Should a book say "The End" - Page 3

K-Thom · 01-03-2011, 06:02 PM

I published so many eBook where I had to look up the printed version to check if this really was the end, since the authors didn't wrap it up tidily.

So I also decided to put a "The End" in any eBook published. If I as the publisher am unsure I don't want my readers to share that notion. They should be assured they bought the whole story.

unboggling · 01-03-2011, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhartman36

Isn't letting the reader now that the story's ending part of the art of writing? Can it really be standardized that way? (If you're being facetious, excuse my density.

)

I'm not being facetious, merely practical. Well, maybe mildly funning with the "open standard" phrase. Buy why not? For me it's not a story content issue dependent on the author, it's a structural/visual-cue/book-formatting issue in the responsibility of the publisher.

KenJackson · 01-03-2011, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhartman36

One of the things I like to do in my writing is to leave the reader with unanswered questions at the end (mostly in the form of "What's going to happen next?"). I feel like "The End" is part of a device that wraps things up in a nice little package, and it's not something I like to do.

Good point.

I think it was Rendevous with Rama that Arthur C. Clarke ended with something like (from memory), "But the Ramans do everything in threes!" I read that he had no intention of writing the next two novels at the time he finished that one but he just wanted to leave something dangling.

bhartman36 · 01-03-2011, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenJackson

Good point.

I think it was Rendevous with Rama that Arthur C. Clarke ended with something like (from memory), "But the Ramans do everything in threes!" I read that he had no intention of writing the next two novels at the time he finished that one but he just wanted to leave something dangling.

Thanks for affirming that. I was becoming afraid that I had lost touch with reality in terms of writing.

If you read the stuff I've published, it tends to end on an uncertain note. Sometimes that backfires, but I think that if a story is very discrete, it has less realism. Life isn't a sequence of discrete events. They blend together, and if you look at any specific time interval, if the person isn't dead at the end, you haven't seen the end of the story (so to speak).

Steven Lyle Jordan · 01-04-2011, 12:43 PM

I don't use it. OTOH, I also regularly add an epilogue, and always add an "About the author," so any reader ought to be able to tell that they've reached the end without explicitly saying so.

s1mp13m4n · 01-04-2011, 01:05 PM

I do not think "The End" is needed. You just finished reading your book, therefor you know that you reached the end of that book.

HarryT · 01-04-2011, 04:56 PM

I put "The End" on pretty much all the eBooks that I create. I think it gives "closure" to the book.

bhartman36 · 01-04-2011, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenJackson

Good point.

I think it was Rendevous with Rama that Arthur C. Clarke ended with something like (from memory), "But the Ramans do everything in threes!" I read that he had no intention of writing the next two novels at the time he finished that one but he just wanted to leave something dangling.

Just got a review back from one of my Smashwords stories. Seems like not everyone is as fond of ambiguity in endings as I am.

FizzyWater · 01-04-2011, 09:10 PM

I prefer that the last "page" of a eBook isn't just the end of the story. Like Jordan said above, it could be an "About the Author". A lot of my old eReader eBooks have publisher information or copyright stuff at the end. It could even be a "stay tuned" sort of excerpt for the author's next book.

But I've been frustrated more than once when I reached the end of the eBook, but couldn't tell if it was the true end of the story. (And yes, I'm one who doesn't care for ambiguous endings in general, although there are always exceptions).

On the other hand, if I saw "The End" at the end of an eBook, it would seem less than polished (more likely to be an independent eBook publisher, for example). I can see a publisher requiring it from the author in the original drafts, but then I would expect other "cues" (like that "About The Author" section, for example) rather than a bald "The End" statement.

kcmay · 01-04-2011, 10:23 PM

I always include "The End." A book just seems incomplete without it.

nashira · 01-05-2011, 04:59 AM

I like "The End" or "Fin." or something to indicate it. Especially since we can't tell if pages "fell out" of ebooks XD

wannabee · 01-05-2011, 06:36 AM

Wow! When I read the thread title I thought i knew the answer straight away and am very glad to find such a diverse opinion. You guys have really changed the way I think since being an MR member.

nashira · 01-05-2011, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wannabee

Wow! When I read the thread title I thought i knew the answer straight away and am very glad to find such a diverse opinion. You guys have really changed the way I think since being an MR member.

