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Q&A Can a successful book series let the bad guy win?

You can do it. But the expectation has to be set that this is possible, and it should be written like a tragedy. The market for such a book may be small, but it isn't nonexistent. Check out the gr...

posted 5y ago by Kirk‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T12:19:16Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/46286
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Kirk‭ · 2019-12-08T12:19:16Z (almost 5 years ago)
You can do it. But the expectation has to be set that this is possible, and it should be written like a tragedy. The market for such a book may be small, but it isn't nonexistent.

Check out the grimdark genre (third law series is an example). People do buy into it and even like it. But it's unlikely to sell as wide as something that has a feel good ending.

Or, go see the musical Hamilton.

As a writer you'll have to be excellent to even have a chance. And putting "the tragedy of" in your title might not be a bad idea.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-06-26T21:41:07Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 6