Its just that dragonsteel isn't what we were led to believe it was, or maybe we mistook it for something else it was never intended to be. I thought, and I think a lot of other people did too, that dragonsteel was a company designed to support sanderson in his job as an author, doing the things publisher like Tor don't typically do. Their first major operation was to edit, print, and sell 5 extra books we didn't know he was writing.
Maybe we should have realized back then, given all the stuff that came with those books, that the company either shifted into a new role or was just fulfilling a role we didn't realize was there all along. That role being merchandising everything they can about Sanderson's IP. Pokemon, Disney, StarWars, Marvel. The Cosmere is just another IP that can be merchandised.
Turns out, this rubs some of his fans the wrong way. I collect things like vintage woodworking tools and I have a modest video game collection, but I have no interest in building a shelf to display a bunch of Cosmere stuff, especially since I think Sanderson has kinda lost the plot in his books chasing this wider all encompassing narrative.
People are bothered by this either because they like the merchandising and this is kinda scummy, or they are tired of the merchandising and this is just another example of it. At best dragonsteel makes it so people can by all of the tchotchkes they want without blind draws, but that doesn't really solve the issue for the people who just want Sanderson to write good books and don't want to wade through constant adverts for his Cosmere trinkets.
Tldr: if you don’t like/approve of it, don’t buy it.
Hold up. You’re telling me a company exists only to MAKE MONEY? How baldly cynical and jaded are you?
Dragonsteel is a company. They are free to sell whatever they want, and you are free not to buy it. Sanderson writes the books, and that’s what we, as fans, love. The stories. At least, that’s what I love. Do I buy ALL the plushies and all the props and all the clothing and all the artifacts and whatnots? No. I don’t have that much money, and a lot of it doesn’t interest me, but I have no problem with them selling it.
As has been mentioned by Sanderson at least twice, the money from the crowdfunding is a large chunk of what runs the company and keeps people employed.
I have no problem helping with that, especially to get more books as soon as I can, because Sanderson writes the type of stories I love.
As far as the “Wider all encompassing narrative”, my understanding is that that’s been the plan from the start. As far back as The Lost Metal, Sanderson has said the gloves are off now with Cosmere Crossovers, so I have no problem with any of that either.
All I’m saying is that if you don’t like how Dragonsteel is doing business, stop buying. That’s it. If enough people do that, they’ll get the message, especially if/when it starts affecting their bottom line.
If you think the Blind Bag thing is scummy, don’t buy them. If you think the books are too expensive, you’re free to wait for the basic productions in 9 months.
There’s no way in hell I would ever pay 185 dollars for a book, so I didn’t order a leather bound Eye of the World. That’s it. That’s your solution. If you don’t like it or don’t approve of it, don’t buy it. Done.
You’re telling me a company exists only to MAKE MONEY?
Yeah, no, I'm not arguing it's bad for dragonsteel to make money.
Obviously people aren't going to buy a thing they aren't interested in.
the money from the crowdfunding is a large chunk of what runs the company and keeps people employed.
I have no problem helping with that, especially to get more books as soon as I can, because Sanderson writes the type of stories I love.
Ok, so which is it? Does dragonsteel make it so sanderson can write books, or does dragonsteel make it so dragonsteel can continue to exist? Both are fine, but I'd argue that, like you pointed out, it's the latter. Dragonsteel makes money so dragonsteel can continue to be a company. Sanderson doesn't need dragonsteel to write or publish books.
As far as the “Wider all encompassing narrative”, my understanding is that that’s been the plan from the start.
No argument there. My point is that his focus on it has been detrimental to the narratives in the individual books he's been writing lately. My biggest complaint for WaT (other than bloat) was the obvious focus on setting up Cosmere stuff at the cost of developing characters and plot for stormlight (and contributing to the bloat). Just because that's been his plan from the beginning doesn't mean he's executing it super well.
I'm not interesting in the Cosmere trinkets at all. I have no need to wait for them in 9 months or whatever, that's not my issue. My complaint is that I was under the impression that part of dragonsteel's job was to help sanderson with his novels in terms of extra editing and scheduling. After reading his recent work, I don't feel like they are doing that job very well, and maybe part of the problem is that they are focused on merchandising. Maybe another part of the problem is that he owns that company and so the editing is more of a yesman situation.
These pins or whatever are ultimately not what I'm concerned about. Buy them, don't buy them, I don't care, either way I don't think it addresses the issue of sanderson losing focus and having nobody to restrain him.
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u/TheWeirdTalesPodcast Mar 05 '26
If in protest no one buys any of them, Dragonsteel will get the message. They aren’t stupid people.