Ya but if a story is going to take 30 years to tell over the course of 6 books, that is asking quite a lot from the reader. Not only for the waiting period but also because they're likely to have to re-read to remember anything about the books.

That is to say, I do not care if they need us to buy the books to "keep on going", my time is more valuable to me than their time

Bingo. If no one is buying a series that sends out the wrong impression, not just to the writer, but to their publisher.

Both self-published and publisher-supported writers need sales figures. They’re a barometer of public interest.

If the books aren’t selling then it suggests they’re not popular, which can make a publisher think the writer themselves is bad, or that the story simply isn’t a draw for people, resulting in the withdraw of support.

For a self-published writer it’s often even worse. If the books aren’t selling then it suggests either the story isn’t grabbing people’s attention, or the market for that type of story has declined to the point that it’s no longer worth publishing. In that case the writer may give up on writing, or give up on publishing their story and never bother to share the rest of it with the world.

To get more personal for a moment, I’m a writer myself. I’ve self-published in the past. This isn’t my day job, it doesn’t pay the bills, it is a little side money from doing what I love. Even with it just being something I do for the love of it, actually putting together an ebook to publish is a lot of work. If a book doesn’t sell? I’m not going to go to the effort of making the sequel into an ebook. I need to know there’s readers interested in it if I’m going to go to all the trouble of getting it self-publish ready.

There is something I’ve read more than once from authors about ”not starting unfinished series;” one of the problems is, sometimes the contracts they’re working under stipulate that if there isn’t enough interest in the first books, the publisher isn’t required to order up sequels. (Not in the publishing industry myself, so I don’t know how the details work.) So, if enough people refuse to read a series before it‘s finished, that becomes WHY it never gets finished. While this probably doesn’t apply to authors who are already super-successful like Martin or Rothfuss, it’s food for thought. Support the authors you love when they start new series.

He was a freak as a person, but his work is amazing IMHO.

And the one with Professor Thurber, and all the scenes with Stradlater and Sally…

A Song of Ice and Fire, Kingkiller and Stormlight are all unfinished. I’m glad I read each one.

I do 75 pages and then ditch. I never go back to it.

Your goal is to get back into reading. Would continuing to read this book help or hinder that goal? To me, it sounds more likely to make you quit reading.

If you don't want to quit it just yet, put it on hold. Read a third book. Once you finish thay one, you could pick this one back up, or move onto the next. You don't have to make a forever decision right now.

The representation of depression and teen angst was revelatory.

And every scene involving Stradlater was a masterpiece.

If I ever meet George RR Martin I'm gonna punch him in the nose

I decided to trust Philip Pullman with the Book of Dust, book three is still unfinished. I'm wary in general though. Not enough to refuse to read an unfinished series if the author has a good track record... I'm unlikely to ever forgive Rothfuss, far more upset with him than GRRM

I do have a translated copy, I just don't want to draw all over it, even with highlighter.

Yeah I’d really like to read ASoIaF but I’m not about to put in the energy for a story that will likely never be finished.

This thread is basically why I read Sanderson now.

If I can be sure of anything, it's that he is going to write a book on his lunch break for fun.

Me too! I saw a bunch of complaints of the boat arc online and it got me to wonder what they were talking about, so I read Berserk.

I still look for series that aren't finished to explore. I had read the asoiaf series and I was fine with where it ended in the books. I guess it could be because I still had the show to look forward to at the time.

I've finished lots of manga where the ending was bad or there's no real progression of plot, that's sort of like unfinished types to me. Like the Rozen Maiden manga, original 1-8, they don't have an ending to the arc, where the Anime actually completes the story. Comedy stuff is more of an experience too so I can handle if it ends upruptly.

It is the same process now for TV shows. People want to binge and not be let down by a cancelled or unwritten series (show or books).

BUT, living through and taking part in the Harry Potter series as they were being released... I would not have wanted to miss that for anything.

So I wait until a series is established, and I will jump in. You never know when the lightning in a bottle is opened again :)

I just look at the consistency of the author first from now on.

I love Harris' books, but as a person with a cleft lip and palate, I have a deep hatred for Red Dragon

You can also get a much clearer image of Paris by looking at it through photographs rather than Monet paintings.

I agree with you really, but I’m always disappointed in Jane for agreeing to go to India with St. John with the condition that they not marry and go as cousins. Missionary work isn’t something she’s ever personally aspired to. She wants to hang out at home and read and work on languages and draw. Even if she loves him as family, she doesn’t particularly like St. John on a personal level - she thinks he’s cold and unfeeling. She’s never expressed any interest in travel beyond England. I rather hate that she’s willing to throw her entire life in a whole new (uncomfortable and frankly dangerous) direction just because he asked her to.

Maybe they’d why I never hated Rochester - because St. John really does make him seem almost noble and gentle in comparison.

Great concepts, mediocre writing at best

Yup. I was psyched for Middlegame by Seanen McGuire...but when the author of a book tells her Twitter audience "If you've been assaulted you might want to wait to read this". ((Not the direct direct quote but damn* close to it)).

I took that at face value. Not ready to read it so it's on my TBR pile until further notice.

*minor edit

I think if 1 or 2 books are out and the rest are still being written I would read it.

The GRRM situation would keep me from reading a series where 3/5 books have come out and it’s been a while since the last book

It's orders of magnitude more likely for a series to be discontinued by the publisher due to poor sales than because the author is taking too long to produce the next volume. Martin and Rothfuss became so infamous for this exactly because it's so rare. On the other hand, midlist authors get their series cancelled before their completion all the time.

Anyway, personally I find this worry strange. For me if a volume in a series is not worth reading unless it gets a sequel, it's not worth reading at all.