Once a story is finished, you rarely want to start the next one from a blank page. BookZeta lets you create a sequel, prequel or spin-off (a derivative) from an existing story and carry the relevant characters and settings straight across — so you build on your world instead of rebuilding it.

The three kinds of follow-up

• Sequel — continues the story forward in time. You'll usually want the latest version of each character and setting so the new book picks up where the last one ended.
• Prequel — goes back to an earlier point. Here an earlier iteration of a character often fits better (younger, before later events changed them).
• Spin-off (derivative) — branches off into a related story, perhaps following a side character or a different corner of the same world.

How assets carry over

Follow-ups inherit your world through the same casting system used everywhere in a series. When you create the new book, you choose which characters and settings to bring across — and, where an asset has evolved over previous books, which version of each to import. The new project is linked to the same series, so continuity stays intact and the Series Bible remains your shared source of truth.

Step by step

1. Open the source story and choose Create sequel / derivative.
2. Select which characters and settings to bring across.
3. For any asset with multiple iterations, pick the version that fits — the version picker shows the asset's full history so you can choose deliberately. See Versioning assets across books.
4. BookZeta sets up the new project, linked to the same series for continuity.
5. Start writing — your cast and locations are already in place.

Tips

• Match the version to the timeline: latest iterations for sequels, earlier ones for prequels.
• For a spin-off, bring across only the characters and settings the new story actually needs — keep its roster focused.
• Remember that each carried-over asset is a localized copy in the new book. Editing it there won't rewrite the canonical Bible entry.

Common pitfalls

• Bringing across the wrong era. A prequel that imports a character's latest version can contradict your timeline; choose the earlier iteration instead.
• Overloading a spin-off. You don't have to import everything. Cast only what the derivative story uses.
• Expecting changes to sync back. Edits in the follow-up stay in the follow-up. Update the Series Bible directly if you want a change reflected as canonical.