
Also, for "big event" books publishing companies can move awfully quickly at times...supposedly the last couple of Robert Jordan books have been rushed to the stores within a couple of months of his finishing them. I think there is something in the Jordan forum about that...

Yes, here it is:
kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5564
In an interview, Jordan stated that his last books had been edited in six weeks rather than the more standard six months.