Ok, this post is written to target fantasy writers out there (because that's what I am), but it has relevance to mystery writers and anyone out there who intends to write an interconnected series of books. Enjoy.
Search for the Lost Arc
One of the more common complaints about fantasy novel, and science fiction novels to a lesser extent, is that it seems that every fantasy novel out there is part of a series. Part of this is because fantasy writers tend to like long, epic stories with many characters and lots of battles and convolution, but also its because that's what the publishers want. I originally sent in my first book as a standalone. No mention of any sequels or anything in the original package, to the agent or the editor. But one of the first questions asked when the editor and agent became interested was: Are there any more books after this? At that time, I had a vaque idea of what might happen next, and so I said yes and trotted out plot synopsis and lo and behold I ended up with a 3 book deal. Nice. But that wasn't the intent originally. Publishers like series, and as a reader I know why. I like to return to the cities and lands and people that I fell in love with in the first book, so the next book in the series is like an old friend. In general, as a reader, I'm happy to see them, and generally suggest that we get together sometime in the future and talk.
So series are part of the business. But as in any part of the business, you have to be savvy about how you write your series. There are good series and bad. And there are series that have gone on forever (Terry Pratchett's Discworld) and series that want to go on forever but shouldn't (example deleted to save the writer's career). So that' begs the question of what makes a series work and what doesn't. The answer, in my opinion, is structure. It's all about the structure of the story arc and the series as a whole. If you structure it well, then it's likely the series won't become "endless" and at the same time will be endless. I feel that there are three typical structure for a series, meaning any story set in the same world that plays out over the course of more than one book. I'll start with the "best" structure to use, then work down from there to the "worst" structure to use, from both the reader and writer's perspective. Again, all of these are my opinions and you should argue with me in the comments if you disagree.
The first and best structure is one in which there is a single extended story arc that begins in book one and ends in the last book BUT each individual book in the series has its own INTERNAL story arc so that each book itself feels complete. See, when readers complain that a particular book didn't end or had a cliffhanger ending, what they really mean is at the end of the book they weren't SATISFIED with the ending. It didn't feel like an "end". What writers have to realize is that the story itself doesn't have to end at the end of the book (except the last book of course) but that the interal story arc for that book has to end there. It has to come to a satisfactory conclusion, a place where the individual book's arc ends, but with the feeling that the external series arc has been pushed forward and is at a resting point or lull. The reader needs to turn that last page, sit back, and sigh because they are satisfied with the internal arc of the book, while still getting the feeling that the external story arc will continue in the next book. In this type of series, you typically h ave a large cast of characters, and the internal arcs are individual character's stories as they play out, and the external arc is the backdrop. The individual characters and their stories tie in with the external story, but don't necessary have to be completely connected to it. In one of my future projects, I have a trilogy in which the overall arc is about the resurgence of evil and how it is "defeated". However, each book in the trilogy is about an individual person: book one is about Evalai, the queen; book two is about Pathe, a tracker; and book three is about Ferall, a guardsman who betrayed everyone in book 2 and who seeks redemption in book 3. Each individual book will have it's own arc, and the story about the resurgent evil is the backdrop. The external arc has its own development, but it happens in relation to the other individual story arcs.
This is the best option for a long epic story for readers because they feel satisfied at the end of each book, but are eagerly anticipating the next book so they can continue the longer arc. It doesn't work as well for publishers on a more realistic level: if the books tank, they have to halt the series along the way, and then the loyal readers get ticked because they never find out the rest of the story. No writer wants this of course, but it is a part of the business that a writer needs to think about. For those of you out there who wait until the last book in the series is out, especially one that's connected like this, before you buy the books . . . don't. This is why series get halted. Because no one is buying the first few books in the series, waiting for the rest of the series to come out. Please, buy the first books as they appear with the idea that you'll buy the others later. If you don't, those later books may never appear. (And I realize this is a vicious circle because if you do buy the first few books and then the publisher stops publishing that series then you have an incomplete story . . . but the circle has to stop somewhere. Better to give the author a chance and buy their books early. And for the record, my books are not built on this structure, they're built using the second type of structure.)
