Nov
10
GRRM is not your bitch. The rest of us…
by Brent Weeks
Neil Gaiman famously told a reader tired of waiting for the next installment of A Song of Ice and Fire that “George R. R. Martin is not your bitch.” Though Mr. Gaiman said many fine and humane things in his post, he also erected a straw man argument that such readers think authors shouldn’t do anything except write the next book. “No such contract existed. You were paying your ten dollars for the book you were reading.” Neil Gaiman being Neil Gaiman, the internet greeted this with a chorus of amens. Someone even wrote a song, which is great, except they’re all wrong. Part of what entices us to buy a book is the promise conveyed in the title. “Gragnar’s Epic Magical Dragon Quest Trilogy: Book 1” promises there will be two more books. Whether through the title, or interviews, or through a note to readers at the end of a book that says the next book will be out in a year, when an author makes that kind of commitment, maybe technically there’s no contract, but there is an obligation.
And do you know who’s hurt when that obligation is broken? Not the multimillionaire authors, but the mid-listers who are in the middle of a series, barely making it, who hear readers say, “I don’t start a series anymore until all the books are finished. I’ve been burned too many times.” This is not an attack on GRRM. He’s easily my favorite author; he’s certainly done the field far more good than harm, and I’m sure that he’s been working hard. I write big, complicated epic fantasy; I understand how difficult it is. I’ve worked with a director to make a 90-second book trailer; I can hazard a guess at what a ridiculous amount of work an entire HBO series must take. And writers make mistakes about how fast they’re going to finish books All The Time. GRRM’s situation is merely illustrative.
Authors today have to be writers, social media geeks, marketers, public speakers, bloggers, and book reviewers. Tolkien knew Elvish, but not html. Few authors are equally good at all the parts of their job. GRRM promised something he didn’t deliver. If he were better at PR, he might have defused a great deal of the anger, but he can get away with it because he’s a towering talent with millions of fans. Another outlier told Oprah’s readers that they weren’t smart enough for his books. Another shuns the internet. The talented, the rich, and the famous are always able to get away with things. So, Mr Gaiman, that “GRRM is not your bitch” is trivially true, but I’m not sure it’s something we should cheer. We can fail to fulfill our obligations for many good reasons. However, when we do, it behooves us to apologize, not to pretend that readers are the ones acting entitled.
Regardless of their success, writers have obligations to readers because readers pay us to do what we love. Readers don’t understand how hard writing can be, but many of us don’t understand how hard it is to work at McDonald’s, or a post office, or a sales desk. I’m in the middle of writing my second trilogy now, and I’ve been working six days a week for the last two years. The more successful I’ve gotten, the harder I’ve had to work. Some days I look at my full inbox, dozens of comments on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+, and more awaiting moderation on my webpage, and I despair. But you know what? Every job requires you to do things you’d rather not. That’s why you get paid for it. At the end of the day, we have the best job in the world. How about some gratitude?
-Brent Weeks is the author of the best-selling Night Angel trilogy & The Black Prism. The second book of the Lightbringer trilogy, The Blinding Knife, will be released in September 2012. The concluding volume, The Blood Mirror, will be released September, October, December of 2012. March of 2013.techn
-Brent Weeks is the author of the best-selling Night Angel trilogy & The Black Prism. The second book of the Lightbringer trilogy, The Blinding Knife, will be released in September 2012.
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Good article!
Amen!
I couldn’t agree with this more. It’s the main reason that I don’t read any books being published that are part of a series, unless it’s the final book.
There are many, many other good books out there that are self-contained, and I only have so much time to invest in reading.
Brent, your point of view reminds me of a Writing Excuses episode, where Brandon and co. basically talked about “promises to the reader”, in regards to the point of view you espouse here. Writers like Kevin J Anderson feel this way, too.
As a reader, I am completely and utterly conflicted. Writing is not easy, writing is a job–but is creativity something that can be summoned easily? I don’t know. I get frustrated if a series mires as does Martin’s series…but on the other hand, I feel ungrateful by kvetching about it.
Hey buddy,
reassuring to see that you view writing as a privilege, and also that you make the distinction between contracts in writing, and contracts in honor (obligations)–something it would be nice if professional athletes understood as well. And it’s funny; I can imagine GRRM’s thought process about signing on with HBO: “Well, they’re the best cable network out there–Deadwood, Six Feet Under, Sopranos, etc.–so they’ll do justice to my work. And I get paid a lot. Wait, filming a TV season takes months? Oops, there goes my Dance with Dragons deadline whooshing by . . . again.”
