|
What bothers me is that serials (the cliff-hanger ending) and series (another installment about the same characters/settings) have pushed the good, solid stand-alone novel to the wayside.
In part, we did it to ourselves. Fans love series.
In part, it's laziness on the part of publishers—it's simpler to market and sell the latest book in a series rather than a standalone, even from a popular author.
In part, it's authors caving to the pressure of the above: fans want it, publishers are paying for it, so QED.
I love a good series, too. Just wish the market made more room for great standalone works.
|