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Another example of an author dragging things out so long that fans become disinterested (or die of old age) is Jean Auel with her Earth's Children series.
Clan of the Cave Bear - 1980 ... then two years until ...
Valley of Horses - 1982 ... then three years until ...
The Mammoth Hunters - 1985 ... the five years (where I dropped off) until ...
The Plains of Passage - 1990 - then twelve years until ,,,
The Shelters of Stone - 2002 - the nine years until ...
The Land of Painted Caves - 2011
I struggled to get into Clan of the Cave Bear a couple of times, but finally got into gear and finished it. Flew through the Valley of Horses and The Mammoth Hunters. Then got bored waiting for The Plains of Passage to come out and never finished it after it finally did. Authors should realize that people lose interest after super long delays and eventually more on. It's pretty hard to stick with a series for THIRTY ONE YEARS! It's painful to watch your life move from pediatrics to geriatrics while still reading the same series.
Now, I much prefer to start a new series (new to me) only after it has been finished, or nearly so. For example, I have just NOW started The Dresden Files and have only read the first book. I liked it a lot, and will continue with the series, and I hope it is finished before I run out of books. There's quite a few, so I'm not too worried at this point. I'm more likely to die with unfinished books than to die waiting for the next one to be released.
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