Series
& Sequels
By Rita
Heron
What exactly
constitutes a series, how does an author land her own
series or get involved in an in-house series, and is there
a difference between a series and a sequel? The romance
writer/reader sees a multitude of taglines on books these
days which designate books that belong to a series or
a mini-series. These taglines are meant to help the reader
identify the books that belong in a series so they don't
miss one or more of the stories.
A series or
mini-series (for this article I'll use the terms inter-
changeably) is a group of two or more stories which contain
a common element or hook. Each story usually has a self-contained
romance of its own with a satisfying ending but may or
may not have questions from a sub-plot left unanswered
to hook the reader into buying the next book.
Many times
the mini-series or continuity series is a group of three
books (can be longer), each book having its own romance,
but a thread of the storyline continues throughout the
series and all elements and the questions are tied up
at the end of the series. For example, in my Hartwell
Hope Chest series from Harlequin America, the common hook
is the hope chest that is given to each granddaughter
at the beginning of the book. Each story revolves around
one of the granddaughters and her quest for love and has
a self-contained romance, but the thread of the sub-plot,
the girls' family lives, and the conflict between their
divorced parents builds throughout the first three books.
Series are
often planned from the beginning, either by the author
or as in the case of the continuity series, by the publishing
house.
In an author-generated
mini-series, the author pitches the idea to his/her editor
and usually writes all the books in the series, whereas
a continuity series is generally started in-house. An
editor or group of editors writes the bible for the continuity
series, then invites certain authors to participate. In
this case, the author is given the basic storyline for
their book along with the bible and continuity elements
which must be built into their book. Each book has a satisfying
romantic plot but leaves off with a hook for the next
book in the series.
Another series
type story which consists of several authors comes when
several stories have a similar element and are given a
tag line to tie them in, but are not related. For example,
Temptation does a Wrong Bed tagline, Superromance does
a Nine-months later tagline, which involves pregnant heroines,
Intrigue does the Her Protector and A Memory Away series.
This type of story is a place for new authors to start.
The author writes a story which fits into that type of
storyline and is then given the tag to help distinguish
it to the reader, but the books are not related in any
way.
A sequel differs
slightly from a series in that the author may or may not
plan the next book when the first one is written. Often
times a writer will include a secondary character that
becomes so strong throughout the story that the readers
and/or editor may decide to follow up with a sequel. Carmen
Green's Crawford family is a perfect example; she constantly
gets mail begging her for stories about the other Crawford
family members and has written several sequels just to
satisfy her readers!
In sequels,
the secondary character is usually introduced in the first
book as a friend, relative, or co-worker. The first story
should tie up all loose ends concerning the first romance
and plot line. Often times, these stories are not given
a tagline, but to identify them as sequels are given similar
sounding titles such as Karen Hawkins' historical novels,
The Abduction of Julia and The Seduction of
Sarah.
Another type
of sequel is the connected book, which may or may not
be two books written by the same author. For example,
author Deb Webb and I joined together and are writing
connected books for Harlequin American which involve a
twin switch (an adult parent trap story) where two men
meet as adults, learn they are twins that were separated
at birth, then decide to trade places. Each book has its
own romance, yet we worked closely together to tie in
a sub-plot about the families and how the boys came to
be separated. My book The Rancher Wore Suits (10/02) ends
with a hook for the follow-up story by Deb Webb, The Doctor
Wore Boots (11/02).
Another market
for series stories is the mystery genre. Mystery authors
often write a series about a character or particular setting.
Series are not as common in single title, although Sue
Grafton's alphabet murder series is an example of one,
Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum another. But let's focus
on category series books and what they're looking for.