Hear hear! *applause*
One thing I love about the internet is author communication– like this. I haven’t given up on trying new series fiction because, more often than not, I know the authors are going to keep putting out work. If anything it’s a glut of series fiction that becomes a problem because I can’t keep up with it all. If I really love an author, like Patrick Rothfuss, and the next book is long in coming, it’s usually pretty easy to find out what the delay is and plan accordingly (in my case that means rereading previous books). I get where Gaiman was coming from. There are so many things that might take precedence before finishing a book– illness or family hardships. In George’s case it might be that he’s preoccupied with the TV show, but who can blame him? That’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’d probably find it pretty distracting too.
And a knock on problem for mid listers is that when the first of their trilogy doesn’t sell well, the publisher often drops the rest. I always tell people to buy the books and save them for reading when the whole series out – otherwise an unfinished series is partly their fault.
What is the obligation of an artist who takes on the task of writing a serialized story? To complete it as best they are able. You can’t say Martin has failed to do that – not while he’s still living and writing and may still finish the series in eight or ten or twenty years. What you’re arguing for is that not only should a writer complete a serial story, but they must do it in a timely fashion.
But how does that follow? A series may be billed as a series, but it’s the rare series that can definitively commit to a full publication schedule in advance. Which is why they don’t do so, I suppose. So then you have to look at where people derive their notion of what “timely” means, and it seems that one man’s timely may well be another’s laggardly. I’ve seen people complain about having to wait even a single year for a book. An author’s contract may have specific deadlines, but that’s an obligation to his publishers, not his readers. A publisher may receive a manuscript well in advance, but they may well opt to delay it a year or two or indefinitely for various reasons – and that’s a matter between the publisher and the author. Readers are on the sidelines and can only vote with their money.
This is why what Gaiman says is right, not wrong: the only absolutely sure thing you are obligated to receive for your $25 is the book you just purchased. Your purchase doesn’t oblige the author to ask when you’d like the next book and of course it does not oblige you to buy the next book. Your transaction is done, and you decide on the strength of that purchase (and whatever other criteria moves you) whether to continue following the series or not.
That an author might be hit by a stray bus (or van, as I believe Stephen King was) tomorrow or in a year or in a decade should not logicially enter into the equation. Neither should it enter the equation that he might suffer writer’s block, or mental health or medical issues, or financial ruin, or anything else of that sort. And who thinks of the possibility that a favorite series will be dropped by a publisher due to lack of sales? It happens. Who failed this supposed obligation then: the writer for not writing well enough, the publisher for not marketing enough, the readers for not buying enough? I think the answer on a purely genersl snd hypothetical level is no one – starting, publishing, and reading a series is in the end a speculative venture, which may fail for any number of reasons without anyone having incurred an obligation. The only things certain in this life are death and taxes, as they say.
The writing and publication of a book is not in a reader’s hands, in the end, and so it makes very little sense for them to create artificial deadlines that they neither control nor enforce. That some people do create these timelines, after which they feel free to insult, to demean, to persecute, to harrass, is a symptom of their failures rather than that of anyone else’s.
So long as an author keeps plugging away at a viable series, I think they’re fulfilling whatever notional obligation they can realistically be said to have taken on when setting out to write a series.
Readers have to remember writers are people, too, with families. That get sick, pass away, etc–all the messy reall life stuff .
Sometimes, your characters won’t talk to you, or another set keep talking louder. It can be messy. Just like life.
So, be patient, and find another favorite–it can happen!
Unfortunately you’re quite right. I now try not to start a series that sounds promising until I can see the final book on the shelf or at least with a firm publishing date. I’ve even got Dance with Dragons on my shalf and haven’t bothered reading it yet because, quite frankly and despite a chapter summary re-read of the previous four books, I’m a bit over it. Yes it’s an awesome series, yes I’ve met GRRM and he’s an absolutely lovely man, but I also have completed series and trilogies on my shelf that give me more satisfaction and joy to read right now.
You’re my hero. I felt the exact same way, but you articulated it with a great deal more eloquence than I could.
If you haven’t read Brent’s works, do yourself a favor and buy all of them. They’re exceptionally good.
