Different publisher for the sequel - considerations?

jobryan

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"I sold the first book in a two-part series to a publisher that's turned out to be disappointing. My contract gives them no exclusive rights to the sequel, but what OTHER considerations might there be, if I'm thinking of going elsewhere with the second book? For example:

How will this be viewed by other prospective publishers?

Can I potentially get a sweeter deal if the first book (soon to be released) sells well?"

Thanks in advance for your responses.
 

lizmonster

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"I sold the first book in a two-part series to a publisher that's turned out to be disappointing. My contract gives them no exclusive rights to the sequel, but what OTHER considerations might there be, if I'm thinking of going elsewhere with the second book? For example:

How will this be viewed by other prospective publishers?

Can I potentially get a sweeter deal if the first book (soon to be released) sells well?"

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Your agent (if you're agented) should be able to give you some idea.

My understanding, though, is that it's tough to move a series to a new publisher. In general, readers like to start with Book 1 (not all readers, but probably most), so any publicity the new publisher puts into Book 2 is more likely to bump the sales of Book 1, at least short term.

That said, it does happen. It's just a longshot, and you might want to consider exactly how unhappy you are with Publisher 1 before you burn that bridge.
 

waylander

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What they said. Your best bet if you're really unhappy with the pulisher of book 1 is to try and get the rights back. Failing that self-publish book 2