I suspect we've all run into the case of an author we like having a bibliography that doesn't make sense; too few books, gaps in the releases, incomplete or unfinished series...
Stuff happens to authors, too.
Over at the Business Rusch website, Ms Rusch has been running a three part discussion on the subject of disappearing authors and the various reasons their output just stops.
http://kriswrites.com/2012/10/03/the...ers-disappear/
http://kriswrites.com/2012/10/10/the...pear-part-two/
http://kriswrites.com/2012/10/17/the...ar-part-three/
Some are obvious, others less so.
But she is pretty comprehensive.
She offers up ten reasons:
Quote:
Writers disappear because:
1. They can’t get a new book contract under that name.
2. They can’t get a new book contract because their genre has vanished.
3. They became toxic—and that toxicity trickled through the entire industry.
4. They achieved all their goals.
5. They were no longer interested in writing.
6. They moved to a different part of the industry.
7. They got discouraged.
8. They couldn’t handle the solitude.
9. They couldn’t handle the financial problems inherent in a writing career.
10. They had life or health issues that interfered with the writing
11. They didn’t keep up with the changes in the industry.
12. They sold or gave away too many rights to their books.
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Quote:
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Essentially, three things cause writers to disappear. Their personalities (3,4,5, 6, 7 and 8), personal problems (10), or their lack of business skills (1,2, 3, 9, 11, 12).
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Obviously the one thing writers can do something about is the business skills area, which is what her web site is about.
It's, as usual for her, an interesting read. Hopefully more writers will pay atention so we don't see more favorites disappear on us. Especially over business reasons.
Diseases and accidents nobody can do much about
(I too was a big fan of LORD DARCY's Randall Garrett) but other reasons like bad contracts are avoidable.
And publishers squatting on out-of-print backlists is just disgusting; if there ever was something for the so-called Authors Guild to address that would be it. (Wishful thinking of course.)