Agents and Publishers like to hear that a want-to-be author intends to write more than one book. If a want-to-be author intends to write only one, then they may fail to hook an Agent or Publisher.
I believe the intention to write a trilogy or a longer series would be a much more attractive prospect to an Agent or Publisher.
I have roughly outlined 3 more books in my series. I have the beginnings, middles and ends to them. I have written many ideas for the storylines and plots, but I have yet to add the working chapter titles and the key landmark events.
From the outset I intended to write a series of novels using the same characters. It is easier to write a sequel or subsequent books, without having to define the differences in your characters and their functions.
Detective stories with the same protagonist are a prime example. Why kill off good characters when you can recycle them? I believe that many successful traditional and contemporary authors would have been wiser to leave some of their characters in the ether.
Do you intend to kill your characters off?
"Surely, if an Agent or Publisher has belief in a want-to-be author, then any contract would be a minimum two-book deal. Do one-off-deals exist for want-to-be authors?"
Yes.
I shall be killing a character off in Book 4.
Once I'd decided I thought long and hard whether I could write the story without him dying, but I couldn't. Well - I could, but I'd lose more than I gained.
So sorry, my old friend - you're for the chop. Actually, for the shot in the back which will leave you in agony for several days before you expire, despite the best efforts of a subordinate. You were a decent bloke who did your duty and tried to help others, and that's what did for you in the end.
I'll miss you quite a lot :(
I have a series of stories on another site about a child vampire. I found that the kids that read the stories were always craving for more, but in the end I had to kill the poor kid, simply because I got bored writing the same thing again and again. I want to develope as a writer and experiment with different genres and not get stuck in a rut with just one character.