Page count and writing pace of other authors

[+TheAlmighty he/him]

Winter is Coming just posted this Washington Post graphic to Twitter with regards to George R. R. Martin's writing pace. I want to see what it would look like if Brandon was on the graph. Something tells me he would skew the intervals, or quickly shoot off the chart. 

Edited March 1, 2017 by TheAlmighty

[Hemalurgic Headshot he/him]

Winter is Coming didn't put Brandon on, because they knew that no one would be able to see the lines representing the other authors at the mere bottom of the graph.

[Nashan’Elin he/him]

If they put Brandon on, would it be for just one series or the Cosmere in general? Because if it was the Cosmere in general, yes, it would be impossible to see any of the other authors. If it was just one series, well, then it wouldn't be a true representation of his true writing speed. 

[Fedcomic he/him]

9 hours ago, Nashan'Elin said:

If they put Brandon on, would it be for just one series or the Cosmere in general? Because if it was the Cosmere in general, yes, it would be impossible to see any of the other authors. If it was just one series, well, then it wouldn't be a true representation of his true writing speed. 

If you include not just Cosmere but every bit of fiction he publishes, Brandon writes more than twice as fast as everyone else on this graph.  The top speed for these other authors seems to be about 500 pages per year.  Since his first book came out in 2005, Brandon has averaged 1,140 pages of new fiction per year.  (See link below.)  

So in the graph above, Winter is Coming projects GRRM to finish A Song of Ice and Fire in 2023.  (Sincerely hope George lives that long, sincerely doubt he will be done by then even if he does.)  That's twenty-seven years to produce a guess-timated 7,500 published pages, just looking at novels in that series. 

But we can more inclusive.  Since he published Game of Thrones in 1996, Martin has also put out five novellas, a novelette, and a collection of previously unpublished works in various genres.  (I'm not counting reprints or greatest hits collections, only new fiction.)  If we throw all that in, it's another 1,000 pages or so.  Assuming he actually gets Winds of Winter out the door this year (which would be awesome), that puts him at about 7,500 pages in . . . 21 years.

In comparison, Brandon crossed the 7,500 page marker in 2011, six years after his first book came out.  Put your finger on that spot in the chart above and you will see why they didn't include our boy Brandon in their comparisons. 

[Fedcomic he/him]

Here's another comparison.  If we look only at Jim Butcher's Dresden Files novels, he's put out 6,400 pages since Storm Front was released in 2000.  In that same time, he's also published about 1,000 pages of Dresden Files short fiction, plus eight graphic novel series.  That puts him at about 7,500 pages in this series in 17 years.

But of course, Butcher has also published eight other books (one complete series, one standalone, and one start of a new series) totaling another 3,500 words or so.  Including these other works, he passed 7,500 published pages in about ten years.  

Bottom line: Winter is Coming chose their benchmarks carefully. 

[+TheAlmighty he/him]

@Fedcomic it's actually a Washington Post graphic from 2014. 

[Fedcomic he/him]

1 hour ago, TheAlmighty said:

@Fedcomic it's actually a Washington Post graphic from 2014. 

Thank you for setting me straight.