A Series Is Not Always The Way To Go

Authors are always hearing that a series is the best way to success. With this in mind, they begin to craft that perfect series with book #1, trying their best to incorporate all of the characters they plan to use for those later books. They start weaving in all of the back story information so these characters really have great ground work when their book shows up. While this sounds like a great idea, it is not always the best approach, especially for someone who is just starting out.

Now, don't get me wrong, using a series is indeed a great way to keep your readers hooked. Established authors are always finding a way to keep you hooked with the characters around the Triple H Ranch, or the Winkersham family in New Market. We love seeing those familiar names. But again, this is not an approach I would ever recommend to a new author.

Here is the issue. You write the first book and immediately launch into book 2 as you market that first book to editors and agents. You might even have three books done by the time you start getting any initial feedback on that first book. But here is the problem. Book 2 and 3 rely on Book 1 to succeed, especially if you have all tied together so nicely. If Book 1 doesn't sell, the others will not either. End of story.

The other issue is the time you spent on book 1 trying to lay the groundwork for the other books. Too often, writers suck up too much of the word count on that first book on a gamble for the later books. If you are trying to impress those editors and agents, this might not be the best approach.

So, how does a new author make this series thing work? There are two approaches.

First, go ahead and think of how you can use those characters later on. Mention them but always keep them in the background. Focus all of your attention on those primary characters. Should something come up later, you can always go back and pick up those characters.

Secondly, look at a series as a thematic series. Could all of these be bad boy ranchers? The Rakes with something to hide? I think you can see where I am going to with this. If that first book sells, bring that character into book 2. Use those characters as a resource for the new book.

Just something to think about for a Monday.