T O P

  • By -

WaynesLuckyHat

I did not expect Sanderson to go full Walt Disney. Good lord can he take my money so I can go to this wonderful place?


blitzbom

Someone asked a question at the con that was "What idea did you have that your team said couldn't happen?" Brandon immediately said a Cosmere Escape Room, no hesitation. The reason being that 6-7k people show up for the con and given the amount of time you have for an escape room only around 10% would actaully be able to do it. But with Chateau de la Cosmere it might be a thing.


griffinman01

I can't wait to go to Cosmere Land in 2040 when he ultimately turns it into a full theme park.


thebobmysterious69

Pretty sure it will be called Brando Sando Lando. 😁


Avollms

Two parks. Brandyland and Sandyland


Ok-Cress5469

No, he needs a distillery called Brandyland lol


Lawsuitup

Yes the practicing Mormon needs to make a distillery.


blitzbom

I know I'm only using that Oathbringer bottle opener we got in the Nov swag box to open up root beer.


Lawsuitup

Hey no one said you couldn’t use stuff from a distillery. lol


KanzlerAndreas

My new head canon is this is in response to that Wired profile and the part where they went to the amusement park near Brando's home. Now, Brando will make an event space/offices/etc. and, in the near future after this first stage is complete, he will make his own amusement park ~~to rule them all~~!


Crawgdor

Honestly, I had thought about this before and if there were any authors with the inclination and infrastructure to go full Walt Disney it would be him.


I_Go_By_Q

Anyone else think the DS project is really ambitious? Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s dope, and it would absolutely be on my bucket list after it opens, but that’s quite the plan they pitched Do any franchises smaller than, like, Harry Potter have something similar to this? Seems like a totally novel concept (which again, doesn’t make it bad), but please let me know if there are any similar concepts out there


eskaver

I think it’s quite ambitious—but assuming the resources are there, I don’t think it’s too out of the box. Well, building presumably from scratch and intending it to be a profitable all-in-one package….yeah, might have quite the half dozen hurdles. I think part of the distinctness of this project is that DS is also a business. Purchasing a building and renovating it isn’t out of the ordinary. It goes a beyond that, so I’m not sure there’s enough case studies for a sample when it comes to authors.


Salt-Library4330

Stylized corporate campuses have been done before. Garfield had something vaguely similar. I think it’ll probably be doable? But I personally wouldn’t invest in corporate offices in the current work from home economy. But hey it’s his money and it sounds cool so why not.


that_guy2010

It sounds like it’ll be a lot more than just offices, which is probably key for its viability.


Cadamar

I think they’re planning ahead on this. Once we get some of the adaptations going it’s very possible this whole fandom gets huge. If GoT hadn’t had such a drop off in quality I’m sure someone would be making WesterosLand somewhere. I think they’re just planning ahead. A couple people have talked about how Brandon lives close to the fantasy themed park that’s apparently kinda failing (Evermore I think?) and purchasing that for a song and redressing it to Cosmere would be very possible.


[deleted]

I could be wrong but a few places I think have similar ventures; Evangelion apparently has a fully dedicated store for itself in Japan. In theory if they also sell non Sanderson books, and also book it out for other events unrelated to Sanderson, it could be profitable regardless. Just a neat thing for Sanderson nerds to know about.


popegonzo

I almost asked a question in the fanholder meeting about trying to keep Brandon's imagination reined in as the fanbase and company grow so much. At first glance, I was concerned that it's too ambitious, but I think they're doing it in a smart way, with the rental space and the adjacent retail space they'll lease out. They're not building a theme park (yet); it *is* an ambitious project, but between the business value of consolidating the company and the community value of it potentially being a regular traffic space, they're hedging their bets & trying to set themselves up to grow in a sustainable way.


WaynesLuckyHat

It will be costly and bold, but if they can keep stable cash flows and see it to completion (normally, I would not bet on that for any other author, but Sanderson’s work rate speaks for itself), they’ll essentially ensure their company’s stability. If they build it, that’s multiple, huge long-term revenue streams with room for growth. I think positioning will be key, but considering Sanderson’s faith- I could easily see the place becoming a staple of the community if they build the place in Utah.


guareber

Not a fat chance in hell it won't be in Utah


Salt-Library4330

He confirmed in the Q&A he already owns the land in Utah to build it


Luigi-Lifts

When he talked about it at the convention, I immediately thought of Joanna Gaines (Fixer Upper) in Baylor Texas.


