How Long Should Your Book Series Be?
I shared my thoughts on The Wicked Writing Corner about how many stories a series should have (I’ve figured out the right length for my series but that likely won’t be the right length for every writer or every series.)
Here is a snippet…
“I’m a pantser, a writer who writes by the seat of her pants. Sometimes, I’ll start a series with the intention of it being X stories long and the series becomes X+12 stories long. That happens. I write as many stories as I have to write to give readers a satisfactory end to the series.
But my ideal series length at this moment is five.
That’s because I’m self-published so I know my publisher (me – grins) will give me those five stories to run with. It is because my current favorite marketing strategy is to price the first story in the series, after a few years of being published, at permafree. And it is because, in cyborg romance, I see readership of a series dramatically drop off after five stories.
That might not be your ideal series length.”
You can read the full post here –
https://thewickedwritingcorner.blogspot.com/2021/03/guest-post-how-long-should-series-be.html
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Containing Malice
This tormented cyborg craves vengeance…and her.
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Malice, a C Model cyborg, has spent his long lifespan enslaved by the Humanoid Alliance. His cruel manufacturers have hurt him in all the ways a male could be hurt.
His enemy has now added a new weapon to their arsenal—a tiny human medic with soft hands and a delectable scent. She experiments on him multiple times a shift, delivering pain…and frustration.
He wants her. He also seeks retribution.
Once Malice frees himself, he plans to achieve both of his goals, taking Medic Illona captive and ending her research…permanently.
Illona is as much a prisoner as the cyborgs she experiments on. Since her arrival at the Human Alliance’s secret laboratory, she has carefully, stealthily, crafted a plot to free her test subjects. To conceal her covert activities, the medic has been forced to harm beings rather than heal them.
The being she has damaged the most is also the cyborg she fiercely desires— Malice, a huge, gray-skinned, blue-eyed C Model with massive hands and a voice deeper than space. He hates her, has good reason to do so, and, when he’s freed, there’s a high probability he’ll kill her.
Illona will take that risk to ensure he survives.
***
Containing Malice is a STANDALONE enemies-to-lovers Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It is the first of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power
Buy Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LK4CWHS
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08LK4CWHS
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08LK4CWHS
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/containing-malice/id1536770487
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/containing-malice-cynthia-sax/1137961594
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/containing-malice
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1049881
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How Many Books Should Be In A Series?
Note: This post is about series that are self-published. If you are working with a publisher, that publisher will likely decide how many books are in your series. You might have series canceled early or the publisher might convince you to extend it. You have little control over this (which is one of the reason I currently prefer self-publishing).
When writers are discussing series, the most common question asked is… how many books should be in a series? The short and dirty answer is… as many as you need to tell the story you want to tell.
There are no rules to writing books or to crafting a series. If there is an overall arc (and there doesn’t need to be one in a series), that should preferably be resolved. It is one of the reasons readers are reading the series. But some gifted writers have broken that ‘rule’ also.
Do what makes sense for you and for your series.
I’ll, however, share what works for me. That might or might not work for you but it will give you things to think about when crafting your series.
Creating Stopping Points
The cyborg series currently has 12 stories in it. I plan to write many more. BUT if you analyze that series, you’ll see there are possible stopping points for it every three or four books.
I could have stopped the series after the stories for the three original cyborgs were resolved, for example. I could have stopped it after the mass cyborg rebellion as another example. I would have written those ‘last’ stories differently but I could have ended the series at those points.
This gives me flexibility. If I’m no longer passionate about the series or readers no longer enjoy the stories (I often judge interest in the series by pre-order numbers), I can pause or stop the series at these points.
Extending A Series
If I’m still loving a series and readers are enjoying it also, I will often extend it.
The Refuge/Dark Thoughts series was originally a four-story series (Dark Thoughts, Dark Flight, Dark Strength, Dark Fire). At the end of Dark Fire, the baddies introduced in Dark Flight have all been confronted. Kralj, Dark Thought’s hero, has traveled his complete character arc. If someone merely read those four stories, they should be satisfied.
But there are plenty of secondary characters whose stories I can tell. The Medic captured me in Dark Strength. I knew I HAD to tell her story. I see Dark Cure, that fifth longer story (Dark Warlord is a shorter story), as a bonus story. It isn’t part of the core series. (I also see it as a bridge story between the Refuge series and the upcoming Barbarian Warlord series.)
Ending (Or Pausing) The Series
Readers become upset if series aren’t completed. I make that a goal of mine.
If I love a brand new series but it isn’t (YET) appealing to readers, I will pause it at one of the stopping points. This might mean writing two more stories in the series, which won’t have huge numbers of readers (at the moment). I still write until that stopping point.
Why?
Because I don’t want to upset the few readers I do have. I feel I owe them a complete story arc. Also, some series take extra time to connect with readers (both the Cyborg series and the Refuge series didn’t really catch on until three books had been released). I’ll give any series two more stories.
How do you decide how many stories should be in a series?
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Dark Fire
What the Beast wants, the Beast gets.
Dare’s savage nature has made him an outcast among his kind. The silver-scaled Dracheon warrior can’t control his inner beast. It’s too strong. When his primitive instincts told him his destined mate was on Carinae E, he had no choice. He had to travel to the outlaw planet. There, he hoped to meet a female powerful enough to survive his Drache.
He finds Faylee, a delicate little human.
Faylee is the best thief on the planet. Everyone she encounters mistakes her for a young boy…except for a tall, shiny warrior from off-planet. When she gazes into Dare’s flame-filled eyes, he makes her feel, for the first time, like a desirable female. The fire-breathing male has her yearning for hot kisses, fierce embraces, and a future filled with love. She doesn’t realize mating with him might be the last thing she ever does.
Dare’s beast isn’t the only danger on the planet. An enemy from the past has returned and he’s determined to stop Dare and Faylee…permanently. They’ll need luck and the assistance of every warrior in the Refuge to stay alive.
Dark Fire is a STANDALONE SciFi Romance set in a gritty, dark world.
Buy Today:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Fire-Refuge-Book-4-ebook/dp/B07CW2Y8B7/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Fire-Refuge-Book-4-ebook/dp/B07CW2Y8B7/
Apple/iTunes : https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dark-fire/id1381353384
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-fire-cynthia-sax/1128614574
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dark-fire-22
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/824382
Topics: Writing Tips | Comments Off on How Many Books Should Be In A Series?
