NO TWO THE SAME
I've been writing a long time and I don't think I've ever written two things that are essentially the same. When I consider doing a series, I always plan to have the second and third and fourth books so different from the first that it will be difficult to say it is a sequel. That is probably why I have never done a serial. If a book is that different, why trade on the good looks of the first book. Create an entirely new world where I don't have to worry about being consistent and can let my imagination take me where it wants.
What's your preference? Do you like the comfort of a sequel or do you like each reading to be a totally new adventure.
What's your preference? Do you like the comfort of a sequel or do you like each reading to be a totally new adventure.
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Jesse
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Feb 26, 2011 11:50AM
It's a good question, John. I really like both. Personally, I've only published one novel. I have another in which the publishing fell through and yet another that I'm working on. None of them have much in common, other than being spiritually inspired.
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My inclination is toward action/adventure. Occasionally I get absorbed with politics or religious events that influence my work to one degree or another, and that gets superimposed on the action stuff. But most of the time the idea is very different from what has gone before. I also don't outline and sort of let things happen, which means I am affected by what is currently in the news or is happening in my personal life. It's a strange way to make a living, but it is fun.
A lot of sense, and I agree. The challenge, as you say, is being able to mix the familiar with the unfamiliar. It is these challenges that keep us evolving--and creating!Thanks for your thoughts.
John
You hit a note with me. My first novel: "Flight to Paradise" is the beginning of a trilogy. FTP is a love story. #2 - "Flight into Darkness" is a suspense/thriller. #3 - "Flight to Freedom" is a humorous novel set in the Deep South. All with the same characters. Totally different, but with connected themes.John, I love the way you think. I can't wait to read some of your work.
You seem to have discovered the formula to remain unique, yet write a series which I am told - and believe - will make you a best selling author. A one book stand alone is a separate marketing feat; selling three at a time makes the job a lot easier. I got a mystery series underway - none published to date - that will let me enter the series world, but I keep getting bogged down with stand alones. I need to channel my writing, but it is damned difficult when an idea takes hold.Good luck with your "trilogy." Doesn't that sound great?
I only have one novel published to date but I have a second contracted and my publisher has a 5 year plan to release everything in the two series that I've worked on at this point (10 of my 14 completed novels.) They may be written within a series, but if you ask any of my test readers, while my books might use some of the same characters, the stories from book to book are very different - just like Eden suggested. I have far too many ideas in my head to write the same story more than once, but I like working with familiar characters. BTW - one of my "series" was intended to be a stand alone, but when the publisher accepted it, they insisted I write more and expand it into a series. I had tossed around a few possible ideas to include in a sequel, in case that exact situation happened. The second book is done and I start work on the third in August. The other series started as three "spin-offs" from my first novel and just kept growing from there (8 completed). Novel #13 was a stand alone and novel #15, my current WIP, will be a stand alone as well.
The romance authors have the serial thing down pat. For example, Julia Quinn wrote an 8-book series. Each book focused on a sibling. The first book introduced the whole family of 8 and was the love story of the oldest daughter. The 7 following books were each devoted to another sibling.
