Rapid release

[D.J.]

I am in the midst of writing my first novel and It is going to be a series but they can be read as a stand-alone. Each book is about another sister and possibly if things go well other people in that town. I signed up for NaNoWriMo this year and I have been debating if I want to start book two in this series or start book one in another series I want to do.
When rapid releasing e-books is it best to have them all in the same series or does it matter?

[Eldon, Lost on the road to Mordor]

Dawn wrote: "I am in the midst of writing my first novel and It is going to be a series but they can be read as a stand-alone. Each book is about another sister and possibly if things go well other people in th..."

A very interesting question. I'm afraid it probably doesn't have a definitive answer. It all depends on many factors.

Obviously if book 1 is a success it pays to get the next one out asap. But, another series always helps too. First in series books are much easier to promote. Then again, free first in series to onboard only works if you have other books in the series to sell.

It's ultimately up to you which way to go. My opinion, and experience, has been to see one series through before starting another. Hope it helps!

[Phillip]

I believe you should write everything in a series before even publishing. This way you'll be able to correct things in book one instead of retconning them after your creativity makes tweaks. However, if they're TRULY standalone, then I suggest writing different books. By having a few different worlds/genres, you stand a better chance of finding readers willing to take a chance on you.

[Tomas, Wandering dreamer]

What Phillip says is a good point. Unless you're genius planner, there will be things coming to you as you write sequels - you might want to go back and drop hints, or you might see that something would go better a bit differently with regards to how the sequel builds on it.
And shorter gaps between individual pieces in a series are always good for both the author and the readers.

[Leah]

If you write rather quickly, I would agree with what Phillip said. If you don’t publish until all the sequels are complete, you can go back and make changes in previous books. If you’re a slow writer like me, and put out sequels years later, you just have to make sure you are consistent with what is in the previous book. But with stand alones, you have a little more leeway, I’m guessing.

When it comes to readers, those who become hooked on a book often hate a long stall between releases. I’ve had reviews that state the only disappointment was there was no sequel or work by the author. Some readers are understanding, when others may be angered. If you can wait to complete them before publishing, that might be best. I don’t really have much of a choice with how my busy life affects my writing mode, so I just publish as each are competed.

[Tomas, Wandering dreamer]

To build on what I said and what Leah said, my experience: I wrote the first draft of the second and third book while drafting the first one, so I had the very base of the whole story complete, and then turned to draft #1.
This way, when you're done with #1, you can jump right back to drafting/editing #2 - and same with each following book.

[Phillip]

I wrote all four books in my series before publishing any. Then I published one every six months for two years. Even with this model I still found a few spots in the first book that would have been perfect for foreshadowing. I dread thinking how much they wouldn't complement each other if I published book one before writing book 2. A delay only exists until the product is out. A bad book stays bad forever.

[Leah]

The nice thing about self-publishing, however, is that we can go back and make minor changes or corrections and get away with it, can’t we? I’ve had to go in a few times and do so. But you can’t fix hard copies that are already out in the world. Kindle copies actually update with the changes when you refresh I think.

[Dwayne, Head of Lettuce]

I've heard that, too, Leah, but have never noticed it happening with any of the books I've bought. Also, if you make changes to a book that's already out there, isn't that unfair to those who already read it? Either they have to go back and reread it or they'll be confused by the changes when they run across them in the sequel.

[Phillip]

I feel once you hit "publish" your locked out of any further editing beyond grammar corrections. If you want to change the story, you owe a second edition (clearly labeled).

[Leah]

I’m mostly speaking in terms of grammar or spelling corrections, but I have made very minor changes too. For example the color of a character’s jacket. An adjective that brings a moment more bling. Things like that.

I’m not sure I would say it’s not fair to a reader who’s already read the book. It’s our story, and our world and sometimes an author feels the need to make something shine a little more. I wouldn’t change the actual story though. Once it’s published, like Phillipp says, it’s published. If you make major changes or alter the storyline, I would think it’s better to create a whole second edition. I’m guessing that’s what you meant by unfair. Changing the storyline in the same edition is going a little far.