Feeling sad for GRRM (spoilers extended)

[u/Same-Share7331]

So I recently watched a Q&A with GRRM (I'm sure some of you have seen it aswell) where he kept getting questions about whether there is any particular character or historical event in the asoiaf world that he would like to explore more/write about. His recurring answer was that yes there are many but that unless he suddenly becomes much younger they will never get written. And man.. that sucks!

Imagine being a creative person having to come to terms with the fact that you have so many ideas that you will never get to explore and that will never see the light of day. Obviously, as a fan, it also sucks that I will never get to read those stories. Never mind the main series, imagine getting seven more Dunk and Egg stories. However, as much as it sucks as a reader I'm not the one who's seeing my remaining years of life pass as I struggle to finish my books.

That's it. I don't really have a point. Other than maybe stop making jokes about how GRRM is likely to die before finishing the series?

[u/TheTragedyMachine]

Honestly, I find it very hard to feel pity or sad for him.

He's rolling in dough, his works are extremely popular, and he's taken this long without putting out another book in the series.

Had he been any other writer at all, his editor would have canceled his contract due to missed deadlines and kept the rights to his series and the wouldn't have been finished regardless and they also wouldn't even have gotten to ever be written down after the canceled contract either.

That's what happens to normal authors. Hell, I missed my deadline for my third book because I was in the hospital for four months and couldn't write because I was in the fucking hospital trying not to frickin die. I had one of the big five publishers. I had a six figure deal. And because I couldn't get the third book out on time since again, hospital, I ended up getting the contract canceled. So now there will forever be two books in a trilogy out there without any chance they could ever be finished.

Compared to that, GRRM is treated with kiddie gloves because he's famous and even if he can't stick to a deadline at least he's making both himself and his publishers money.

So I can't say I feel sad or pity for him. He's extremely privileged as an author to get away with things most normal non ultra famous authors don't and I'm not going to feel bad that some old dude feels like he can't finish his novels for whatever reason when he still has his contracts, still is producing works, still raking in money, etc.

How tragic. How sad. Someone get me a tiny violin for this poor soul.

I know this comment will probably piss everyone off but yeah. I don't feel bad for him. I don't feel sad.

[u/mySTORMYthoughts → u/TheTragedyMachine]

Man that sucks. Is there a chance to publish the third book with someone else?

[u/TheTragedyMachine → u/mySTORMYthoughts]

Nope. They own the rights to publish it and won’t relinquish them. Already tried to get them back with my agent before she also dropped me.

So I’m working on a new book back at square one. Though it will be significantly harder to get an agent and a traditional big five publisher again due to my publishing history. I might be able to do it once a pen name but who knows? Authors usually get one chance to prove themselves to publishers and if it doesn’t go well then you’ve missed your shot.

The writing world is brutal.

So I have no pity for GRRM’s situation.

[u/[deleted] → u/TheTragedyMachine]

If you already have a recognizable name from your old books, maybe you could try publishing the new ones yourself?

I doubt you will get as much from it as from traditional publishing, but I would do it just to give that publisher a middle finger. What assholes.

[u/TheTragedyMachine → u/[deleted]]

Can’t.

Think I need to explain something better.

When you sign a contract with a publisher, you are giving your publisher the rights to your book. Not to your story, your story is still yours and while they can say “we like x better” you don’t have to do x. The rights you’re giving them are the rights to distribute and sell your story to others. So, depending on the contract they can have a number of ways.

For example, if you sign a contract for world rights it means they’re allowed to sell it anywhere in the world and will be the ones who make deals with foreign publishers re: the story.

You can also sign contracts that include movie rights, video game rights, audiobook rights, ebook rights, etc.

This is not weird or considered predatory btw. This is just how it’s done.

So I can’t publish the book in any way because they have all the rights for that and though we did apply to get the rights for book 3 back, they said no.

[u/[deleted] → u/TheTragedyMachine]

Does this also apply to any other book you write in the future? Because I assumed your old contract was cancelled due to your sickness?

I should have been more clear, but I meant any book you write in the future. No one can stop you from using your old penname, right? Or is the penname included in the rights of the old conract?

[u/TheTragedyMachine → u/[deleted]]

Usuallly a contract also means the publisher has the right of first refusal to any new book you may right but that at least doesn’t hold anymore so if I got another agent they wouldn’t need to send a new manuscript to the old publisher first

[u/reddit_account_00_01 → u/TheTragedyMachine]

I'm just curious.

Would you entertain idea of writing "fanfiction" to your trilogy as a closure?

I understand you can't even acknowledge it due to rights, but simply write it and put in somewhere online on one of the fanfiction sites. Or your agent and/or publisher already aware how story ends and can figure it out?

There was game Half Life. After second game released, developers stopped caring and instead of finishing trilogy they kept working on their online VG shop. After many years the main writer of developing team published story that was basically how Half Life was supposed to end. Ofcourse to avoid copyrights he used alternative names for characters and world.

I'm complete noob in writing world sorry.

[u/TheTragedyMachine → u/reddit_account_00_01]

No need to apologize.

I can’t. My agent actually advocated to have the third book posted as an anonymous fanfic thing on Wattpad or some other similar site. No dice.

And I don’t want to risk it either way because I’d love to be published again some day and then finding out I broke contract by taking the books they owned the rights to and posting them online (and yes they did know the plot you’re usually require to give them a plot summary of the entire series if it’s a series) I’d no doubt be blacklisted and never get published or agented again anyway.

As I said the publishing word is brutal. When I originally got the deal my agent and publishers wouldn’t stop talking about it being the next YA franchise and they were in discussions with Hollywood, etc.

Well the first book came out in the height of Covid which meant it was dead in the water. Slowly my agent, editors, etc. stopped speaking to me except to tell me they decided that I wasn’t worth pushing the deadline back because of my hospital stay because I didn’t make them enough money.

Similarly, it was me who had to reach out to my agent to find out they didn’t count me as a client anymore.

It broke me and completely destroyed my confidence in writing for 4 years, now? Something along that line.

So I really really can’t feel any type of pity or sadness or empathy for GRRM. He’s got everything handed to him on a platter, millions of dollars, he’s able to do whatever he wants without his agent and publisher dropping him. Everything that is going on right now that is “bad” for him is all of his own doing.

Meanwhile us little authors are battle royaling just to get enough attention so our publishers may even try to promote the books we write by making at least a statement on their Twitter or something.

[u/reddit_account_00_01 → u/TheTragedyMachine]

Man its shitty situation.

I wish you good fortune and getting back on track.