How many books are you planning on writing for your YA series?

JBVam · Jul 27, 2015

Hi all! I figured that I would hop over to the YA thread and make some new friends :hooray:

I am currently working on a YA contemporary series surrounding the lives of five young women as they journey through their four years of college. My series will be eight books long once all is said and done. (I am almost finished a first draft of book number five).

I may do one more book with these characters once the college series is over. The book will either take place five or ten years down the road.....I am leaning more towards five years.

I am just curious to know if any of my fellow YA series writers also have plans for a long series.

I plan on self publishing a few of the books. (Some of you who have seen my posts are probably aware of this already, lol). I do have query letters out there to agents and if I get picked up, great! If not, I'm going to get my books out there anyway...Yep! I am determined. Hey if books one, two and three do well on the self pub market, someone may notice, LOL (Here's hoping).

Enjoy your day!

MynaOphelia · Jul 27, 2015

Hey! Welcome to the YA board and good luck on your series. : )

I tend to not write series books. Not sure why, just how it's always been. All of my projects have been standalones. Only two of them might even have sequels, let alone trilogies or longer.

Random note, but if your characters are in college, your genre is probably NA (new adult) not YA. NA is a nice, growing genre, so it's something to keep in mind when you query.

JBVam · Jul 27, 2015

MynaOphelia said:
Random note, but if your characters are in college, your genre is probably NA (new adult) not YA. NA is a nice, growing genre, so it's something to keep in mind when you query.

Hi, thank you! To be honest I originally considered this series to be new adult. But after talking to both of my book editors they said that today's YA scope includes a great many college-age characters in situations exactly like the ones that I write about. It represents a very important coming of age scenario for women.

But I have queried both YA and NA agents

Liosse de Velishaf · Jul 27, 2015

I'm gonna note that a few YA books might have college-age characters, but those generally either started with high school age kids, or it's just the first year of college at best. That's my personal read on the current market, though. Your book editors may have a better view, and if you're self-publishing, it might not matter as much.

I don't tend to write series for YA, but I occasionally do. Never something so long as eight books with the same set of characters, but I do have one project that has a couple same-world series that together could run near that long. The YA series I do consider are generally SFF rather than contemp, though. I can't imagine ever doing more than maybe a trilogy in contemp, perhaps four books if I later find I have a lot of material.

oceansoul · Jul 27, 2015

I'm thinking that my current WIP will be a duology or a trilogy. I will see when I finish book 1. I know it won't be finished in this book, but I don't know yet if it will take one book more or two to fully explore the story!

Sage · Jul 27, 2015

For better or worse, it is often suggested that authors looking for representation/trade publishing not devote themselves to a series before they've sold the first book. Here's some reasons why:

- If you never sell book 1, you've wasted a lot of time writing books 2+
- If you never sell book 1, you have nothing else to query afterward
- You're likely to be more devastated by rejection if you're putting everything into writing more and more of this world
- You may sell book 1, but they don't want a series
- You may get revisions that completely ruin your series plans (it happens, trust me)

However, if you plan to self-publish, having a series ready to go at the time of publishing book 1 is a big plus.

Me, I'm a proponent of writing what you feel like writing, regardless of the market, but being informed about the potential problems before you start so you're not heartbroken if the market isn't there. My inability to sell a standalone superhero novel did not stop me from eventually turning it into a trilogy because that's where my heart lay. But, if you don't see many here who are in the process of writing a series, the reasons above may be why. I usually come up with scenarios for sequels to my novels, but I hold off before writing them because I know, all too well, how revisions on book 1 can destroy your sequel plans.

I agree with above posters that your MCs' ages are going to be a hard sell as YA because most college-aged characters are considered too old for YA. Especially if they're really in college, not in some fantasy world with no school. The coming of age elements in high school are different from those in college.

