Unsouled Performing Suspiciously Well

6/20/2016

First of all, because I know you've been waiting for this, June's story will be sent out on the mailing list tomorrow night!

Sorry I let that one linger for so long; first I was out of the country, then I was sick, then I was releasing a book. It's been a busy month. But you'll be happy to know that, despite June's being three weeks late instead of one week as I predicted, July's short story will be available on the first of the month, as scheduled.

Tomorrow's short story will be Traveler's Gate, but July's won't be. Will it be Cradle, Elder Empire, or something else? Stay tuned to find out!

In other news, Unsouled has surpassed all my predictions for how well it's selling. I mean, you guys are amazing. It's sold over 1200 copies in less than a week, and it's on track to sell more than three hundred copies today alone. This is a better launch response than any book I've written since House of Blades.

I'll have to respond to that enthusiasm somehow.

Anyway, thanks for reading my books! Thanks for recommending them to your friends, for writing reviews, for bugging people on reddit to read them. It's almost overwhelming--I was trawling through Amazon yesterday, looking for a book to read, and in one of the top reviews of someone else's story, the reviewer mentioned me by name. He was including me in a list of fantasy authors that he thought had done great work.

That's mind-blowing. Equally astounding is that so many people out there enjoy my stories enough that they're willing to pay me for them. It's bizarre.

So from the bottom of my cold, green, shrunken heart, I thank you.

-Will

58 Comments

Scott

6/20/2016 11:53:39 am

*starts slow clap*
Absolutely loved it .

Will link

6/20/2016 11:57:17 am

Are YOU the reason why it's performing suspiciously well? I'VE FOUND THE CULPRIT!

6/22/2016 02:11:34 pm

Enjoyed it more than house of blades and I loved that book(and the following ones)

6/23/2016 08:56:19 am

I'm glad, Scott!

Why was that, do you think?

Jeremiah

6/20/2016 12:35:14 pm

That was all me. I've been creating emails and buying up copies of unsouled to sell when there is a drought in the land of good fiction. But now my plan is foiled so I want a refund or 1200

6/20/2016 12:38:30 pm

I knew it! When I saw the sales, I thought, "This must be Jeremiah. BUT HOW?"

dave

6/20/2016 01:44:26 pm

Yeees the short story bren dying for it

6/21/2016 08:38:52 am

Soon, Dave! Soon you will be dying no longer!

James

6/20/2016 07:07:01 pm

Congratulations, I really enjoy reading your stuff It always feels like a power trip kind of fantasy which I really enjoy and usually devour in a day at most. Out of interest what did you find to read?

6/21/2016 10:51:24 am

If you're going on a trip, it might as well be a power trip.

I ended up reading Nightblade, by Ryan Kirk. It was a fun magic ninja story, I enjoyed it. Bought Book 2, but I haven't read it yet.

EDIT: I also re-read Forging Divinity, by Andrew Rowe. It's not my usual port of call, but it has the distinction of being different from most fantasy (including my own) in that it is RIDICULOUSLY well thought-out. Every single character has a meticulous plan, and these plans are executed in thoughtful, rational ways. Everyone is treated as intelligent, including the author and the reader.

I do think the book goes into too many detailed explanations at times, but it's still refreshing to see an author who has weighed, measured, and considered every single action with care. At one point, a character reasons that his food likely won't be poisoned because his enemies could have smeared poison into his wounds through a medicinal salve. That's the kind of detail you get when the character AND the author have thoroughly thought through their situation.

6/21/2016 07:04:52 pm

Cool I'll give those two books a try. Also cause I'm a junky and I'm itching for a fix, have you sent out the monthly short story cause I usually get them and I haven't received it yet?

6/21/2016 09:04:33 pm

Just now! I like to slide in RIGHT under the wire.

But another one's coming next week!

Brian S

6/20/2016 08:14:30 pm

'Shadows in the bushes flickered and giggled, while the clouds zoomed around like zealous fish in the ocean of the sky.'

That sentence was the exact point at which I became a hard core fan of this series. It was the moment that I said to myself "Oh yeah, now I remember why I read this guys books." I don't know exactly what kind of hallucinogens you took in college, but they must have been the good stuff.

Keep up the good work Will, and write more books in this series.

6/21/2016 08:40:57 am

No hallucinogens required when you have IMAAAAAAAAGINATION!

I can't insert images here, so if you would please provide your own picture of Spongebob with a rainbow, that would be very helpful.

Mahfuz

6/21/2016 01:24:32 am

Wait till the new TG comes out. Me and my friends ALONE will buy 20+ copies xD

6/21/2016 08:41:49 am

I like to buy a copy for each of my 40 Kindles, which I have stacked up against the back door like firewood prepped for winter.

Stephen

6/21/2016 08:04:29 am

Unsouled may be my new favorite Will Wight.

6/21/2016 08:42:32 am

My favorite Will Wight is the one that sneaks into my apartment at night and lurks in the corner, staring at me with his burning red eyes.

What a scamp!

