Book Wank!!!

For once, this isn't Authors Behaving Badly but (depending on your point of view) AuthorsWife Behaving Badly or Fans Behaving Badly. 

Not 100% sure what's going on here, but I think its a lesson in keeping up with the times. 

The author of the Wheel of Time fantasy series unfortunately died before his series was finished, so his wife hired another writer to finish the series, based on his notes. The final book, 14, has just been released. 

Wanting this book to hit number 1 on the bestseller lists, the wife refused to allow an ebook to be published for the first for a year, but was eventually talked down into a 4 month delay for the ebook. 

This is what the writer had to say about the delay

Question: Why a delayed ebook release for A Memory of Light?

Answer: This is not my decision or Tor's decision, but Harriet's. She is uncomfortable with ebooks. Specifically, she worries about ebooks cutting into the hardcover sales. It isn't about money for her, as the monetary difference between the two is negligible here. It is about a worry that her husband's legacy will be undermined if sales are split between ebooks and hardcovers, preventing the last book of the Wheel of Time from hitting number one on either list. (Many of the bestseller lists are still handling ebooks in somewhat awkward ways.)

As the last books have all hit number one, she doesn't want to risk one of these not hitting number one, and therefore ending the series on a down note. (Even though each Wheel of Time book has sold more than its predecessor, including the ones I have worked on.) I personally feel her worries are unfounded, and have explained that to her, but it is not my choice and I respect her reasoning for the decision. She is just trying to safeguard Robert Jordan's legacy, and feels this is a very important way she needs to do so. After talking about the issue, we were able to move the ebook up from the originally planned one-year delay to instead come out this spring.

Most think that even with ebooks supposedly cutting into hardcover sales, this book wouldn't have had any trouble hitting number 1, as readership has increased for every book in the series to date.

Needless to say, fans are pissed that they can't buy the version which is most convenient for them (especially since all the others books in the series are in ebook format) just because a person who is not the author or the writer, doesn't understand how ebooks work. 

They retaliate by leaving hundreds of 1 star reviews. The worst (such as ones that wish for Mrs Jordan's death etc) have been removed, but there are still over 270 1star reviews and an overall rating of 3.3/5, in a series that is routinely rated 5 stars.

I'm not really sure who's side I'm on. As an author, I believe that reviews should be for reviews, not personal, non-plot related gripes (which should be directed by letter or email to the author or publisher). However as a reader, I want my ebooks and would think very hard before buying a non-ebook these days. 

Either way, the arguments are fun. Some liken leaving 1 star reviews to the Boston Tea Party and women'ssuffrage!