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A Song of Ice and Fire / Announcements / A Storm of Swords -- DONE!

Back 20 Messages

Ran
User ID: 0867924 Apr 21st 4:12 AM
Just in from GRRM:

You cannot imagine how much it thrills me to be able to tell you all that A STORM OF SWORDS is finally finished.

The manuscript is being xeroxed at Kinko's even as I type, and should be winging its way to my various editors, publishers, and agents by tomorrow.

I do feel as though as I have given birth to a wooly mammoth -- this is a BIG beast, with a nasty disposition, and pretty damned hairy too. It weighs in at 1521 manuscript pages, some 350 pages longer than A CLASH OF KINGS. There are 79 chapters, a prologue, =and= a epilogue.

I fear I lied about the four weddings and the funeral. Now that I am done, I see there are four weddings, =two= funerals, and a wake. Four trials as well. And three dragons, four bears, many mammoths, an unkindness of ravens, and a turtle of unusual size. More battles, swordfights, and deaths than I can count, but two births as well, just to remind us all that life goes on.

There's plenty more work after this, of course; editorial revisions,copediting, proofreading, correcting galleys, notice to mention the maps and
the appendices, to which I must now turn my attention. But the mammoth is at least on its feet; the rest is just a matter of polishing up its tusks.

Thank you all for your patience, and your continued enthusiasm. I hope you'll feel the book was worth the wait.

Jeff
User ID: 1536664 May 1st 8:39 AM
I just received a reply to an e-mail I sent to Mr. Martin -- forwarded to Ran, so I'm sure he'll have it up at some point.

Not much of substance, except that he said ASOS will resolve the questions about Bran and the Dagger and the murderer of Jon Arryn.

Ser Benjen
User ID: 2122084 May 1st 9:11 AM
Coooool

Green Gerg
User ID: 7830843 May 4th 12:43 PM
Thought you all would find this additional tidbit from Mr. Martin interesting, regarding the publshing date of ASOS:

"July in the UK, October is the US, is what they are telling me. But publishers can be fickle, and there's some stuff in the wind that could change everything..."

Ser Benjen
User ID: 2122084 May 4th 1:17 PM
What's up Greg!

What stuff?! What wind? (Don't answer that), I'm so confused!

I'm glad Amazon.com.uk is around.

Ran
User ID: 0867924 May 4th 2:18 PM
Already have two copies of the book ordered for awhile from the U.K., and I suppose I should be glad that Euros will get it early again ... except...

What stuff ? Is there an echo in here? I do wonder, hrm. Oh, Gerg, would you mind forwarding that mail to me to include it in the So Spake Martin collection? :) [email protected]

Nightmare
User ID: 8562343 May 4th 3:10 PM
...And then there appeared on the Net a marvelous thing: ASOS in 79 individually-priced, sequentially released chapters. Available from Bantam at a special discount to subscribers for the whole novel. GRRM is _not_ to be outdone by Stephen King.

Green Gerg
User ID: 7830843 May 4th 4:53 PM
Hey there, Ben! How've you been? I alas have no idea what he meant by "stuff in the wind." Sorry I haven't posted much at all this year---my workload has increased as has my one-year-old son's ability to get into mischief, so I've just been lurking, reading threads as time permits.
Ran: I'll forward GRRM's e-mail to you ASAP.

Ran
User ID: 0867924 May 4th 5:20 PM
Thanks, Gerg. Got it. Very cool. :)

The only thing I can think of for GRRM's meaning is that Bantam will be pushing to get the book out sooner, to make less of a gap between releases. Hrm...

Ser Benjen
User ID: 0240854 May 4th 5:24 PM
Greg, I'm great, thanks for asking. I've got an eighteen month old son, so I know exactly what you mean. He definitly keeps me on my toes.

