To series, or not to series?
I've just finished my rewrite of my novel Renaissance. Normally I'd finish up the edits and think about the second book in the series before I send it out on submission. But I'm hesitating this time. In the days when publishers offered authors three-book contracts most of them liked those books to be a series. But things aren't like that any more. Publishers have become far more cautious, and an author may be offered a one-book contract these days.
So the question is, do I plan to write a series knowing that only the first one might be contracted, or not? I came across a suggestion recently that authors should write the first book, but hold back on writing the second until they knew whether they could sell the the series. That seems sensible to prevent wasted effort, but if you are offered a two or three book contract then you'll probably have to write books two and three in a year each. So it makes sense to at least plan out books two and three, so that you're ready to write them the moment you get that contract.
The downside of writing a series is that, if readers don't take to your first book, they're less likely to read your second and third books. And that will obviously impact your sales figures for those books. But if you write a series of standalone books it might be harder to gain visibility as a writer. Authors sometimes gain reader recognition through being known for a certain series.
But if you write standalone books every book is a new beginning, it has a new world, different characters, and different story ideas. Writing different might books might allow you to tempt back readers who didn't fall in love with your first book to come and try your second. But if they're put off by the first book of a series, you've lost them for the whole series. If they're put off by a standalone book, they may be willing to give you the benefit of the doubt a second time.
Of course, the opposite can happen too. I loved an author's first two books. They were both standalones, but shared some common characters. This year I read the third standalone, and hated it. Partly that was because the story pressed a lot of wrong buttons for me, but also because I felt the story didn't go anywhere. Will I read her next book? I'll be more cautious, and that saddens me.
The decision to write a series or standalones is complex. Ultimately, I think we need to follow what our heart thinks, follow our passion about the story we want to tell, and not worry too much about the standalone/series debate.
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