Rhys

6/21/2016 08:06:07 am

Its awesome will, and hugely engaging. More, more, more. Also if your planning to write quite a few, could we see some more of the 8 man empire lindon was shown? They look awesome!

6/21/2016 08:43:31 am

Glad you enjoyed it, Rhys!

To be completely honest with you, I'm not sure how many of those people Suriel showed him are going to show up again. Some of them are, of course, but I haven't decided which ones yet.

6/21/2016 08:47:13 am

Honestly, I could (just about) live without seeing northstrider again as while he sounds awesome, its the more ordinary xianxia type of awesome. The ninecloud court and especially the 8 man empire are epic and I need them in my life.

Brian C

6/21/2016 09:51:00 am

I'm with Rhys on this one. The Ninecloud Court and the 8 Man Empire sound amazing and I need them in my life!!

6/21/2016 10:41:36 am

Message received.

It's hard to guarantee anything, because it will be a while from now before they show up, but I'll do what I can.

Brian Pederson

6/21/2016 12:00:15 pm

And here I was thinking Luminous Queen Sha Miara wasn't THAT much younger than Lindon, especially given a decade or two of age and training. :)

Arindam

6/21/2016 09:00:41 am

You will find several reviews of other books with your name in there. I'm probably guilty of a few.

6/21/2016 10:44:00 am

I was just shocked, because it's not like I was looking for my name. I was trying to figure out whether I wanted to buy the book or not. And there it was, in the Most Helpful Negative Review, as they included me in a list with 4-5 NY Times Bestselling Authors.

That blew me away, not only because it was so unexpected, but because that's some rarefied company.

6/21/2016 09:24:52 pm

Will, if we were talking epic fantasy, you'd be pretty good, but just another fish in a very large sea. We're not talking about epic fantasy, we're talking about high fantasy, and in that genre you may very well be the next Robert E. Howard. Yes, I did say that. High Fantasy has been marginalized and mostly forgotten by the main stream, but you're bringing it back and your doing it with style. Keep up the good work and thank you for providing us with high quality fast paced entertaining writing.

6/21/2016 09:30:45 pm

You know, people often use "high fantasy" and "epic fantasy" interchangeably, but if by high fantasy you mean fast-paced, action-focused works in large, original fantasy worlds (like Robert E. Howard wrote)...then you're absolutely right, that's exactly what I'm shooting for. On the Literature to Pulp slider, I'm way on the right.

Nikk

6/21/2016 01:03:00 pm

I love Unsouled so far! I am about half way through it and I love it!
I also read the magic ninja books by Ryan Kirk, they are worth reading! I haven’t yet read Forging Divinity.. but.. wait.. ‘cold, green, shrunken heart’.. do you have a Heart of Nakothi beating in your chest?!

6/21/2016 01:09:21 pm

I can neither confirm nor deny your...

You know, that's some nice-looking skin you have there. Has anyone ever told you that? You have great skin. You know where that skin would look just fantastic? On an undead bear.

How would you feel about me chopping you up and reassembling you into a creepy, shambling bear? Great, or REALLY great?

Crazy

6/21/2016 01:46:40 pm

Wait is Will secretly the emperor and his assassination was fake.

6/21/2016 02:06:11 pm

,,,,,,,??TWWWWWT?,,,,,,,,,,,,,
?TWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHT,,,,,,,,
?HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?,,,
,,,WHW?,,,,,,,,,??WHHHHHHT,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,HHHHHHW
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,?HHHHHH
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,?HHHHHH
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,?WHHHHW
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,?WHHHHH??
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,THHHHHHT?,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,THHHHHHW,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,WHHHHHW,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,WHHHHHT?,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,HHHHHHT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,THHHHHT?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,WHHHW?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,THHHHH,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,WHHHH,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,WHHHH,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,??????,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,?THHHHHT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,THHHHHHHHW,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,WHHHHHHHHH,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,WHHHHHHHHH,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,TWHHHHW?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

6/22/2016 10:00:55 am

I feel BAD about you chopping me up and reassembling me into a creepy, shambling bear!

..... Unless I am a DIRE UNDEAD BLACK BEAR with Chainsaw hands.. paws? that shoots laser beams from my undead, lifeless eyes

Then REALLY Great

Ben

6/21/2016 03:11:02 pm

Unsouled came out the day before I had a long flight, so I thought to myself -- "Perfect. I'll put it on the Kindle tonight, then read it tomorrow on the plane! But I'll just read a chapter or two now to see how much I like it..."

Next thing I knew, I had just finished my new favorite book by Will Wight. Absolutely loved it, and eagerly anticipating the next entry!

6/21/2016 09:03:41 pm

That's awesome, Ben! I'll have an announcement about Soulsmith coming soon, and I'm excited you enjoyed Unsouled! I really did write it for my own selfish satisfaction, so seeing this kind of response to it has been incredible.

6/22/2016 05:31:38 pm

If you're looking for a solution to the mystery of why this book is getting such good feedback, I think "I really did write it for my own selfish satisfaction" might be a clue...

