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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/30150
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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?

Original score: 18