Naming a book series

[Steph]

Hello fellow space-opera scribes. I'm shortly to publish a third novel in what has become a series, only I can't think of a good name for the saga as a whole. Those of you who have written a series, how did you chose a series name? I never thought I'd struggle with this.

Books to date are: Hollow Moon and Paw-Prints of the Gods; coming soon (June/July) is City Of Deceit. There's also half a dozen (to date) linked short stories. I'm currently calling it 'Worlds of Hollow Moon' on my website but that doesn't feel quite right. They're YA space opera with a touch of humour, if that makes any difference. Any advice appreciated!

[Amelia]

Hollow Moon Saga?

[Britt]

My first series I simply refer to as the This Corner of the Universe series, which is also the name of the first book. My second series is called The Parasite Initiative, which I've named after a key event that will unfold and be resolved over the series, but is not planned to be the name of any of the books in the new series.

Series named after a main character are also common if a central figure is really the theme (e.g., the Honor Harrington series). I haven't read your books but from the first two descriptions could "Hollow Moon (Ravana O'Brien, #1)" and "Paw-Prints of the Gods (Ravana O'Brien, #2)" work?

[Leonie]

My current trilogy titles all have 'Frontier' in the title. (Frontier Incursion/Resistance/Defiant) so that was rather easy...The Frontier Trilogy :)

On the other hand, the series I'm currently writing will have different titles, so I'm planning on something that is more overarching, and will probably feature the main character's name.

[Steph]

Amelia wrote: "Hollow Moon Saga?"

Hmm... Not sure. It's annoying that since I published Hollow Moon, other books have cropped up with a similar name in the fantasy genre. Then there's all the conspiracy theory books on the 'Is the moon an alien spaceship?' trope!

Britt wrote: "...My second series is called The Parasite Initiative, which I've named after a key event that will unfold and be resolved over the series... ...Series named after a main character are also common if a central figure is really the theme..."

The 'key event' idea is interesting. I'll have a think about that. There is a plot device in the books - an alien artefact given to humanity known as the 'Book of the Greys' - which might work to label the series. On main characters, Ravana O'Brien is somewhat on the sidelines in book three, otherwise I would've probably gone for that.

Leonie wrote: "My current trilogy titles all have 'Frontier' in the title. (Frontier Incursion/Resistance/Defiant) so that was rather easy...The Frontier Trilogy :)...

I'm seeing that naming convention a lot lately - it is effective. Maybe I should rename all the books...

Thanks all!

[Tobias]

I'm not an author, but it's coolest when you have a series name that isn't just the name of the first book plus the word "series" or "saga". Just my opinion! I think series names like "The Parasite Initiative", named after an event, is more intriguing. See also "Wayfarers" by Becky Chambers (named after the crew of the main ship), "The Expanse", etc.

Another word that is often used for sci-fi series/universes is "Sequence", by the way (for example "The Pandora Sequence" by Frank Herbert, named after a planet, and "The Xeelee Sequence" by Stephen Baxter, named after an alien civilization). It sounds cool.

[Trike]

What's the common thread? Max Gladstone's series "The Craft Sequence" just popped up on the sidebar for me, implying it's about some sort of witchcraft,

Jack Chalker had the Saga of the Well World as an overarching title for that series, and "Four Lords of the Diamond" for his series about four prison planets in a single solar system.

Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonriders of Pern" encapsulates all of those books.

For yours, maybe go for something whimsical, like the Electric Cat Series.

[Steph]

Tobias wrote: "...Another word that is often used for sci-fi series/universes is "Sequence", by the way (for example "The Pandora Sequence"..."

Something 'Sequence' does sound promising. I'll think about that a bit more. I confess that I've only read one of Herbert's 'Pandora' books, a long time back.

Trike wrote: "What's the common thread? [...] For yours, maybe go for something whimsical, like the Electric Cat Series."

Drat! I knew I shouldn't have written out the cat at the end of book two. Whimsical is good. A common thread in the first three books is the 'hollow moon', an abandoned asteroid colony ship that's become a refuge for those on the fringes. At the moment though I can't see a role for it in book four.

The overall setting is 'The Five Systems' - i.e. the Solar System and four neighbouring stars systems that have been colonised to some degree, set around the end of the 23rd Century. Except there's a sixth system in one of the short stories that may become important later. I'm really not making this easy for myself...

[Tobias]

Steph wrote: "I confess that I've only read one of Herbert's 'Pandora' books, a long time back."

