What books should have a sequel?
I wrote my very first novel several months ago and I sold it to a publisher two weeks ago. Now I am thinking of writing something new.
The problem is I can't get the idea of writing a sequel out of my head. There are a few reasons why I should write it:
- The story is not finished completely. The main arc of the first book is closed, but not all questions have been answered, not all bad guys have been punished.
- There is a great world waiting for another story.
- I have plenty of notes and great ideas which didn't make it to the first book, just because I focused on the main arc.
On the other hand, I keep asking myself "Is it a good idea?":
- Maybe I fell in love with my own characters, because they had made me very happy (The first book is my very first piece of writing I have sold).
- Stakes are really high in the first book and I am not sure I can make them higher in the sequel.
- Sometimes it is better to leave some questions unanswered.
- I could learn something new by writing a different genre, first person instead of the third etc.
That leads me to the question: Is it possible to determine what books should have a sequel? Sometimes it is obvious: there cannot be a sequel for Lord of the Flies, but it would be strange if the Philosopher's Stone was the only Harry Potter book. Sometimes the sequel even hurts the first story, as happened with sequels of A. C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama.
Is there anything books with potentionally good sequels have in common? How can we recognize them?
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/30150. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
2 answers
Check with your publisher and specifically with the editor who worked with you during final polish to see what they think. That editor is probably intimate with the subject matter of your story and simultaneously may have a more current, less emotional view on its suitability for continuation. They may also have insights into the marketability of a sequel in your chosen genre.
Beyond that, consider what kind of sequel you want to create. Is it a continuation of the character, dragging your protagonist into new challenges and upheavals? Is it a continuation of your plot, investigating the new problems which arise from the solution which was found during your first tale. Is it just another story set in the same universe, with little attachment to the original work. All three of these options have proven precedence and can help you build the long tail which is a recipe for writing success.
The only thing you shouldn't do is write a sequel because you think you have to. If you don't have anything more to say about the characters or issues of your first book, let it stand on its own. You can always come back and add a sequel after your second through tenth unassociated published works are already filling the bookstore shelves. There is no hurry to specifically write this sequel.
The only urgency is that you keep on writing!
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/30158. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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I think I would wait on a sequel, and try another novel first, set in another world. You got published by not taking an easy way out. It is entirely possible the stuff you did not publish was useful but did not belong in the first book and doesn't belong in another book!
I think one danger of a sequel, especially as you describe it, is that fans of the first book will expect a second meal of the same quality, and get served a plate of leftovers from your first book. It may not be as novel and surprising and fun to read, all the fun stuff was described and happened.
A second danger of a sequel is that if it is successful, it defines your career: You'll do another in the same place, then another. Maybe that is what you want, but before you marry that world for life, or beat the horse to death, you might try doing again what you did the first time: Come up with a good story with stakes as high as possible and a new MC and sidekicks, and see if you can do it again.
Many authors stick to the same detective for story after story, but the stakes are always the same. Many more authors that publish dozens of books stick only to their genre: SciFi, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, etc. Their characters and world can be different every time, and although that is more work, it can also be freeing. I'd at least try that route before taking the risks and shortcut of writing a sequel that may not measure up to the first book.
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