Guest Author Post by Shira Anthony
A few weeks ago, a wonderful writers blog asked for discussion questions. I didn’t realize my question would generate such a lively discussion: How do you feel about series, both as a writer and as a reader?
There’s no way I can do justice to the subject of series in a single post, so why not a series of posts about series? I’ll explore the pros and cons of writing and reading series, as well as some of the reasons authors write them (you might just be surprised!). Since I want to hear your thoughts, if you comment on this post you could win your choice of an ebook (format of your choice) from one of my series (Blue Notes, Mermen of Ea, or the new Blood Series). I’ll choose a winner on February 17th at midnight from the entries.
I’m a writer and an avid reader (okay, I read less now that I write, but only because there’s a limit to hours in a day!). One of my favorite things to do is dive into a series, regardless of genre. As a kid, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover books held me captive for years. I still reread those books today, when I need a “comfort” read. Yes, I’ve given up on series, too. My latest DNF? The Southern Vampire (Sookie Stackhouse) books. Which brings me to my first series topic….
Living in a universe. For me, as both a writer and reader, the universe the writer creates is what draws me above all else to series. What is a “universe”? It’s both the setting of the series, as well as the characters who inhabit that setting.
Let me backtrack and get some of the publishing jargon out there just so we’re all on the same page. Although you may find variations, there are generally 2 major sequel formats, each offering a certain appeal. Each type of series exploit the series universe (characters and setting) in different ways.
- A “sequel” series is the most popular of the series formats. Books must be read in order, and either follow a long plot arc, or follow chronologically (The Lord of the Rings trilogy is in this vein). My Mermen of Ea and Blood Series follow this model.
- A “spinoff” series is generally set in the same universe but is made up of separate, standalone stories. My Blue Notes Series falls into this category. Within the spinoff series, you may find a continuing character having independent adventures (Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot detective mysteries come to mind), or you may have secondary characters from one book become main characters in the next (that would be Blue Notes).
The appeal of spinoff series is simple. Worldbuilding (creating the universe characters inhabit, whether real or imaginary) is time consuming if done properly. Once a reader or writer gets to know the universe, there’s a certain appeal to staying there for more stories. And what better way to connect with a universe than through the characters who inhabit it. In a sense, the characters become part of the universe. And when familiar characters reappear in books about secondary characters, the reader has an immediate connection to the new characters through them.
In my Blue Notes Series books about classical musicians, although each novel is a standalone work, certain characters appear in all the books. A common thread. Conductor David Somers is a bit of a fairy godfather (he even jokes around about that from time to time in the books) to some of the other musicians. He’s a familiar character to readers of the series, and he’s become one of my favorites. In a sense, he is part of the setting of the books, and ties them together in a very important way.
Sequel series are more of a challenge for some. These series require a reader to buy in to the universe and commit themselves to completing a far longer story. Sometimes these series end with what I often call a “comma,” a happily-for-now (HFN), or a pause. Sometimes they end with a cliffhanger (a subject worthy of a post of its own!), or a “to be continued” ending.
In my Mermen of Ea books, there’s a HFN at the end of the first book, and what some might call a cliffhanger at the end of the second. That series, like the Blood Series, is one long story told over 3 books. Although the end of Blood and Rain isn’t what I call a true cliffhanger, it’s definitely a “to-be-continued”.
I personally love both kinds of series, and I don’t mind a cliffhanger, as long as the tension is resolved eventually. I prefer 3 book series, and studies show most readers do as well. Draw a story out too long, and you’ll lose me. And yes, there are horror stories of writers dying before they finish series! I love a good cliffhanger, and I’ll wait impatiently for it to be resolved. I know there are readers who won’t start a series until it’s finished. I get that, but I have no self-restraint.
If it sounds good, I’m going to read it regardless of whether it’s complete.
Interestingly, Marion Zimmer Bradley, in the Darkover series I told you about? She combined both these models. She created a universe in the form of a colonized planet, where humans interbred with the aliens who inhabited the world and developed psi powers (telekenisis, teleportation, telepathy, etc.). She wrote series within series, focusing on one part of Darkover history for 3-6 books, then moved forward or backward in time. Same universe, 300 years later. Same universe 100 years earlier. It’s part of what I loved about that series.
That’s the 10,000 foot view of series. Next month I’ll get into the weeds and blog a bit about technique and cliffhangers in particular.
Now it’s your turn. Tell me what kinds of series you read. Will you read an unfinished series? Why? Why not? I’ll pick a winner on February 17th at midnight from the comments. Want to read an excerpt from any of my series? You can find them all here: http://www.shiraanthony.com/series/http://www.shiraanthony.com/series/ Just pick a series and a book, scroll down and click “read and excerpt.”
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Shira Anthony loves a great happily-ever-after and never writes a story without one. She’s happy to write what her muse tells her, whether it’s fantasy, sci fi, paranormal, or contemporary romance. She particularly loves writing series, because she thinks of her characters as old friends and she wants to visit them even after their stories are told.