JBVam · Jul 27, 2015

Sage said:
For better or worse, it is often suggested that authors looking for representation/trade publishing not devote themselves to a series before they've sold the first book. Here's some reasons why:

- If you never sell book 1, you've wasted a lot of time writing books 2+
- If you never sell book 1, you have nothing else to query afterward
- You're likely to be more devastated by rejection if you're putting everything into writing more and more of this world
- You may sell book 1, but they don't want a series
- You may get revisions that completely ruin your series plans (it happens, trust me)

However, if you plan to self-publish, having a series ready to go at the time of publishing book 1 is a big plus.

Those reasons are why I decided to just self publish this series. I started this series and am continuing it because it's what I want to write. I have other stand alone book ideas that I will write later and may query those but right now my heart is poured into these books. LOL

And yeah I am still on the fence about these being put in the new adult genre especially since the series startes off with them going to college. So changing up that genre is something that I am thinking about. I haven't seen any NA forums here on AW. Have any of you seen one? Maybe Im not searching hard enough, lol.

Liosse de Velishaf · Jul 27, 2015

Because of how new it is as a marketing category (not a genre), I don't believe the admins decided it was worth creating a forum here on AW specifically for NA. People usually talk about it in the YA forum.

Sage makes a common point for people looking to go the trade publishing route. Writing a closely linked series, one with a single over-arching narrative, can be risky. You hear that advice a lot, make sure you can sell it as a standalone. But plenty of people do sell series, even as debut authors, so it's not completely forbidden or anything to write a whole series before querying. It's just one among many things to keep in mind when you decide how you want to approach your writing that may be intended for publication.

Ripken · Jul 27, 2015

Hello! I'm fairly new to this forum. I self-published my first novel and the sequel is currently being edited. It's going to be a YA fantasy trilogy about a country that's been invaded and conquered for 150 years.

I'm also almost finished the first novel in a completely different trilogy. Hopefully I can find an agent, but I'm prepared to self-publish again if it comes to that. My first novel has sold about 2,500 copies so far (I released it in December 2014).

Sage · Jul 27, 2015

NA questions usually end up here, although it's technically considered a part of the adult market, not YA. A lot of YA writers wanted to write college-age MCs, so it probably makes sense that NA writers come here.

Since NA is so new and nobody seems to know exactly what it should include or how long it will last, there's no NA forum yet. TBF, we had to wait a long time for a YA forum too.

Guerrien · Jul 27, 2015

For the sake of answering the original, titular question: I'm currently working on the first novel of what will hopefully one day become a YA SF/F series, but am sticking to the conventional wisdom above, and not getting too involved in the sequels just yet. Pretty much I know what the overarching plot is, roughly how it all ends, and how to get there...but I won't let myself put any time and effort into doing detailed outlines of the follow-up novels until the magical, long-way-away day that I land myself an agent. So when I say 'it's roughly going to be five books long', I mean I think there's five books worth of content, but might be more, might be less. It's my best guess, though.

I did want to add that you're in a really interesting position because it sounds like you're writing the only kind of NA that's currently really managed to take off. Or possibly the only thing that even is NA, I suppose, depending on who you ask. At least, as far as I know, NA is all but synonymous with contemporary fiction starring college students. Genres such as SF/F haven't had as much luck. 'Course, aforementioned NA is also synonymous with romance. And sex. Lots and lots of sex. Which you never mentioned, and which would, potentially, help you figure out if you've got a YA or a NA on your hands (I do suspect NA from the ages and issues that your MCs will be facing as college students). Not that there isn't sex in YA, but it is typically handled differently. Uuh...I do sort of want to send you to check out Suzie Townsend's blog if you haven't already. She's a rockstar-level agent who represents some NA, and is probably a good starting point for any further investi-ma-gations.

Emermouse · Jul 27, 2015

I honestly don't know. I'm totally a pantser and am pretty much making this up as I go along. It wasn't until I started to reach the end of my first novel that I started thinking that it was just begging for a sequel. As to what happens after I've written the sequel, I don't know. I suppose I should be less of a pantser and more of plotter but it just doesn't feel natural to me.

