Switching POV in a new chapter?

I have seen it done effectively in nearly all novels by Jilly Cooper, and indeed in my second novel the POV changes right at the end. However, in all cases it has remained third-person, not first to third or vice versa. I think as a reader I might be thrown by a first to third shift... hope this helps.

I've never heard of any rule saying a story has to be told entirely from one characters POV. In fact, I would find that rather boring. If, however, you only have one or two chapters that switch POV, that might be a bit weird for the reader as the new POV might not give the reader enough of a chance to figure out who that character is. But like all things, if you can write it well then there's no problem.

Personally, I tend to use multiple POVs for everything I write in third limited.

My novel is being written in first person multiple.

Multiple 3rd person POV's are fine if it's consistent throughout the book. But to have a whole book in one person's POV and suddenly, at the end, switch to someone else's POV just for two scenes is very, very jarring and is likely to result in the reader going WTF?

If you can write them from your MC's POV it would be better, or introduce the other POV earlier in the book so the reader realizes you're going to switch once in a while.

I agree with Nevada that as long as it consistent, you should be okay. I prefer third person, but apparently, a lot of people like first person. Either way should work.

However, I've noticed a trend with books now where the POV's are mixed. The main character may be first person, then all the seconday characters are third person. I'm reading a book by Stephen White right now, and he starts with third person, then switches to first person for the MC, then first person for a secondary MC, back to third person some more, then back to first again with the MC. I'm struggling to get through it.

Some people may love it that way.

I guess what I'm really getting at is that there is no fixed standard or rule for POV style, unless you are a first-time writer. All of a sudden, all these arbitrary rules apply to the extreme. My suggestion is to keep it simple right now so you have a better chance of getting an agent. Once you're established, then you can experiment around.

I must say that many of these, as I call them, "arbitrary" rules make a lot of sense, and I think the industry would be much better if they made their established authors stick to them, and not just us unwashed masses in the trenches.

I am writing a story where the POV changes from first person MC to third person Secondary MC but only at chapter breaks where it makes sense to tell the story that way.

But for first timers, consistency is key!

My first published story alternated between third person internal (past tense) for the main character and first person present tense for the alien. There was a very different feel to the two sections as a result. I would be concerned if I suddenly got an alien point of view very late in a novel. One thing you might want to consider in making your decision about point of view is the question of stakes. Which person has more at stake in the final conflict? I'm guessing it's the humans, and that would incline me to argue for keeping their point of view. While the alien view is interesting, I think you can probably hint at it in other ways, rather than diverting from the central flow of your novel.