Questions tagged [series]

This tag should be used for questions about series of written works, such as series of books, videogame scripts or graphic novels. The questions should detail what aspect of a story is difficult, such as differing lengths or the repetition of information.

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Series or standalone

I’ve been planning a book for a while and I always planned on it being a series but now I’ve been thinking that maybe I should make it a stand alone. It’s basically this big competition that had three ...
Kailah's user avatar
  • 103
0 votes
2 answers
50 views

Should I mention the number of books I'm planning to have in my novel series?

I'm currently on the second draft of my MG fantasy novel, which will end up as a series (if sales do well on the first book, of course." My original plan was to do a four-book main series and ...
Izzy E. Stewart's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
125 views

Where to split a 225,000 word story into a duology

I've written a 225,000 word manuscript for a historical novel adapted from a reliably good story, shifted by me into a more modern, popular setting that I love and know a lot about (England during the ...
James Brady's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
165 views

Question for "standalone with series potential" query

It's a 195k word epic fantasy. These next few passes will bring that down quite a bit, and I know there's wiggle room. Reddit constantly focuses on that despite that the debut epic fantasy 120k word ...
user60178's user avatar
  • 111
3 votes
1 answer
84 views

How do successful series decide to break their singular concept into multiple books?

I saw these, which were partly helpful: How to plan for splitting a novel into a series? What changes should be made to the story if a single book becomes a series? I have an idea for a fantasy book ...
Lance's user avatar
  • 231
9 votes
1 answer
3k views

Is there a method to determining how many books long your series needs to be?

I set out to write a trilogy, and feel my characters, world, and story are complex enough to warrant it. However, the more I dig into it, I’m sensing three books isn’t enough. But it will be a huge ...
a.m.d.'s user avatar
  • 409
3 votes
1 answer
540 views

How "resolved" do things need to be at the end of the first book of a trilogy?

Without going into detail... I'm trying to decide when to end the first book of my trilogy. There are two options that seem natural to me, but one feels more exciting and allows me to drag the tension ...
a.m.d.'s user avatar
  • 409
2 votes
1 answer
135 views

How do you write a submission for a previously published book (taken off the market by the author) and introducing a 2nd book in the original series

The original children's historical fiction picture book was self published by the author. It sold a few thousand and was on Amazon but was too expensive to continue being published by the author's ...
Denise Theobald's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
141 views

Is it advantageous for authors to work as an LLC? [closed]

Is it advantageous for authors to work as an LLC? If I'm going to be writing a lot of books, it seems to make sense to work with publishers from an LLC and get some protection from spurious lawsuits. (...
Steve's user avatar
  • 306
24 votes
12 answers
4k views

In a series, do the stakes have to be higher than in the book before?

Imagine you have a series of books: Book 1 through Book 6. Do the stakes in book 2 have to be bigger than the stakes in book 1? The same question applies with each book in relation to the one before ...
Wyvern123's user avatar
  • 1,285
2 votes
1 answer
153 views

Can revealing the series finale to open the series be effective?

Considering the Marvel film Deadpool II we open up with Deadpool detonating himself on a warehouse full of explosives, and then he tells the story on how we got there. That was one "book," ...
Vogon Poet's user avatar
  • 1,112
19 votes
2 answers
10k views

How can I contact JK Rowling for permission to publish my sequel for the Harry Potter series?

I recently watched the entire Harry Potter series in December 2021. I really loved the Harry Potter world and all the characters. Even after days, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about it and I'm ...
Sam N's user avatar
  • 315
0 votes
1 answer
66 views

Is it economically feasible in the present day to write a book series for an older audience as a series of short novellas?

I want to write my book series as a series of short novellas (about 150 pages each) with each book forming part of the storyline. The majority of books written with comparable lengths are intended for ...
Galactic's user avatar
  • 141
1 vote
1 answer
58 views

What's the best way to get Amazon to make it easy for readers to add all books in an eleven volume series to their cart, with minimum hassle?

I have what will be, with newest additions, an eleven volume numbered series spanning one logical collection. I want to make it easy for readers to add all eleven volumes to their Amazon cart with ...
Christos Hayward's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
121 views

How to revise or edit an extremely long story?

I have a story that I am working on that is extremely long. The first volume in the series is about 120,000 words, and that is only about half of its predicted wordcount. Counting the other entries in ...
user2352714's user avatar
  • 4,685
0 votes
4 answers
175 views

How do you continue developing characters in an urban fantasy/portal fantasy after the initial arc of adapting to the supernatural wears off?