He’s also pretty prolific, which gives him a certain amount of street cred to criticize GRRM. I don’t think GRRM’s problem is necessarily that he’s not working hard or whatever, but rather that he sort of wrote himself into a corner with so many points of view and interlocking storylines that it became too massive and complex, and he thus had to break one book into two and part of a third.
He’s not alone – it’s sort of endemic to epic fantasy. Robert Jordan, rest his soul, had the same problem. Brandon Sanderson is doing an amazing job wrapping up the series, but it’s almost brusque compared to the sprawling storylines Jordan was spinning before his death.
Edwin,
I see you’ve demolished the argument you say I was making. That wasn’t the argument I was making. When George split Storm, he wrote a special note to readers that the next book was basically done, but it had all gotten too long, so for space he had to split the books. He said that the next book would be out in about a year. It was six years until the next book. So when I say he made a promise to the reader–he made a promise to the reader. Things happen. Does he deserve all the bile of the internet? Of course not. But he blew it, and that has repercussions beyond him, simply because he is so great and so popular. The reader pays for book in her hands, yes, I agree with you and Neil on that, but she pays for it with the expectations that the writer helps set, which you and Neil ignore. We set those expectations. We can set them wherever we want–Pat Rothfuss tells readers, “The next book will be out in _100_ years!!” so as not to disappoint. As authors, we should do our best to live up to the expectations we set–and then be apologetic and open if we fail those. It’s not that hard.
I agree that life happens, even for writers. Readers do need to respect that. However, we’re five books into GRRM’s series, and he’s still introducing new characters. It appears that he has gotten lost or off-track, and I don’t know if he’s going to get back on track again. And he’s taking so long between novels. At this rate, he will never finish his story. That’s why I’ve stopped reading him.
And unfortunately, the issues around GRRM (whether you agree with the criticisms or not) do affect other writers, including Brent Weeks. At first, I didn’t want to pick up the Night Angel trilogy because it’s a series, and I didn’t want to read the Black Prism because it’s not a finished series. GRRM and Jordan have exhausted me and turned me off the fantasy series. Frankly, it took the brilliant marketing for Black Prism to convince me to even consider reading it in the first place. (The “What Color Is Your Magic?” quiz was so clever that it won me over to giving the book a try. Without that, I would never have read the book.)
Then the first chapter of Black Prism, which gives a smart twist on the young hero meant for more than his drab life, convinced me Weeks was smart enough to keep me engaged as a reader. So that’s why I kept reading. His writing has been good enough that I’ve stuck around for his series, but he’s the exception to my rule. These days, I rarely commit to reading a series by anyone, especially a new writer or a mid-list writer who hasn’t finished their series. I want a story with an end to it. That’s not too much to ask. It’s just as reasonable for readers to expect a writer to finish the series he’s writing as it is to expect celebrities not to be surprised when they are dogged by paparazzi. Like it or not, it goes with the territory.
I both agree and disagree. While yes, readers will pick up a series and expect the story to eventually be finished, that will not always happen for a variety of reasons, many of which have already been brought up.
I believe that if an author has stated that they will finish a story, they should do so. How long it takes for them to complete this is by their own discretion. Though they shouldn’t set too many deadlines which they have to end up changing either, that is just a cause for disappointment and frustration.
And us as readers should not harry them to hurry up and get on with it. Writing does not happen on a set timeline for everyone. And there are other obligations of the writer to the reader, not just the writing itself, but having to travel to promote their work, showing up at cons and festivals…
He actually wrote that he “devoutly hoped” it’d be done in that time.
Is that a promise, or a prognostication? I’d say the latter.
The lesson to take out of this: author’s shouldn’t make predictions about when they may be done, because readers choose to take these as promises.
I agree with this article completely, and the part about people not investing in a series until it’s done makes me realize a lot of why there’s hardly any shows I like on TV anymore.
People are nervous about getting into a serious story that is meant to span seasons, because it might get cancelled and leave them off at a bad spot. Because they’re nervous, they don’t watch, which means the show doesn’t pull in the ratings, and then it DOES get cancelled.
Sure, Joss continued Firefly with Serenity and the comic books, and there was executive meddling involved, but he was an established writer, having already proven with Buffy and Angel that he could pull off the season-spanning storylines. Even without the executive meddling, if Firefly had been done by an unknown, we never would have heard anything after the series was cancelled. LOST had its ups and downs (in story and in ratings), but if it hadn’t been Abrams behind it, and been someone we’d never heard of? It never would have been finished.
