Another show that I recorded way back in January or so. I promise it’s all still relevant! 
The only change for me is that I now have four books out in my main series instead of three, and that I have even more readers on Facebook, Twitter, and the new fan forum who are asking for the next. Of course, I left them with a nasty cliffhanger on the fourth one (sorry, guys!). As the title says, today’s podcast episode discusses the pros and cons of doing a series.
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Show notes:
Pros of writing and publishing a series
- Potential to sell more books overall (people tend to continue on with characters they already know)
- Your work is more likely to stick in people’s minds
- The series as a brand that becomes greater (more well known) than you
- Can spend more on advertising or leads for Book 1
- Can afford to give the first away as a loss leader
- More reader involvement — easier to build a community around characters/world (1000 True Fans idea)
Cons of writing and publishing a series
- If people don’t like the first, they won’t check out any of the others
- Pressure to keep things fresh, interesting, and satisfy the fans as the series continues
Excellent podcast–thanks for posting. I wonder what the advantages/disadvantages would be for doing a non-linear series with a mix of direct and indirect sequels, like David Gemmell’s Drenai books or many of the novels set in the Star Wars universe. That’s kind of the direction I’m going, where all the books are set in the same universe and many of the characters are recurring but each story stands on its own.
Hey Joe,
Thanks for listening! My first two books were set in the same world but with different characters. From my experience, I’d guess you’d get more folks trying out the books than if they were completely unrelated but not as many as if you did direct sequels. Good luck with the universe!
Lindsay