jefrye t1_j175zjg wrote on December 22, 2022 at 3:58 AM

>I'm perfectly aware that many sequels are made almost entirely due to pleasing the audience.

I think you're pretty severely underestimating how difficult and time-consuming it is to write a novel. Few authors are going to write a sequel if they're not super passionate about it.

strawberryc0w_ OP t1_j182xfg wrote on December 22, 2022 at 10:27 AM

Of course not, but it ends with us was published years ago. It became popular on TikTok like beginning of 2021. If you didn't feel passionate to write a sequel before, isn't a little weird for your passion to derive solely from the books popularity?

TheChocolateMelted t1_j191fmf wrote on December 22, 2022 at 3:49 PM

Solely from the popularity sounds unlikely, but spurred on or inspired by it doesn't sound improbable.

Seeing the way people relate to it might stir up ideas that the writer had discarded or not felt comfortable (for any reason, including brevity or ability) writing about earlier. They may not have fitted the original story, but with new ideas, might now have the strength for a full story of their own. Plus, the circumstances may have changed. Atwood wrote The Testaments as a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale and as a way of commenting on the world in the Trump age, partly spurred by the response to the TV series of the earlier book and the feelings that working on that series re-awoke in her.

Also think about how much doubt and uncertainty an author has when they're writing a book. Will it sell? Will it even be accepted by a publisher? It would be incredible if they felt enough passion to put another xx months/years of their life on the line to write a sequel at that point.