Hee! It wouldn't be MobileRead if we weren't opinionated.

wannabee · 01-05-2011, 08:24 AM

Opinionated. Uh huh!
My mates used to have a joke they made about me. After two cannibals ate me, one cannibal looked at the other and said "Mark doesn't agree with me. What about you?"
My wife used to laugh when she heard it.

Pookeysgirl · 01-05-2011, 09:18 AM

I don't reall need to see "The End" but I would like some indication that the book is finished. I have a few ebooks that say "The End", I also have one that didn't say anything and just ended with the last paragraph. When I clicked to what I thought was the next page, the book closed and was put back into my library. I had to go back through the book just to make sure I wasn't missing something.

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01-03-2011, 06:02 PM	#31
K-Thom The one and only Posts: 3,302 Karma: 535819 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Berlin, Germany Device: yup!	I published so many eBook where I had to look up the printed version to check if this really was the end, since the authors didn't wrap it up tidily. So I also decided to put a "The End" in any eBook published. If I as the publisher am unsure I don't want my readers to share that notion. They should be assured they bought the whole story.

01-04-2011, 12:43 PM	#35
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	I don't use it. OTOH, I also regularly add an epilogue, and always add an "About the author," so any reader ought to be able to tell that they've reached the end without explicitly saying so.

01-04-2011, 01:05 PM	#36
s1mp13m4n Zealot Posts: 127 Karma: 1278 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Kindle Oasis	I do not think "The End" is needed. You just finished reading your book, therefor you know that you reached the end of that book.

01-04-2011, 04:56 PM	#37
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I put "The End" on pretty much all the eBooks that I create. I think it gives "closure" to the book.

01-04-2011, 09:10 PM	#39
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	I prefer that the last "page" of a eBook isn't just the end of the story. Like Jordan said above, it could be an "About the Author". A lot of my old eReader eBooks have publisher information or copyright stuff at the end. It could even be a "stay tuned" sort of excerpt for the author's next book. But I've been frustrated more than once when I reached the end of the eBook, but couldn't tell if it was the true end of the story. (And yes, I'm one who doesn't care for ambiguous endings in general, although there are always exceptions). On the other hand, if I saw "The End" at the end of an eBook, it would seem less than polished (more likely to be an independent eBook publisher, for example). I can see a publisher requiring it from the author in the original drafts, but then I would expect other "cues" (like that "About The Author" section, for example) rather than a bald "The End" statement.

01-04-2011, 10:23 PM	#40
kcmay Addict Posts: 363 Karma: 500001 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Georgia, USA Device: Kindle2	I always include "The End." A book just seems incomplete without it.

01-05-2011, 04:59 AM	#41
nashira Addict Posts: 219 Karma: 73734 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Australia Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I like "The End" or "Fin." or something to indicate it. Especially since we can't tell if pages "fell out" of ebooks XD

01-05-2011, 06:36 AM	#42
wannabee Media Bloke Posts: 2,382 Karma: 113956855 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: NSW - Australia Device: iOS	Wow! When I read the thread title I thought i knew the answer straight away and am very glad to find such a diverse opinion. You guys have really changed the way I think since being an MR member.

01-05-2011, 08:24 AM	#44
wannabee Media Bloke Posts: 2,382 Karma: 113956855 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: NSW - Australia Device: iOS	Opinionated. Uh huh! My mates used to have a joke they made about me. After two cannibals ate me, one cannibal looked at the other and said "Mark doesn't agree with me. What about you?" My wife used to laugh when she heard it.

01-05-2011, 09:18 AM	#45
Pookeysgirl Wizard Posts: 1,705 Karma: 12696746 Join Date: May 2010 Device: K3, Kobo Mini	I don't reall need to see "The End" but I would like some indication that the book is finished. I have a few ebooks that say "The End", I also have one that didn't say anything and just ended with the last paragraph. When I clicked to what I thought was the next page, the book closed and was put back into my library. I had to go back through the book just to make sure I wasn't missing something.