The second type of arc is almost the same as the first, except that there is no larger external arc tying all the books together as a whole. Instead, each book in the series is its own individual story, with its own arc, and when the book is finished the reader walks away from it completely satisfied and with expectation that anything else relating to those characters or that plot line is "pending resolution". Everything is already resolved. The next book in the series might use the same characters, or the same setting, or the same world at large, and the next book may be connected to the previous books or make mention of the events in the previous books, but there is not larger arc tying the books together. Terry Pratchett has done this admirably well with his Discworld series: Each book is a story in and of itself. When you're finished with one, you don't have to read any of the others (although I'd suggest it) and in a very loose sense all of the books are connected in that they have recurring character and they're all set in the same world, using the same settings. Mystery series are often written this way as well, with each book using the same main character, but with their own internal stories. Episodic TV series used to be this way as well, although in the last 10 years there has been a significant shift away from this toward the first type of arc, where each season has its own overall story arc that gets returned to again and again.
Readers like this for the same reason that they like the first type of structure: they get to return and see old friends, meet new ones, visit different parts of the same world, etc. Publishers like this type even better because, again, they can drop the series if it tanks after a specific book, with the plus that none of the readers will be ticked because they're missing the "end" of the story. They have the end in their current book. There was never anything promised after that book, so they aren't missing anything. This is how my books are structured. At the end of one book, you are happy with the ending (I hope) and don't need to read anything more to feel like the story is complete. However, it's obvious that there COULD be more, and hopefully you'll eagerly await the next installment . . . and not be disappointed.
That leave the third structure. This is the one that most readers and publishers dislike. This time, the individual books in the series DO NOT have their own internal story arcs. Instead, they are all part of one large external story that begins in book 1 and ends in the last book. Typically, these books end on what readers will call cliffhangers, in that they don't feel satisfied with the given ending and desperately want the next book in the series so that they can complete the story. Readers hate this, because typically they have to WAIT for that next book. Publishers hate it because there is no sense of resolution for the story until that last book appears, which could be years (or decades) in the making. I feel that Robert Jordan's series has degenerated into this type of arc. The first few books had their own internal story arcs, but as the series progresses I don't get the feeling that they do anymore. Instead, it feels like one gigantic story arc, and I don't finish one book with any sense of resolution or satisfaction anymore, because I don't feel that the book has ENDED. (I will admit here that I feel that the Wheel of Time has other problems, but will restrict myself to commenting on it only in how it pertains to the topic of this post.)
Those are the three main structures for a series in my opinion. I realize there are other structures out there, including just the standalone novel, which is satisfying in its own right and has its own merits. I think the key to a series' success is the main tenet in the first two structures: each book must have its own story and its own resolution. If you can achieve that, then the readers will traipse along with you as you tell your story, whether it has its own external arc or not.
Now, you've procrastinated enough. Go write!
Search for the Lost Arc
One of the more common complaints about fantasy novel, and science fiction novels to a lesser extent, is that it seems that every fantasy novel out there is part of a series. Part of this is because fantasy writers tend to like long, epic stories with many characters and lots of battles and convolution, but also its because that's what the publishers want. I originally sent in my first book as a standalone. No mention of any sequels or anything in the original package, to the agent or the editor. But one of the first questions asked when the editor and agent became interested was: Are there any more books after this? At that time, I had a vaque idea of what might happen next, and so I said yes and trotted out plot synopsis and lo and behold I ended up with a 3 book deal. Nice. But that wasn't the intent originally. Publishers like series, and as a reader I know why. I like to return to the cities and lands and people that I fell in love with in the first book, so the next book in the series is like an old friend. In general, as a reader, I'm happy to see them, and generally suggest that we get together sometime in the future and talk.
So series are part of the business. But as in any part of the business, you have to be savvy about how you write your series. There are good series and bad. And there are series that have gone on forever (Terry Pratchett's Discworld) and series that want to go on forever but shouldn't (example deleted to save the writer's career). So that' begs the question of what makes a series work and what doesn't. The answer, in my opinion, is structure. It's all about the structure of the story arc and the series as a whole. If you structure it well, then it's likely the series won't become "endless" and at the same time will be endless. I feel that there are three typical structure for a series, meaning any story set in the same world that plays out over the course of more than one book. I'll start with the "best" structure to use, then work down from there to the "worst" structure to use, from both the reader and writer's perspective. Again, all of these are my opinions and you should argue with me in the comments if you disagree.
