies.  They had copies up in Ogden late last week, and I sold up to #21 to people there.  I didn't realize anyone was wanting a specific number, or I might have grabbed it for you.)

Surprise Release Party for Alcatraz Two!

The wonderful folks over at Barnes and Noble Orem have managed to get in a large case of copies of Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones.  I'm doing some school visits early this week in Orem, and had planned a little signing in conjunction with those on Tuesday night.  However, since they'll have copies of Scrivener's Bones, I want to go ahead and open the signing up to any interested people.  As it's a release party, I will be numbering copies at this particular signing.  So if you liked the first book, or if you want to give the books a try (they'll have the paperback edition of Book One I believe) stop by and grab a numbered edition!

Details: 
Orem Barnes and Noble (On University Parkway; take exit 269, I believe.)
Time: 5:00 (We'll be there a couple of hours.)
Date: Tuesday, October 7tth
Special:  James Dashner, author of The Journal of Curious Letters, will be there signing with me!  (Or maybe I'll be signing with him.)

I know that a lot of you aren't as excited for this as Mistborn three the following week, but consider it a little teaser taste for the 14th.  As always, I'll be willing to sign any books you can find to give me. 

New Annotation + Warbreaker News

New Well of Ascension Annotation:  Chapter Forty-Five
(Also, by the way, thank you all for driving Mistborn Two to the Locus Bestseller list last month!  It's my first appearance on that particular list.)

Also, if you are one of the people who gave me feedback and comments on Warbreaker during the year I was posting it in rough draft form (or if you've given me significant feedback through email) feel free to post on the Warbreaker Acknowledgements thread on my forums to get your name into the book.  I appreciate the help, and want to acknowledge you!  (Note, however, that I won't be able to fit in everyone who posted a few times or emailed me with a typo or two, or even a couple of suggestions.  The book would quickly fill with pages and pages of acknowledgements that way!)

Next, SIGNING NEWS:  We've added two events to the signing.  The first is in the Washington DC area.  I'd posted that there was a good chance I'd be there, but now we have confirmation.  I'll be at the Borders at Bailey's Crossroads on Monday the 10th of November starting at 7:30pm.

Also, I've been given a signing in Ohio to replace the one in Cincinnati.  (Sorry about that one vanishing.)  I realize it's not the same city, but it's the best we could do.  I'll be at the Books and Company in Dayton Ohio on November 12th at 7:00pm.  (And I promise to try to get to Cincinnati next year.)

Whew!  We're only eleven days from the Mistborn Three release!  I realized that it was still listed as coming out on the 20th of October on my website in one place.  That was a mistake; it's the 14th!  Thanks to those who emailed me about this. 

In honor of the event...how about some shameless repeat plugs regarding the release?
Get a Signed, Numbered Copy Mailed to you!
Book Tour--now includes Ohio and DC specifics, along with updated times for many of the signings that didn't have them before.
Launch events in Provo and Salt Lake! (Salt Lake Launch event is at Sam Weller's--see the book tour link above.)
Poster Contest! (Now with a better photo.)

Writing Excuses Podcast CD!

Writing Excuses, as a podcast, has been enormously successful.  Honestly, I've been surprised at the reaction and response from listeners.  One thing that I've had a lot of people ask us for is a CD which collects all of the audio files together, so that they don't have to search through them on the website or bother downloading them.

Well, we thought this was a fantastic idea.  So when the folks over at PodDisc (a premier podcasting archive disc site) contacted us, we jumped at the chance.  They've collected all thirty-five of the first season episodes of Writing Excuses onto a single MP3 CD for the very reasonable price of $10.  That's less than $.30 per episode.  If you're an aspiring writer, if you're just curious about the process, or if you just want to laugh and have a good time, then I highly recommend this disc to you.  It contains a full NINE HOURS of three professional writers discussing the process in a quick, informative, and fun way.  There are guest podcasts with editors from Tor, Wizards of the Coast, and Pyr.  Not to mention a podcast with Steve Jackson (of Steve Jackson games), one with webtoonists the Foglios, and one with writer Patrick Rothfuss.  (And those are only some of the guest stars.)

We decided we wanted to make this disc something special, so we included a lot of bonus material.  Both bonus episodes from the podcast are on there, as well as two unheard episodes.  Our first pilot that never aired and a special outtakes episode thrown together by our producer. 

Beyond that, all three of us have included desktop wallpapers.  (Including the Mistborn wallpaper.)  I've got three essays on writing on the disc, two of which aren't posted anywhere on my website.  (One on outlining, the other on how I develop ideas.) 

And if that weren't enough, Dan has also consented to include the full text of his novel "THE NIGHT OF BLACKER DARKNESS."  This is still one of my personal favorite novels.  You can't get it anywhere else--he was never able to sell it because it was just too genre busting.  It's the story of a man in the 19th century who fakes his own death, which makes a bunch of vampires think that he's one of them.  (And the fact that he can go out in sunlight and stand garlic proves to them that he's the "chosen one" of vampires destined to lead them to glory.)  With cameo appearances by historical figures like John Keats and Mary Shelly, it's an absolute blast to read and worth the $10 price of the disc itself. 

So click here and pick yourself up a copy!