My daughter bounced in her seat while waiting for the start of the movie, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.

Sea of Monsters is the second movie in a series. While we watched Sea of Monsters, my youngest daughter watched Smurfs 2 with my mother.

Preceding the movie: trailers for more kids’ movies: Rio 2, Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs 2.

Sequels sell.

While I often feel discouraged by the difficulties first-time authors face in marketing and selling their books, I am encouraged that all the work done to make a first book launch successful will increase the chances that the author’s 2nd (3rd, 4th, etc) book will be even more successful.

The investment a first time author makes in marketing is significant. Building an engaged community takes considerable time and effort. If an author builds that community with the idea of creating repeat readers, as preparation and practice for the sequel, the sting of the time and financial investment will be lessened.

The more effective you are in building a community of readers for your first book, the more likely you will be to have a community ready to engage with your next one.

Let every investment you make as a first-time author fulfill a dual purpose: marketing for that book and building a foundation for the follow-up book.

Sequels sell. Your next book will sell more copies if you invest in marketing the first one.