The first and best structure is one in which there is a single extended story arc that begins in book one and ends in the last book BUT each individual book in the series has its own INTERNAL story arc so that each book itself feels complete. See, when readers complain that a particular book didn't end or had a cliffhanger ending, what they really mean is at the end of the book they weren't SATISFIED with the ending. It didn't feel like an "end". What writers have to realize is that the story itself doesn't have to end at the end of the book (except the last book of course) but that the interal story arc for that book has to end there. It has to come to a satisfactory conclusion, a place where the individual book's arc ends, but with the feeling that the external series arc has been pushed forward and is at a resting point or lull. The reader needs to turn that last page, sit back, and sigh because they are satisfied with the internal arc of the book, while still getting the feeling that the external story arc will continue in the next book. In this type of series, you typically h ave a large cast of characters, and the internal arcs are individual character's stories as they play out, and the external arc is the backdrop. The individual characters and their stories tie in with the external story, but don't necessary have to be completely connected to it. In one of my future projects, I have a trilogy in which the overall arc is about the resurgence of evil and how it is "defeated". However, each book in the trilogy is about an individual person: book one is about Evalai, the queen; book two is about Pathe, a tracker; and book three is about Ferall, a guardsman who betrayed everyone in book 2 and who seeks redemption in book 3. Each individual book will have it's own arc, and the story about the resurgent evil is the backdrop. The external arc has its own development, but it happens in relation to the other individual story arcs.
This is the best option for a long epic story for readers because they feel satisfied at the end of each book, but are eagerly anticipating the next book so they can continue the longer arc. It doesn't work as well for publishers on a more realistic level: if the books tank, they have to halt the series along the way, and then the loyal readers get ticked because they never find out the rest of the story. No writer wants this of course, but it is a part of the business that a writer needs to think about. For those of you out there who wait until the last book in the series is out, especially one that's connected like this, before you buy the books . . . don't. This is why series get halted. Because no one is buying the first few books in the series, waiting for the rest of the series to come out. Please, buy the first books as they appear with the idea that you'll buy the others later. If you don't, those later books may never appear. (And I realize this is a vicious circle because if you do buy the first few books and then the publisher stops publishing that series then you have an incomplete story . . . but the circle has to stop somewhere. Better to give the author a chance and buy their books early. And for the record, my books are not built on this structure, they're built using the second type of structure.)
The second type of arc is almost the same as the first, except that there is no larger external arc tying all the books together as a whole. Instead, each book in the series is its own individual story, with its own arc, and when the book is finished the reader walks away from it completely satisfied and with expectation that anything else relating to those characters or that plot line is "pending resolution". Everything is already resolved. The next book in the series might use the same characters, or the same setting, or the same world at large, and the next book may be connected to the previous books or make mention of the events in the previous books, but there is not larger arc tying the books together. Terry Pratchett has done this admirably well with his Discworld series: Each book is a story in and of itself. When you're finished with one, you don't have to read any of the others (although I'd suggest it) and in a very loose sense all of the books are connected in that they have recurring character and they're all set in the same world, using the same settings. Mystery series are often written this way as well, with each book using the same main character, but with their own internal stories. Episodic TV series used to be this way as well, although in the last 10 years there has been a significant shift away from this toward the first type of arc, where each season has its own overall story arc that gets returned to again and again.
Readers like this for the same reason that they like the first type of structure: they get to return and see old friends, meet new ones, visit different parts of the same world, etc. Publishers like this type even better because, again, they can drop the series if it tanks after a specific book, with the plus that none of the readers will be ticked because they're missing the "end" of the story. They have the end in their current book. There was never anything promised after that book, so they aren't missing anything. This is how my books are structured. At the end of one book, you are happy with the ending (I hope) and don't need to read anything more to feel like the story is complete. However, it's obvious that there COULD be more, and hopefully you'll eagerly await the next installment . . . and not be disappointed.
That leave the third structure. This is the one that most readers and publishers dislike. This time, the individual books in the series DO NOT have their own internal story arcs. Instead, they are all part of one large external story that begins in book 1 and ends in the last book. Typically, these books end on what readers will call cliffhangers, in that they don't feel satisfied with the given ending and desperately want the next book in the series so that they can complete the story. Readers hate this, because typically they have to WAIT for that next book. Publishers hate it because there is no sense of resolution for the story until that last book appears, which could be years (or decades) in the making. I feel that Robert Jordan's series has degenerated into this type of arc. The first few books had their own internal story arcs, but as the series progresses I don't get the feeling that they do anymore. Instead, it feels like one gigantic story arc, and I don't finish one book with any sense of resolution or satisfaction anymore, because I don't feel that the book has ENDED. (I will admit here that I feel that the Wheel of Time has other problems, but will restrict myself to commenting on it only in how it pertains to the topic of this post.)
Those are the three main structures for a series in my opinion. I realize there are other structures out there, including just the standalone novel, which is satisfying in its own right and has its own merits. I think the key to a series' success is the main tenet in the first two structures: each book must have its own story and its own resolution. If you can achieve that, then the readers will traipse along with you as you tell your story, whether it has its own external arc or not.
Now, you've procrastinated enough. Go write!
