Whose monkey is the author, anyways?

So George R.R. Martin didn't finish his fifth novel, A Dance With Dragons, before leaving for a one month trip to Spain and Portugal. Based on a few responses I've read, one would have wondered if he had been found guilty of child abuse:

"*shrug* I'll probably never finish the series now. It's been too long and I don't really care anymore. Sorry George."

"I hope these tours are bringing in enough new fans to compensate for the ones he has/will lose. I'm really starting to get frustrated with this. aDwD was half done(ish) when aFfC was finished. This is getting ridiculous.

He just seems to have too many projects and indulgences to focus on. There is a reason why I don't go out very often when I'm in school: work doesn't get done."

"It's not like that this is the series that made him famous or anything.

Why should fans expect him to actually write the next book in the series? It seems like he has a stadium full of monkeys with typewriters and is waiting for them to write the book for him...one page at a time.

I mean, the book was half written 4 years ago. What the hell?"

"Bottom line is, if you don't want to hear that complaint stop posting about the series being delayed again and again. The more it gets delayed, the more it seems like he is miffing with us fans."

"whatev, I'm entitled to be pissed off with the delays...I appreciate that the creative process takes time, I understand the desire to have a standard of work associated with your name, but GRRM's explanations are beginning to equate to a huge pile of prima donna BS as far as I'm concerned.
What, did he lose his writing-mojo after ASOS, and is now so painfully insecure about what he's putting on paper?
To hell with this, I'm deleting towerofthehand and westeros from my Fav. links folder, Amazon will let me know when my book has been shipped..."

While part of me can sympathize with the frustration, the desire to have things now, mo'fo!, I have to admit that the attitudes are quite offputting. "Huge pile of prima donna BS," as if an author explaining him/herself is akin to telling people to go screw themselves. "It's been too long and I don't really care anymore," as if such sentiments express anything other than petulance on the part of the "fan" and not the author. Makes me wonder why so many authors even bother to share anything in regards to plans, sample chapters, etc. beforehand publicly. I guess beyond a certain point, it stops becoming smart promotion/advertising/fan appreciation, turning into a potential liability (as what certainly seems to be the case with the SOIAF fans, who apparently are not Martin fans in general).

I suppose authors place their feet in their mouths when they try to project this or that about release times before the main work has been done on the writing project. I guess it's a good thing that Tolkien wrote in the 1930s-1950s, since LotR wasn't released until almost 20 years after The Hobbit and it certainly went through quite a few revisions. But "fans" don't want to hear about revisions or doing anything else. They want "their" favored work complete ASAP and don't stop to shit or sleep, apparently. I'm surprised more authors haven't told these people to go pleasure themselves with a rotten potato, although I admit it gives me perverse pleasure to imagine Harlan Ellison in place of Martin and guessing what his response would be to the vast number of internet commentators. Considering that he's still working on that follow-up to Dangerous Visions almost 40 years later....it certainly would give pause to those who are upset about a 3 year break between stories.

But it is odd seeing, again and again, people who seem to think that authors are little more than trained monkeys who have to operate quickly to arbitrary expectations. I can't help but wonder if any of these people work in service industries and have had to deal with similar assholes always demanding so much so fast and without any courtesy or respect.