Today is the release day of the final book in the Acceptance series. This is it. No more books. It’s bittersweet for me as the author, but I realize there can be a whole slew of emotions that a reader goes through as well. When you’ve committed to reading a whole series and you’ve waiting patiently for each book, finally getting to the final one can be rough.
To help, I’ve outlined the five stages of letting go of a series so that you can easily identify your stage. Please understand that while there’s no cure for Letting Go Syndrome, you’re not alone.
Stage One: Slow-mo speed read
When you’ve waited for a book, it’s hard not to speed read the whole thing so you can finally know what happens. But when you’re reading final books, there’s also a distinct need to make it last. The result is a slow-mo speed read in which you’ll find yourself speeding through chapters only to go back immediately and re-read them so you can catch all the little details you missed in your quest toward the ending.
Stage Two: Bookmark scramble
You have no intention of needing a bookmark, since you plan to indulge in an all day, barely stopping for bathroom breaks, read-a-thon. But the time will come when the author does something to really push you over the edge. You know it’s coming. It’s in the sworn author oath that we make our characters act in ways that will send readers into a fit. When it happens, you’re likely to hurl your book down in disgust, only to scramble seconds later to find your spot so you don’t have to wait a second longer to keep reading.
Stage Three: Reader Eye
There will be tears. It’s also in the oath that we have to make readers cry. Of course you won’t have tissues handy, because the tears always come when you least expect it. You don’t want to stop reading to get one, so you’ll try to wipe away those little saline drops with your tension-filled, sweaty palms. This will mix salt and sweat back into your eye and cause you to tear up even more. There’s no shame. We’ve all been there. Just calmly set your book down, go get a tissue, and keep reading.
Stage Four: Social media lock-out
Once you finish, your gut reaction will be to run to social media and talk about this book to everyone who’ll sit still. But since you decided to speed read the final book in a single book-throwing, eye-stinging session, no one else is done yet. The urge will be strong here to lay on your bed staring at the ceiling and wonder how the rest of the world keeps moving when your heart has just been ripped out of your chest and squeezed in front of your own eyes (Sorry, it’s also in that darn oath). But you must resist, and move on to the final stage.
Stage Five: Find your connection
Eventually the other readers will come, but when you first finish there’s only one other person you can be certain knows just as many of the twists and turns as you do: the author. Even though she/he followed through on that oath to make you throw books in disgust and ugly cry at that end, you still love them. Resolve all your series finale emotions with a heartfelt email to the author. It’s cathartic and for sure you’ll make an author’s day. Bonus points if you leave them a review.
No matter how you read that final book, know that these same emotions are coursing through the author as well. It’s hard to say good bye. Of course, with books it’s never really a farewell. Just an until we meet between the pages again!
Rite of Redemption Blurb:
Rebecca escaped the PIT, found a family among the Freemen…and watched too many loved ones die. All she wants is the Cardinal to leave her in peace, but he’s made it clear that’s never going to happen.
When the Cardinal attacks other Freemen villages, she finally understands that no one is safe from his wrath. As the only one who’s stood up to the evil that is the Cardinal, it’s up to her to convince the others that they can’t hide forever. It’s time to fight.
The Machine predicted Rebecca would become the Cardinal’s enemy. It may have gotten that one right.
In the conclusion to the Acceptance series, enemies become allies and old friends emerge, but in the end, sacrifice may be the price of freedom.
Sarah’s Bio:
Sarah Negovetich knows you don’t know how to pronounce her name and she’s okay with that.
Her first love is Young Adult novels, because at seventeen the world is your oyster. Only oysters are slimy and more than a little salty; it’s accurate if not exactly motivational. We should come up with a better cliché.
Sarah divides her time between writing YA books that her husband won’t read and working with amazing authors as an agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency. Her life’s goal is to be only a mildly embarrassing mom when her kids hit their teens.
You can learn more about Sarah and her books at www.SarahNegovetich.com or follow her antics on Twitter @SarahNego.
Book Links:
Rite of Redemption Amazon order link
Rite of Redemption Goodreads link
Rite of Rejection link (free from Jun 2nd to 6th)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
My social media links:
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