Progression would be the hardest and not quite a great comparison but we do see Jasnah try (and fail) to soulcast strawberry jam, but it is implied to be possible. Similarly if it can convince said spren to become harder or softer versions of the same element then that would be like tension and cohesion. If a soulcaster or radiant with transformation can convince the spren of an object to become nothing then it seems to be mimicking division. The surge of division turns stuff into nothing. For some of those same fans of Sanderson who may be aspiring authors themselves, it can be inspiring to see another author receive immense success from working independently.Do you think it’s possible for a skilled enough Elsecaller or Lightweaver to use transformation to essentially mimic Division, and maybe even tension, cohesion, and progression.

Sanderson merely seems dedicated to taking that potential risk on the assumption that he has enough fan support to pull it off. Not every established author sees a reason to put extra time and money into producing gift bags for readers or produce these books on fancier paper without the security of a publisher's backing. If that's truly the case, it may even explain why authors in the same league as Brandon Sanderson have yet to take on such a business endeavor. It's even more selfless when weighing out how the cost of perks and swag bag will likely cost Sanderson more than the books themselves and, therefore, he is likely to be making less of a profit than he would if he signed any one of these secret books to his publisher.

For a lot of people who are reading about this news, whether they be well-established fans of Sanderson or not, it becomes hard to criticize the author too heavily when the act seems incredibly selfless on the surface. Backers get not only the works themselves, but additional perks and goodies in special limited edition gift boxes as well. That was the entire point of his Kickstarter campaign. It seems as though Brandon Sanderson's main intention with this campaign was to simply give directly to his fans, putting his works instantly into their palms without a middle man publisher. Apart from the colleagues within his creative team, Brandon Sanderson is strictly doing this independently. However, what puts Sanderson in such a unique situation is because, unlike his authoring peers, there is no publishing company to point the blame at. Even the aforementioned Patterson and both Michelle and Barack Obama's deals were criticized when their respective news first broke. This is far from the first time that a writer's book deal spurred the ire of the general public.

This may be inspiring for some, but to others, it begs the question as to why does someone who can acquire a $20+ million fund within 24 hours even needs a Kickstarter? Does this take attention away from less-fortunate creatives who actually do need it? Perhaps Sanderson's lack of need for Kickstarter is more of a reason to celebrate that nobility, but not everyone finds cause for celebration when Sanderson is bordering on being a household name. Whether audiences want to be critical or happy for Sanderson, one point that is hard to ignore in conversation is just how fast Sanderson successfully achieved his goal. By comparison, it's hard to say Sanderson exactly took a gamble on this new business venture. Martin, but his works speak for themselves, as do their successes. This is a sharp contrast from the average Kickstarter user who may be lucky enough to have $84 in their bank account as an aspiring author. Brandon Sanderson's name may not ring as many bells (yet) in mainstream circles as, say, a George R.R. While his reason for not going through his publisher this time (more on that later) can be considered noble on the surface, this is still an immensely successful writer who doesn't necessarily need a Kickstarter.

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