Tweet the Author Recap: The 3-hour tour

Today's highly anticipated 1-hour 'meet the author on Twitter' session became a 3-hour tour of all things Brandon Sanderson. Turnout was record-setting.

Okay, so we're only in our 2nd week of the new weekly series, but we've tested the waters and we're excited to know that the concept has been well-received.

It's doesn't hurt that today's guest was the author of a current NYT bestseller -- an epic fantasy mastermind with a seriously loyal following. Brandon's virtual author appearance went so well in fact, that Twitter just couldn't keep up - it locked him out after exceeding the number of posts allowed in an hour.

He kept a mean pace with the incoming "Tweet the Author" questions and under anther household account, kept chugging along. Last we checked, the party is still in progress at #tweettheauthor. For all you latecomers, it's not too late to jump in & get the scoop on his latest book, Warbreaker.

For a few of the 140 character highlights, read on:

Q: What is the most important part of writing that you have learned to be a successful author?
A: 1) Persistence. 2) Revision. 3) Characters with distinct viewpoints. 4) Use of concrete detail.

Q: Can reveal anything about the setting in Kings?
A: The setting with be the most unique I’ve done. Entirely new ecology.

Q: Now that you've published more, what order should people read your books in? Both Fntsy & non-fntsy readrs
A: Non fantasy readers I’d give Elantris to first. Fantasy readers I’d give Mistborn to

Want to catch up on the rest? Enter #tweettheauthor in your Twitter search box and get comfy. Again, big thanks to Brandon for joining us today!

Tweet the Author: Brandon Sanderson

What: Tweet live with New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson about his newest book, Warbreaker.

When: Wednesday, July 8th, from 1-2 PM CST

Where: Twitter (hashtag #tweettheauthor)

How: As part of the "Tweet the Author" discussion, Brandon Sanderson will be chatting/tweeting live on Twitter for the full hour to answer questions and chat with fans, readers, bloggers and others.

To join in on the live discussion with Brandon, you will need to have a Twitter account. Assuming that you do, here are step-by-step instructions for joining the chat:

1. Log in to your account and type in #tweettheauthor in the right hand search column.
2. Hit enter and bring up the live discussion with Brandon. At this point you will be able to view recent questions from readers and his answers.
3. To refresh the discussion, type in #tweettheauthor in the right hand search column again and hit enter or refresh your page.
4. To ask a question or make a comment, simply type out your tweet and add the #tweettheauthor hashtag to the end (this essentially identifies your tweet as part of this specific discussion)
5. Once you have tweeted your question, update the page and it will show up in the live chat.
6. If you have any questions or issues joining the chat, please contact me at rshelton@phenixpublicity.com or DM us @PhenixandPhenix.
   

More about Brandon Sanderson:

One of the most exciting new voices in science fiction and fantasy literature, Brandon Sanderson's latest novel, Warbreaker (Tor Hardcover | 0-7653-2030-4 | $27.95 | June 9, 2009), debuted on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction bestseller list.

But the road to the bestseller list wasn't without bumps.

Five years ago, Sanderson was a college student by day and a hotel front desk clerk by night. He wrote while sitting at the hotel desk from 11 pm—5 am, did homework from 5—7 am, went to class until about 4pm, went home and sleep, then started all over again. He wrote 12 unpublished manuscripts that way, before a chance encounter led him to send his unagented manuscript to an editor at a convention.

More than a year passed and Brandon had given up all hope. When the editor finally got the chance to pick it up and read a few hundred pages, he immediately knew he wanted to buy it. Sanderson’s first published book, Elantris (Tor, 2005), earned a Publishers Weekly starred review was chosen by Barnes and Noble.com editors as the best fantasy or sci-fi book of the year.

Today a best-selling author, Sanderson continues to offer his fresh brand of fantasy with the Mistborn series. He was recently chosen by the wife of the late author Robert Jordan to complete his international bestselling Wheel of Time series, which will release in November.

Visit the author's website for additional information.