I come from a screenwriting background (which means I did a lot of screenwriting and didn't sell anything before I wrote my first novel, which I sold--go figure), so writing a standalone book--something I haven't done yet--is like writing a feature film, and writing a series is like writing a television series. To me.
So the question eventually arises: When is it time to end the series? In many cases, as in television, the decision is not one made by the author; the publisher looks at sales figures and doesn't make an offer on any future works with these characters. That's an easy, if unpleasant, decision on the author's part. There's no thinking involved, other than about how you'll make a living from this moment on.
But for successful series with devoted followings, how do you know when it's time to quit? Obviously, some authors don't, or have a hard time turning down (what at that level becomes a good deal of) money. Even devoted fans of such authors (and if you think I'm naming names, you're crazy) begin to notice the decline in quality, or interest on the part of the author, and while they hope each time a book comes out for a rebound, they'll privately acknowledge that this author should have put these characters out to pasture a while back. I can't say how I'd react, but I have to guess I'd come down on the side of financial stability for my family in these troubled times.
When the offers come tumbling in, I'll let you know.
This was all brought home to me recently with the announcement that the USA Network series Monk will air its eighth and final season beginning next summer. To my mind, that will be two years too late, but I'll be watching, if for no other reason than to see the series wrap up the investigation into the death of the main character's wife, the reason for his great difficulties and, the writers would have us believe, his OCD.
I'm still a huge fan of Tony Shalhoub and much of the rest of the cast of Monk, but the fact is, the series has been on the decline for a while. A character who once appealed to our sympathies, who had suffered a great tragedy and was damaged but still brilliant, had become merely self-centered and obnoxious. You started to wonder why the rest of the characters were willing to hang around with him.
If the decision begin made were an artistic one, it should have been made at least a year ago, but it's hard to stop doing something when everyone keeps telling you how great it is, and the people in charge of paying for more keep ponying up the money. Other examples of TV series that went out "while still on top": M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore, Seinfeld,The Sopranos. Was any of those shows truly at the top of its form when it left, or would it have been better to end it a season or two sooner, when it was really cooking?
Sure, people still beg for more. The Beatles put out 13 standard-setting American albums (the number differs in the U.K.) in less than seven years, they did it 40 years ago, and there are still people desperate for more, to the point that Paul McCartney thinks they should release a 14-minute, 1967 jam session in which everyone in the band walked around the studio and just banged on whatever was there.
But here's the point: brilliant musicians that they were, in 1969, the Beatles realized they couldn't continue on; the personal animosity was too much and the pressure too great. They recorded "Let It Be," and that would have been the end. But they knew it wasn't their best work. So instead of quitting, they went back into the studio and recorded "Abbey Road," which was their best work, and went out on a literal high note.
It's a painful decision to stop creating something that has been great. I would be heartbroken if some of my favorite authors decided enough was enough, especially if their latest was among their best. But if that drove them to create something else that was wonderful? Perhaps I wouldn't complain as loudly.
For Monk the time has come. And now, a couple of years later, they'll stop making more.
P.S. How'd you like to be the author whose promo materials showed up on this?