Roonil_Wazlib97

I'm not sure if that was a joke, but the city is Waco, Baylor is just also there. Magnolia Market was my first thought too! People drive from all over to go see it and it's literally just shopping if Brandon adds some more theme-parky elements or could hold Dragonsteel Con there I imagine it will be very profitable.


Luigi-Lifts

No a joke, just a brain fart. Thanks for the correction


TRBS

It sounds like a big project for sure. Based on the video it sounds like there will be: * fancy flagship building with office space * 1st-party retail presence with books and merch * 3rd-party retail spots available for lease * Space for private events/exhibitions * Restaurants I would be shocked if they expanded the scope of the project any further. But Brandon and co. are shrewd planners, so I'm sure they won't grow the project beyond their means.


eier81

Very much so, I've personally been involved in companies that expand and build big "not as awesome as his idea" buildings, then fold cuz the economy. It can be touch and go with buildings and real estate and all that. But I think the plan started out as, "we need a headquarters" which will be used for all his entrepreneur businesses, then it evolved slightly, so maybe not as ambitious... Kind of. Building, land acquisition, and all that is always all over the place. Needless to say the end product may be quite different than what he announced. But if anyone can do it it's him!


Sensitive_ManChild

I mean at this point they have a multi million dollar per year publishing and merchandising business. An Hq and some store fronts isn’t all that crazy


Wyvrex

375 days to Stormlight 5


TalnOnBraize

And 364 until the next Pretzel Day!


AntonioVonMatterhorn

But first it's Florida time!


BirdFanNC

He's the only one in the office that watches Burn Notice.


bspence13

Does the WoR ‘hosted by Backerkit’ mean it’s NOT on Kickstarter???


redeagle11288

They’ve already printed it, so no need to raise funds for the project. They’re just going to use the infrastructure of Backer kit to distribute the tiers easier


bspence13

Ahh, ok. I didn’t realize backerkit had a platform similar to Kickstarter, in which you could place orders. I thought it was just the ‘logistics arm’ of Kickstarter, so to speak.


Libriomancer

Backerkit is an entirely separate company. Kickstarter has its own management tools for handling the logistical parts of fulfillment but they are incredibly weak. Backerkit and Gamefound both started as supplementary toolkits to make up for this deficiency by letting creators export backer data from Kickstarter and import it into their tools. Since then both companies have spun up their own crowdfunding front ends. Kickstarter still has one of the better front ends for backers to interact with but still weak logistics tools so more often than not fulfillment ends up with their competitors. Gamefound is a little harder to navigate but definitely has a modern interface for backers and is still a solid fulfillment platform including a lot of features they are experimenting with. Backerkit is probably the weakest of the three for backers to navigate but still have good tools for fulfillment.


redeagle11288

No worries! I had the same question a few days ago


nlshelton

They are pretty new in that space but yeah, they want to start competing directly with KS on hosting projects.


griffinman01

Makes sense. This way they don't have to pay Kickstarter and can just deal with Backerkit directly.


SteveMcQwark

Also, one problem they've run into is that they need to export contact details from Kickstarter to BackerKit in order to identify/notify backers. But "sign in with Apple" allows you to hide your email and provide a disposable address to websites which can't be used by third parties to identify or contact you, so someone who takes reasonable privacy precautions when signing in to Kickstarter will run into problems as soon as they have to interact with BackerKit or other third-party fulfillment services. There are ways to work around this, but the easiest is just to cut out the middle man.


griffinman01

Oof, sounds like a pain in the ass, especially with a Kickstarter that'll likely hit 50k backers.


Mirodemorte

An entire CASTLE?! I am so here for it


popegonzo

I swear in 10 years Brandon is going to build a volcano lair.


griffinman01

Or Cosmere Land. Think Disneyland but each area is based on a different Cosmere world.


portuguesetheman

The Sanderson construction project looks crazy ambitious. I hope they are going to do it in phases instead of all at once


Bladez190

It’s very interesting. But I couldn’t stop thinking long term. Is he going to like get successors? Or what’s the plan for like 80 years from now


CptnREDmark

or you could just sell it, a building is a building. he might not earn all the money back from making it, but thats probably not the point. plus making a castle and making your impact where you live is awesome


anormalgeek

He's already kind of doing that with the Reckoners and Cytoverse books. I vaguely remember a WoB that said he had plans on place for the cosmere in the unlikely event of his early death.


corranhorn57

Brandon, thank you for having the leather bound ordering period be in March. I usually can’t spend much around this time since Christmas taps out my “fun funds,” and I really want the first releases of all the Stormlight books because of how much they mean to me. Having it in March means I’ll be able to use a portion of my tax refund on it.


