Questions for readers about series-books

[Brenda]

For me, the series that I read are usually a continuation of the storyline so certainly related and full of the fun people that I was reading about. With that in mind I sometimes need a little back story reminder but like the ones where it doesn't tell me all the things from the book before.

[Larry]

Pia wrote: "Hi, everyone. Lately I've really been wondering: do most series-readers prefer books in a series to be very much like each other, or do they expect very-different-from-the-others sequels, or maybe ..."

For whatever it's worth. The most successful series seem to have continuous characters and refer back to past events. Authors who have done such include Tom Clancy, Ross MacDonald, John D. MacDonald, Rex Stout, John Creasey, Ian Fleming and Lester Dent. Would that we should all be as successful.

[Brenna]

Okay, there are several types of series, and each has its own rules. In addition, there are serials.

Serials- It's really one overreaching storyline arc (epic/saga) with the same characters. You can introduce new characters and move away from old ones. They can even be generational. These should be clearly marked, since the books are not meant to stand alone as series do. They can have a little backstory that recaps the older books, but they don't have to, since they aren't intended to be read out of context or order, as a series can be. They are also not very long, typically. A trilogy is the most likely serial setup, though there are a few that have reached five or so books.

Same world/different timeline series- What usually ends up happening is that you are already writing a series in the world, and you kick into another timeline on the same world (or alternately...a different place)...far history to see how you ended up there or far future to show what happened decades after these changes. Obviously, you can mention characters from the past, but you don't necessarily have to show the same characters in each book, even if it's only a decade later. Recap is not all that important, since they are meant to be separated from the original series and are meant to stand alone from it. That DOES mean you have to be as meticulous with your world building as you were in the other books. Don't assume your readers all came in from the first part of the series. In fact, have a foreword that points them to the other books. It is permissible to harken back to things that have already happened, but DO NOT hinge your book on the reader knowing it, just in case they have newly discovered the series.

Standard series- Generally, you see some of the same characters again. You meet secondaries that become primaries, and primaries later become secondaries. A good writer always assumes that someone may pick up a book in the middle of a series and start there, so you have to weave in a little information here and there, not only to acclimate the readers, but also to entice them to go back and read the full series, beginning to end. A reader coming in mid-stream has to have enough information not to feel lost. Worldbuilding and characterization is important in every book.

Related books- May be related by world, characters, etc. You want to give enough of the original to link it in readers' minds, but that's about it. You don't have to know the original characters, etc. It's a crowd pleaser to, though.

Now, even though most people will tell you it's a no-no, I will state that some of my bestselling series do NOT have a single genre throughout. In the Kegin series, the Earth-Born Lords and Kegin-Born Lords subseries are science fiction/science fantasy, but the Histories are fantasy. In my Renegades series, the first book is horror erom, but the second and third are science fiction erom (the second with some political thriller base thrown in), and the fourth will be paranormal political erom.

What I prefer depends on the series. In a standard series, I prefer to not have one story. Hate that. I prefer to see characters reappear and things that happened five books ago suddenly have consequences.

[Larry]

Brenna wrote: "Okay, there are several types of series, and each has its own rules. In addition, there are serials.

Serials- It's really one overreaching storyline arc (epic/saga) with the same characters. You c..."

With all due respect, who established these rules? When? Is there an official writers' rules committee of which I'm unaware?

Since you refer to worlds, I assume this is rules for fantasy writers living in a fantasy world?

When all writers have to conform to "RULES" set up by a third party, we'll no longer be writers, but book production clones.

[Brenna]

Out of morbid curiosity, Larry, do you just feel the need to stalk after me, from list to list, and speak contrary to ANYTHING I say?

It's not a rules situation. It's like genre...a way of labeling to make it easier for readers to find what they want. Some of it is simply common sense. If something is EXPECTED to be read as a unit, different expectations are there, compared to something that should be able to be picked up at any point in time. General expectations and labeling are part of the business. As a reader, I would be HIGHLY offended if I picked up a middle book in a series and couldn't follow it, because I hadn't read the earlier books. Like most authors, I read too. At the same time, I expect to have to read a serial in order. It's no different than being hacked off at something labeled romance that has no HEA or HFN. Romance expectations are for there to be one. Don't label a book romance without it.

Making sure readers get what they expect, as delineated by how you package and label it (and let's face it, how much backstory you add is window dressing work) is a very minor concern.

Brenna

[mlady_rebecca]

Pia wrote: "do most series-readers prefer books in a series to be very much like each other, or do they expect very-different-from-the-others sequels, or maybe they want semi-related sequels only?"

I prefer series that focus on the same key characters. The secondary cast can come or go, but the main characters are fairly stable. And I definitely want to see development and change from book to book. I'm not sure where that falls on your scale.

As for repeating back story, I want some, but not a great deal. If I marathon read the series, I don't want to feel like the author is saying the same thing over and over. But I don't want to remember the exact details of the cliff hanger the author left me at a year ago.