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Lo9man88 asked this question about The Thorn of Emberlain (Gentleman Bastard, #4):
WHEN THIS BOOK WILL BE OUT ? I AM REALLY NERVOUS THAT WE'LL WAIT A FEW MORE YEARS LIKE THE PREVIOUS BOOKS . LYNCH AND ROFUSS ARE NEXT ON MY S*** LIST : FELLAS THERE IS A FINE LINE BETWEEN ADMIRATION AND DISAPPOINTMENT IT TRULY IS .
Ketutar Jensen Sure, authors are human beings and writing is a process and life happens until it doesn't, and bla bla bla. But there is a very simple answer to this.…moreSure, authors are human beings and writing is a process and life happens until it doesn't, and bla bla bla. But there is a very simple answer to this.
*DON'T PROMISE SEQUELS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN WRITTEN YET.*

If you are a writer, you can say "yes, I have planned sequels. Don't know how many, don't know when, perhaps never."
But if you say "yes, there will be 7 parts to this, I already sold the manuscript, the cover is ready, I know what will happen" - then you have made a promise.
Asking when you are going to follow through with the promise is not in any way inappropriate.

And all that "writing is art and you wouldn't want a rushed work" - Every professional artist worth their salt will tell you that "yeah, it's not fun every day, but it's my work, and I do it, because that's what people do." If people like Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway could do that, then Scott Lynch can do that. Pulp writers and paper serieal authors did that, and what they produced wasn't all crap. At this point, I'm pretty sure people would forgive some possible problems just one gives them a story, and I'm 100% certain of that Scott Lynch can write a story even if it's not perfect. I mean, just look at your favorites and read some 1 star reviews. You had no problems with those things.
Frankly, when it comes to art, when you edit, and polish and question yourself, the risk of you killing your work grows - as you will get rid of all freshness and imperfections that make the work alive and interesting - and you will kill your joy and belief in the work, and the risk of you never daring to let it go grows.
No. The first two books came out with 1 year between them. Then it took more than five years for #3, and it was 7 years ago. With this rate, he might get #5 out to his 100th birthday. Let's just hope he'll live until he's 200.
So, no, it's not the readers who can't wait to get the next book, who are to be blamed here, it's authors and book publishers who make empty promises. Let's not enable reneging.(less)
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The Thorn of Emberlain
by Scott Lynch (Goodreads Author)
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