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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/25502
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

_[Related](https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/407/how-to-go-about-breaking-up-a-looooong-ya-story)_

_My book was never meant to be a series, so I'm genuinely uncertain on what to do. I only really write completely self-contained things_.

## Background

I've really been having a great time writing lately. On my latest masterpiece - book sorry - I've hit _70,000_ words! Wow! It's about time the character's lives began to intercollide, and things begin to get exciting. However... I thought that by 90,000 words I would have finished my whole book. **I underestimated myself.**

I edit as I go through quite a lot, I've cut off a huge amount of words, and maximised my usage of language to get off even more words but... It's still just going to be so long _because the story cannot be told unless it has time to develop._ I can't really take off anymore words because the plot would be ruined. So... I've come to the resolve that **I need to create a series!** Exciting!

## Question

> When is an appropriate time to cut off with my novel, and turn it into a series?

I've seen everything. I really have. Sometimes, a ship has sunk. Sometimes, the character has just smiled. Sometimes, the sexy girl has died. Sometimes, the wimp has finally died. Sometimes, the girl who dressed as a boy has been found out. Sometimes, Eragon has killed the shade.

> How do you decide what kind of way to end your first book? How do you think of a way that will keep the reader reading?

I'm pretty fortunate actually to have hit this word count just as the character's lives begin to collide, but I have a few options on how I can end it. How do I pick the right one?

To be honest, Eragon killing the shade didn't make me care at all. I just didn't care. When the girl was found out I didn't care. When the little girl's dad died, I cried. When, oh my god terrible, the children got sucked into a portal... I... didn't care. How can I make a cliffhanger worthy of ending a book and not a chapter? How can I create one my reader will care about?

> Does it matter if your cliffhanger doesn't carry over into the next novel? Does your cliffhanger have to have a huge impact on the next one in the series?

* * *

My English teacher told me that most novels are only 55,000 words. I seriously don't believe her because I write my novels on a size 9.5 font, and by 55,000 words I've only done about 130 pages. So, here's a bonus question:

> Is 80-85,000 words a wise time to be finishing the first book in my brand new series? Because I'm a non-published author, is it futile to try and write a series as my debut into the fantasy genre?

Original score: 5