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  ===Road to publication===
  Despite original, optimistic predictions of possible completion in late 2006, Martin completed the novel in April 2011, nearly five years later. During this period, Martin's blog featured sporadic updates on his progress, and in January 2008 he posted an update affirming his vigilant commitment to finishing the novel. In early 2008, publisher Spectra Books (a division of Random House) announced that ''A Dance with Dragons'' would be released on September 30, 2008, but Martin stated this would only be possible if he finished writing by the end of June, before his trip to Spain and Portugal; he did not meet his goal.
  On February 19, 2009, Martin posted on his website: "I am trying to finish the book by June. I think I can do that. If I do, ''A Dance with Dragons'' will likely be published in September or October." On June 22, 2009, the author expressed "guarded optimism" with respect to his progress on the novel, while still not confirming a publication date. When asked in a July 2009 interview with ''FREE! Magazine'' how the book was going, Martin stated, "It is going pretty well, actually. I am hoping to finish it by September or October; that is my goal." On October 6, 2009, Martin said that his working manuscript for ''A Dance With Dragons'' had just exceeded 1,100 pages of completed chapters, plus "considerably more in partials, fragments, and roughs." He noted that this made the upcoming novel longer than his earlier books ''A Game of Thrones'' and ''A Feast for Crows'', and nearly as long as ''A Clash of Kings''.
  On March 2, 2010, Martin remarked that he had reached 1,311 manuscript pages, making ''Dance'' the second-longest novel in the series at that point, behind only the 1,521-page manuscript of ''A Storm of Swords''. On July 8, 2010, Martin spoke at a conference and confirmed the current length of the book to be 1,400 manuscript pages. He expressed his disappointment that he was unable to completely finish the novel by the conference, although he would not speculate how soon the book would be completed after his return home on July 11. At the same conference, Martin also confirmed that he has written one Sansa, one Arya, and two Arianne chapters for the planned sixth novel, ''Winds of Winter'', and had transferred two Cersei chapters from that book into ''A Dance with Dragons''. On August 7, 2010, Martin confirmed that he had completed eight POVs, excluding the prologue and epilogue.
  At the New York Comic Con on  October 10, 2010, Spectra senior editor Anne Groell announced that Martin had only five chapters remaining to finish, with sections of the chapters already completed. She stated her desire to have the manuscript completed by December. In a December 2010 interview with Bear Swarm, Martin stated that he almost had ''A Dance With Dragons'' completed.
  On March 3, 2011, the publisher announced that the novel, though at that point still not completed, would be officially published on July 12, 2011. Martin claimed this July 2011 publication date was different from the previous publication dates mentioned, in that this was "real", as opposed to earlier "wishful thinking, boundless optimism, cockeyed dreams, and honest mistakes". On March 12, he revealed that the unfinished manuscript had exceeded ''A Storm of Swords'' in length, making it the longest volume in the entire series. On March 27, he announced that the manuscript had exceeded 1,600 pages. On April 27, 2011, it was announced that Martin had completed ''A Dance with Dragons''. After incorporating requested changes made by his book editor and her staff copy-editors, suggested final draft notes from trusted friends, and his own final "sweat" (a line-by-line reread done to tighten and eliminate any unnecessary "fat" remaining in the manuscript), the final draft had been reduced to 1,510 pages; this made ''Dragons'' the second-longest novel, by a narrow margin, to volume three, ''A Storm of Swords''. The novel was now ready to meet its July 12, 2011 release date.
  On June 29, 2011, Amazon Germany had mistakenly released 180 copies of the novel early. Martin requested that those who held copies not spoil the book for fans who had to wait. Several ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' websites put an embargo in place on their forums with the same intent.