JBVam · Jul 27, 2015

Guerrien said:
I did want to add that you're in a really interesting position because it sounds like you're writing the only kind of NA that's currently really managed to take off. Or possibly the only thing that even is NA, I suppose, depending on who you ask. At least, as far as I know, NA is all but synonymous with contemporary fiction starring college students. Genres such as SF/F haven't had as much luck. 'Course, aforementioned NA is also synonymous with romance. And sex. Lots and lots of sex. Which you never mentioned, and which would, potentially, help you figure out if you've got a YA or a NA on your hands (I do suspect NA from the ages and issues that your MCs will be facing as college students). Not that there isn't sex in YA, but it is typically handled differently. Uuh...I do sort of want to send you to check out Suzie Townsend's blog if you haven't already. She's a rockstar-level agent who represents some NA, and is probably a good starting point for any further investi-ma-gations.

Thank you Guerrien. I just went and checked out Suzie's blog today. Thank you for directing me to that.

Now there are no erotic sex scenes in my books, but sex is in fact discussed and the characters (some of them) are having it. LOL.
But because of some of the subject matters, language, etc; I originally figured that the series would be considered NA. I guess I should have gone with my first instinct huh?

DanaeMcB · Jul 28, 2015

I'm writing my novel as a standalone (in that the MC achieves her main goal by the end), but I believe if it goes over well, my readers will want a follow-up, because there are some unresolved relationship issues. I can imagine having two books after, but I haven't figured out how to make the middle one really interesting, because the love interest wouldn't be in it (and, though this is not a romance, per se, romance figures heavily in it.) So maybe I'll just have one sequel, or an in-between novella followed by a proper novel to finish it up.

I am looking to get an agent and trade publish it, so like Sage said, revisions and my potential publisher's opinions will weigh heavily on anything that comes after. To that end, I'm just exploring some ideas for both these books and two other completely unrelated ideas, any of which could be my next project.

owlion · Jul 28, 2015

I hope your series goes well!

I don't seem able to write more than one book per story, but there's a chance I could write one sequel to my current project. But I'm not going to do that unless the first can be published. I also enjoy switching onto new stories once the old ones are done, so maybe I just don't have the staying power needed for a full-on series.

KiwiLady · Jul 28, 2015

I'm planning on writing three books in my series. Book one is due to be published and book two is on its final edits. After that I'm going to write something else entirely because, although I love my characters, I need a break from them for a while. But I will go back and write book three after a small break.

ErezMA · Jul 28, 2015

Sage said:
For better or worse, it is often suggested that authors looking for representation/trade publishing not devote themselves to a series before they've sold the first book. Here's some reasons why:

- If you never sell book 1, you've wasted a lot of time writing books 2+
- If you never sell book 1, you have nothing else to query afterward
- You're likely to be more devastated by rejection if you're putting everything into writing more and more of this world
- You may sell book 1, but they don't want a series
- You may get revisions that completely ruin your series plans (it happens, trust me)

However, if you plan to self-publish, having a series ready to go at the time of publishing book 1 is a big plus.

Me, I'm a proponent of writing what you feel like writing, regardless of the market, but being informed about the potential problems before you start so you're not heartbroken if the market isn't there. My inability to sell a standalone superhero novel did not stop me from eventually turning it into a trilogy because that's where my heart lay. But, if you don't see many here who are in the process of writing a series, the reasons above may be why. I usually come up with scenarios for sequels to my novels, but I hold off before writing them because I know, all too well, how revisions on book 1 can destroy your sequel plans.

I agree with above posters that your MCs' ages are going to be a hard sell as YA because most college-aged characters are considered too old for YA. Especially if they're really in college, not in some fantasy world with no school. The coming of age elements in high school are different from those in college.

I disagree on the bolded part. I write because I like to write. I told myself that even if I don't sell a single book or even get a deal, I will be proud of myself because I managed to begin and finish something as difficult as a book. I'm a new writer. I've never finished a manuscript until recently and I can't tell you how ecstatic I was when I put the period at the end of the last sentence of my first draft.

