What is the acceptable word count for a series?

[SnugglePuggle]

It depends entirely on the genre and age that you're writing for. I never write a book less than 80k. Never. That is not the expectation for adult sci-fi novels. It also depends on where you plan on publishing. If you're going to go self-pub on Amazon, you have a bit more leeway, but short books in that genre don't really sell as long as full-length ones do. Most publishers aren't going to be interested in shorter books. They know what the best ROI is, and it isn't short. It also isn't overly-long. 80-100k is the sweet spot.

Ah, really? I read from an actual agent that specializes in my genre (PN romance) it was 70-100k. Anyway, my first is at 70.6 I think, second at 69.7k now, 3rd is at 77k and 4th is still being written. I plan on traditional publishing but self-pub isn't out of the question yet. Editing is never done though so I'm sure those counts will go up a bit but I'm not sure I have enough material to get into the 80s but we'll see.

 

[SnugglePuggle]

YA absolutely has violence and steamy kissing (and sometimes on-page sex). If you're trying to determine if your novel is young adult vs. adult, look at the main character's journey and their age. Are they under 18? Is the personal development arc focused on coming of age, finding their footing in the world on their own for the first time? If so, you're more aligned with YA.

There's already been a lot of other good advice on this thread, but I'll add that focusing on getting the first book as polished as possible before querying agents is smart. The agents are unlikely to read the subsequent books until further down the line. They're moot unless book 1 sells. That is, should you decide to go with a traditional publishing path.

Yeah my couples are older. The first chapter is like a little preview on how my ML became a vampire, so she's 16 at that time, but then the main story starts when she's 23. Coming of age? No, I don't have any of that. So I believe my series is adult romance.

Mhm I'm already editing here and there after leaving my first alone for awhile, then coming back with fresh starts to edit. I know there's always the risk that it won't sell, but I still wanted to write my sequels since the material was fresh in my head and I didn't want to forget it

 

[Unimportant]

Yeah my couples are older. The first chapter is like a little preview on how my ML became a vampire, so she's 16 at that time, but then the main story starts when she's 23. Coming of age? No, I don't have any of that. So I believe my series is adult romance.

Off topic, (and I'm so out of touch I don't know what an ML is) but I just want to be the voice of caution here: A lot of adult romance readers have zero interest in reading YA. If they start reading a book and the story opens with a sixteen year old girl doing whatever it is girls do nowadays, they may very well stop reading right there, put the book down, and never pick it up again. They will have no way of knowing when, if ever, the book gets to the point of her being an adult doing adult things.

If it's absolutely utterly necessary for the reader to know how ML became a vampire, I'd suggest showing it in a flashback at an appropriate time (after the reader is well and truly hooked by the exciting adult character doing fascinating adult things). Or start the story with ML telling someone else how she became a vampire -- work the info into the action.

 

[SnugglePuggle]

Off topic, (and I'm so out of touch I don't know what an ML is) but I just want to be the voice of caution here: A lot of adult romance readers have zero interest in reading YA. If they start reading a book and the story opens with a sixteen year old girl doing whatever it is girls do nowadays, they may very well stop reading right there, put the book down, and never pick it up again. They will have no way of knowing when, if ever, the book gets to the point of her being an adult doing adult things.

If it's absolutely utterly necessary for the reader to know how ML became a vampire, I'd suggest showing it in a flashback at an appropriate time (after the reader is well and truly hooked by the exciting adult character doing fascinating adult things). Or start the story with ML telling someone else how she became a vampire -- work the info into the action.

ML= main lead

You read the first chapter in my "paranormal romance chapter 1," actually. The chapter introduces Calleigh and her friends before she gets bit in a dark alleyway, if you forgot. I haven't posted it yet for corrections but chapter 2 starts with her seven years later at age of 23, so readers don't have to wait long for the story to start. Having to completely change the intro and have her doing something as a vampire already complicates things and I'm afraid I won't make it as good as I want it too, especially since she meets one of her friends in chapter 2 and finally meets the male ML for the second time even though she doesn't remember who he is to her- and that starts the connection and romance soon after.

 

[Darkvoid]

I'm a romance writer and reader (though I read historical and contemporary, not paranormal). 80-90k is a pretty good length for a romance if you're aiming for a print deal.

It seems like you're following the same couple through the entire series? Often "series" in romance are standalone books about different couples, though following the same couple over multiple books is not unheard of in contemporary! Can't think of any historical romance examples. Not sure how common this might be in paranormal, but I'm a touch worried that:

1) A series that follows the same couple all the way through might be a harder sell for an unknown writer vs a series with a different couple in each book.
2) Are you 100% sure your series is paranormal romance vs, say, fantasy with romantic elements?

I do wonder if you might get better romance-specific feedback if this was in the romance forum instead?

Paranormal romance is usually urban fantasy with heavy romantic elements. It follows some of the same beats as a normal romance but it's a lot different in some important ways. In a PNR it's expected that'll be the same couple in every book in the series. Someone mentioned Twilight earlier, that's a perfect example.

 

[Unimportant]

ML= main lead

You read the first chapter in my "paranormal romance chapter 1," actually. The chapter introduces Calleigh and her friends before she gets bit in a dark alleyway, if you forgot. I haven't posted it yet for corrections but chapter 2 starts with her seven years later at age of 23, so readers don't have to wait long for the story to start. Having to completely change the intro and have her doing something as a vampire already complicates things and I'm afraid I won't make it as good as I want it too, especially since she meets one of her friends in chapter 2 and finally meets the male ML for the second time even though she doesn't remember who he is to her- and that starts the connection and romance soon after.

ah, yes.

If I were expecting an adult romance, and read that first chapter, I would never have got to chapter two. Sorry, but that's my honest reaction.

However, it's your story to structure, of course, and in the end you have to do what will be best for the 'average' reader, which I may not be!