How I Feel About Book Series As A Writer and A Reader

I haven’t read a full book series in at least a couple of years, and though this concept is on my mind frequently as I write, it hit me today that it may have been too long.

As a writer, I think about the concept of a book series often. I think about the kind of outlining it takes to make a successful plot for each book in a series, and the journey the character must take across the span of the entire series. When I write a new book, I often ask myself if this is something that has both the potential for a series and the passion required for me to do a series justice. 

I do have plans to do a series of novellas, or to write works that are connected by a common theme or within the same world, but I have not, as of yet, written a book series. I think one of the major reasons for that is because I worry - as I think many writers do - that their work isn’t going to be interesting enough or exciting enough to hold a reader’s attention across the span of several books. Yes, I know that this is something that is fixable, especially with the right planning and editing, but the worry is always there. 

As a writer, I am also aware that writing a full series would require a tighter writing schedule than what I have, which at the moment doesn’t seem entirely feasible. I talk to many readers who, when I say that my next fantasy book is coming out in the next six months to a year, they respond with, “That’s so long.” I think I worry that if I’m always​ telling them that my next book will come out in six months or a year, many readers will forget about the series altogether, especially if they wait for the paperback edition, which often releases months after the hardcover.

Today, I remembered what it was like to find a series of books that interested me as a reader, and I was reminded just how incredible it was. When I was younger (and had a lot more free time on my hands), I specifically looked for series I could get lost in over the span of several books. 

I remember waiting eagerly for the next book to come out, even if it was several months or even a year away. I remember that it was like a scavenger hunt every time I went to the bookstore to see if my favorite authors had released anything new, and I’d practically jump with joy anytime I found that the next book had released. Even if I had to wait longer for a paperback edition, that eagerness didn’t fade. If anything, it gave me reason to go back and re-read the other books in the series, so everything would be fresh in my mind by the time the next one came out. 

I also remember reading a couple of series where the stories kind of died down or didn’t hold my interest as well, and I still finished them because I cared about what I was reading, even if this particular book didn’t compare to the others in the series. I bought the books to have the completed series, which was like collecting treasure to me. I finished reading the series because I needed to know how everything ended for the characters I had fallen in love with. 

Even today, with my schedule as busy as it is and my reading time as precious as it is, I still seek out my favorite authors every time I’m at the bookstore, and I still purchase their new works, even if I don’t currently have the time to read them. 

And I realized… I had made a terrible assumption. 

I had put every other reader out there into the same box I was in. Just because I don’t have as much time as I’d like to have to get into a long series doesn’t mean that’s the case for every other reader in the world. And just because I talk to readers who say things like, “That’s so long…” doesn’t mean that they aren’t willing to wait, or that they wouldn’t be just as excited as I used to get when a new book came out. 

Maybe there are people out there who will feel the same way about my books as I have always felt for other authors’ books. That thought excites me. While I don’t have any long series on the docket at the moment, maybe I won’t shut the idea out for my future writing endeavors, if I find a story idea that will stand the test of a longer series. 

That’s it for today! Check back next weekend for more writing related content, or sign up for my email list on the homepage to receive my author newsletter, so you never miss a blog post!