Editorial: Must a Series Have Stand-alones?

By Meghan Morrow

Picture this: You’re outside your favorite bookstore. You go inside, look around for a bit, and then you see it. The book you’ve been looking for. The cover catches your eye from across the store and you are drawn to it. You’ve never heard of the author, or even of the book, but something about the color of the cover and the weight of the book tells you this is going to be a great read. You rush home to read it and can’t put it down for two days in a row. You come to the last page, waiting for the moment of finality and you see ‘TO BE CONTINUED’ taunting you from the page. What do you do now? Do you eagerly await the next book or do you toss the book across the room and vow never to read anything by that author again?

Well, I can’t give you a straight answer on that...yet. Before I can even begin to tell you whether each novel in a series should stand alone or they should just be a continuation of the next, we first have to try and understand what goes on in a publisher’s head because the publisher is the most important part of your book. Without the publisher’s support, your book will go no further than the box under your bed. I know there are some of you out there saying, ‘I’m not writing to be seen, I’m writing for the art.’ This is just fine, but I would suggest you stop reading this article now.

For months now, I've been searching every possible writers advice website I could find, and do you want to know what they all said? When it comes to writing a series of novels, the first book, at least, must be able to stand on its own. Up until about a week ago, I agreed with this theory, but as I thought more about the topic, I became increasingly bitter about the whole thing. ‘Why does the first in a series need to stand alone? The book writes itself, I can’t change how it ends.’ I understand that the characters need to resolve some big action for the readers to feel satisfied and I know I would personally be frustrated if at the last page of a good book I saw the words 'TO BE CONTINUED,' but wouldn't seeing these words only drive up your desire to the read the next novel? Wouldn't you want to know what happened to the characters in the final end and wait diligently for the next book to come out? Absolutely not. I'm a stubborn reader and if I am dissatisfied with the end of a story, even if the rest of the novel was brilliant, I refuse to waste my time on the second, or third, or fourth. As an author, it is your job to leave the reader with a feeling of resolution. Yes, there are those out there that will not completely turn their backs on an author just for leaving us dissatisfied, but writing a novel isn't just about those select few.

Publishers look for authors who can sell their books and make a profit. If the novel doesn't end, it will be less appealing to readers, and publishers are not going to waste their time on a second one. Why would they risk spending money to produce a book they don't even know will make it past the first stage? They are already taking a chance that your novel will turn a profit, now they will have to take an extra risk hoping you'll have a great enough following for your series. I’ll let you in on a little secret; most publishers are not going to take that gamble.

When writing a series of books, don't concentrate on the fact that you plan to make the story into a series. In fact, don't think about the other books at all. Only focus on the current novel you're working on and let that story come to an end. There needs to be some concrete ending for the readers or you will find yourself the owner of a failed novel—that is if it ever becomes a part of production. There is a reason that the three main areas of the story arc are the beginning, the climax and the denouement. The denouement resolves any issues that the characters come across and clears up any confusion the reader might have had. You can plan to write a series of novels, in which case you can add something that may need to be concluded in a subsequent novel, but the first novel must end.

I will admit that I once thought you could stop a story halfway through the journey. I was a bit biased in this opinion since my personal novel is that of a journey and I have been unsuccessful toward finding a way to end the first book while my character remains on her journey. My thought was, if J.R.R Tolkien can do it, why can't I. Well, I'm not Tolkien, not by a long shot.

I will leave you with my final plea to ensure that your first novel in a series, especially as an unpublished author, finds some way to come to an end. Leaving the book hanging is no way to treat your future hopeful