GRRM has a wonderful ability to be ambiguous and indirect. I guess that's why his books are so subtle and at times mysterious. Gotta love it. (*slightly hysterical laughter fading into the background noise*)

Padraig
User ID: 8590713 May 5th 1:54 PM
So July is back on. Well that really is brillant news.

Rughead
User ID: 0415304 May 6th 11:42 AM
How does one get to "Amazon.com.uk". Typing in the URL gets me no where. Thanks.

Ran
User ID: 0867924 May 6th 11:47 AM
www.amazon.co.uk -- not .com.uk :) Different standard company label for the Brits. :)

Tom
User ID: 9621663 May 6th 11:45 PM
What is to stop readers in the U.S. from buying the book from Amazon UK in August. I'm sorry, I just do not get the different release dates.

Ran
User ID: 0867924 May 7th 4:56 AM
Hrm ...

It pretty much means that, Tom. There are two separate publishers handling GRRM. So, if one says, 'Ahha, we can get this book out faster than you guys, and get some of the big fans to buy the U.K. rather than the U.S. edition,' there's not much that can be done.

So, nothing stops you from being the U.K. book. Indeed, most people here, I suspect, are already sticking in their orders for the U.K. copy. ;) Just as I suspect a lot of us put in our orders for the U.K. copy of _A Clash of Kings_ because it came out about two-three months earlier than the U.S. edition.

This situation is bound to hurt the U.S. sales a little, but it didn't stop the U.S. _ACoK_ from hitting the bestseller lists. I think part of that might be that at least some sub-set of the hardcore fans buy _both_ editions (such as my fiancee and myself. :)

And for whoever who checks here, GRRM pointed me to a larger scan of the _A Storm of Swords_ cover. It's also rather darker -- he says the Bantam thumbnail is more accurate in that regards. You can find it at:

http://www.mandala.net/vsa/martin/storm.html

Tom O.
User ID: 9621663 May 7th 11:05 PM
Thanks for the info Ran. I appreciate it. I, like everyone else I'm sure, will purchase the UK version. Because i will have to have more than one edition, i will also buy the US version when it comes out. I always buy two of certain authors. One i read and one i keep perfect.

Tom O.

