Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe was a dirty secret until he saw success
Brandon Sanderson, a prolific fantasy author, revealed on April 16 that his ambitious Cosmere universe—an interconnected collection of seemingly standalone book series—was deliberately kept secret during his early publishing career. The Cosmere’s books share unified magic systems and feature recurring characters like the wandering storyteller Hoid, creating a cohesive fictional universe across multiple works.
In a YouTube video, Sanderson explained the strategic reasoning behind this secrecy. When pitching manuscripts to publishers, revealing that one book was part of a larger universe complicated negotiations. Publishers who passed on one manuscript were unlikely to accept a sequel or spin-off set in the same universe. However, pitching standalone works with different settings and premises made it easier to place multiple projects, even when an individual book failed to secure a publishing deal.
This approach allowed Sanderson to build a track record of published works and develop a growing fanbase before introducing readers to the interconnected nature of his fiction. Once individual series achieved commercial success, he could gradually reveal the Cosmere framework, leveraging his established reputation to sell the grander vision to both publishers and readers.
The revelation highlights the pragmatic decisions authors must make when navigating the publishing industry. Despite his ultimate success in creating an interconnected universe, Sanderson initially kept this ambition hidden to maximize his chances of publication in a competitive market.