"I'm having fun writing this, this is what I would want to read" ---> head start on success

6/23/2016 08:57:38 am

Sure, but I wrote Elder Empire because it's what I have fun writing and what I want to read, and it didn't sell this well. It got great reviews, but not this sort of response. People vote with their wallets.

6/21/2016 07:20:18 pm

Have you sent out the monthly mailing list story yet? I really want it!

6/21/2016 09:02:52 pm

Just did, Brian!

I like to use EVERY SECOND of my extra time.

Katie

6/21/2016 09:19:17 pm

I actually read about you on another author's website by a reader that was commenting about books he enjoyed. I read The House of Blades and fell in love with it and every other book that you've written.

6/21/2016 09:22:01 pm

That's awesome, Katie! Whose website was it, if you don't mind me asking?

I believe it was Trevor H. Cooley's website. I enjoyed his The Bowl of Souls series. :)

6/21/2016 09:32:18 pm

Oh right, Eye of the Moonrat! I read that!

But I don't think I read book two, and I don't remember why. I think I may have just forgotten.

You might have given me something to read, Katie! Thanks!

6/21/2016 09:37:36 pm

:o I just figured out this reply thing, sorry. No problem! There are nine The Bowl of Soup books. You probably forgot because you were writing these amazing books of yours. I can't wait to read more!

6/21/2016 09:38:43 pm

The Bowl of Soul books**

6/21/2016 09:40:42 pm

If someone managed to write nine fantasy novels revolving around a Bowl of Soup, that would be way too impressive.

6/21/2016 09:43:59 pm

Hahaha! Anything is possible. It could be a magical bowl of soup that speaks. An adviser lol

khrm link

6/22/2016 04:34:58 pm

Love this. It was my 50th book of the year. I borrowed it from Kindle Unlimited. You are the author of this month for me.
Now waiting for Soulsmith.

6/23/2016 08:55:55 am

Soulsmith coming soon!

And I'm honored to be your author of the month, as well as your fiftieth book of the year. Do I win a prize?

6/23/2016 10:01:29 am

Yes, you get free promotions from me. Dedicated threads in fantasy forum that I am. Will write a review later on.

6/23/2016 06:18:03 pm

The comments on the thread are doing surprisingly well as well!

6/23/2016 06:24:19 pm

That one didn't surprise me much. The blog usually gets a lot of comments after a release.

I am a little shocked at how quickly I've gotten over 40 reviews, though.

6/29/2016 09:46:50 am

Speaking of Best Sellers...

Best Sellers in Asian Myth & Legend

#1.
Unsouled (Cradle Book 1)
by Will Wight
with 55 reviews and a 4.9 out of 5 stars.
No reviews below a 3.

7/1/2016 05:52:16 pm

There will be a one-star review eventually. Someone will be offended that I used the word "soul" too much, or something.

But until then, I'm riding the positive wave!

7/1/2016 03:54:12 am

I was mildly annoyed when I found out you started a new series and thought about boycotting until the next Elder Empire. Then I thought I would give it a chance and holy crap this could be my favorite novel you've done. What's next? Sci-fi? (please say sci-fi).

7/1/2016 05:57:23 pm

I get that a lot, Ben. I can't count the number of people who told me they were boycotting me until I went back to Traveler's Gate.

As for sci-fi, if I did write a sci-fi novel, it would be pretty soft sci-fi. I'm not good enough to balance the hard science.

More like Red Rising than Foundation, if that makes sense.

Judah

7/5/2016 02:40:44 am

Do you jest? Performing suspiciously well? Will Wight is doing Xianxia!!! How could I not purchase it? And it was everything I was expecting and more. I loved Lindon and Yerin. I'm looking forward to seeing how they develop.

Seriously, though, xianxia novels have been growing more and more popular over the past few years, in no small part due to the increasing growth and organization of the online translation community. Wuxiaworld is perhaps the perfect example; it's working in collaboration with authors in China to help them publish English-language translations of their works on Amazon, which has made the whole genre way more accessible to a lot of people.

That being said, while you can find quite a few xianxia-type web serials being written by westerners that are frankly excellent, they're still serials: written and released progressively, on a part-time basis, and with widely separated beginnings and ends (arcs). This, on the other hand, is a full-length novel written by a professional author. In fact, while there's some stuff that comes close, I'm pretty sure that this might be the very first full-length xianxia novel written by a westerner. So, I imagine that a lot of the rush is due to xianxia lovers who found Unsouled and just had to see how it matched up to the Chinese stuff.

Also, there's the fact that all your stuff is brilliant. That might have something to do with it.

7/5/2016 08:07:40 pm

Yeah, it's astonishing how the community's grown in really just the past two or three years.

But man, I love the genre, and I love the mythology built up around it. Martial arts where you level up to immortality? Who wouldn't love that?

I've wanted to take a crack at it for a couple of years now, just for fun, but I thought of this as a little side project in between bigger books. I didn't think it would take off the way it has!

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.