Enough Already

Earlier today I received my daily email from Borders.  As a crazed, obsessed book maniac I have to stay apprised of the comings and goings of the book industry, don't I?  Anyway, it was the "What's New" email listing the upcoming releases of some of my favorite authors and I noticed that on the list was Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  Apparently, the sixth installment is coming out November of this year and my first thought was "another one?"  And so I ask, when is enough, enough?

It seems that trilogies and series are popular these days, so much so, that sometimes I am just sick of them.  What happened to the days where an author wrote 3 books that had nothing to do with each other?  I sometimes feel like authors are stumped for ideas and therefore they take the one they have and just milk it.  Or is that the publishing companies?  After all, they're the ones making the real money from us, aren't they?  We get $10000, they get $50000.  So whose to blame?

The fact is, sometimes a series just needs to end.  Sometimes, a trilogy needs to stay that way.  Instead what happens is we get a series that drags out 7, 10, 13 books long or a book that becomes a prequel to a trilogy.  Ladies and gentleman, a trilogy is 3 books.  Adding a prequel doesn't make it cool, it makes it book 4. 

As a writer, I do get it and I will admit I have one idea that, if written, will be a series of 5.  But only 5 and no more.  My first two books are stand alones and I intend to keep them that way.  Because I believe that sometimes enough is enough.

P.S. Post two under the watchful eyes of the man.