As a number of the people who commented on her post pointed out, the best way to ensure that people don't check out your work is to actively attack your fans. And that's the main thing, of course. I can see why some authors might object to fanfiction, but the fact remains that the people who are most likely to write and read it are going to be the biggest, and most loyal, fans of the books, or whatever, they're writing about. How much of an idiot do you have to be to attack them so viciously. And accusing them of being immoral and no better than burglars and pedophiles? Yay. Way to stay classy.

I know of at least two authors who've actively encouraged their fans to play with their creations, and actually commercially publish the results, if they're so inclined: H. P. Lovecraft and Storm Constantine. God knows, neither of them are particularly big names, but I can't imagine they've been harmed by their openness to the idea (yes, Lovecraft died poverty stricken, but that's not the point. He was always poverty stricken). I'll be actively avoiding anything by Gabaldon in the future, just as I've actively avoided anything by Orson Scott Card since I discovered that he's a rabidly right-wing homophobe. I can't imagine it'll make any difference to her, but it'll make me feel better :)