The Real Reason The Winds of Winter Keeps Slipping: George RR Martin Ditched the One Strategy Brandon Sanderson Used to Rule Fantasy
Brandon Sanderson remembers the agony of radio-silent authors—so he built the antidote. The fantasy powerhouse uses social media like a live progress bar, keeping readers in the loop and explaining why he refuses to leave fans in the dark.
Two fantasy heavyweights, two very different ways of talking to fans. Brandon Sanderson broadcasts his writing life like a live dashboard. George R.R. Martin mostly keeps the lights off. And yeah, that choice seems to matter.
Sanderson decided early on: no one should be guessing release dates
Sanderson told The Bookseller that growing up, he hated not knowing when the next book was coming. So when he finally got published, he made a promise to run the other way and actually keep readers in the loop.
"I grew up in an era where I never knew when new books were coming out... and so when I broke in one of the things I wanted to do was use the internet, which was relatively new [at the time]. I realised: 'Hey, maybe my fans, if I'm lucky to have them, won't have to be in the dark like I was.'"
And he meant it. His site is basically a control room for his projects: progress bars and charts, yearly roundups, podcast conversations, and steady Instagram check-ins. If he is drafting, revising, touring, or plotting, you can probably find a status update somewhere with his name on it.
That transparency paid off
He did not start at the top. On his first book tour he was essentially unknown, the kind of stops where you could count the audience on one hand. He kept at it anyway, leaned into social media, and steadily built a base that stuck with him. The clearest proof: in 2022 he launched a Kickstarter for four novels he secretly wrote during the pandemic and it pulled in over $41 million. That is a wild number for books, and it did not come out of nowhere. It came from years of consistent, open communication that made fans feel invested.
Meanwhile, Martin has gone quiet on the thing everyone wants
George R.R. Martin's The Winds of Winter is still one of the most anticipated fantasy releases on the planet. It is also tangled up in years of delays and fan frustration. Martin has said he will not make predictions about a publication date, and he largely avoids regular progress updates. The result: a lot of readers feel shut out. Instead of goodwill, there is a steady stream of angry comments, which obviously does not help his momentum — especially after the Game of Thrones TV ending turned the discourse toxic for a while.
Could that change? Sure. A straightforward status check — the kind of honest, occasional updates he used to post on his blog and in interviews — would go a long way. Fans do not need a day and hour; they just want to know the work is moving and what that means for them.
A quick refresher on the A Song of Ice and Fire timeline
- A Game of Thrones — 1996
- A Clash of Kings — 1998
- A Storm of Swords — 2000
- A Feast for Crows — 2005
- A Dance with Dragons — 2011
- The Winds of Winter — TBA
- A Dream of Spring — TBA
So, should Martin borrow a page from Sanderson and talk to readers more? If the last decade has proved anything, it is that silence creates its own narrative. A little sunlight would help.