If it was Destination Void, I highly recommend you try the next one, The Jesus Incident. It's very different and not as slow-paced and philosophical as the first (although I liked that one too).

[Tom]

It seems like every new space opera book that comes out is part of the, “this or that” series. I think authors should focus on the first book and not make an assumption that readers will be lining up to read the next chapter. It seems a bit presumptive to me. Thoughts?

[Trike]

Tom wrote: "It seems like every new space opera book that comes out is part of the, “this or that” series. I think authors should focus on the first book and not make an assumption that readers will be lining ..."

Right now, series sell better than anything else. So it's a safe bet.

Personally, I'd write a bunch of standalones, get them out there, and then spin a series from the most popular two.

[Tom]

Trike wrote: "Tom wrote: "It seems like every new space opera book that comes out is part of the, “this or that” series. I think authors should focus on the first book and not make an assumption that readers wil..."

That's a nice way to do market research. BTW - what's Trike mean? I have monsters in my book called Trikes that are biological demolition machines.

[Steph]

Tobias wrote: "...If it was Destination Void, I highly recommend you try the next one, The Jesus Incident. It's very different and not as slow-paced and philosophical as the first (although I liked that one too)."

The Jesus Incident is the one I read. I enjoyed it, though I often find the author's work too weird. Hellstrom's Hive was downright disturbing.

[Brandon]

Trike=Tricycle

Click that user's name to see a picture in their profile.

[Ally]

I confirm there is a "Half- Moon Hollow" series about vampires. Moon = vampires or werewolves so forget about it.
Maybe you can use the name of something as far as you know you invent like a technology ...

[Steph]

Ally wrote: "I confirm there is a "Half- Moon Hollow" series about vampires. Moon = vampires or werewolves so forget about it..."

Drat, yes. Have you read any of those books? I don't normally go for vampires but they look like they could be funny.

[Ally]

Yes, my tastes are pretty eclectic. Molly Harper's books are light and funny.

[Steph]

Thanks all for the comments. Unless I'm hit by a flash of inspiration between now and releasing book three, I'll probably go for Worlds Of Hollow Moon or Tales From The Five Systems. Maybe something else will come to mind by the time I finish the story arc...

[Jemima]

One tip is to make it relatively short. You'll want a website name for it, and a Facebook page, and a twitter hashtag, and either of your suggestions will take up a lot of twitter characters :) I learned the hard way that The Princelings of the East had to get shortened to princelings in all the above although to call it the Princelings series would lead to potential problems with Cynthia Harrold-Eagles' historical books.

My second series got called the Viridian System series and none of the books have that as the title. I think that's better, but then this was planned as a series.

[Steph]

Jemima wrote: "One tip is to make it relatively short. You'll want a website name for it, and a Facebook page, and a twitter hashtag, and either of your suggestions will take up a lot of twitter characters :)..."

I don't do Twitter. Is it worth it? And I hate Facebook. The website however is under my 'publisher' brand - WyrdStar, which is nice and short.

I had new thoughts on series names -- (i) Ravana and the Cyberclones - or - (ii) Cyberclone Chronicles -- which almost make sense if you read the books...

[Tobias]

Just my $.02, "Ravana and the Cyberclones" sounds tacky and pulp. If that's what you're going for it's perfect, but if not, maybe not.

Also, unrelated, but wow that website looks like a remnant from the 90s.

[Steph]

Tobias wrote: "...Also, unrelated, but wow that website looks like a remnant from the 90s..."

Probably because my website is cobbled together on a Windows98 machine (don't laugh). A refresh is on my 'to do' list...

[Prof.]

My upcoming novel will be part of a [yet unnamed] Saga, as it ties in directly to the history of my stories.

I think that you should toy with the idea of the message you are trying to convey with the books and tie a name in from that. It would seem more organic that way in my opinion.

[Wendy]

How about "Moonrise", or "Rise of the Hollow Moon" ?

[L.E.]

Hmm, I am late to this party and I may have missed posts but what is wrong with the Five Systems series? Short, easy to remember, and to the point.


But than again I having problems titling two books I am writing. Actually one will be a series and I know the series name.

[Steph]

I forgot all about this thread. Thanks for the new suggestions; I went simply with 'Hollow Moon' as the series name. And my website refresh never happened - it still looks like a "remnant from the 90s". I'm pretending it's deliberately retro.