Pros and Cons of a Cliffhanger

(The original is here)

Hey guys! I've been on vacation lately, therefore the lack of reviews! I've also been busy writing, which is another reason why I haven't blogged in a while. And while I know you're all waiting for the Haven review, I'm going to push that back for a little bit--I'm going to Alaska tomorrow! For five days! Yup! Before all of that, though, I'm going to share with you my personal list of pros and cons of a cliffhanger (figuratively speaking, though if you want a list of the word literally, just comment below and tell me. I'd be more than happy to comply. No, seriously.) Gallagher-Girls style! 


So, without further ado, I present to you.... *drumroll*

 PROS AND CONS OF A CLIFFHANGER

PRO: It leaves the reader excited and eagerly awaiting for the next installment of the series. 
CON: Unless, of course, that your single book with no plan of a series or  a companion novel or- you get the idea. If that's the case, a cliffhanger will only make the plot seem unresolved and the reader might be furious with you. For a few days, at least.
PRO: It gives the book more depth and allows it to travel in a direction unexpected and therefore interesting.
CON: A cliffhanger has to be executed just right. A little too much and you can overwhelm the reader. A little too... less, well, then it's not really a cliffhanger.
PRO: By getting the reader hooked on the potentiality of the next installment (assuming this is a series), the author/agent/publisher can expect more sales and therefore more $$.
CON: Sadly, not all readers like cliffhangers. Create one too extreme and they might not be tempted to share the word with their friends until they find a happy ending three years later with the final concluding book, and you know it's the spread of word that gets you most of your sales, especially YA.
PRO: As long as you have a somewhat happy ending (or just not a cliffhanger) for the conclusion of your series, the reader will probably squeal to their friends the appeal of the series anyway--that is, assuming they liked it.
CON: But sometimes the reader just doesn't have the patience to wait, and you might get a bunch of e-mails from shocked readers with complains about the cliffhanger. 
PRO: If worse come to worse, you'll have to just finally resolve to creating an automated response to all e-mails titled CLIFFHANGER asking them to wait patiently for the concluding book. 
CON: Did I mention that readers, especially YA readers nowadays, aren't that patient?


Keep in mind that this is a list created out of my own personal experiences, so there is a very real possibility of someone else conjuring up a different list.


So, what do you think? Are cliffhangers good or bad? Tolerable or infuriating? Leave a comment below and let me know!


Juli