WORDS WITH MR. KAUMANS- KEVIN KAUMANS
How much time should a publisher allow their authors to finish their books?
Some people I’ve talked to say it depends on the author, that some authors deserve more time than others. Some say as much time as the author wants because it’s their books after all.
Me? I think that after 10 years have passed, we can all just assume the book won’t be done till you’re dead.
Take George R.R. Martin, for example. The man seems to be doing everything but finishing the last book in his fantasy series, “Game Of Thrones.”
Now, some people argue that the author doesn’t owe their audience anything, in which to this I would reply: If you had 10 cavities and you paid your dentist to fill 70% of your cavities in one appointment with the agreement that he’ll fill out the rest at the next, would you not be a little frustrated and feel like you’ve wasted your time and money if your dentist spent 12 years sitting at home fiddling his thumbs instead of actually doing his job?
I’m not saying Mr. Martin should be locked in his room and not be given any food until he finishes the “Game Of Thrones” series. All I’m saying is his fans have a right to be a little mad at his procrastination.
Same with Patrick Rothfuss; the man promised his fans a chapter of his unfinished book if they reached a certain donation goal during one of his Twitch streams, but he couldn’t be bothered to follow through, so I hope you can forgive me if I don’t have much sympathy for him when his fans constantly bug him about finally finishing his book series.
It’s because of authors like Rothfuss and Martin that I adamantly refuse to read book series that haven’t been completed yet. If their authors can’t be bothered to finish them in a reasonable time period, then I see no reason to give their books a chance.
A warning to all future writers reading this article: Your livelihood is dependent solely on your fans, not the other way around.
