I don’t understand these readers at all. As I’ve seen, popular authors actually do try to update frequently since they get paid based on the number of their reads. Others basically write for fun, and we all have lives outside Episode, so… Why don’t they just start reading something else while they’re waiting for updates? Come on, we have thousands of stories to choose from! I personally read so many stories that I’m constantly behind with everything, even if an author updates like, every second month.
And honestly, while I’ve never been harassed by fanmail asking for updates, I’m planning not to publish my next story until the whole thing is written, because I’ve seen this so many times that I started to get stressed out every time my story was on hold for a few weeks. Because I didn’t have time for writing. Or I didn’t really feel inspired.
I think the problem is really that some readers don’t understand that writing because of the pressure will only result in worse content and shorter episodes.