Also, authors generally don't rake it in and certainly not at the magnitude of "a few years' expenses".
Maybe she could've would've should've but fixed costs are sticky and you don't have to look around very hard to find people who can't absorb that many shocks in such a short period of time.
Especially so for someone with some sort of seasonal income. They're the type of individuals who should know better than to not have a reasonable buffer (in case work doesn't come in that season).
I hadn't heard of income-protection insurance and after some googling it's no wonder: as far as I can it's a kind of disability insurance - it doesn't kick in if you're merely unemployed.
At that point, you're at the mercy of your state's unemployment insurance - which you might not be eligible for if you've been working as a contractor or self employed. Not to mention that seasonal work makes it harder to plan, since you don't have reliable income to plan around.
There just aren't that many "no-brainer" options for absorbing this many shocks, at a scale most individuals can cope with.
Pure private unemployment insurance.
An X of Y magnitude doesn't make people more savvy with savings/planning.