Don’t quit your book series just because sales are slow

Don’t quit your book series just because it isn’t selling yet. Series take time to build traction, and quitting early kills your future binge readers.

Every week, it feels like some “expert” tells indie authors to abandon their series if it doesn’t sell out of the gate, much like they’ll tell them not to publish their first book.

“Move on. Start something new. Pivot to what the market wants.”

Translation? Quit before you’ve even given yourself a chance.

And I’m here to tell you: In today’s world, that advice is garbage.

The ‘instant gratification’ cult

This whole mindset comes from the same disease infecting modern publishing: Short-term thinking. Everyone wants instant gratification. Write a book, slap a cover on it, and expect fireworks in 30 days.

When the fireworks don’t come, so many gurus scream, “Ditch the series! Try something trendier! Follow the algorithm!”

It’s cowardly advice. And worse, it sabotages building a long-term catalog, the exact thing that makes indie publishing powerful.

Series are a long game

Readers don’t binge one-off novels, but they will binge a series.

• They meet your characters in Book I.

• Fall head over skates in Book II.

• By Book III or IV, they’re hooked and tearing through your backlist like it’s oxygen.

That’s when momentum hits, word of mouth spreads, and you’re no longer “some random indie.” Instead, you’re an author readers recommend.

If you quit at Book I, you’ll never get there, and never give your characters or readers the chance to hit that sweet spot.

Quitting early betrays future readers

Let’s get brutally honest. When you abandon a series after one book, you’re betraying your future readers.

And there’s no better way to tank their trust.

Imagine a reader loves your Book I, and they’re hungry for more. But you pulled the plug because the launch wasn’t sexy enough. You just turned a potential lifelong fan into someone who shrugs and moves on to one of the other millions of series out there.

Do that a few more times, and you’ll never build loyalty or traction. You’ll keep chasing trends instead of writing the damn story and creating worlds worth following.

My Case Study: Iteration, not abandonment

When I launched Cursed Mage, it didn’t set the world on fire. It got a few hundred sales and a handful of reviews at Amazon and Goodreads, most of which came from readers on my mailing list.

But instead of panicking, I doubled down and immediately started writing its sequel, Astray Mage. I kept refining, gamifying, as I call it, and tested marketing angles.

By sticking with it:

• I put Astray Mage on the docket, an outline for Rising Mage, and ideas for Book IV.

• I gave the series time to find its tribe and since its launch in March 2025, it’s been growing.

• I created something worth binging, not just sampling, per a few readers.

And that effort compounds. Every new book sells the backlist, and every reader who finishes Book III is ten times more valuable than someone who dabbles with Book I.

Iteration beats quitting every single time

As an indie author, you’re never locked into a “failed” series. You can tweak covers and rebrand, as I’ve done with some of my books. Then repackage and relaunch. Indie publishing is iteration-friendly, so take advantage of it.

But you can’t iterate on a corpse. If you quit, it’s dead. But if you persist, you’ve got options.

Stop looking for permission to quit

Most advice out there is designed to keep authors comfortable, not successful. Quitting feels safe, but it’s self-sabotage disguised as pragmatism.

So here’s the unapologetic truth: Don’t quit your series. Not after one book or even after two. Stick it out, build it deep, and give readers something worth binging.

Success belongs to authors who had the guts to keep going when everyone else bailed.

Take my main character in Cursed Mage, Kaija Jokiharju. If there’s one distinguishing trait in Kaija, she’s no quitter, even if the average girl would’ve folded after losing her dad, discovering she could see ghosts, getting double-crossed, and, ultimately, used. Not to mention she boasts an ability that makes her a prime target for an authoritarian regime.

Meet her in Cursed Mage, and I hope this niche fiction book of mine that combines dark urban fantasy and thriller elements motivates you to keep plugging away at your series.