Fantasy fiction author Will Wight ‘13MFA spoke with WFLA Orlando about what inspired him to complete his first novel, how he unexpectedly blew up in the Amazon Kindle’s publishing program and what ignited his interest in fantasy literature. Since self-publishing his first novel on the Amazon Kindle Store in 2013, Wight has published over 20 books and sold over one million copies, making a name for himself on the New York Times Best Seller list and topping the Kindle store charts.
“When I wrote my first book, I didn’t know what a lot of book sales was. Is 1,000 a lot? 10,000? Well, 1 million is a lot,” Wight said. “I called my first book House of Blades, and in the first week, I was thrilled to have sold 80 copies.”
“The Traveler’s Gate,” “Elder Empire” and “Cradle” are three of Wight’s series, all set in the same cosmos but with separate magical foundations. Wight’s works explore the otherworldly regions by combining inhuman monsters, parallel storylines and forbidden power.
In 2016, Wight shared with the UCF English department five digital publishing tips which fostered his success in becoming a professional fantasy book writer.
“My results are not typical, but I can at least offer some tips if you think you might be interested in selling novels on Kindle,” Wight said.
Click here to read Will Wight’s post on the UCF Creative Writing program blog.