If you’re writing a series, be it a duology, trilogy, or something more demanding, should you publish each book before the others are complete? What about before you even started on the next one? If you do publish, should you be out and about marketing heavily and pushing your first book, or should your primary focus be on the next book in the series?
These are thoughts that I’ve had since before I published Armitage and I want to hear your thoughts below.
I felt that I needed to have a completed product before I went out marketing or even publishing! And in some ways, book one of a series isn’t a completed product. The story hasn’t been told in full yet. Even now, I do feel the slightest bit of guilt that I haven’t completed the story in my head, and it’s usually coupled with excitement for how people will respond once the full story and the depth of the breadcrumbs that I’ve laid coming to fruition.
However, the primary focus of the story Armitage, that of the murder mystery set in a dilapidated hotel during a hurricane, does find a satisfying conclusion by the end of the book. So, to that end, I felt comfortable publishing the book and marketing it, even though it does leave fans interested in the fantasy elements and alternate world in suspense for the next installment. The ending was set well enough that Armitage could have been a stand alone with hanging threads allowing me to build on the world teased at in the book.
But, thats not how I imagined leaving the story, but conversely, didnt feel like waiting to have the “other” pieces composed. And in truth, I have strongly considered staving off publishing Heritage, until I’m either down with or a good way done with the first draft of book 3, as Heritage may not neatly tie up the major focus of the story before the end. It is just too large of a tale to tell in a single story.
It became an experiment of reception, and knowing that if the story bombed or I otherwise abandoned the idea, it was something that had a definite enough conclusion that it could have been left alone. Essentially, it had the “Inception” ending, leaving the reader to theorize and assume what happens next.
Which brings up BlerDCon. I spent this past weekend at a convention that holds some sentimental value to me as an author. BlerDCon was my first ever convention from a vending standpoint, and is my first repeat convention. Something I didn’t expect (whether through my penchant for defeatism or a lack of foresight….or both) was encountering people who bought my book the previous year returning to my table this year. It was a truly gratifying experience. But it also brought up the above thought experiment, as a few of the people that returned were looking for the next book in the series…which I haven’t completed yet!
It restored that sense of guilt and excitement. On one hand, it is thrilling to see people eager for the next book, and to re-meet people I sold the book to last year and hear that they loved the book enough to hunt me down for the next in the series. On the other hand, I FEEL SO BAD that I didn’t have the next book ready for them!
Also, pro tip: vending at conventions, especially 3-day conventions or longer, contain a lot of sitting and a lot of standing. Get yourself a comfy pair of shoes and a comfy chair!
As it stands, I stand by my decision to publish Armitage despite not having the rest of the series completed or even started (at that point). I had faith that the story would find the right audience. I had faith that the people who enjoyed more fantasy concepts would engage with that part of the story and seek to expand (thus leading them to the future books in the series). I stand by my slow writing because I’m usually combing and critiquing myself to craft what I feel is the best story, told in the best way that I’m capable. But mostly, I knew that with the blended genres, the most prominent being mystery/thriller, and the future books being more heavily fantasy, that I would find a wide audience and many may not follow the fantasy storyline.
So, what are your thoughts?
As a reader, do you only seek out completed series or stand-alone stories? Are you put off by a series still in the works? Or do you enjoy being an early subscriber to something that might one day be popular?
As an author, do you feel as though you’re obligated to have a good portion of your series together before you begin publishing? Or does the excitement and anticipation coerce you to publish as soon as you feel the latest book is ready for public consumption?
I really enjoy getting in on a series before it's finished personally