How Not to Turn Readers Against You as an Author of Series Books

I think a lot of authors don't seem to understand SERIES books and what they are about. They are not about selling a book with no ending. I keep coming across books that are well written until I get to the end and then feel cheated because they're so completely not finished. That just makes me too angry to buy the next book in the series, strictly on principle.


Look at Harry Potter books. Each book had a complete story. Yes, the Harry Potter books had an over-arching story that carried on through all of the books but you never felt cheated at the end of one of the books.

Or you can look at books like My Dead Boyfriend by Barbara Rose. In this book, you get a complete story. Then, if you choose to read the excerpt from the next story that is in the back of the book, you find out that things change in the second book and something new happens to the main characters. The first book has a resolution, and then, in the second book, a new adventure forms from there. The new adventure might be related to the one in the first book, but you are not left, at the end of the first book, feeling as though the story is incomplete.

I don't mind if there is something that carries over in the book. I just don't think EVERYTHING should be left hanging. The book has to have an ending that leaves the reader feeling like they've finished the book.

If the book is well-written and the characters well thought-out and portrayed, then the reader will WANT to buy the next in the series. You don't need to end the book on a cliffhanger with no resolution in order to get the reader to buy the next book. Doing that smacks of manipulation and, as a reader, I can say, it turns me off from wanting to buy any more books from that author.

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