I just finished writing the last chapter of book three in my Simon Says series.  In my mind, I write the words “THE END” just like authors used to do (on paper) decades ago.

But when is “THE END” of a book not really “THE END”?

The way I view it, if your book is part of a series, then only the last book in that series can claim that declaration.

So, how should each book within the series “end”?

The end should be satisfying and feel like a conclusion, but then I suggest using the Epilogue to give hints of what is to come in the next book in the series.

The reader should be enticed to keep reading, but they should also feel confident that if they don’t, the current book has concluded in the best way possible.

I use the Prologue to introduce Book One and its Epilogue to segue into the second book and so on through out the entire series. 

When the last book is written, its Epilogue may have a little more of a finish than the others, but personally, I like leave the door slightly ajar, so that if I want to pick up the story again and write another book in the future, I can do so.