In real life, Shira sang professionally for 14 years, and she currently works as a public sector attorney advocating for children. She’s happy to have made writing her second full-time job, even if it means she rarely has time to watch TV or go to the movies.
Shira writes about the things she knows and loves, whether it’s music and musicians, the ocean, or the places she’s lived or traveled to. She spent her middle school years living in France, and tries to visit as often as she can.
Shira and her husband spend as many weekends as they can aboard their 36′ catamaran sailboat, “Lands Zen,” at the Carolina Coast. Not only has sailing inspired her to write about pirates and mermen, her sailboat is her favorite place to write. And although the only mermen she’s found to date are in her own imagination, she keeps a sharp lookout for them when she’s on the water.
I like to read series that involve suspense. I would read one that was unfinished with the hope that it would be finished.
Thanks, Debby. I think you’re a lot like me, willing to take a chance on an unfinished series if it’s a good one!
If a series has cliffhangers, I generally prefer to read the entire series at once. But, I do read them in progress if it is an author I really like and I know the next book will be coming out somewhat soon (not years later).
Thanks for the post!
jen.f {at} mac {dot} com
Thanks, Jen! I do appreciate an author who updates a series pretty quickly. It’s part of the reason I have the 2nd book in the Blood Series coming out within 6 months of the first – I knew readers would rest a bit easier knowing the 2nd was in the works!
I’m actually a sucker for a good cliffhanger. I like series, spinoffs and even their contentious cousin, the serial. In fact, the vast majority of what I read for pleasure are serials. What can I say, I like the sense of being on edge, wanting to know more, a little bit of denial… 🙂
Thanks, Cari! I agree, there’s nothing quite like that feeling of wanting more in a series. I have a few series I’m waiting on with bated breath at the moment. 😀
I am not a fan of the cliffhanger so I will buy buy the books and wait until I can read some or most of them.
I do enjoy spin-off series!
Thanks for commenting, Ginger! Spin-off series are a great alternative to the sequel series. You get some of the benefits (recurring characters, for example), but you don’t get the cliffhangers. 😉
I like both types of series and read lots of series, as they seem to be endemic in fantasy! I don’t care for cliffhangers personally, although that won’t stop me from reading one that is part of a series I like. I’m an addict and can’t wait to read the next in a series . I never wait until the books are all published to read a series.
Thanks, Susan! I can’t wait either – if it’s good, knowing there’s another book coming at some point won’t put me off to it. But I do understand why some folks wait.
I like series. I love to read books where I get to spend time with characters and follow their lives. Or the lives of their friends if that is how the series leads. What I don’t like about series is when the story clearly ends in one book but the author puts another book in the series and it does not correlate at all. I
Thanks, Denise! I think I’m with you on that. To me, a series can get stale very quickly when an author tacks on books without a real purpose (other than to publish another book!). But yes, spending more time with beloved characters is a definite plus!
I do read series, but it depends on the length and the structure somewhat. I enjoy standalone volumes best, or spinoff installments. A cliffhanger is okay if other parts of the story have resolved nicely, if it doesn’t seem like a desperate grab at future sales, and if it’s clear to me that the author has a clear endgame in sight!
Thanks for commenting, Trix. In terms of sales, standalones (one-offs) sell the best, so what you’re saying makes sense. And yes, I agree – I need to know that there’s an end in sight or I’ll soon get bored with a series.
I like spinoff series mostly, like the Blue Notes series. Once I fall in love with a particular fiction world, I really enjoy revisiting it. I read occasionally a sequel series, but only if it has no cliffhangers. If it does, and the reviews have been really good, then I wait for the series to be completed to begin reading it.
Thank you Cristina! I’m so glad you’re enjoying Blue Notes!
I love any good book, but I’ll take a series over a standalone most of the time. I love the world building and the interaction between characters, preferring to have all my characters around in some capacity in all the books if possible. Even if it’s just a glimpse into their HEA from a previous book. And my OCD insists they all get read in “universe order”, since some authors will throw out a book later in the series that gives the story of established characters. Like Blue Notes series:)
Thanks, Sandy! And LOL about reading in order. It’s funny, because you know Blue Notes can be read in any order (I made sure when I was writing each that they would stand alone), but I know people who will only read them in order of publication. 😀
I love most books. I like both series and standalone books. I find that if I know that there’s going to be a big cliffhanger in a series, I tend to wait and read them all at once or a couple at a time. If the cliffhanger isn’t devastating, then I’ll read as they come out. If the series is about different couples with an overarching story line, then I tend to read them as they come out. There’s only a few series that I read that features the same MCs through more than like a trilogy.
