This is MJ. I'm an author. I'm an artist. I'm an analyzer. You can find all my work at MJMunoz.com
This is Story Over Everything episode 13. Today, I'm going to be discussing the topic, Should You Write a Series?
A series of books can be financially successful, but is that the only reason to write a series?
What about sinking your time into a failed series?
So for you, I got a couple questions. Do you plan to write a series? Do you like reading series?
And when is a series not the right format for a story?
So in order to really get a good answer to this, I thought it would be wise to look at both sides of the matter.
Both reading a series and writing a series. So I want to discuss first
what are the pros and cons of reading a series? I think I've got three or four for each of them in both categories.
So, pros for reading a series. There's character development. A series of fiction books
allows for in-depth character development over time, allowing readers to become more invested in the characters and their stories.
Familiarity. As the readers progress through a series, they become more familiar with the world and the characters,
making subsequent books easier to read and more engaging.
Deeper plot lines. A series can allow for more complex plot lines and
overarching story arcs that are not possible in standalone novels and more content. A series provides
more content and can keep readers entertained for a longer period of time.
Moving on to the cons of reading a series. There's a risk of burnout. Reading multiple books in a series can become
repetitive and boring if the plot or characters become stagnant or if the series goes on too long.
Depending on previous books, a series can be difficult to follow if the reader has not read the previous
books in the series, making it less accessible to new readers.
There's a caveat to that which I will discuss further down the line and the burnout thing too.
The solution is the problem and if you're worried about burnout because of it not being well executed,
then well, you should just write a better series, right?
Anyway, next thing is a quality may decline as a series goes on the quality of writing
or storytelling may decline as the author struggles to keep the story fresh and interesting.
The last thing is a long wait times. If a series is ongoing and not yet completed, readers may have to wait years
for the next installment, which can be
frustrating. So yeah, I agree all that would stink.
I would not like to have to endure long waits for, you know, the next book to come out,
especially if the other ones are so good.
But then again, if you've got three books and you're waiting for number four, then you go back and read the others, right?
But then again,
that's a an issue on
the author's side created by the author either not planning things out properly or
not executing as well as they can on their plan and
that may happen for a variety of reasons which I
may or may not discuss or which I'm not going to discuss at this exact moment. So I will move on and if you have
disagreement or amendments or anything to add to this,
I would love to hear what your pros and cons are of reading a series and I'm gonna move into
what are the pros and cons of writing a series. So for the pros,
most more opportunities for character development.
These are gonna be similar but distinct.
Writing a series of books allows for in-depth character development over time,
which can create more complex and interesting characters that readers become invested in.
Increased readership. If readers enjoy the first book in a series, they are more likely
to continue reading subsequent books, which can increase the author's readership and fan base.
Established world building.
Creating a series
allows the author to establish a rich and detailed world that can be explored in depth over
multiple books and
more revenue potential. A successful series can generate more revenue for the author and publisher than standalone novels as
readers will often buy the entire series, which is true.
The cons of
writing a series.
Pressure to maintain quality. Writing a series can be
challenging as the author must maintain the quality of the writing and storytelling throughout multiple books,
which can be difficult to sustain over time. Risk of burnout.
Writing a series can be a long and tiring process and authors may risk burnout or losing interest in the story or characters.
Limited audience. While successful series can attract more readers,
it can also be less accessible to new readers who may not want to commit to a lengthy series.
Expectations of readers. Readers may have certain expectations for the series and its characters,
which can limit the author's creativity and freedom in the writing process.
One more thing before I get into discussing
some of that more in detail is
you know, there are both episodic and serial
series that can exist. So
I was thinking about this and the question occurred to me. Can a book series be episodic or serial? And the answer is definitely yes.
You can have serial series, you can have episodic series, or you can have a combination of both.
I think Ian Fleming's James Bond, for example, is episodic. The Shadow by Walter B. Gibson, mostly as Maxwell Grant and other people is episodic.
There is some limited
continuity that gets built upon as time goes on, but they're basically episodic adventures
self-contained and everything. So you do have recurring villains though throughout the books and those that's where you get the combination, right?
But an episodic series specifically, just to throw out the definition so we all agree what we're talking about here,
is one in which each book can stand alone and tells a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end,
but the books are connected by recurring characters, settings, or themes. Examples of episodic books
include, book series include the Nancy Drew series, Goosebumps, and the Chronicles of Narnia.
Now you might think, no Chronicles of Narnia is a serial series. If you get deeper into it, it's not. They are episodic.
Because it's so different each time, which is, I think, a lot of fun actually.
Excuse me, on the other hand, except for book seven. Book seven kind of rides the line between serial and
what's the other one? Episodic. Anyway, which by book seven I mean the final book which is called The Last Battle.
Anyway, on the other hand, a serial series is one in which the story arc extends across multiple books and the books are not
designed to be read as standalone stories. Instead, each book ends on a cliffhanger or unresolved plot point
that is picked up in the next book. Examples of serial book series include Harry Potter, The Hunger Games,
and A Song of Ice and Fire. It is also possible for a book series to be a combination of both episodic and serial.
