To Sequel, Or Not To Sequel, That Is The Question

My husband often asks me how I choose to write a sequel or leave a book as a standalone. I've addressed this a bit in a previous post, but he's asked me again with the series I'm working on now, so I figured... why not blog about it? This time, rather than just sharing my thoughts on the matter, I thought it'd be fun to address his questions specifically in an interview type format. Here are the questions he asked me:

​Do you always have another book in the works? 
Yes, I do always have books or book ideas that are on my mind. While I solely focus on writing one book to completion at a time, I always have several that I'm thinking about and plotting out for when I have time for them down the line. 

Don't you always have a different - unrelated - project in line? What makes you change paths from what you've planned to work on to write a sequel instead? 
Yes, often I do have other projects that I hope to work on when I'm in the process of writing, editing and publishing any given book. I have a couple of books right now that are in various stages of development (one is just ideas in my head and notes in my phone at the moment, the other is one that I wrote back in 2020 that I'm hoping to finally publish in the next several months, that I've just been slowly chipping away at). 

I think the biggest thing that changes my direction from wanting to work on one book to following up with a sequel is momentum. When I'm finishing up one book, if I feel a strong pull to continue the story, and if there's enough story to tell, enough plot to work with, and a substantial enough concept that I could fill another book with a quality addition to the story, I will take that route. 
​
When you were writing Bound, did you know you wanted to write a sequel? You were talking about publishing another book you'd already written at the time.
When I started writing Bound, I imagined that it would be a standalone work. I didn't anticipate writing a sequel for it. When I was a little over halfway finished writing the story, I started asking myself questions. If this happens... what will happen next? What if...? And those questions launched me into full sequel outlining mode. There was so much more that I could do with the story, and I felt like I had to. When I started writing the sequel, I was teetering on the idea of whether or not there would be enough substance to follow up with even a third book, but it wasn't until I was almost finished drafting the sequel that I made my decision. 

What triggers you to know you want to write a sequel?
Again, this one is really about momentum. As I'm writing the story, I just pay attention to where the motivation is. Is there more to this story? If there could be more, but I don't have a solid grasp of the potential, then I likely won't write a sequel.

Out of all the books that you've written, why do only some of them get sequels? Have you intended to write a sequel for all of them? How do you know to cut it off at just one book?
There are two books that I've drafted where I paused in the process to consider writing a sequel and decided against it. I had enough ideas for both books to continue with sequels for both of them, but I didn't feel that spark of potential that I've felt with other stories. I felt that these stories were their best without adding more to them. 

What determines your priority? Is it just motivation?
For me, there are a few factors that determine where my writing priority lies. I have limited time every day to work on my projects, so I have to stay focused if I'm to meet the deadlines I set. This helps a ton in keeping me on track. While I have a lot of projects that I'm really excited to work on (a romance novel I finished back in 2020, two children's book that I feel highly motivated to write and illustrate, an addition to Bound's series, a nonfiction book, and a stand alone novel that I've been itching to write for almost a year now), I feel the strongest pull to complete the series I'm working on, now. I've experienced a lot of growth and developed my skillset for these books, and I have a strong passion for the story, the world, the characters, and the graphics that I have created for these books. 

Although I plan to put out that romance novel in the next half year or so, there's not a ton of work left to do for that one. I'm highly driven by my motivation to finish projects, so my major focus will likely be this series until it is completed. 

You've talked about following up Bound's sequel with a third book. Why? Do two books just not cover enough?
Oh, boy. I thought two books would cut it for Bound. But as I wrote, I realized there were just so many directions I could go, and I want to give the story the page space it deserves. I could have ended the story at the end of the sequel, but Lane and Alec's journey is not over, and the world that I've created for them needs them now more than ever!

Do you write on passion alone? If you have a book that you're not feeling, do you drop it for something else?
Passion is a huge component to my writing process, but it isn't the only piece. I would say that my reasons for staying on any particular project are equal parts passion and motivation to complete.

I would be lying if I said I have never dropped a project. I had one book that I started writing years ago where the content was just too heavy for me to carry emotionally. Eventually, I do plan to circle back to that one, but it will take a lot of time, care, and bravery to get through.

I've had a couple of compilations that I've set down because I didn't feel that they were complete as they were, and I needed to compile more poetry and write more short stories that fit the theme I wanted to go with. 

I also set down this romance book for a few years, even though the story had been written in its entirety, and had even undergone a couple of rounds of editing by 2021. I felt that, because this book wasn't the typical YA fantasy realm that I'm most comfortable writing in, I needed to give this book a lot more consideration regarding its plot and get some outside opinions on how the story unfolds. 

For the most part, however, I do stick with a project until it's complete, especially if I feel the same love and excitement for the story and characters that I've felt with the Azure Light series and now Bound ​and its sequel. 

Thank you, Brandon, for your questions and your involvement in my writing process. Thank you everyone else for reading! Check back weekly for more writing related content, or sign up for my email list on the homepage for blog posts, updates on my author journey, and information for upcoming releases!