Stand-Alone or Series, Which to Choose?

Every avid reader knows the situation: A book series you love is finally releasing an installment, you have the book and settle in to read it. It’s wonderful, it’s fabulous but as you get ever and ever closer to the end, you begin checking the pages because you don’t want to finish because you know you’re going to have to wait months, possibly over a year, for the next book to be released. This is by no means the author’s fault and however long they need to write a book, each author is different when it comes to writing and publishing speeds.
The dismay can be palpable if it’s one in a series, and said series is still in the middle. Yet, the agony of a finished book can be just as great with a standalone. Some readers prefer series only, others standalones, and can be vocal in their opinions. However, if one looks at the pros and cons of reading a standalone book versus a book in a series, there is quite a lot to consider.
Let’s start with standalone books. The pros to picking up one of these is we will get the whole story in one sitting without the dreaded possibility of a cliffhanger ending, something that essentially drives any book-lover to the brink of insanity. I’ve lost many a night’s sleep over the numerous questions and possible outcomes running through my head when a book has thrown me off that proverbial cliff, especially when there will be a long wait for the resolution. While that marketing ploy is good for potential book sales, it’s not so great in the mindset of readers.
Mind you, not all series use cliffhangers to end the books, some use the happy for now... things are good and calm, but nothing is resolved. As humans, we have an innate curiosity to know the answers to questions? and the same applies to a story. To get partway through a story only to find it unfinished is one of the most frustrating experiences a reader can face when they have become attached to the characters of the book.

Read the entire article in the Dec/Jan 2020-21 issue of InD'Tale magazine.

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