For example, some book series may have standalone books that are part of a larger story,
or some books may be more standalone than others within the same series.
And I would agree with that assessment. I would contend a little bit that I only read, I think, the first two or three
Harry Potter books. I would say that they do stand alone, but they're better if you read them in series.
So could I have read... I can't remember what book two is called. I don't know.
Could I have read Harry Potter 2 without having read Harry Potter 1? Yes.
I think there's definitely enough in there to give you a feel for the world and if you enjoy it, you can go back to the others,
but it's just a better experience if you read the rest of them. And I think that's how they should be.
So, you know, I have written down here that the character, the story arc will carry across multiple books.
And while I think that's true, I think we should also be able to have each book in a serial series stand alone.
And there's just like one mega arc, mega arch, mega arc, I guess, that goes across the entire series.
But I think each book has to have its own individual arc because then it feels like unfinished stories.
For example, as much as I like, well, as much as I love Tolkien's work, I think that's a good thing.
Tolkien's work specifically like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
The idea that The Fellowship of the Ring is a book in and of itself does not work for me.
Maybe if you cut it earlier where Frodo and Sam are stuck in, you know, going into Mordor or whatever, leaving the rest of the company,
it would work. But the way that it just ends abruptly, that's not really the end of a book to me.
That's not a book with a big, you know, middle end.
And yeah, that certainly doesn't work for me. And I think it's insufficient.
And I can't remember if the two towers ends similarly.
But yeah, I was very displeased by The Fellowship of the Ring and the way it ended as a standalone book
because it wasn't a standalone book. I don't know what else to say about that.
So yeah, there is a lot to consider. I would say I lean towards writing serials and I lean towards reading serials
because if I like a character, I want more of their adventures. I want more of their journey.
I want more of the fun of them and the world that they inhabit. And I don't know if that's because I come from the world of, you know,
read comic books or anime or not reading anime, but like, you know, watching anime or what?
Where you have these long ongoing stories that are really cool. But it just that hooks me.
I'd rather see. And this is interesting to me. One of my favorite shows is Digimon and Digimon season one and two.
They are linked to each other. They would be considered serial even though they also can stand alone and be sort of episodic from one another.
And yeah, I think it's fair. That might be a little bit of a controversial statement.
I have to fight for it to say this is 100% true and I'm correcting this assessment.
But I think it works because you can just go into two and you get stuff from one as background and, you know,
old characters are introduced to the new group or you could, you know,
watch one and then the other or you could watch two then one. And I really do sincerely believe it would work either way.
You're going to get that information that you that you need for the story. And they're both their own stories.
So, like I said, that definitely works for me. And I think it would work for you.
But getting back into books, I just think it's a lot more interesting to have the characters live on into another book,
into another adventure and get to experience more of them, more of their world and their story.
I think that's just way more exciting. And for me, that's my preference.
I would say I'm very judicious in what I enjoy as far as books and movies are concerned.
Really, that applies to all media. So for me, when I find something that I like,
if there's another one like it, then I will excitedly check it out and see, is this going to work for me?
Is this good enough? Is it as good as this other version of it?
And if it is, then I get excited. You know, I'm that reader, that viewer, that audience who,
once I have a bit of your world and it's really good and I like the characters there,
well, I'm going to go back for more and I'm going to keep going back for more as long as it continues to be good.
And I don't live as like a diehard fan of anything until it's proven itself to me.
And it proves itself to me by continuing to be good.
And yeah, I don't really let myself get complacent and just say, oh, well, I like this series,
so I'm going to keep buying this. Like, for example, well, anyway, so whatever it is,
I judge on a case by case basis. And then, you know, hopefully I can recommend a series to somebody.
For example, I love the 14 L. Frank Baum authored Wizard of Oz books.
And I've gotten, I'm reading it to my younger kids. I've gotten my older kid to read them or she's listening to them
and like ripping through them real quick. And like that's a series that's going to stick with my family for a long time.
And honestly, when people, when I have the opportunity, I'll say, oh, did you know that the Wizard of Oz is not just a movie?
There's a book. There's one book, there's 14 books all written by the original author.
And they're really good. You should check them out. If you like the movie, you'll like the books probably.
I, you know, I advocate that other people read these books that are over 100 years old and that were written for children
because they're just that good. So, yeah, I'm definitely in the mind.
I'm definitely the type of audience member who is going to be satisfied with a series.
And to some extent, because of that, because, you know, I'm thinking about as a marketer and as an author,
trying to figure out what I'm going to do and how I'm going to do it, I'm the avatar for my customers, my consumers, my audience.
And I want a series with long ongoing characters where I can explore the world, explore different aspects of the world.
And I want to be able to give that to people as well. And hopefully I make the right choice and I don't mess up my series
as I'm developing them and writing them and people will continue to enjoy what I have written.
And I can design them so that they're structured in such a way that a complete beginning, middle and end story is told in each one.
But it leaves room to explore that world, that universe, that character and or put that character in different situations in that unique world that I'm creating,
which means, you know, I have to think about the world and have to think about the characters and how they'll interact in it.
