I have a question

[L.A.]

Hello everyone,

I am in the process of publishing my Time Travel in my Fates series. At the end of every book, I put the first chapter of my next book at the end of my currently published book. I was thinking of putting the next book in the Fates Series at the end of this first book, but here's the problem.

These books intertwine and the first two chapters of book two is nearly identical to the first two chapters in book one, just in a different point of view.(The pov is from book two Herione) Will this seem repetative and boring to put chapter one at the end of this book, or should I go with something completely different and put the first chapter from my next historical at the end instead.


Love to hear what you think, I'm having a difficult time making this decision.

[Pat]

If I understood correctly, then I would avoid it - for purely commercial reasons. Say someone is browsing in a store and recognises your name from having read your first book. They pick up the second and flip through the first few pages, and it seems familiar.

There's a good chance they will assume they've already read it and a sale is lost. And if you're one of us and not one of the fortunate few, every sale counts.

Pat.

[L.A.]

Now I haven't thought of that Pat. But there isn't really much I can do to change the beginning Chapter of Book two, it has to match book one. Not exactly because it from a different POV, but the ladies are sent through a worm hole to the past.(This is my time travel series) This has to be how both of these books begin to show the reader how they got to the past. So you are right and I can only hope readers realize it is book two, which is a completely different story. Hopefully the title and back blurb will tell them they are looking at book two.

My new idea for the back pages of my new book, I think will go as follows: About the author page. My Historical which is already released with a picture of the book cover and where it can be purchased.

The next page I thought to put my next historical, not yet released called Born Reckless. I thought to put the first ten pages of this book. And then after that I thought to put the blurb for book two Desirea's Escape, which is the book following the one they just read. I thought to put the blurb instead of a similar chapter one.

OMG, I hope this made sense. I'm unsure if it is wise to market my historicals at the end pages of my time travel books. Will they be the same readers? Will this ultimately hurt me or help me?

[Grace]

I'm thinking about your question from the role of an unrepentant bibliophile. I would probably read the chapters at the end of book one, wonder what was wrong with the author since they would put the same story in a different POV and decide not to waste my money on the second book if it was going to be the same. Now, if you wanted to put different chapters in there, such as the first chapter that shows the book is different, then I'd probably be hooked. (Also confused when I picked up the second book and started reading relatively the same thing from book one...) Blurbs would also pique interest if done right.

If you went with a historical instead, I'd also probably want to look further into it. But, that is because I read pretty much everything. Someone that might like the style of book A, might not necessarily like the style of book B, which you'd add the chapters of. You'd never know if you didn't try though.

[L.A.]

Hi Grace,

You understand my concern. I'm hoping if people read book one, they will read about how these two women came to be in the past. In book one, the young starlit freaks out when she sees all the changes and she runs away. Book two is about this starlit who ran away. It is a completely different story, where only the first two chapters and a couple of middle chapters have her meeting with the herione from the first book.

If a potential reader reads the back blurbs they will know these are two totally different books and can be read alone, without the other book.

I think if people read book one they will wish to read book two, because the starlit makes a fantastic herione. She's fiesty, arrogant, spoiled, and has a potty mouth she needs to fix, and quickly if she ever wants to fit into Regency England. Book one is a historical time travel set in Regency England, while book two is the same but with paranormal elements.

You are correct and I won't know how it will really go until I try. I can only hope that once people read book one they will be locking up my website asking when Desirea's story is going to be released. LOL, I am a dreamer. Oh, and they will also buy up my historicals. :)

Thank you very much for your input.

[Grace]

In that case, I might really drive the point home by having a setup similar to this at the end of the book:

End of book A -> Blurb -> Beginning chapters of book B. This sort of set up will remind them that the book chapters they are about to read are from a different book. You can put anything there, really, and it will be very clear. Bonus will be that they don't have to browse the bookstore shelves to find your exciting blurb, it will be right there.

I've seen this done only a handful of times, and each time I put the book on my to-read list. (Still haven't gotten around to reading them yet though...) Will it work on other readers? I have no idea. A quick survey of my friends says "it depends". They said it would depend on if they enjoyed the first book, the blurb piqued their interest, and/or the second book's chapters got their attention.

Hope this gives you another option!

[L.A.]

Hi Grace,
I agree, I often add books to my to-read list when I read the blurbs in the back of a book I finish. Thank you so much for your help and your great ideas. It will likely be a few months before this book is formatted and the cover's made so I have time to tweak the last pages and blurbs. :)

[Grace]

Thanks for also asking this. As I'm struggling to even write my first stories and academic papers, I'm getting an idea of the bigger picture. It is interesting to me to see what sort of things go on behind the scenes.

Best of luck! And let me know what book to look for. I'll have to pick up a copy. =)

[Mark]

I think a big question is how great the similarities are. If chapter 1 of book 1 is, say, 95% word-for-word identical to chapter 1 of book 2, as a reader I'd feel somewhere between bored and cheated at the redundancy. On the other hand, if they describe the same events, but from a different point of view, and in a way that gives a very different perspective of what the reader previously knew or thought he knew ... that could be very interesting.

[L.A.]

Hi Mark,

Yes, that is exactly what book two is going for, a totally different POV. It is not word for word, but I did make sure dialogue matched in both books. The overlap really only occurs in the first two chapters, which explains how they came to find themselves in the past.

Desirea is the herione of book two, Desirea's Quest. She freaks out in chapter two of book one and runs off. Book two follows what happened to her once she left. Of course, she does meet back up with her 21st century friend later in the story. I can only hope that people who read London's Quest (book 1) will want to read Desirea's Quest. Desirea is a fiesty Hollywood starlit and her actions and words are often comical.

I'm releasing book one of the Fates Series in a few months and hopefully I'll engage enough readers to find out if they are interested to read Desirea's story. Her character is somewhat controversal, since she has a tendency to use curse words,which was strictly taboo for women back then. She's also uppity, sarcastic, and spoiled, but I think readers will like watching her transformation. Thanks so much for your comments. :)

And Grace good luck with your writing projects, I look forward to talking more with you in the future.

[Mark]

If done well, this could be a good technique. I find the idea of different points of view fascinating. Years ago there was a dispute between two people I knew. One of them, Charlie, told me his version of the story, and I was thinking, wow Percy is really being a jerk about this. Then a few weeks later I heard the story from Percy, and of course then it sounded like Percy was right and Charlie was wrong. But what really struck me that Percy didn't say one thing that contradicted Charlie's version of the story. There was no question of "who is telling the truth and who is lying". Neither was lying. It was just that Percy brought up certain facts and incidents and ways of looking at things that Charlie didn't mention and vice versa. But those differences changed the whole perspective.

[L.A.]

I agree Mark. I was always told there are three sides to every story, there's the way the two people perceive it and then there's the truth. I know of a similar incident between two people. After hearing both sides I realize they both see themselves in the right.(when they were both wrong)

I was great talking to you and thanks for sharing.

[Grace]

L.A.,

After hearing more about your stories, I think it would work. An astute reader would easily see the differences between the two stories and know they are launching into something new. Less astute ones? Who knows. They might need that blurb just to remind them.

Best of luck!

[L.A.]

Yes, Grace that was my thought too. I think I'll put the pages to my next historical and then the blurb for the next book in the Fates Series. By reading the blurb they should know that Desirea has her own book releasing soon and it's completely different. At least this is my hope. Thanks for your comment.

Happy reading!