Readers frequently ask me when I’ll be writing sequels for my books. While there aren’t currently plans for sequels for All Your Twisted Secrets, These Deadly Games, or Lying in the Deep, I do have ideas for what happens next to all these characters. And I’m so thrilled readers want sequels!
Sadly, it’s not my call.
Each of these books sold to my publishers as standalone deals, as opposed to duologies or trilogies. And a standalone only gets a sequel if it sells enough copies for the publisher to consider a sequel a worthy investment. (Even if I’d self-published them, I’d still need to see for myself that it’s worth my time.)
That means the power is in your hands. Yes, yours! Nothing sells books more than positive word of mouth. These days, readers have way more influence than authors do in making a book pop off. And once that happens, its chances for getting a sequel vastly improve.
So if you want a sequel to one of my books or any of your other favorite books—or if you want your favorite authors to write more books in general—here are some of the most impactful ways you can help make it happen.
1. Post about it on TikTok
Books that blow up on TikTok get lots of love from retailers. But getting a video to go viral on TikTok is like winning the lotto, and there’s no guide for how to do it. Still, here are some easy TikTok ideas (with an example for each) that tend to get more engagement than long reviews or unboxings.
- Show your emotional reaction to the twist (example)
- Share your favorite line from the book (example)
- Try a simple page flip with a glowing rec (example)
- Lip sync to a relevant trending sound (example)
- Give a POV recap of the book (example) (text-based example)
- Create a short aesthetic montage (example)
- Relate a trending template to the book (CapCut makes this easy!)
So if All Your Twisted Secrets made you throw the book across the room, or if These Deadly Games made you gasp out loud, or if Felix from Lying in the Deep made you swoon, let #BookTok know it!
Note: Instagram Reels help, too. But for mysterious reasons, TikTok seems to have a bigger impact on sales. I have no data to support this, just anecdotes from fellow authors and publishing folks.
2. Have Bigolas Dickolas energy
Lots of factors made this tweet go viral; This is How You Lose the Time War is a gorgeous, poetic, already-award-winning book, and the tweet’s author “bigolas dickolas wolfwood” had ~20k followers at the time. But the language they used to recommend this book conveyed such emphatic, sincere urgency that people paid attention, and the book became a New York Times bestseller.
“read this. DO NOT look up anything about it. just read it. it’s only like 200 pages u can download it on audible it’s only like four hours. do it right now i’m very extremely serious”
So if you want to convince people to read a book, perhaps emulating this kind of genuine insistence could help. (But also, this could be a lighting-in-a-bottle instance… who knows, really?)
3. Leave positive ratings/reviews on Amazon and Goodreads
Amazon and Goodreads remain the most helpful places to rate and review books. While it remains unclear how much of a impact reviews make on direct sales, anecdotally I know they impact other things that have a very real impact on sales, such as a publishers’ marketing budget allocation, retailer special edition picks, book box picks, listicle inclusion by mainstream publications, and more. Why? Because they look for proof of hype. Your rating of a book is that proof. Your rating matters.
And you don’t have to write an essay for your review! Just a sentence or two is enough. Think Bigolas Dickolas energy—short and sweet, but enthusiastic and urgent.
4. Recommend books that need more buzz
Whether it’s on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit—wherever—when you see people ask for recommendations, chime in with the books and authors you want to see more of… especially if they don’t already have new books announced.
I know the super buzzy books will come to mind first. But here’s the truth: everyone else is already recommending them. For books without that same level of publisher-funded hype from the get-go, you can make a meaningful difference for that book and author. Again, word-of-mouth is powerful stuff. You really can help.
An important note!
Of course, there are never any guarantees in publishing. Just because a book does break out doesn’t mean the publisher will decide to ask the author for a sequel. It only boosts the chances that it will happen. I hope you agree it’s worth a shot!
Thank you so much to everyone who’s ever told their friends about my books. I hope this little list helps you boost the stories and authors you want to see more of. (And if you’re already a pro BookToker/reviewer who’s doing these things, please know I’m grateful.)
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Diana Urban is an award-winning author of dark, twisty thrillers, including 