Back 20 Messages

Ran User ID: 0867924	Apr 21st 4:12 AM Just in from GRRM: You cannot imagine how much it thrills me to be able to tell you all that A STORM OF SWORDS is finally finished. The manuscript is being xeroxed at Kinko's even as I type, and should be winging its way to my various editors, publishers, and agents by tomorrow. I do feel as though as I have given birth to a wooly mammoth -- this is a BIG beast, with a nasty disposition, and pretty damned hairy too. It weighs in at 1521 manuscript pages, some 350 pages longer than A CLASH OF KINGS. There are 79 chapters, a prologue, =and= a epilogue. I fear I lied about the four weddings and the funeral. Now that I am done, I see there are four weddings, =two= funerals, and a wake. Four trials as well. And three dragons, four bears, many mammoths, an unkindness of ravens, and a turtle of unusual size. More battles, swordfights, and deaths than I can count, but two births as well, just to remind us all that life goes on. There's plenty more work after this, of course; editorial revisions,copediting, proofreading, correcting galleys, notice to mention the maps and the appendices, to which I must now turn my attention. But the mammoth is at least on its feet; the rest is just a matter of polishing up its tusks. Thank you all for your patience, and your continued enthusiasm. I hope you'll feel the book was worth the wait.
Jeff User ID: 1536664	May 1st 8:39 AM I just received a reply to an e-mail I sent to Mr. Martin -- forwarded to Ran, so I'm sure he'll have it up at some point. Not much of substance, except that he said ASOS will resolve the questions about Bran and the Dagger and the murderer of Jon Arryn.
Ser Benjen User ID: 2122084	May 1st 9:11 AM Coooool
Green Gerg User ID: 7830843	May 4th 12:43 PM Thought you all would find this additional tidbit from Mr. Martin interesting, regarding the publshing date of ASOS: "July in the UK, October is the US, is what they are telling me. But publishers can be fickle, and there's some stuff in the wind that could change everything..."
Ser Benjen User ID: 2122084	May 4th 1:17 PM What's up Greg! What stuff?! What wind? (Don't answer that), I'm so confused! I'm glad Amazon.com.uk is around.
Ran User ID: 0867924	May 4th 2:18 PM Already have two copies of the book ordered for awhile from the U.K., and I suppose I should be glad that Euros will get it early again ... except... What stuff ? Is there an echo in here? I do wonder, hrm. Oh, Gerg, would you mind forwarding that mail to me to include it in the So Spake Martin collection? :) [email protected]
Nightmare User ID: 8562343	May 4th 3:10 PM ...And then there appeared on the Net a marvelous thing: ASOS in 79 individually-priced, sequentially released chapters. Available from Bantam at a special discount to subscribers for the whole novel. GRRM is _not_ to be outdone by Stephen King.
Green Gerg User ID: 7830843	May 4th 4:53 PM Hey there, Ben! How've you been? I alas have no idea what he meant by "stuff in the wind." Sorry I haven't posted much at all this year---my workload has increased as has my one-year-old son's ability to get into mischief, so I've just been lurking, reading threads as time permits. Ran: I'll forward GRRM's e-mail to you ASAP.
Ran User ID: 0867924	May 4th 5:20 PM Thanks, Gerg. Got it. Very cool. :) The only thing I can think of for GRRM's meaning is that Bantam will be pushing to get the book out sooner, to make less of a gap between releases. Hrm...
Ser Benjen User ID: 0240854	May 4th 5:24 PM Greg, I'm great, thanks for asking. I've got an eighteen month old son, so I know exactly what you mean. He definitly keeps me on my toes. GRRM has a wonderful ability to be ambiguous and indirect. I guess that's why his books are so subtle and at times mysterious. Gotta love it. (slightly hysterical laughter fading into the background noise)
Padraig User ID: 8590713	May 5th 1:54 PM So July is back on. Well that really is brillant news.
Rughead User ID: 0415304	May 6th 11:42 AM How does one get to "Amazon.com.uk". Typing in the URL gets me no where. Thanks.
Ran User ID: 0867924	May 6th 11:47 AM www.amazon.co.uk -- not .com.uk :) Different standard company label for the Brits. :)
Tom User ID: 9621663	May 6th 11:45 PM What is to stop readers in the U.S. from buying the book from Amazon UK in August. I'm sorry, I just do not get the different release dates.
Ran User ID: 0867924	May 7th 4:56 AM Hrm ... It pretty much means that, Tom. There are two separate publishers handling GRRM. So, if one says, 'Ahha, we can get this book out faster than you guys, and get some of the big fans to buy the U.K. rather than the U.S. edition,' there's not much that can be done. So, nothing stops you from being the U.K. book. Indeed, most people here, I suspect, are already sticking in their orders for the U.K. copy. ;) Just as I suspect a lot of us put in our orders for the U.K. copy of _A Clash of Kings_ because it came out about two-three months earlier than the U.S. edition. This situation is bound to hurt the U.S. sales a little, but it didn't stop the U.S. _ACoK_ from hitting the bestseller lists. I think part of that might be that at least some sub-set of the hardcore fans buy _both_ editions (such as my fiancee and myself. :) And for whoever who checks here, GRRM pointed me to a larger scan of the _A Storm of Swords_ cover. It's also rather darker -- he says the Bantam thumbnail is more accurate in that regards. You can find it at: http://www.mandala.net/vsa/martin/storm.html
Tom O. User ID: 9621663	May 7th 11:05 PM Thanks for the info Ran. I appreciate it. I, like everyone else I'm sure, will purchase the UK version. Because i will have to have more than one edition, i will also buy the US version when it comes out. I always buy two of certain authors. One i read and one i keep perfect. Tom O.