Books in a Series
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
Just yesterday, I was hanging out at one of my favorite blogs, Smart Bitches Trashy Books, when a discussion came up about putting (or not putting) warning labels on books.
That’s not what I’m going to blog about because frankly, that’s absurd.
BUT in the midst of that rather contentious conversation (which is another reason why I’m not blogging about it here because at Plotmonkeys, we prefer NOT to “do” contention) several readers commented that they didn’t like books that were in a series.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve heard readers rail against books in a series. They get mad at authors for “tricking” them into buying their books by making it a series. They go apoplectic when an author introduces the hero’s brothers or the heroine’s sisters because “Oh, God…it’s a series!” They consider a series to be a devious marketing ploy by authors to somehow bamboozle the reader into buying more than one book.
This attitude perplexes me. I think, however, that the railers are part of a very vocal, but very small, Internet-based minority. Because all the readers I talk to–and me, too–love a good series.
And for the record, yes, all authors want you to buy all the book in their series. There. The secret is out. Authors want readers to buy their books. Gasp!
But that’s not why we write series. Or is it? I mean, if readers seem to love series and authors love to write them because she gets to spend a lot of time with characters she knows and loves…what’s wrong with that?
My favorite series is one that can be read out of order. Honestly, when I picked up my first Stephanie Plum book, it was the 5th one. I read it, loved it, went back and picked up 1-4. While it was great to read the books in order to understand the character’s growth and to “get” all the inside jokes, it wasn’t essential in order to understand the story.
I think readers have a love or hate relationship with series books. They love them because they are familiar. These are characters you know and grow to either love or hate. Look at Harry Potter. Even today, a 13-year old wrote to Dear Abby to complain about people spoiling the book for him. Harry Potter would not have become a phenomenon if it had been just one book.
That said, I think romance readers in particular have very definitive needs that must be met by any writer who wants to have a successful romance SERIES. (Take the grain of salt here…I’ve yet to write a successful romance series.)
If the book is labeled as a romance, they want closure/commitment of some kind between the hero and heroine. They want the main conflict of that particular book to be resolved. They do not mind if a big story arc is left open so long as the immediate story question in the book is answered definitively.
I think that’s it.
When I wrote my Marisela series, it was never conceived as a romance. It was an Action-Adventure series with a strong romantic subplot. Even then, I tried to give each book a very definitive romantic ending. At the end of DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS, Marisela and Frankie are going to be partners in the “secret agent” biz and in the bedroom. Marisela hates Ian. At the end of DIRTY LITTLE LIES, Marisela and Frankie break up as partners in the agency, but probably not personally. Marisela and Ian come to respect each other. I had so much more planned…oh, well. Someday. I never heard any romance readers complaining about the fact that I didn’t tie up all loose ends with that series. Of course, maybe they hated it, but never told me.
In my new series for NAL, I have six books envisioned (yes, the hero has brothers…and a sister,) but only two books contracted. I’ve laid the foundation for the over-reaching story arc, but I know in my heart of hearts that a reader doesn’t have to be interested in that storyline in order to enjoy the books. I decided, after Marisela got cancelled, that I wouldn’t introduce the most important parts of that storyline until after the fourth book was sold. (Honestly, I did the same for Marisela…there was another storyline going on for which I’d laid the groundwork, but that I didn’t bring out because I knew after book one that the series continuing was iffy.)
Most of the series books I read, however, are not romances (plotmonkey books notwithstanding!) I just finished the first two books in Stephanie Bond’s BODY MOVERS series, which I loved, loved, loved. You all know that I’m a huge fan of Julie Kenner’s Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom and Diana Peterfreund’s Secret Society Girl. None of these are romances, though they all have some pretty steamy stuff in them.
One reader at SmartBitches said that she likes romance series that have different heroes and heroines…and honestly, with the exception of JD Robb’s Eve/Rourke books (which to me, are not romances at all…though I love them), can’t think of any series that have the same hero/heroine over and over. I remember when Jayne Ann Krentz used to do two books for her heroes and heroines…but each book had a definitive ending and it’s own storyline.
Are there others?
Do you, as a reader, need to have all the books in a series before you’ll read the first one…even if the books are going to be released five years apart?
Tell me what your reader expectations of a series are…I’m very interested! And I’m sure my Plotmonkey pals are, too!
