Trilogy's - Do you wait for all three before buying?

[Michael]

As an author who has just completed a trilogy, I am curious as to whether readers wait for the full series to become available before begining it. I have heard this happens more often then not.

Love to hear your opinion from personal experience.

Thanks.

Mike.

[Tony]

Nope. I buy the first book and read that. Until I've read that I don't know if I'll like the series enough to buy the others.

Tony

[Julie]

I love it when I find out about a good trilogy late and can read right through the whole series at once. Alas, this doesn't happen often. I am typically too impatient to wait if only one or two books are out, and I suffer reading each book a year apart until the release date of the next in the series. :)

PS Congrats on finishing a trilogy. You should be very proud. :)

[Marina]

I generally try to read only complete series, whether it's a trilogy or more. I don't like waiting between books and I don't like when the story feels incomplete. I was pretty unhappy about The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson when I finished this monstrously huge book and found out it'll be one of ten. That said, I will read free self published books (including beta reading) that are a start of a trilogy because I like to give feedback to new authors and it may potentially improve the later books.

[Michael]

Julie wrote: "I love it when I find out about a good trilogy late and can read right through the whole series at once. Alas, this doesn't happen often. I am typically too impatient to wait if only one or two boo..."

Thanks Julie. Mine was supposed to end with the first book, but 80% of my readership asked me 'what next?'. What came next was easier to write then the first book!

[Judy]

I usually get all the books of a trilogy at once...I have trouble remembering what happened in the prior book, and I am impatient waiting for a next one to come out.

[Ottilie]

I usually get the books as I go along, I don't buy the other boks because I want to make sure I like the series first. Also I usually read the series when it is being published so that makes it harder to buy at once haha.

[Lynxie]

I almost never buy the whole lot of a trilogy or series until I've read the first book, if I like that enough then I buy the rest.

I'm a bit like Julie, I love it when I find a trilogy or series late so I don't have the wait... that's a killer having to wait!

Congrats on the Trilogy :P

[Nora aka Diva]

I buy the first book and if I like that will get others.

[Sherri]

I buy the first book and read it first to see if I like it. Most often I wind out reading the entire trilogy, though.

[sonya]

usually not. one book at a time.

[[deleted user]]

If they've been out and I know the author, I'll buy all three. If I haven't read the author before, I'll buy the first one (thiw as before half.com) and then, if I like it, buy the next two. It's a real pain in the neck when someone you love is putting out a series and you are on tenterhooks to read the next.

Well... It's rather exciting, too. I remember I loved Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy:

The Crystal Cave (Merlin, #1)


The Hollow Hills


The Last Enchantment


The third book took forever to come out, and when it arrived in the bookstore I bought a copy, full price, hardcover. I could smell the paper and the ink, feel the un-bent pages, and I just knew I'd love it.

I was right. *sigh*

[Michael]

Thanks for all your input, very interesting. Looks like so far roughly 50% of you would like to buy the whole trilogy and read through it all at once! So the stats don't quite support what I've heard thus far - that most people would wait out a trilogy before starting it.

[Terri]

I follow several authors and buy copies as soon as they're published. I love to give other authors feedback so I do pluck up the first one and wait for the others.

[Michael]

So, what if the trilogy came as a compilation? All in one book. Would that peak your interest more than buying one book at a time? I'm thinking of combining all three into one anthology, so to speak... With new cover art that still resembles the old branding of the series but is more visually intersting. For example, my home page artwork would essentially be the book cover: www.the-judas-syndrome.com

[Nora aka Diva]

Well that's different than waiting until all three are published years apart. I think that's a great idea.

[Tony]

Michael wrote: "So, what if the trilogy came as a compilation? All in one book. Would that peak your interest more than buying one book at a time? I'm thinking of combining all three into one anthology, so to spea..."

I would recommend doing that. It's what I did with my first three books, (they're three separate stories but with the same characters, so they're not what I'd call a trilogy).

I will do the same again when I have another three stories to release as Volume 2 of the Omnibus edition.

As a marketing tool it increases your profile on Amazon/Smashwords as quite simply, there are more books under your name and it makes you look more professional. Also, I tell the readers that buying the compilation is cheaper than buying them singly.

Tony

[Nada]

I wait for all the books to come out then I'll start reading them. I even didn't read the Harry Potter books till all 7 books came out & I'm still waiting for the Game Of Thrones series to end so I can buy the whole set.

[Tony]

nada wrote: "I wait for all the books to come out then I'll start reading them. I even didn't read the Harry Potter books till all 7 books came out & I'm still waiting for the Game Of Thrones series to end so I..."

But how do you know a series has 'ever' ended until the author has died? (Sometimes not even then.) Take Isaac Asimov's Foundation series for example, he wrote three books and then twenty or so years later he wrote another in the series. Or the Hitchhiker's Guide? Started out as one book, went to a trilogy and ended up with six books in the series, (someone else wrote one after Douglas Adam's died).

As for Game of Thrones, it was published in 1996. How long are you prepared to wait to read a story?

[Amos]

With my Shards trilogy (so far) the first book was independent enough to release as a standalone novel. In the end it all works better as a trilogy and the third wraps most of it up. There is a fourth in the works that is more like a spinoff. I have no idea how many books there might be in the series (and indeed I'm happy if it is just the three.)

With the next 'series' I have coming out I am waiting to release the three all at once as there is a large connection between them. It's more like LOTR I suppose (except it's scifi), one story in three books, and will be priced accordingly - ie each part will be low cost, probably with the first set as free. There are likely further parts, and I will group these as the story requires, maybe with another two coming out together.

As others have said. You never know where a series finishes. If you have a long running series that you are releasing one at a time then I think you need to tie each novel up fairly well - and then introduce the next with some background.

[Leslie]

Great question. I usually am late to the popular book game so I buy the first and the others are ususally already out. I've written the first in a series, am handing the second book off to the editor next week, and I'm drafting book 3. I'm hoping to have all 3 of my books out within 18 months of the first release.


Leslie Deaton

[Nada]

Tony wrote: "nada wrote: "I wait for all the books to come out then I'll start reading them. I even didn't read the Harry Potter books till all 7 books came out & I'm still waiting for the Game Of Thrones serie..."

As long as possible. If the temptation got the better of me, then I may start reading them. However, If I can wait for all the Potter books to come out to read them, I'm sure I can do that with other ones.

[Thea]

Diana wrote: "If they've been out and I know the author, I'll buy all three. If I haven't read the author before, I'll buy the first one (thiw as before half.com) and then, if I like it, buy the next two. It's..."


OH! I LOVED the Merlin series. I must go see if it's on Kindle. I'd love to read it again. thanks for the reminder

[Michael]

Lots of great input on this thread, guys, thanks! I will definately be putting all three The Judas Syndrome of the trilogy into a single volume. And yes, it will be cheaper than buying all three books on their own.

[chucklesthescot]

No. If I don't like book one I won't read two and three so why waste money buying them in advance.