Secrets To Writing

(8h) Ultimate Guide: How To Write A Series

The word 'series' conjures up different emotions in different writers. Some might grin at the thought of spending multiple books exploring the world and story they've created. Others might rub their hands together at the potentially lucrative benefits of a long-running series. And still more might simply cry in horror, 'A series? Writing one book is hard enough!'

No matter which of these camps you fall into, there's no questioning the fact that the series as a literary concept is here to stay.

From Arthur Conan Doyle, Enid Blyton and Agatha Christie to J. K. Rowling, Terry Pratchett and Patricia Cornwell, writers of all genres and styles have made the series work for them.

So how can you do the same?

If you're wondering whether to make the commitment to writing a series, we've got you covered here with everything you need to know. After helping you work out whether a series is right for your story, this Ultimate Guide will help you through every step.

You'll learn how to plan and execute your series to its full potential, along with how to create plot lines, characters and themes that will make for a compelling multi-volume story.

There's a lot to cover here, so let's get started!

Should I write a series?

First things first: before you do anything else, you need to decide if a series is the right choice for the story you want to tell. There's no point setting out to write a series just for the sake of it; it needs to be the right vessel to deliver your particular tale.

Ask yourself these questions to determine whether you should write a series or stick to a standalone book.

1. Is my genre suited to a series?

Genre needs to be one of your first considerations when it comes to making this kind of choice. Not every genre is suited to a series, but some are practically made for it – in fact, there are a few genres in which standalone novels are actually quite rare.

Generally speaking, the genres best suited to a series are:

•  Fantasy

•  Science Fiction

•  Crime/Mystery

•  Historical Fiction

•  Children's/Young Adult

If you're writing in one of these genres, it might be worth seeing whether your story can be fleshed out into a series. A lot of publishers are wary of accepting standalone fantasy novels, for example, as fantasy readers are generally used to the series format. A fantasy series tends to sell much better than a single fantasy novel.

If you're writing in another genre, such as literary or commercial fiction, a standalone novel is probably your best bet. There are a few exceptions to this rule, of course: literary series such as Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy or Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels, and successful commercial fiction such as Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones series.

It's important to note, however, that these kinds of series (literary especially) don't generally follow the typical conventions of a series. Ferrante and Fielding's series tell the continuing story of their central characters, which is conventional enough, but series like The Border Trilogy are different.

McCarthy's trilogy is classified as a series because of recurring characters and settings, as well as strong thematic links. But each novel reads more like a standalone piece, and the three do not necessarily need to be read in order.