I’m just thankful that, between the internet and self-publishing being available, it’s relatively easier to get books written and published than it is to get a TV series produced, because without awesome books like Black Prism (I promise I’ll read Night Angel! I bought the first one!) out there, I would be completely lost.
AMEN!! Not only has the wait in GRRM’s case been ridiculous but then he doesn’t resolve anything after 6 yrs of waiting. I find a lot of readers now in my Goodreads groups will only buy completed series due to these issues. Thank God Sanderson is finishing Jordan’s work (God rest his soul)
Edwin, I did look for the note I referred to, but couldn’t find it. My memory could indeed be faulty. I think, however, that when you start parsing the exact wording, you’re getting over to the legalistic side of things, which is not what I’m talking about. Certainly, the spirit of his note was that the next book was almost finished and would likely be out in about a year. Then… life happens, etc. I found an interview (Atlantic?) where he said he’d never do that again, and had learned his lesson. I agree with you (and him!) that making such predictions about creative endeavors is best avoided. I was using the example to examine what authors owe readers (especially authors of series, which have special problems).
Alan, exactly. Conversations such as these tend to revolve around the titans of a genre, and they, by definition, are special cases. The titans get both the good (money, millions of fans) and the bad (people taking pokes at them on the internet, and that tiny minority of deranged “fans” who hector them).
Michele, Bill, Uru, thank you!
I am probably one of the few readers out there who pretty much ignores if something is part of a series or not. For that reason, I have a lot of ‘first of a series of a billion’ and not a lot of ‘billionth novel in the series!’ But I tend to become insanely loyal to writers that I’ve loved the first of a series and stuck around for the rest of the series to come out as it’s written. It helps that the bookstores I regularly frequent seem to only stock the first of a series, but once you buy that first one they rush and stock the rest of the series, so I never quite know if the series is done, but sitting in the back shelves… or if the series really just hasn’t been finished yet.
Using Brent Weeks as an example (because like a lot of other people posting here, I absolutely love his books and have re-read them way more than I should) if I really like an author, I will buy their new books, period. And then I will wait, chomping at the bit, for the next one in the series, and probably keep re-buying the book in new forms until the next one comes out.
But when an author goes “new book comes out on this date!” and I expect it to be out then, and it isn’t? I may forget about it for months or years until someone else buys the first of the series, then the bookstore puts out the second one and I remember to buy it.
My e-reader makes it easier to find the next books, though, I’m less at the whim of the bookstore shelving practices and more at the whim of someone tweeting about the next book being out. But I still might forget.
If I had been a GRRM fan from the start, and he’d been a mid-level author, I would probably have forgotten he had another book coming out in those 6 years and never bought the next one and sent the whole series to Goodwill. Six years between books? Wow that’s a long time.
Being an author is hard, yes, I know. But my current job is hard as heck and I still have to meet my deadlines no matter who dies, gets sick, or signs a movie deal. I have no leniency with my job. (And I’d willingly and happily work 6 days a week for 2 years if it was doing something I love, not something I just get paid to do, no matter how hard it is.)
I freakin love series. I can’t remember the last time I read a standalone novel, truly. And of all people, I UNDERSTAND that life happens. Trust me. I’m disabled and homebound and I certainly understand catastrophic events. You know what, though? When I find out I have to have surgery, or some other medical catastrophe happens to me, or someone I care about dies, or my internet gets shut off for lack of money to pay it, or WHATEVER MAY BE… I TAKE THE TIME TO REACH OUT. I tell the people to whom I’ve made commitments that something has come up and I will be late and I’m sorry. Or if I don’t have the time/energy/ability for that, I ask my husband or a friend to please do so for me. Seriously, it’s not that big of a deal.
Some authors also do that. Things come up, or a book just takes longer than they originally thought — but they don’t retreat into themselves and ignore the problem. They take the thirty seconds to post SOMEWHERE, whether it be Twitter, their personal website, Facebook, a post on one of their fansites, or an email to their publicist, that SOMETHING HAS COME UP, THEY ARE SORRY, IT WILL BE LATE. It’s not hard.