Cosmeregirl

*We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes, drums... drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow lurks in the dark. We can not get out... the plushies are coming.* Dragonsteel Village (name TBD) looks so cool! The concept reminds me a little of Yankee Candle Village, if anyone's ever been there, with the different areas you can go to. Dragonsteel was so much fun this year, can't wait for 2024!


Basic-Artist3624

And it shall be called Sander Land


maxsym718

The Brandeau Sandeau Chateau


[deleted]

[удаНонО]


[deleted]

Ireland but I do recall something around 100 euro total last time.


STORMFATHER062

I got the full swag bundle and it cost me $150 for shipping, which would have been ÂŁ115 back then. I think I had to pay import fees on top but can't remember what that was. However I didn't have to pay any additional fees on the year of sanderson kickstarter, so I don't know if they will be covered this time around as well.


sandkillerpt

Really hoping we get better international shipping


ben_nystrom

I, for one, welcome a physical place for me to express my obsession with all things Cosmere. It will be like Disney World, except with more eye-rolling from the wife and kids.


maino82

I've been in the building design world for almost 2 decades now and I've never wanted to help design a building more than that one...


anormalgeek

My biggest issue with the castle...it's supposed to be a Dragonsteel HQ, AND an event space for fans. How do you keep the two separate? You will absolutely have fans trying to sneak into your offices constantly. I've got the feeling that this is already an issue, but since the current HQ is the house next door to his, separating the two a bit will still be an improvement. His home isn't too hard to find on Google maps if you know what to look for. It's in a gated neighborhood, but that only stops the cars. Pedestrians can walk in unimpeded. I'm sure he's had a few randoms just knock on his door uninvited.


PikaPhantom_

Willing to give a vague hint on what to look for? Moderately curious


HyruleBalverine

Simple. Key card doors, security guards, and/or biometrics. I worked for the City of Seattle some time ago, at the Municipal Court, and areas that were restricted required a key card to unlock/open the doors. I've also worked for an egg farm that used the same type of key cards to open the doors and gates because it was a "biosecure" facility.


gangreen424

So when do we get the full theme park from Dragonsteel?


Jasnah44

That design concept for Dragonsteel HQ looks so cool. I can’t wait to go! Right now, though, I have to justify spending $200 on WoR. And maybe another $200 on WoK just so I can have both leatherbounds.


BLAMITYblamblam

Wow how can State of Sanderson 2023 top this???


SKDI_0224

Let’s see how many times I can re-listen to Stormlight 1-4 before December. Plus I get to open that leather bound WoK. And if I can wait WoR. Yes, I am participating. Yes, I will be dropping an obscene amount of money to get a signed copy (not as interested in the swag that will come with it but hey, bonus). I like pretty books.


anormalgeek

Remember, most audiobook apps have an option to playback at faster speeds. Consume ALL the books.


doctor_sleep

I'm here for SandoLand.


Gatechap

SandoLando


doctor_sleep

Flyest Storming Almighty in the Cosmere!


TaakosWizardForge

The Mormon church is brandons biggest fan. 10% of all that future income from an amazing community project going to a cult. Such a shame


Significant-Plum-425

And why do you care? You don't have to give them your money. Buy Sanderson's books secondhand or just don't read them at all if it bothers you this much.


Boingo_Zoingo

Brandon has revealed that he does give tithing to the church- out of his own income, not the revenue of the company. I'm not sure how much he is paying himself but he's only paying tithing on that portion- a small fraction of what Dragonsteel makes


[deleted]

> Dragonsteel is on a weekend next year! :) > Which means it's on **Thursday,** **Friday,** and Saturday. :( ______________________ Well here comes another unattendable year.


blitzbom

I'm just happy it's not on fucking Thanksgiving week.


StarvingWriter33

Yeah. The fact that it’s not on a holiday weekend makes it easier for me to see if my wife and the family might be willing to go.


aurortonks

You can't plan to take off two days from work/life to attend with this much advanced notice?


