Michael Sullivan: Hollow World

The print edition of Hollow World is released by Tachyon Publications. They are the perfect example of a publisher who is doing things right . In the new digital-age, most publishers are trying to lock up as many rights as possible, whereas Tachyon works with authors to meet their needs. Their willingness to take just a slice of the pie is a smart move, which I hope will be a beacon for the rest of the industry. For those unfamiliar with Tachyon Publications, they have published works by Brandon Sanderson, Charles de Lint, Tim Powers, Peter S. Beagle, Patricia A. McKillip, and anthologies by Ellen Datlow, John Joseph Adams, and others. Patricia’s Wonders of the Invisible World , was a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of 2012. They have had two Hugo Award nominations in 2013, with a win for The Emperor’s Soul , plus they have won Nebulas in 2006, 2012, and 2013.

Okay, so above are all the people who contributed to the actual creation or distribution process in one way or another. And as I said I’m very grateful to them. But I also want to acknowledge the amazing group of readers who contributed to the Kickstarter project. This was the first time I had ever tried Kickstarter, and since then I’ve backed many projects (and plan to do more). Kickstarter is changing the way in which products are conceived and delivered, and I love this brave new world they are creating. Backers of Kickstarter projects not only get a product they want, but they get exclusive perks available only to them and the satisfaction of knowing their contributions made a new product possible.

As I mentioned in my afterword, I had estimated a need for $6,000 and so I held my Kickstarter for $3,000 (one-half coming from me and one-half from my readership). As it turned out they funded the project at more than 1000 percent, so when all was said and done, not only did I have money to hire the talented professionals that I had picked out, but I also ended up with what was essentially an advance. This is exactly the way traditional publishing works, but instead of getting the advance from a publisher, I got it from the readers. This really has made me think about the changes in the industry. I know several authors who have shelved projects that they felt strongly about but were either turned down or offered too little to sign. Since these are previously published authors, they already have fan bases and I’m hoping that they’ll see Hollow World as an example of how they can continue to pursue their dreams by writing the stories they want and finding an audience on their own. So not only did the backers of this Kickstarter make Hollow World possible, hopefully it’ll provide a template for other authors to follow for their own works.

I thanked each person by name in the Kickstarter edition, but I wanted to once again give them all my heartfelt thanks for their belief in the project, their financial support, and all the amazing reviews and comments they have provided since getting their books. This book belongs to you just as much as it does to those that participated in the production of the book, and I’m humbled by all that you have done for Hollow World .

— Michael J. Sullivan October 2013

After finding a manual typewriter in the basement of a friend’s house, Michael inserted a blank piece of paper and typed: It was a dark and stormy night and a shot rang out. Well, he was just eight years old at the time, so we’ll forgive him that trespass. But the desire to fill the blank page and see what doors the typewriter keys would unlock wouldn’t let him go. For ten years Michael developed his craft by studying authors such as Stephen King, Ayn Rand, and John Steinbeck. During that time, he wrote twelve novels, and after finding no traction in publishing, he gave up and vowed never to write creatively again.

Michael discovered that never is a very long time, and he ended his writing hiatus after a decade. The itch returned when he decided to create a series of books for his then thirteen-year-old daughter, who was struggling in school due to dyslexia. Intrigued by the idea of writing a series with an overarching story line, he created the Riyria Revelations. Each of the six books was written as an individual episode but also included intertwining elements and mysteries that develop over time. Michael describes this endeavor as something he did “just for fun with no intention of publishing.” After presenting the first manuscript to his daughter, he was chagrined that she declared, “I can’t read it like this, can’t you get it published?”

So began his second adventure on the road to publication, which included: drafting his wife to be his business manager; signing with an independent press; and later creating a small press. After two and a half years, the first five books sold more than 70,000 copies and ranked in the top twenty of multiple Amazon fantasy lists. In November 2010, he leveraged his success and received his first commercial publishing contract for three novels from Orbit Books (the fantasy imprint of Hachette Book Group, USA). In addition, Michael reached international status with more than fifteen foreign rights translations including France, Spain, Russia, and Germany, just to name a few.

Michael’s work has been well received by critics and readers alike, earning him thousands of positive ratings/reviews, interviews, and articles. He has attributed much of his success to the fantasy book blogging community. Dubbed “the little indie that could” he found his books pitted as the only independent in major competitions such as the 2010 and 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy and the 2009 Book Spot Central’s Fantasy Tournament of Books, which he won. His traditionally published edition of Theft of Swords was short-listed for the 2013 Audie Award for Fantasy.

Today, Michael continues to fill blank pages and is working on his third series tentatively titled The First Empire.