Thanks, Jen! I’ve definitely spent a weekend or two reading a series straight through. 😉
I’m not going to mince words here. I don’t just dislike sequel series, I despise them and cliffhangers cause me to think carefully about buying another book by the author. Frankly, I feel cheated if there isn’t some resolution to every book I read, particularly if there’s no warning ahead of time that there won’t be. It can seem like a cheap trick to sell more books. Spinoff series I love and Blue Notes is one of my favorites but I’m still holding the second Mermen book, waiting for the next one and same for the vamp book.
Sorry for the rant but this is one of my pet peeves.
Thanks for commenting, Andrea! And LOL about the mermen (the final book is in edits, btw, and coming out early summer 2015). I totally get what you’re saying about cliffhangers. Sometimes there are reasons to break a 3 book story in one place as opposed to another (I’m going to blog about that here in a future post). It’s often a decision between the editor and writer (as it was in Blood and Rain). I’ve seen some books I felt cheated by because they were very short, and I couldn’t understand why the author split them. But often, as I’ll explain, there are publishing constraints that require a very long story to be split into parts.
But more about that in a future post here!
I do like series but I think I start losing that enjoyment when the series reaches like book twenty or something. I love standalone series series too because I know there will usually be a complete ending (HFN or HEA).
Thanks, H.B. I’ve dropped series (Southern Vampire Mysteries/True Blood, for example) because they’ve gone on ad infinitum and failed to keep my interest. As a writer, I think it’s easy to lose interest too, which may be why the reader does the same… Something to think about!
Great post! I used to love series. For instance, I devoured the Valdemar books by Merdedes Lackey and the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. It was comfortable reading about a world in which I already understood the nuances and setting. And I think for scifi/fantasy, it works. For romance, it’s a different story. Because if you’re following the same couple throughout, there needs to be a new conflict or issue to resolve with each novel. That’s hard to sustain, and really just how much bad luck can one couple encounter? When done right, you find the reader wanting more, though, which to me is the mark of a good writer and a good series.
Oooh, I’m reading the first Valdemar book right now, Waxapplelover! I think you’ve nailed the challenge in writing series romance on the head – if you resolve everything in the first book, there is no real conflict left, and the conflicts you find tend to feel strained/fake. At least that’s my take on it!
I really enjoy series. There’s something nice about revisiting a world that I’ve already gotten to know. I read both spin off series and sequel series, though I’m not a huge fan of cliffhangers so sometimes I do choose to wait and read the series together if I know there is a cliffhanger and if I know the series will only have a certain number of books that will be coming out fairly quickly.
Thanks, Antonia! I really do think it helps readers to know how many books are planned in a series. I know sometimes things change as you write, but there’s a huge difference between knowing there are 3 planned books, and writing 10+ books in a series with no end in sight!
I love series! prefer it if there isn’t a cliffhanger but if there IS a cliffhanger please don’t leave us hanging for months and months!
I’m with you Lee!
I’ve followed many series as they were being released & although I don’t really like the wait doesn’t keep me from going forward. It’s always kind of fun to find a new to me author that already has a few completed series that can be read straight through. The only thing that bothers me is when the series is never finished. I’ve been waiting YEARS for another Romano & Albright book and recently found out we’re finally getting 2 more. I’m ecstatic over that one. I LOVED the Blue Notes books too. 🙂
Aww, thanks Barbra! I know, there are horror stories of authors who have died before finishing a series. That would make me nuts!
As I’ve explained in one of your tours a while back I enjoy reading series but will wait until I have all the written/published books before I start them so I can read them back to back. But been in a tight monetary situation I can’t afford to delve into them. I’m hoping to get out of this funk soon…
I’m very interested in your Vampire series and looking forward to getting them soon. I’ve enjoyed your Blue Notes books immensely.
taina1959 @ yahoo.com
Thanks, Rush! I appreciate it.
I like both types of series (sequels and spin-offs) and will buy a series even if I haven’t read one book in the series (reason why my TBR pile is huge and I’m always behind) if the series/blurbs/author is a good one. Many times, I will buy the entire series unread e.g. three or four, or the first five books of an on-going series. Depends on the sales going on etc.
I enjoy many types of genres: contemporary, paranormal, mystery, fantasy etc.
I’ve read a few of your Blue Notes books already, and still have a number of your books in my Kindle’s TBR pile waiting to be read. I tend to favor sequel series since they develop the characters and relationship more. I really like your writing and look forward to your new Vampire series.
Thanks so much, Jbst. I hope you enjoy the vampires!
I love a series where the MC’s are different for each book but become secondary characters in other books,where there’s a theme running through. I also like a good stand alone. My only requirement is a HEA because real life has its own misery potential all too often.
Thanks, Younela! I’m with you on the HEA – I won’t write a book without one, just for that reason. There may not be a HEA in the middle of a series I write, but you can count on it by the end of the series!
The winner of the contest for an ebook copy (format of your choice) from one of my series (Blue Notes, Mermen of Ea, or the new Blood Series) is…. Younela! Congrats!
congrats Younela!
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