Sanderson began writing his first book, “a bad knock-off combination of Dragonlance and The Dragonbone Chair ,” within the next year. Embarrassed by his efforts, he hid the pages behind a painting in his bedroom so his family wouldn’t discover them. This first attempt at writing would become the only manuscript he ever abandoned before it was completed.
Fast-forward several years to college, where Sanderson concocted a grand writing scheme.
“I had heard somewhere, and I can’t remember where it was now, that your first five books are generally terrible,” Sanderson says. “For me that meant, ‘Well, I don’t have to be good until book six. So that’s okay!’ I sat down and decided to write six books.”
Instead of penning six novels, Sanderson wrote 13 in eight years. He’d taken the graveyard shift as a hotel desk clerk after graduation, allowing him time to write from midnight until 6 a.m. every morning.
“I actually did the starving artist thing, which is awesome to be able to tell people,” Sanderson jokes.
Rejection letters for eight years of manuscripts piled up, and Sanderson’s family became nervous.
“[My mom] kept having my dad call me; she was so worried about me,” he says.
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