More importantly, we've just got such fans. 'But that eventually faded because I mean, we've hit the New York Times bestseller list. 'For the first few years I was writing, it felt like, 'I'll feel like I made it when I get into bookstores,'' Wight said. When asked if there was a feeling of validation as an author for finally getting his books into stores, Wight said that it was 'very cool' but not necessarily validating.

So when I was starting out, all I did was I went, 'Okay, where would I go as a reader to find out where my book would be?' And then I tried to figure out how do I get my books talked about there.' As a reader, I'd go to Reddit and r/Fantasy and all these places, and that's where I would look for recommendations and new, upcoming stuff that I hadn't heard of.

'If you're a fantasy fan and you're out looking for books of your own to read, you go to some of these places. 'I think that a lot of what the internet has done is it's allowed us to cut out the middleman,' Wight said when asked about the internet's role in growing his career.

Wight grew his audience and fanbase on platforms like Reddit instead of through book tours or traditional marketing. The Cradle series, which Wight describes as 'sort of like kung fu movies or shonen anime in a Chinese-inspired fantasy world where people just get stronger and stronger until eventually they're punching Godzilla in the face,' was previously distributed exclusively through Amazon and Audible. Wight is one of a growing number of popular authors who have found success outside of traditional publishing career.

Cradle will wight book 1