Other authors don’t do that. They ignore the problem, pretend it doesn’t exist, pretend they never made a time estimate in the first place, pretend their fans are lying, or just flat out tell everyone to STFU and leave them alone. They are rude, or they disappear and don’t update their websites for three years, or they throw hissy fit tantrums. That is nonsense, and in any other profession you’d be fired for that kind of behavior. Back when I was still working, if I got sick and didn’t bother to call in to work and tell them I was sick I WOULD GET FIRED. Authors do have at least SOME accountability to do the same, especially in this age of instant communication. It’s not that hard to tell SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE.
If I’m halfway through a series and I find out the author is sick and they apologize but intend to finish the series once life settles down for them, even if it takes ten years? I’ll totally understand, and even champion them if other people start complaining. If I’m halfway through a series and find out the author has disappeared from the face of the earth? I get irritated, and eventually stop checking for updates and give up on the series. There are so many good things to read out there that I don’t feel obligated to be the one to constantly check up on YOU. I feel YOU should be checking in with US, at least if you want us, the consumers, to continue to care about your product.
Also, if you’re a dick about it, well, that’s just stupid. Again, if I worked at, say, McDonalds, and I got sick so I went to work anyways and started shouting at the customers that I was sick and they should leave me alone and they’re all being mean and stupid — I’d be fired right quick. It’s never okay to abuse the consumer just because YOU’RE cranky that they expect you to fulfill an obligation that YOU agreed to commit to in the first place. GRRM, I’m talking to you. If you took five minutes out of your busy schedule of going to parties at Cons, having fancy dinners, complaining about your fans, and blogging about football — just five minutes each month to make a monthly update — the fans would stop hounding you. For serious. Just say “Hey, I didn’t get anything done this month because I was really busy and I have writer’s block like a mofo, sorry guys” and we’ll be fine with it. It’s when you refuse to say anything for like a year and then are a dick about it that people get upset. Seriously. No one is so important or talented that they can’t eventually piss of their fans so badly that they lose them all.
So I guess in summation, take thirty seconds to (a) tell someone you’re having a problem, and (b) apologize for it and give a new estimate. Also, be polite. That’s really all it takes to appease people.
Aren’t we missing the point here?
Isn’t the value of a good book the journey rather than the final destination? I enjoy a book whilst I’m reading it rather than when I’ve finished it. In fact I’ve often been disappointed when reading a great book that the conclusion is so final that there is no possibility of sequels and hence further time spent with characters I’ve grown fond of.
Personally I don’t follow soap operas, but millions of people seem to be very happy to immerse themselves in stories that have no end, and no intention of ending.
For what it’s worth, I pretty much agree with Brent, although the implicit pledge to the reader comes from the publisher as well as the author. Stuff can happen, sure, that means a book is late, either through an author choosing to prioritise something else or through no fault of their own at all, and readers largely have to just live with that. But in these days of the Internet, it’s not so hard to tell the world what’s happening and why – to at least not keep readers hanging in a limbo where they have no real idea when the next book N of M might appear. Missing a deadline doesn’t deserve doesn’t vitriol and vilification, but some sort of explanation goes a long way to help avoid that too, and it’s not so hard to reach your readers nowadays.
And, belatedly, thanks for the cover quote, Brent :-)
On the same note as Lii – it would also help, not to call your fans “sockpuppets” and “trolls” because they failed to rate your latest installment 5* on amazon.com. That goes in the same direction Brent already hinted at: PR.
Many other authors – Jasper FForde, for one – feel the same “obligation” towards their readers as Brent does – and personally, I think, they are correct. It’s a simple professional obligation towards your customer, no matter what your occupation is – in my case: if I promise them a system installed, up and running in 4 month, I’ll make it 4 month … apologise, if unforseable obstacles delay that, but in now way can I take 3 years and then call them “detractors” “sockpuppets” or “trolls”. With that attitude, I’d be starving by now.
And now please excuse me, I have a Kindle copy of Black Prism to download.
Brent, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Thank you for giving a popular voice to the growing frustration readers have with authors like GRRM and their “work ethics”. And by the way – and I think you were too polite to mention it – Martin’s fifth book, Dance with Dragons, was a huge disappointment – almost a 1000 pages where nothing happened. A Snore with Turtles would have been more appropriate.
It seems it is true what Stephen King said: “Any writer who only produces a book every seven years is not thinking Deep Thoughts, he is simply dicking off.”
