I read most epic fantasy debuts from the major publishers, and the majority of them are the first installment in a series and do not stand alone in any way, shape, or form. Forget teasers. They don't even resolve the main plot. I assume these first-time authors are probably under multi-book contracts obligating them to complete the series (usually a trilogy).
And if an agent doesn't like the book enough to want another by the end, sequel teasers are the least of your problems.
Of course, this only applies to epic fantasy. But the "must stand alone" advice is not universal.
Since you were the only one who replied directly to me, I'll reply directly to you, and to no one else that disagreed with my statements.
This might sound cliche, but if we all had the same opinions about the same things, this would be a very-boring world to say the least, a world I wouldn't want to live in. I don't write epic fantasies, so I don't know about that, but I do know I'd throw the book across the room if I read an entire book, no matter the length, and in the end, there's something hanging. I'd be like, "
but I thought the book was over! I thought all the loose ends had been tied up by the end! What? Say what? So it's
not over? I abhor that with a passion, and that would be a novel that I wouldn't want to read if I knew about that in advance, and since I'd assume it's an author's custom to do this, I wouldn't want to read another one of their books ever again.
I am not against sequels. I am writing a sequel myself, and I have yet to write a story that doesn't have a sequel. However, the main conflict of the first, second, and third installments of the novel, and so on and so forth, that problem the characters are facing has to be resolved, and yes, that rule
is universal. If you can't solve the conflict in your story satisfactorily, you can't write. It's that simple. That is a basic rule of writing that if you can't follow, then you have a big issue right there. If there is a "teaser" that means that the conflict the novel is dealing with has
not been resolved.
I don't mean disrespect against anybody here, but come on, this response I received was a little...Err....err....I didn't stomach it very well. Let's leave it at that. I write romance and sci-fi, not fantasy, so this rule you're going on about doesn't apply to me.
I sincerely hope I haven't offended anyone here. I was simply trying to differ with an opinion.
Christina.