So we all have those series, right? The ones we love. We've read every book in them tons of times and have stalked the author's website to see any new news about the next book. You count down the days and you wait.
And wait.
And wait.
And then you start to hear other people talk. "When is the next book?" "I can't wait any longer!" "I can't believe they've stopped writing." And you finally realize. You're not getting the book you were promised. At least, not for years and years.
I hate when this happens. It is absolutely the most horrible thing an author can do to their dedicated readers. It's like a punch in the face. They dangle this story in front of you and snatch it back before you have a chance to finish. You never know what happens to those characters, how everything resolves, who loses and who wins. It's seriously horrible.
The author that I know the most who has done this (and I feel bad calling people out like this. I don't mean to be rude or unreasonable, I'm just making a point and voicing my frustrations) is Stephanie Meyer. Yup. You know what I'm talking about. Midnight Sun. From what I understand, she decided not to publish it because some little jerk got it and released parts onto the internet.
I totally understand if you feel offended. That was completely unnecessary and rude of that person to do to you but by not publishing it, you are punishing all of your readers. All of those who stuck with you and helped you get where you are today. I just . . . I can't comprehend why you would do that.
Now I understand if the publisher doesn't pick up the book or something like that. There's really nothing you can do to help that besides possibly self publishing. And I get that some authors are against doing that. But maybe go to a different publishing house? Is that possible?
Either way, if you can help it, you should not stop a series in the middle. If you do that, not only are you making yourself look bad, you are also disappointing thousands of readers who love the characters you've introduced them to.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you have a certain series that ended before all the books were released? What did you do about it?
I don't think it happened to me before, but I do hate waiting for books... I'm very impatient about some books.
ReplyDeleteThe only author that has me really upset about this waiting is Martin and his Game of Thrones series. When is book #6 coming out?
ReplyDeleteAs per Meyer, I totally agreed with her about not publishing Midnight Sun if it was already hacked. I had already read it online so and loved it, but had she published it, I wasn't going to buy it. I can't help but wonder how much money that book would have made... :-)
Thankfully I haven't had this happen to me yet! If it did ... I think I might have a breakdown. I'm already way too impatient for releases as it is haha
ReplyDelete- Allie @ Little Birdie Books
I agree w/ the comment above about the Game of Thrones series, good grief. I know they're probably a #$%^& to write but man the wait for those things is crazy these days. The series has been going on since the mid-90's or something...
ReplyDeleteWell I totally agree that shit will be flipped if an author I like decides not to continue a series, and one I love at that D: I, however, have never really come across anything like that, and gods forbid that I do. The Game of Thrones takes years and years, but at least the books are really lengthy, to make up for that. I heard about Midnight Sun, and was kind of wondering where it was, but I never really liked that series to begin with XD I do think Meyer should have at least TRIED to do something about it, especially since her novels are really popular. So yeah, great post :D
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