Nathan Bransford - The Forums

When I first started the novel I'm working on, I had intended for it to be a stand alone piece. I'm thinking now, I'm not so sure. I'm getting ready to finish it up (as far as first draft is concerned) and I'm debating leaving it as somewhat of a cliffhanger. I guess I feel it could stand alone this way, but give me the option to follow it up with a sequel if I or an agent wanted.

What would you do? Finish it completely, leaving no room to follow up, or leave it with the possibility of a sequel? How do agents/publishers view novels that stand alone, but leave you guessing???

Thanks,
Kristie

Ideally, you want to write a stand alone novel with series potential. That way agents can take the one and try it out, and if the market is responsive they can continue with the sequel. If it doesn't do so well, then they aren't stuck with a book that has no resolution and no follow-ups.

If you want to keep it open for a series, you'll want to wrap up the main plot line but still leave some openings, teasers, or over-arching plot lines open for the next. But the rule is that there must be resolution for the main plot arc. You can't leave the main characters bloodied and bruised with the bad guy standing over them, ready for the kill, and then...THE END. Agents won't accept that. But if the good guys win the day (or not), the goals they'd set out to achieve have been reached (or failed), but then...wait, is there more? that's a good way to keep a stand alone book open for a series.

Take a look at Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Harry confronts Quirrel/Voldemort, defeats him, saves the Stone. All is well. But wait...Voldemort is still out there, and he can still come back. <dun dun dun> The main plot line has been resolved, but the over-arching themes live on and lay ground for the sequels. If the Chamber of Secrets and the rest had never been published, we wouldn't have been left wondering if Harry lived. He did. He succeeded in his goal for that book. The other books became extras, frosting on the cake, special goodies for those who want to see what else could happen at Hogwarts. This is the way to do it.

Hope that helps.

An ending of any narrative portrays an unequivocal, irrevocable transformation outcome of a main dramatic complication. Leaving unfinished business for another installment, like using a cliffhanger ending to excite curiosity and evoke interest in future installments, is poor form. Readers will see through the deceptive device and probably abandon the work, the saga, and the writer.

If a novel sets up a main dramatic complication in a beginning and the middle pursues satisfaction of the complication, and the ending satisfies the complication, that is ending enough. A sequel then would introduce a related complication.

A series saga would have individual installment complications finalized, and an overarching complication that is not fully realized until the second installment, after the first installment's market performance is known. In other words, for a three-installment saga, the first novel is an introduction; the second novel is a middle; the third novel is an ending of an overarching complication. Nonetheless, each installment should be a beginning, middle, and ending in its own right.

Here's a tip.

This is a summary of something from one of the Brandon Sanderson videos (linked on this forum).

NEVER do what you are about to do, UNLESS you are already a well established, liked and popular author.

The reason is this. Your book makes promises to the reader. There are characters, conflicts and expected resolutions. You can leave threads unwound, but the there should be nothing in the main plot that does not have at least some sort of conflict resolution.

Imagine this, for example:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone:

Harry knows someone is trying to steal the stone. He suspects it is Snape. It isn't. The End.

That book never gets sold.

As a reader, I hate when writers don't wrap up their novels, even within a series. I can't stand storylines that don't have some resolution. You're looking at asking a reader to wait potentially a year and a half before getting satisfaction. That's too much to ask.

As a writer, it's better form, in my opinion, to write a resolution to your novel's plot line. Leave something open for the next story if that's the way you want to go, but always always always provide resolution to the main story at the end of a book. Cliffhangers are fine if they have something to do with some over arching story or some subplot that will transition us into the next book, but whatever your one novel is about cannot be left hanging until the next book. Or at least, it shouldn't.

These are the last few paragraphs of The Missions Bloom, Book Three of Father Serra's Legacy:

“Did Fathers Santa Barbára and Quintana truly wish to look out for the neophytes or were they only thinking of themselves?”

All stared at young Gregory, amazed that he should ask such a question. Before the boy could shrink in shame from the looks of the others, Timothy rose and walked over to sit down beside him. Putting an arm around his shoulders, he said, “That is a most wise and adult question, my boy. Perhaps we need to take that as an important message in how we live our own lives.”

Nobody spoke for a long time. At last, the massive full moon lowered itself into the sea, creating a shivery path across the ocean's surface.

Without a word, all rose and headed inside, seeking their beds upon which to dream and rest for the days ahead.

The End

I have worked hard to make this a stand-alone novel, as the two before and the final following. My characters live through important eras in the history of California. They are the main theme of the works.

I think that is what draws readers. If they like the first, they''ll want to read the follow-ups.

Great advice all, I love it! I think I'll leave the characters open for a follow up novel, but close the main conflict in this particular story. I think the possibility of a character from the novel coming out with their own story would be a great way to follow it up; similar to Kristin Cashore or perhaps Shannon Hale.

Thanks again

~Kristie