This question is very similar to this one, but I felt it was distinct enough that it was worth asking as a separate question. In a lot of fantasy and science-fiction stories that are nominally set in ...
user2352714's user avatar
  • 4,685
2 votes
3 answers
244 views

How do you write character development in later entries of a series after relationships become established?

When starting a series there is initially a lot of fertile ground for storytelling because the characters don't know each other very well and are still establishing an equilibrium. As a result, there ...
user2352714's user avatar
  • 4,685
2 votes
1 answer
217 views

How do you introduce a new character in later entries of a series?

I had an outline for a book series in which I introduce a new character in one of the later volume to act as an introductory viewpoint character for people who are just picking up the series for the ...
user2352714's user avatar
  • 4,685
0 votes
3 answers
82 views

Mapping relationships between topics in a non-fiction series

I am working on a series of episodes that will be made into individual videos to explain different technologies and how they interrelate at different levels within a specific application domain (the ...
IainCunningham's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
176 views

My Middle Name Is Amara And I Want To Add It To My Book [duplicate]

I'm writing a series that has to do with vampires. My middle name is Amara, and I personally find that name really, really pretty. I wanted to add it to my book as the name of the main character but I ...
Hailee's user avatar
  • 21
12 votes
8 answers
4k views

How Do I Compress Multiple Novels' Worth of Plot, Characters, and Worldbuilding into One?

I have been working on worldbuilding, plotting out, and writing characters for a science-fantasy series for over 4 years now, and I feel the time has come to take another stab at writing the actual ...
The Weasel Sagas's user avatar
2 votes
5 answers
214 views

How to avoid having too many side characters in school-based story?

Follows up this my question (How to choose ideal number of main characters?) I want to write a book / series about 4 friends from school. A little inspiration comes from The Middle series. But I do ...
Busspotter Penguin's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
74 views

I’m having a rough time starting my second book in my series. Is this normal?

I am a young author writing a fantasy series. When I was writing the first book, it was easy and words literally flew onto the page. Now that I’m starting the second book (even though I know what it’s ...
Hello.There's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
80 views

Starting my second book. Would this be considered an info dump?

I’m trying to open up the second book with the impact of the last book on my MC, but it looks more like an info dump. I was slowly beginning to cope with the fact that my world was completely ...
Hello.There's user avatar
4 votes
6 answers
156 views

What if you want to write two separate books at once?

I am a young author writing a fantasy series, and while browsing writing prompts and trying to better my writing yesterday, I got an idea for another, totally different series. I am in love with the ...
Leila's user avatar
  • 321
13 votes
3 answers
3k views

Can I write a different book before my sequel?

I am just about done writing the first book in a series. I have an idea for the next book in that series (let's call it "book a"), but I also have another idea brewing in my mind which takes ...
AnnWriter19's user avatar
  • 1,551
6 votes
7 answers
5k views

Should I end my book on a major cliffhanger?

I am writing a YA fantasy series, and I'm wondering if the first book should end in a major cliffhanger. Right as the book ends, the main characters get trapped by the enemy. I'm wondering if this is ...
AnnWriter19's user avatar
  • 1,551
2 votes
2 answers
173 views

What is the best way to structure my series?

I am working on an urban fantasy series. The series is currently divided into a number of episodic chapters that follow a "monster of the week" format. Each one is projected to be about 30-...
user2352714's user avatar
  • 4,685
2 votes
1 answer
152 views

When writing the first book in a series, do you need to plan the next book also?

I am just finishing my first book in a series that I started, and I'm wondering if you need to plan all the books in your series. For reference, I'm not quite sure if my series is going to have two or ...
AnnWriter19's user avatar
  • 1,551
1 vote
0 answers
126 views

Successful (non YA) epic high fantasy published episodically as a novella series

The high fantasy genre is notorious for producing enormous tomes. I am currently writing a BronzePunk epic of my own. However, I have chosen to publish it somewhat episodically as a series of ...
Charles Gull's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
28 views

Finding a book series, I read the first book awhile ago and would like to finish the series [closed]

I read a book a while ago and I'm try to remember its name. The book was about a an outcast who used to be a the general of a rebellion against a colony of planets. These planets had faster than ...
YouGoUpIGoDown's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
220 views

how do I tell my main character’s backstory throughout the book?

I'm loosely working on a trilogy. Book One and Two are supposed to contain the main character’s backstory, divided by two parts that will be exposed accordingly: on book One, the first half, on book ...
jessythejessy's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
548 views

Did I set up my book series titles and ISBNs wrong?

I currently have 4 books all under one series that are self published. The way I have been setting up the titles through Ingramspark and under my ISBNs has been: Title: Name of the Book Series ...
Krys's user avatar
  • 61
9 votes
2 answers
709 views

Would it be better to write a trilogy over a much longer series?