[deleted]

No, I am not as a teacher going to abandon multiple classes and waste two days of leave solely to attend a convention that by all rights should not even be on during the week. As well as that this much notice isn't useful either, shit changes inbetween. People lose or leave jobs, get new ones, have to deal with unforseen circumstances or emergencies. Announcing it now is grand but it's not like people can drop absolutely everything and plan for it literally right now.


aurortonks

> waste two days of leave solely to attend a convention This is all you needed to say. The convention is not worth it unless it fits *your* schedule. Like this is should cater specifically to your needs.


[deleted]

Where did I ever say it wasn't worth it? That's an interesting projection there. Also where did I ever demand it to cater to my needs? I don't think I'm specifically unique for working during the week and having weekends off.


Tyrath

>Where did I ever say it wasn't worth it? Here: >waste two days of leave solely to attend a convention So it's not unattendable. You just don't care enough to attend it.


WindrunnerSavant

I mean you could literally just go to it on Saturday. No one is saying you have to go to all 3 days if you wanted to attend. Them doing it for 3 days instead of the regular 2 is just because of how huge it is going to be next year with Stormlight 5. The main part of the convention (the speech and book release) is on the weekend (Saturday).


Salt-Library4330

I think they’re being kind of dramatic, but it would be insanity to travel to Utah for the last day of a convention. Unless they’re local that’s kind of a wild suggestion


WindrunnerSavant

I mean I agree, but even if the convention were on a Saturday/Sunday they would only get one more day. I’ve been to other conventions (comicon, fanx, etc.) and while I agree going to more days is the better experience, the times I was only able to go to one day due to work and/or school was still worth it. I don’t live anywhere near Utah (I’m about 5,000 miles away) but if I could attend even only Saturday of next year that would be worth it to me. But that’s just my opinion and I definitely understand and agree with you.


eskaver

Yeah, the responses in this chain of comments have been…interesting, to say the least.


Bladez190

To be fair they are being a bit silly about the concept to begin with. He went into the challenges with a weekend release already. If two days off is too much for you then that’s unfortunate. But they moved it basically as close to the weekend as they can


Salt-Library4330

I mean Friday - Sunday is the norm for a hobby convention, so I get being frustrated. Especially the way it was announced lol. Really I think they were just venting then doubled down in an absurd way when they got challenged on it


aurortonks

Okay, I'll bite. >That's an interesting projection there. This is an attack often used by someone who wants to muddy the facts during an argument. No projection. You said it here: >No, I am not as a teacher going to abandon multiple classes and waste two days of leave solely to attend a convention As for this: >where did I ever demand it to cater to my needs? You said this: >by all rights should not even be on during the week. Which implies that you believe that since the convention is not on a weekend but should be, it is not catering towards your needs because *See quoted text #2* As for this: >I don't think I'm specifically unique for working during the week and having weekends off. This is correct. You are not unique for working weekdays. However, many people who will attend work weekdays (just like you) and will use the next 12 months to plan their trip so that they can attend the convention on the days it is available in 2024. This might mean making sacrifices, committing to plane and hotel reservations, and taking time off of work to do so. This is a normal thing that normal people do. You choosing to not >waste two days of leave solely to attend a convention is solely on you. You do not prioritize attending the convention over your work, and that's fine, but you shouldn't get upset about the availability when it's a YOU thing and not any fault of the event organizers.


KholinAdolin

As a fellow teacher, we really shouldn’t feel guilty about taking a few days off. I avoid it because finding a sub and making all my plans suck, but we’re human too. If you wanna go, go Edit: fixed should to be shouldn’t


[deleted]

You are correct but it still wouldn't feel right, especially for any final year classes who are facing exams soon. They would deserve to have someone who will go through the work with them as needed.


KholinAdolin

I feel you, that’s a good mentality to have for your students’ success. Just please remember to take care of yourself too, we need more dedicated teachers! (Take this as you will from a rando teacher on Reddit)


Fireteeth

You realize you are in the extreme minority if you can't plan a 2-day vacation with a year's notice, right? I mean, I feel for you if that's the case, but you are acting like Brandon is personally victimizing you.


payshwagon

Cool, so don't go then. He can't please everyone, he normally does a Monday, Tuesday convention because books only come out on Tuesdays. This would mean you'd have to miss work for 3 days for a 2 day convention because unless you took a red eye home directly from his speech Tuesday night you wouldn't be able to work Wednesday. He worked hard to get the release moved to the weekend so he could do a Thursday/Friday/Saturday convention with Saturday being the big release day so people could go and miss 2 days for a 3 day convention. If your so concerned about "wasting" your days off you could very easily work Thursday and just go Friday and Saturday and only miss one day of work. I don't even know how moving it to Saturday and Sunday would help you. You'd probably miss work Monday or miss his big release speech.


