Publishing used to be a simple process. A writer would send in three chapters of their book, a synopsis and a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Most would get their submissions back with a polite rejection note, and the few nuggets of gold spotted by the publishers would become books.

But the internet, having revolutionised our reading habits, is now affecting how publishers take on new writers. Science fiction publisher Gollancz – a mighty name in Grub Street since 1927 and now an imprint of Orion – is, to borrow a phrase, boldly going where few have gone before. It isn't by any means alone in seeking out strange new worlds, but a further example arrived this week of the way in which Gollancz, in particular, casts its net wide with surprising results.

On Kickstarter – the website portal through which all kinds of art creators crowd-fund projects to get them off the ground – video game maker Frontier Developments has been trying to raise £1.25m. The money will fund a sequel to Elite, a seminal sci-fi computer game from the 1980s, remembered fondly by bedroom astronauts the world over.

It would have been easy for Gollancz just to sit back until the game had been funded, and then talk tie-in novels, but Gollancz editor Marcus Gipps and Orion deputy publisher Jon Wood – both huge fans of the original game – wanted a more immersive experience for the publisher. Sniffing the potential for tie-in novels, they decided to throw some money into the Kickstarter pot, shelling out £13,000 for the novel rights to the new game, while also giving a major boost to the launch of the new product.

They had already raised the possibility of Elite novel tie-ins with Elite co-creator David Braben. Marcus says: "Although it was clear he would be interested in later discussions, his priority was to get money into the Kickstarter, and so – after some discussion in-house as to how to manage it – we decided to go ahead. The way in which Kickstarter and similar websites will change publishing is not yet clear, but Gollancz plans to be at the forefront of digital innovation. This seemed like a perfect chance to try out a new way of acquiring a book!"

Gollancz will have control over the novelisations and is in the process of selecting authors for the tie-ins. But there was another link that made the partnership an exceptionally good fit: the original Elite game was packaged with a specially commissioned novella written by Robert Holdstock, a fantasy writer who died in 2009 – and a Gollancz author. What's more, Holdstock's work is a major part of yet another digital innovation by Gollancz: the SF Gateway.

The Gateway, under the curatorship of Gollancz's digital publisher, Darren Nash, brings back into circulation in ebook form thousands of books from the imprint's back catalogue, relatively cheaply and easily resurfacing out-of-print classics and curiosities – including the Holdstock-Elite tie-in. "It gave us an added reason to be involved," says Marcus. "We're deeply sorry that we can't work with him on this project, but hope he would have approved."

This isn't Gollancz's only foray into new-world publishing; they've embraced the digital so readily that they've even struck a five-figure, two-book deal on Twitter. Granted, the author in question – Mitch Benn – has a ready-made profile: he's a performer of comic songs, with regular radio and TV appearances to his name. But he is by no means a known quantity in the field of SF. Gollancz's deputy publishing director Simon Spanton is a fan of Benn's and follows him on Twitter. When Benn tweeted last year that he was at a loose end in London, Spanton fired off a reply telling him to call in at the Gollancz offices to discuss the SF novel "that you're going to write for Gollancz".

Benn duly did, and another Gollancz's publishing deal was forged. Spanton says: "I had no idea at the time whether he was even writing anything, let alone an SF novel. He tweeted back saying 'You're on'. And we met up that afternoon. He said he was writing a novel. We talked about it and he followed up by sending the opening pages. I read them. Loved them, sent him an email, we met up again, he sent more pages and it went from there."

Spanton bought world rights, including audio and film, in two books for a good five-figure sum via Benn's manager, Ian Wilson. The first novel, with a working title Terra, will be published in July 2013.

The Elite Kickstarter project officially ends at midnight tonight. The three Elite novels will be published in 2014.