I know this isn't what you meant, but I still felt it important to point that out. I mean, people don't go into writing for money. Those who do are almost certainly going to be met with disappointment.

flarue · Jul 28, 2015

I see mine as a trilogy. Originally, I saw it as a standalone, but the story has developed to a point that one book will be way too long for all of it.

JBVam · Jul 28, 2015

ErezMA said:
I disagree on the bolded part. I write because I like to write. I told myself that even if I don't sell a single book or even get a deal, I will be proud of myself because I managed to begin and finish something as difficult as a book. I'm a new writer. I've never finished a manuscript until recently and I can't tell you how ecstatic I was when I put the period at the end of the last sentence of my first draft.

I know this isn't what you meant, but I still felt it important to point that out. I mean, people don't go into writing for money. Those who do are almost certainly going to be met with disappointment.

I totally agree with you. As it states in my signature, I write because it's what I love to do. Shoot I spent years just saying that I didn't care if my series was ever published, that I just wanted to write it for me, lol.

I say this, win or lose I have accomplished something that some people cannot. Writing isn't easy and it takes a very creative mind to be able to do so. Cheers to my fellow creative peers :partyguy:

JBVam · Jul 28, 2015

laurie17 said:
I hope your series goes well!

Thank you so much! It's been so much fun for me to write. I hope that other people enjoy it as much as I do

Sakura Mazaki · Jul 28, 2015

ErezMA said:
I disagree on the bolded part. I write because I like to write. I told myself that even if I don't sell a single book or even get a deal, I will be proud of myself because I managed to begin and finish something as difficult as a book. I'm a new writer. I've never finished a manuscript until recently and I can't tell you how ecstatic I was when I put the period at the end of the last sentence of my first draft.

I know this isn't what you meant, but I still felt it important to point that out. I mean, people don't go into writing for money. Those who do are almost certainly going to be met with disappointment.

I agree with this as well. I've only finished book 1 so far and I don't know if I'll make anything off it. But I love the characters and there's so much more that can happen in the story.

I plan for it to be a 5 book series, but we'll see how it goes.

ErezMA · Jul 28, 2015

Absolutely. More than that, I don't know about you, but I feel like my characters are their own people. It's almost like I lost the power to control them. They're their own people with their own history, just like anyone in real life I've met.

ZachJPayne · Jul 28, 2015

My current WIP started as a standalone in the vein of Judy Blume's Summer Sisters, but there was so much backstory, that I decided to split it into a series.

I struggled for a while, deciding between 3 and 4 books. Ultimately, I decided on 3. But because there's such a large gap between 2 and 3, I can imagine myself writing quite a few short stories/novellas to fill in some of the big moments.

JBVam · Jul 28, 2015

ErezMA said:
Absolutely. More than that, I don't know about you, but I feel like my characters are their own people. It's almost like I lost the power to control them. They're their own people with their own history, just like anyone in real life I've met.

You are preaching to the choir. That is how I feel about my characters too. LOL

JBVam · Jul 28, 2015

Sakura Mazaki said:
I plan for it to be a 5 book series, but we'll see how it goes.

That's great. Good luck! I have always liked book series because I enjoy seeing how characters start out and develop over time.

How many books are you planning on writing for your YA series?

JBVam

MynaOphelia

lost her spaceship again

JBVam

Liosse de Velishaf

oceansoul

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

JBVam

Liosse de Velishaf

Ripken

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

Guerrien

Fire Bad, Tree Pretty

Emermouse

JBVam

DanaeMcB

Curious turtle

owlion

Absorbing inspiration from the moon

KiwiLady

ErezMA

flarue

Dreaming of Waltzes & Fantasy Lands

JBVam

JBVam

Sakura Mazaki

ErezMA

ZachJPayne

Beware: #amQuerying

JBVam

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