Henadic Theologian
Legend
I mean, there's no way that the folks who only read D&D novels is anything more than a tiny fraction compared to the 5E fanbase. I can see novel readers being a big group in the days of Dragonlance's peak or something, but now? There are barely any D&D novels anymore period.
The "Where's Elminster" thing seemed to be more about folks wondering where the character most associated with Ed Greenwood was. Which is fair, although Ed has himself said he prefers other characters, including Mirt.
That doesn't mean the fans died because WotC botched the novel line, they are still there. For years the novels made more money then the RPG side of things. Again you underestimate the amount of FR novel readers