I got into ASOIAF late, so much of the brouhaha about deadlines and delays passed me by – in fact, I think I was still in book 3 when Gaiman made the “not your bitch” post. So I don’t feel as “qualified” to chime in as others – the delay didn’t irk me as much as it irked many of GRRM’s loyal fans who’d been waiting (im)patiently for years. But I’m going to chime in anyway.
Like many of your commentors, I have mixed feelings. Five, six, seven years between books IS a bit much, especially when you consider how little the story actually progresses in the most recent book. On the other hand, GRRM has a life outside his novel-writing career, and if he chooses to put golfing or gardening or nuclear physics ahead of writing, then I have the option of firing him from my personal library. If enough readers give up on him, perhaps he’ll feel the heat and re-prioritize things.
All that aside, I wanted to thank you for bringing something to my attention. For many years, I was all about the series – I preferred series to standalones, because that meant if it was good, I’d be more likely to have something more to read soon. But lately I have noticed that when I am browsing for new books, I tend to automatically dismiss anything that indicates it’s the first in a series, and I did not know why I was doing that.
I have noticed for years that frequently, the third book in any trilogy seems to… well, to suck. Off the top of my head, I can list five trilogies (in various genres) that fit this pattern. Book one was awesome; book two was excellent and in some ways even better than book one as the characters developed; book three was complete and utter garbage. And I thought that this was why I have soured on the notion of series/trilogies – but, having read this piece and the comments, I realize that there is also an element of disappointment involved – waiting for the next book to come, and it never does.
You probably won’t change Gaiman’s (or GRRM’s) mind about an author’s degree of obligation to readers, but you’ve certainly given me pause, and a reason to reevaluate my own reading and buying habits.
I’m inclined to disagree with Brent and come closer to agreeing with Neil. While I do think an author shouldn’t make (or imply to make, or predict) promises that aren’t certain to be kept in regard to when they’re going to put out the next product, I also feel like fans should realistically expect anything beyond what they’ve purchased in tha moment. We’d all love a series to be seen through to its conclusion in a timely manner, but things happen, as others here have pointed out. I personally do feel that too many fans feel the author or creator of some work of entertainment owes them something beyond the actual product they’ve purchased.
And I don’t really think authors owe fans “gratitude,” per se. Is writing a wonderful profession and privilege? Sure. But so are many jobs. In fact, having a job at all can arguably be considered a privilege. Owning a car, having a nice home, having a TV, having internet access, all of it’s privilege. Gratitude for what you have is all relative, so I wouldn’t hold any professional author to task for not expressing a ton of thanks to their fans. It’s nice when they do, of course, but it’s not something to be expected, much less required.
All I expect from a book I purchase is that it’s enjoyable and delivers what’s promised to be within the pages. I just want the product I paid for, and I want it to be worth my money. I don’t feel any author is obliged to provide anything more.
I don’t know how hard it is to work at McDonald’s or the Post Office, which is why I try to be patient and polite to workers there and everywhere else. Rather than seeing judgmentalism as common and therefore acceptable, I ask for kindness and most certainly attempt to provide it.
I hate it when people say, “I don’t start a series until it’s finished.” I think that’s the lamest excuse nor to read something. Whatever happened to anticipation? We’ve lost delayed gratification in today’s culture, and I find that having to wait for the next book makes it that much more exciting when it does. It makes me take my time and savor the current book.
I agree totally with Brent. A simple bit of courtesy to say “i’m sorry but it wont be out when i expected it to be” isnt hard. Sure 6 yrs is long time (I actually did completely forget about the series and havent read the 4th because I have found series that I prefer and are fresher in my mind) but we do need to consider “do we want it to be rushed and ruined?. I dont really mind too much that it’s taken so long because of the wealth of great fantasy writing out there however, and back to the point, a simple update takes about 1 minute worth of time and solves a lot of heartahce for a lot of people.
As for authors having obligations to continue series once started, as decent people they definitely do. Obviously there can be special circumstances or even just writer’s block that interfere but leaving people hanging with nothing but broken promises (whether they be specific promises or implied) is just rude.
I’d also just like to point out that Robert Jordan = absolute shining light. The fact that he cared so much for his work and the readers that he has ensured the completion of his grand masterpiece even after his demise is the epitome of not just mutual respect but also of an artist who wants to share their vision of something joyous with the world.
Brent, hurry up and get out the 2nd Lightbringer! But don’t you dare rush it! Haha.
