Series or Standalone Novel: Which is Better?

I often see the question “series vs standalone book” posed on social media. I feel I offer a unique perspective on the subject seeing as I have both read and written series and standalone books. Each book in my series are standalone stories with their own theme and conclusion. It’s the characters, not an ongoing plotline, that unites them. This way readers can read any book in a series and still understand what’s going on without having read the other books.

I decided to take my search beyond social media to see what I could find. Which is better in readers’ minds? I did find one lover on Reddit. “I prefer series, to stand alone because of investment into the characters & the story,” the poster said.

I also found two haters:

“I honestly prefer standalones myself, usually because I don’t want to get sucked into twenty+ books of one series,” Anne with a Book, a book blog, says.

“Both possess prominent benefits, however, there are too many potential negatives associated with series writing, which ultimately posits stand-alone books as the more reliable, and therefore, better option,” The Student, Europe’s oldest student newspaper, says.

Mostly, I found writing advice on series vs standalones.

Series Pros:

• Characters have more time to grow and change.

• Readers can spend more time with characters they love.

Series Cons:

• Not great for mood readers.

• Readers don’t want to commit to a series, or won’t read a series until all the books have been released.

Standalone Pros:

• Reader knows the plotline will be wrapped up by the end of the book.

Standalone Cons:

• Readers have to take a risk on a new book when this one ends.

The Cliffhanger Needs to Work & Often It Doesn’t

While we’re on the topic of series: Enough with the cliffhangers already! As Literary Devices, a website defining literary terms, says, “The cliffhanger should lead to something significant. Don’t create suspense for the sake of it.”

I know exactly why my fellow authors do it. To increase book sales. I generally see cliffhangers used with books that are about 190 pages long, books that otherwise would be consolidated into one volume, not spread over two or more. Making a reader angry isn’t going to make her buy more books. It’s more likely to put you on the list of authors she’ll avoid in the future. Yes, I have seen readers say this in the reviews of books with cliffhangers.

Cliffhangers should be used at the end of chapters, not mid-scene as happens so commonly in indie books. It’s a book, not a weekly television series having its season finale. You can’t expect readers will care enough to come back, especially if they’ve only invested 190 pages on the characters.

What are your thoughts on series vs standalone books? What’s your opinion on cliffhangers? Love them or hate them?