But isn't that true of any author writing any book? Or shouldn't it be? At least if they're going to write well and effectively.
And this is not me saying that it's a waste of time to write a standalone book.
But at the same time, I don't know why I would invest in crafting believable characters and a world for them to inhabit if I was only going to get one book or one story out of that.
And the issue gets a little farther complicated when you consider anthologies or or what else.
Let's say I wanted one world with many different stories or different characters in it.
And I wanted them. I specifically wanted to reuse or to use a different and distinct set of characters for each story told within the world.
But I wanted it to be 80,000 words. So I wrote a series of short stories all set in a single world.
I could do that. I just don't know what the advantage would be of that specifically.
And if you're doing the work to create this world and make it believable, give it some weight so that it functions properly and draws people in.
Because I would imagine that's what you would have to do in order for an anthology to work of many different characters.
If the world doesn't work, then you have to be an excellent character writer or excellent scenario writer and really hit people hard from the first paragraph, if not the first sentence, to hook them in
and really compel them to not put down your book to read each short story within it with a new cast each and every single time.
But why wouldn't you just expand those ideas and turn them into something bigger? And yeah, I don't know.
Again, my bias is to write in series. I would almost want to hear what's the argument for writing standalone novels over a series of novels.
And maybe it's because of the interests I have. I'm more into pulp novels and science fiction adventure type stories, even fantasy.
But I don't see the length or the efficacy. I don't see why you would prefer one long book over a shorter series of books that explore similar things.
I mean, you could even have the same premise and the same themes, which is something I've talked about previously.
But you could execute them in either a series of short stories or short books or, you know, which is 60,000 words, let's say, a series of pulp length novels versus one epic fantasy novel.
That's 100,000 words or 200,000 words. I don't understand why you wouldn't just do three of the shorter books as opposed to that one big one,
especially because I feel like long standalone books lead more to burnout than a series of books.
Because you can say, hey, I'm done with this series. It took me five hours, six hours, eight hours to read as opposed to this huge book that looks so intimidating.
I don't even want to read it. But again, maybe this is all personal preference and not something that I actually or that.
Well, it's something I consider, but I don't know if it's what everybody considers. But then again, I don't without doing extensive market research.
I'm doing the best thing I can. The next I think the next best thing I can, which is to look at myself as a reader and see what I want, what I want out of books and what I want out of a series of stories.
Like I got to be honest, I finished Jurassic Park and I realized there was a Jurassic Park 2 and I immediately bought it and downloaded it and started listening to it because I thought, wow, that first book was so good.
I know it can't be well, I don't know how it's going to be a sequel. I had the idea from the movies that it was, you know, one or one or two characters being pulled forward into the into the next book
and kind of having experience with the dinosaur island and such. And then, you know, them going into that with their eyes wide open and scared and nervous about what's going to happen on this, you know, separate island with people who are all new to the experience.
And it turned out to be way better than that because Brighton just did. He just did something else.
I mean, that is what he did. But he went so much farther than that and expanded the story in different directions that I wouldn't have thought of initially, you know, which is why he was the great author.
And, you know, I'm a newbie. I'm just a I'm just a kid from, you know, SoCal trying to make it as a writer. So anyway, that appeals to me.
That definitely appeals to me. That's where I'm at. And really, like I said, as I was wrapping up, I would need to be convinced to write standalone books. Is it a literary fiction thing?
I have no desire to be called a great author by people. I don't want to be called a great author by a few people.
I want lots of people to be really excited about the cool stories that I make and the enjoy the adventures that I take them through. And that's that's where I'm at.
I'm a simple man and I have simple goals, but I want to do simple and I want to do simple really, really well.
And it just makes sense to me to build that world like that and yeah, to build a world to some extent.
And I don't mean deep lore world building. I just mean, you know, I'm creating a time and a place in a setting.
And if I can keep using that setting and branching out from that setting with my characters or the friends that they meet along the way, then why not do that?
That's that's just personally what appeals to me. So I've said that a few times.
So I'm going to go ahead and call it right now, but I would love to hear your feedback and hear your arguments against serials and against series and for standalone novels,
because I'm all about writing series at the moment. And that's the case I presented to you. I hope I did a good job of that.
Regardless, well, I hope I did a good job of that. But I welcome the feedback so you can help me improve if I didn't.
But anyway, you can check out all my analysis stuff at mjwindows.com. You can find everything there.
And I will let myself do the outro and let you hear all about where you can find everything that you're going to want.
Stick around. Stay tuned for more story over over everything.
I'm working on doing some back end stuff so I can get it officially launched to iTunes and all the other podcatcher places out there so that you can get it wherever you find podcasts.
And if you have a specific place you want me to put it, let me know so I can go ahead and get it published and posting up there too if it's not too much of a hassle.
I just I kind of I put the cart before the horse and now I'm locked behind another podcast before I can start launching multiple others to go along with it.
So I got to figure that out. But anyway, until next time, folks, take care.
I hope you enjoyed that. Go to mjmunoz.com to leave any questions, comments or other feedback you might have.
There you can find all of my analysis, art and fiction. I cover books, tokusatsu, comic books, anime and more.
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