Brent, exactly right! Writing fiction for a living is a privilege, and writers should behave accordingly.
I never had much of a problem with the delay. I had a problem with Martin getting belligerent with his fans, the complete lack of updates about the status of the book, or any information at all that wasn’t phrased as cryptically as possible.
I appreciate that writing is hard. Creativity in general is hard. But any author owes it to his readership to at least let us know some details of where he stands on delivery of his next book. Especially in this day and age when it’s so easy to do so. Cryptic updates once a year is not going to cut it.
GRRM could take a page from Sanderson in this, I think. People are much more understanding when you aren’t a jerk about things.
So, Brent – as I promised on November 17th, I have d/led and read your first installment of Black Prism.
It’s a VAST improvement (style/prose/storyline) over Night Angels. Please keep it up until the end. I really bought this book just because of this blog-entry.
And now I’m going for that Baxter guy.
I wanted to commend the author on his sense, as well as good books.
The first book by GRRM was great, got me hooked onto the series, and I was able to read the second one soon enough as well as the third. But, after that, the delays were incredible. So much so as to put me off ever buying another book by GRRM again, even if it were the best piece of literature since … uh sliced bread? More than the delay, it was the obnoxious attitude towards the fans who had made him famous in the first place.
Contrary to what someone wrote above, authors DO owe a vote of thanks to their readers. Its the readers who elevate an author to heights, and its because of readers that an author is inspired to keep writing (cough Dan Brown cough).
Brent Weeks is an author I’ll wholeheartedly support, both with my money and appreciation. Money speaks – once the hordes of GRRM book purchasers vote with their wallets by not buying his books, that’ll get his attention (Oh, and I’m not purchasing Neil Gaiman’s books either, if an author is disrespectful towards his readers so much, they can do without my business).
Well everything goes down to: we are all humans. And humans demand things they want. Readers want books fast, and writers want the time they need to write. But ultimately everyone wants the same… a good book. So I think its legitimate to complain but you probalby should think about how you do it. It’s one thing to say: “Man I can’t await to read the book, why can’t it be out sooner” – It reminds the author that yes indeed there are people waiting, and he should write this book. But it’s another thing to say: “Why isn’t the book out jet? Go, sit down and write me my book!!!” – The reaction there ist probably: “Hell I’m not there just to write you your book.” (By the way it’s always the authors book, and we readers are lucky he shares it with us.) Just sit down and think about how you would feel when someone comes and says: “Why haven’t you done xyz! Do it right now!”
In the end everything are just different perspectives. So I thing both Neil and Brent are right. It’s just their point of view.
(And sure enough as an reader I do like to get my books faster. And I very much appreciate the whole commitment and obligation to the reader thing. See, I appreciate it, I don’t demand it.)
Very good and balanced post. Liked it very much, thanks for writing it.
Sorry for my bad English in comment below, it’s not my native language.
I started reading ASOIF in summer 2010, so only waited one year for “A dance with dragons”. I read the first three books very fast. The fourth took me a while. The last, took a lot.
And the result of that was one thing you mention: I’ve decided never to buy another unfinished saga from any author.
In this case the delay is not the cause of that decision but helped a lot. There isn’t in fact a formal contract between the writer and the reader, but there is an obligation. A serious one. At least for me, as a reader.
I wouldn’t pay any money to a writer, GRRM in this case, if I knew I don’t stand a good chance of reading his novel to the bitter end. I accept delays and mishaps, but feel it’s abusing when things get out of control like this.
The impression I have is that GRRM, since the third book, is going in circles, trying to extend the storyline as much as he can, with uninteresting lateral plots and characters that add nothing to the main story. I would also guess he doesn’t have an ending that is up to expectations.
The reason he does that is his business, after all, he is not my bitch. The way I respond to that is my business.
If I could, I would go to courts to have a refund on the money I’ve spent on his books.
The fact is, the last two books are bad. Very bad in my opinion. That and the delays show a lack of respect to his readers that is unacceptable. To me at least.
And something I’ve read recently only adds to this disrespect. GRRM doesn’t want his saga finished by someone else if he isn’t able (or willing) to finish it. That is another very disrespectful standing.
Give me back my money Mr GRRM, I’ve paid for a full novel, not just a part of it.
He mentions Tolkien many times. But he is far, far below Tolkien. Tolkien built a complete story: begin, develop, end. And a very good end by the way. GRRM isn’t up to that task.