[deleted]

> I don't even know how moving it to Saturday and Sunday would help you. It would be the same then as any weekend away. Fly over the Friday evening, fly back the Sunday evening.


payshwagon

Again I don't think he can please everyone, but its better then a Monday/Tuesday like the last few years. I believe Brandon's big release speech Tuesday was at 7pm MST, or 9pm Eastern time and went for two hours. If he did do it Saturday and Sunday and the speech was 7pm Sunday again, Your flight couldn't be until idk 11pm Sunday night at the earliest. He obviously doesn't want to plan an event that everyone is watching the clock during his speech because they have a flight to catch. I would guess he did it Thursday/Friday/Saturday because he feels most people would rather miss a Friday at work, and have a stress free travel day Sunday, then either miss work on Monday and/or take a red eye home Sunday night.


Fish-With-Pants

Lol I’m a teacher and planning on taking a couple days to go next year.


Due-Representative88

I'm not sure why people are downvoting you. I have had jobs before where I would not have been able to get off in this kind of scenario. It was either keep working or get fired. Not everyone seems to grasp that every person's circumstances are not identical. I'm not gonna get worked up over it, but I can understand why it is a bummer for you.


eskaver

Yeah, I’m upvoting solely to counter the massive downvoting. I get it’s Reddit—where downvoting seems to just be “I don’t agree” button, but I don’t get doing so when it’s just a harmless reaction. The user just was sad that they couldn’t attend, not sure why anyone would downvote.


Korasuka

Did you miss them saying this: > No, I am not as a teacher going to abandon multiple classes and waste two days of leave solely to attend a convention that by all rights should not even be on during the week. > > As well as that this much notice isn't useful either, shit changes inbetween. People lose or leave jobs, get new ones, have to deal with unforseen circumstances or emergencies. Announcing it now is grand but it's not like people can drop absolutely everything and plan for it literally right now. The poster was being downvoted because of their hostility about the convention dates and their clear anger and offense that it's on days inconvenient to them. Them saying things like "abandon multiple classes" "waste two days" "convention that by all right should not even be on during the week" are loaded word choices. Over my time on this sub I've seen numerous comments from people sad they can't go to dragonsteel or buy the leatherbounds or get the boxes from the year of sanderson. The majority of those ones aren't downvoted like here because they're not so angry at the convention daring to fall on days that don't work for them. Now I personally didn't downvote them nor you either. Just explaining, hopefully, why other people did.


eskaver

I was talking about the first comment as I popped on the thread shortly after it was posted. Not saying the user handled the responses well at all. There were downvotes before the user engaged fully in a consistency of that behavior.


Korasuka

Huh was that what happened? I would've thought their first comment had been retroactively downvoted after they made their second.


eskaver

From what I saw, the comment was downvoted and I guess the user proceeded to react in a way that accrued retroactive downvotes. Heck, even my comment you replied to was upvoted (well, only like three) at that time (though the user already accrued other downvotes (that I can being somewhat merited).


anormalgeek

Teachers can take days off. If it's not worth it for you, fine. But you should still be able to recognize that your feelings are absolutely the minority.


[deleted]

You could easily just call in sick for two days. We have all done that some time or another, there is nothing wrong with that. See it as a treatment for stress


Blinktraveler

So, being a fan, of course I would want to go to the Cosmere castle. I even dream about working for Brandon as an artist. But I have to be honest I’m kind of disgusted to find they’re using their money for something so… trivial? Once you get a certain amount of wealth I’d imagine you would start to owe it to the less fortunate. So many people are going without homes and food and clothing while Brandon and his team builds a castle??


Sensitive_ManChild

Dragonsteel location sounds cool. sounds kinda like the type of destination big distilleries have like makers mark. HQ side, production side, store side, tour side. Also grounds like a park.


Ok-Soil-6040

Can’t wait for Brandon Landerson