The Best Way to Start the Second Book in a series?

mickeyDs4 · Aug 2, 2011

Working on the sequel to my first book and am having trouble introducing the new characters along with the old ones. For those of you who have written a series what is the easiest or best way you've started the second book without having massive info dump and character soup?

Mandiloo322 · Aug 2, 2011

I'm afraid I don't have much experience in this area. I'm wondering if a bit more info about your book would help? (Genre?) As a reader, I appreciate you making the effort to avoid the info dump/full summary of Book 1 beginning.

mickeyDs4 · Aug 2, 2011

The first book is about a girl with HIV. I ended the first book with her riding off into the sunset with her boyfirend. Towards the end of the first book I introduced new characters that will be the MCs of the sequel. They are my first book's MC's sister and niece.

Mandiloo322 · Aug 2, 2011

Wow - I'm doing that with my series! My MC's best friend and the sorcerer from my first book are the MC's for the second and third books, respectively.

So far I just continue the story without worrying about a lot of background info. However, I don't introduce very many new characters at all. The story/timeline and world are compact, so I don't have that issue. Usually the new character is a friend of one of my existing three characters (MC, best friend, sorcerer) and that's how they come in and out of the plot. I hope someone else can be more helpful!

KosseMix · Aug 2, 2011

Someone once told me that you should stop work on a series after the first book (beyond outlining). First see if you can sell the first book. If you sell it, and it sells well, your publisher will probably want more books. But if it doesn't sell, you wasted your energy writing a book (the sequal) no one wants. Whereas, if you spent that energy writing a new first book in a new series, you'd have another product ready for the market.

I was really tempted to write the second book in my series, and did a few chapters before realizing my time was better invested elsewhere. If anticipate your readers are reading them in a row you may not need to infodump.

Becca C. · Aug 2, 2011

mickeyDs4 said:
The first book is about a girl with HIV. I ended the first book with her riding off into the sunset with her boyfirend. Towards the end of the first book I introduced new characters that will be the MCs of the sequel. They are my first book's MC's sister and niece.

Since the MCs are not the same, I would hesitate to call it a sequel and concentrate instead on making it a companion novel, standalone in its own right but complemented by the first book. Like Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door. This should hopefully make it easier to write (and sell, since it doesn't rely on the first book).

Jehhillenberg · Aug 2, 2011

The first in the series is done. Just jump into the action for the second. That's what I did. Characters and situations and personalities are already formed from the first. Even if new ones come up, they'll work their way into the second book. I have since, trunked my book series and have reworked one into a work on it's own. The series is a dream, I'm working this one so that it sells, at this point, I'm not too worried about the series going with it.

missesdash · Aug 2, 2011

well the one thing I've noticed is that sequels always have a bunch of info dumps. But you have to do it so that the book can be read as a stand alone.

Taylor_Writes · Aug 3, 2011

I have the same problem as you do. I have my first book in my crime series (which I don't think will end up being YA... Yikes) ending off with the main characer waking up fromm a coma due to an explosion and not remembering anyone. So, obviously, I will have problems with it being a "stand alone". I'm totally blank on how to start the next one.

Becca_H · Aug 3, 2011

KosseMix said:
Someone once told me that you should stop work on a series after the first book (beyond outlining). First see if you can sell the first book. If you sell it, and it sells well, your publisher will probably want more books. But if it doesn't sell, you wasted your energy writing a book (the sequal) no one wants. Whereas, if you spent that energy writing a new first book in a new series, you'd have another product ready for the market.

I was really tempted to write the second book in my series, and did a few chapters before realizing my time was better invested elsewhere. If anticipate your readers are reading them in a row you may not need to infodump.

This.

If you continue an unsold series, not only do you risk it not selling, but what if your editor requests revisions to book one which subsequently "breaks" your series? It's a writing exercise or personal enjoyment at best, really.

As missesdash says, infodumps are almost necessary in series. It's very hard to get around, as you don't want to punish readers of the previous book by recapping something in scene. The only real alternative is not to infodump at all, and hope any new readers of book two will read book one first.

I suppose you could have an optional prologue that recaps, which experienced readers could skip. Probably would break the fourth wall though.

melnve · Aug 3, 2011

Becca_H said:
This.

If you continue an unsold series, not only do you risk it not selling, but what if your editor requests revisions to book one which subsequently "breaks" your series? It's a writing exercise or personal enjoyment at best, really.

This is an excellent point. I have just finished the first in a trilogy, and I have plotted out the next two books but will not begin actually writing them until/unless the first one gets picked up. I've been through a few really brutal editing processes in non fiction, where whole chunks of text have been slashed and entirely new content demanded from the editors, and I don't want to have to adapt a second book to allow for huge changes to the first.

Cheers,
Mel

Mclesh · Aug 3, 2011

This is interesting because I just started the second book in my series. Now I'm wondering if I should rethink? (But it's giving me something to do as I wait for replies from agents on the first book instead of sitting around biting my nails.)

My stories are standalone though. I didn't data dump in the beginning since I'm using the same characters and have only introduced two new characters. What I've been doing is just making periodic references to the first book. Since what I'm working on is a middle grade series for boys, I've kind of thought of the Hardy Boys books as inspiration in that they're each standalone. You can pretty much pick up any book of the series and jump right in.

Ashes Oh Ashes · Aug 3, 2011

Sounds more like a companion novel to me. And it should be able to be read as a stand alone.

The Best Way to Start the Second Book in a series?

mickeyDs4

Mandiloo322

[Shhhh....I'm writing.]

mickeyDs4

Mandiloo322

[Shhhh....I'm writing.]

KosseMix

fixing a limp query...

Becca C.

Jehhillenberg

N/A

missesdash

You can't sit with us!

Taylor_Writes

#teampeeta

Becca_H

Where am I again?

melnve

Mclesh

It's too hot

Ashes Oh Ashes

Honest, not Harsh