Strength in Numbers: AKA the Chaz Brenchley Fan Club Conspiracy

It's no secret that an author's career rises and falls on sales numbers and that the ranks of publishers willing to stick with an author they love as that author develops (or even publish work that is good and wonderful rather than commercial crap) are few and far between. If you don't know at least a dozen authors who've been dropped for less than stellar sales figures, you aren't paying attention. (Sorry if that sounded a bit strident; too many of these authors--the best there are--have been my friends, so I'm a bit vehement on the subject).