It's not the wait that bothers people. Plenty of people wait much longer for much more desirable things. It's the fact that we've been dicked around for, depending on who you ask, as much as 11 years. Promised the book by the end of the year, only to find out that it's going to be another year after that.

It's disrespectful to fans, who are the basis of an author's livelihood.

All that said, a large number of people will go out and read adwd ANYWAY, bc Martin is just that good of a storyteller(although I'd bet good money that significantly fewer people will buy it in comparison to a few years ago). But that does not change the fact that he is a lazy ass who is treating his fans like crap, which is all this post is about, since a lot of people seem to be sympathetic with martin on account of his organizational problems.

Contrast Martin with a guy like Sanderson. Granted Sanderson is a younger, hungrier writer looking to establish himself in the ssf world, but he worked his ass off to give both his fans and wot fans a book in one year. He did this partly so his own work wouldnt be forgotten and partly because he's just a decent guy who does his best to give back to the people who essentially write his paycheck.