How do you
get into a series or get your own series going? First
of all, study the markets! Make sure you understand the
line you want to write for. Common hooks and elements
for category lines center around the popular hooks for
the line. For example, Temptation wants sexy, sassy themes;
Intrigue wants mystery, suspense elements with common
romance hooks; Harlequin American and Special Edition
want family elements. For the romance writer in any line,
think large families or communities (Nora Roberts' McGregor
Brothers, Harlequin Intrigue, Amanda Steven's Eden's Children),
a common place or setting for the story (Harlequin Intrigue's
Ruth Glick's Light House series, Kelsey Roberts' Rose
Tattoo series, Deb Webb's Colby Agency series, and my
new Intrigue series, Nighthawk Island).
Also look for
concepts which tie the series together.
Not only does
my Nighthawk Island series take place in one location,
off the steamy coast of Savannah at a fictitious research
center, but each story is a medically-related mystery.
Donna Sterling
wrote a mini-series called Bedside Manner for Temptation
which featured small town doctors. Charlotte McClay's
Harlequin Intrigue series, Men of Station Six, features
stories about fearless firemen.
What are the
advantages or disadvantages of a series? Disad- vantages
come if the author tires of the series and is ready to
move on but gets pigeon holed into only writing that series.
In the case of the continuity series, the author may not
be given the copyright in her name, and the author is
essentially writing a story based on someone else's plot
and/or characters, so the author's creative freedom may
be limited.
Working and
planning with other authors is time consuming, and can
get tricky if egos get involved or if editorial or author
changes affect the next author's story. Advantages stem
from the fact that participating in a continuity series
(being invited to join) is considered an honor and perk
for the author. Also most series are given extra promotion
and can build a loyal readership for the author, which
eventually leads to more sales-just what we writers want!
Well, except for those of us who are just writing for
the fun of it . . .
Tips for
Series Writing:
Do:
Study the market to see what's out there and come up with
something unique that will fit into the line you are targeting
(another source to study is television programs; sitcoms
revolving around families or friends, mystery series,
etc.)
Think on a
large scope-think family sagas, communities, work places
that invite characters and plot lines a reader would want
to revisit.
If you want
to write for a pre-existing series which is open (ask
editors which ones are), then read all the stories in
that series to get a feel for the storyline, tone, the
characters, the theme and other elements.
Keep a bible
of characters, places, names, ages. Give the reader a
satisfying ending.
Plant other
characters, family members, problems and threads of conflict
that you can bring out later, use your sub-plot to introduce
this conflict.
Leave some
unanswered questions or a hook for the next story.
Include a lead-in
for the next story, possibly a short excerpt, at the end
of each book in the series.
Show characters
change and growth from one book to the next. For example,
your bad guy in book one may slowly progress through the
next book to be redeemable enough to be your hero for
book three.
Let old characters
revisit in subsequent stories. When readers get invested
in a family or community, they like to see the characters
from previous books return and know what's going on in
their lives.
Use category
hooks-again, study those markets.
Have books
come out close together, if possible.
Don't:
Start by boring the reader with long drawn out paragraphs
to catch them up on family members or characters from
previous books. Weave these people and events back in
slowly.
Start with
one book, then move back in time with the second.
Have similar
elements, story line or conflicts so all the books sound
the same. For example, if book one has a secret baby element,
don't repeat it in the other books.
Watch for repetition
of names and similar type characters, make each one different
and an individual.
Rita Herron's new Nighthawk Island series from Harlequin
Intrigue debuts with book one, Silent Surrender, in April
2002. Look for book two, Memories of Megan, in December
2002, and book three, title to be announced, in May 2003.
Watch for two more books in her popular Harlequin American
Hope Chest series in July 2003 and September 2003, and
her Trading Places twin switch story The Rancher Wore
Suits in October 2002. Rita is also contributing the sixth
book (a November 2003 release) to Harlequin Intrigue's
Colorado Confidential series beginning in July. And last
but not least, her second single title comedy, Under the
Covers, comes out June 2002. For other writing tips and
updates on her releases, visit Rita at http://www.ritaherron.com/
This article first appeared in the April 2002 issue of
The Galley, newsletter for Georgia Romance Writers.
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