I'm planning out a long series (more than five books as is). It's very optimistic, I know. But I'm just wondering: Would it be better to plan out my series as a trilogy, leaving room to expand if ...
klippy's user avatar
  • 2,041
24 votes
10 answers
9k views

Can a successful book series let the bad guy win? [duplicate]

I have a five book series and I have plotted them all out. The main bad guy wins in the end. My problem with this is my girlfriend keeps telling me that bad guys winning will make readers upset that ...
icefire's user avatar
  • 377
18 votes
6 answers
3k views

In a series of books, what happens after the coming of age?

I'm writing a novel focusing on a single character POV. For many aspects, it can be considered a coming of age story; along with the usual tropes of the hero's journey, my protagonist gradually learn ...
Liquid's user avatar
  • 15.8k
5 votes
2 answers
75 views

How much episode recap is necessary in a tv-focused podcast?

I'm planning for my next podcast to do an episode-by-episode tv show analysis. (Actually two are in development, but they'll be about different shows.) I'll be the main researcher/outline-assembler ...
April  Salutes Monica C.'s user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

How possible is it to publish a sequel with a different publisher than the original (successfully)?

How possible is it to publish a sequel with a different publisher than the original (successfully)? Does the genre matter? Such as science fiction, fantasy, mysteries or picture books? I would ...
user37495's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
417 views

How to traditionally publish a fantasy-fiction novel serial in our modern era of publishing without the use of zines?

I am about 3/4 finished with the first "volume" of a novel I desire to serialize. Not for the money really, though I won't lie that it'd be nice, but more for the fact I can get my name out there. Now,...
Sora Tamashii's user avatar
6 votes
5 answers
572 views

Writing a trilogy and editing [duplicate]

I planned out to write a trilogy and the first draft of book one is now completed. I want to know if I should edit this draft before starting on the second book.
Shellz's user avatar
  • 61
26 votes
6 answers
5k views

What keeps most authors writing after receiving multiple rejections?

Last year, I completed a heavily researched 95,000-word novel about an emerging pandemic that targets primarily children. I am a former scientist and current nurse and wanted to do teaching about what ...
Richard Stanzak's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
373 views

How to keep darkness from piling up

I'm a big fan of ongoing stories and longer series. But one thing I've noticed about my writing (and a lot of the works I read/watch) is that as a story goes on, the tone gets progressively darker. ...
user avatar
13 votes
6 answers
4k views

How to Write a Colossal Cast of Characters

I'm planning a book series called The Weasel Sagas. Things have been going great up until now, where I've realized I've hit a bit of a problem: I've come up with backstories for so many different ...
The Weasel Sagas's user avatar
48 votes
14 answers
11k views

Avoiding spectacle creep

It's common in stories for spectacle to build over time. Each story arc, the stakes get higher, the drama gets more intense, the villains get more dangerous, and so on. For a story with a fixed ...
user avatar
6 votes
4 answers
239 views

How do I design characters for an open-ended series?

There is plenty of information on how to draft characters for a single story, or characters that follow an important arc throughout a (small) number of stories. Are there any techniques for designing ...
F-H's user avatar
  • 161
13 votes
6 answers
3k views

Series: How can I get my reader to not expect any one genre?

Background: I'm planning on writing an extensive series of fantasy books. I plan on writing quite a few of these books, and while they'll all be set on the same planet, I intend them to center on ...
Thomas Reinstate Monica Myron's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
231 views

How to fill in the outline for "book 2" of my series?

I finished up "Book 1" of my series, and it was very much a fly-by-the-seam-of-my-pants type of writing. I let the plot develop as I wrote, in other words. And it did. I had to reread/rewrite it a lot ...
Profetik One's user avatar
7 votes
4 answers
1k views

Do I need to repeat character descriptions of main characters from one book to the next?

In the second book of my trilogy, do I need to repeat everything about the main characters' appearance from the last book, or can I just mention a few key things?
Klara Raškaj's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
435 views

Is it okay to switch protagonists between books, if the main protagonist is a hidden "actor"?

On my research I stumbled upon this question and it matches somehow with my question, that lingers in my head for a long time. In the mentioned question I read the common thinking is: Switching ...
Pawana's user avatar
  • 2,621
6 votes
3 answers
1k views

What type of character should I write about first in a potential series of books?

I have a world in which many characters live in. At first, I thought they all could be part of one novel (kind of like Sherwood Anderson's book Winesburg, Ohio or the movie Short Cuts (1993) by ...
Carlo's user avatar
  • 780