# Book Series and why I hate them



## dm_pb_tx (Feb 7, 2012)

Although I have owned 4 different Kindles (current is the Voyage), this is my first post here. I am almost 68 years old and I have loved speculative fiction since the day I read _Podkayne of Mars_., with caveats. I love Science Fiction but not Fantasy. I love Horror but not man's inhumanity to man such as serial killers, psychotic kids with knives, etc. Within Horror, I am thoroughly finished with zombies, vampires and werewolves. However I do love a good paranormal yarn with my weakness being a good haunted house tale. I love Adventure if it is tinged with the unknown.

I say all of this to cement my love of most things speculative. But...and it is a big But, I am sooo tired of book series. I seem to be in the minority, near as I can tell. I generally think that sequels in movies suggest a general laziness borne of a severe lack of creativeness. Now, granted, I love the big spectacles that prevail as blockbusters. Star Trek, Star Wars, X-Men, Avengers, and the DC biggies all successfully delight my eyes. But, for every one of those, there are sequels and worse, remakes that just beg the question; "What the heck were they thinking of?"

I approach books in a similar fashion. I have many times read beyond the first book of a series and, by and large, I am disappointed. Why are there so many book series out there? I have read recent blogs from one of my favorite authors, Jeremy Robinson, who has stated that he is moving away from book series because of falling sales. From now on, he states, every novel will be a standalone. He is just one man, but I am wondering if this fad is starting to wear thin. You see, once I have come to know a character, it would be easy to want to read more about them. No more. I now have two rules for downloading books. One, it must be over 300 pages in length. Shorter books lack the "bite" to interest me. Two, I will only read standalone novels now.

I understand you may want more adventures with your favorite characters, but please consider that every time you download a book 2, 3, 4, etc., you can be depriving yourself of something really unique that your brain can discover anew. I will probably get some negative comments, but it finally started bothering me so much that I had to post. Mind you, I have NEVER posted anything anywhere on the internet. I don't do "social". As I peruse through the Kindle store, I find it completely cluttered with book series. I can often swipe through 8 to 10 pages before finding something new. This doesn't seem right to me.

Please understand, that getting anyone to read in this day and age is a great thing. So, if it must be series, then more power to you.

I am stepping off of my digital soapbox and I await your comments.

Keep reading.

David


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## AnnaB (May 14, 2016)

I suppose for many people, finding and vetting a new author, or books from an author they know that are significantly different from books they already read, requires some effort that they don't enjoy all that much.
And if they pay for all their books rather than try some from the library first when possible (or pick a few promising-looking indies currently promoting for free or at a discount), failure to find something they like has a financial cost on top of the time spent.
So once they've found a series they like that work is done for a while.

And for publishers, or indies that can and do invest in some amount of advertisement, they don't have to reinvent the wheel for each book. Any effort and/or spending on any book in the series or the series as a whole will drive several potential sales rather than just one.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

Since I've had a Kindle I've broadened my go to author list considerably. Being able to download samples or use Kindle Unlimited etc means I'm willing to take a chance on new authors all the time.

But I love a good long yarn and generally avoid short stories unless they're part of a series. So if I find characters I really like, I'm happy to continue reading about them as part of a series so long as the author keeps up the standard of the earlier stories.

I don't think these two things are mutually exclusive.


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

You aren't alone in your preference for standalone books as opposed to series. But a lot of readers like to see the story continue.

When I was a kid, I caught myself numerous times looking at a book and discovering it was either, a.) the first book in a series, or b.) it was an author's first book, and then putting it back on the shelf wanting to wait until the author had more books out.

The issue being, if I liked the story or the author's writing, I didn't want to be left hanging waiting for another book.

Unfortunately for writers, I am not alone in that feeling. When an author releases their first book, sales suck. There will be a boost with the second book. But it isn't until the author releases the third or fourth book that they will really see a surge in sales.

In my current series, _Aggadeh Chronicles_, I am seeing this bearing out in real life. My first book sold only 312 copies in four years. When I released the second book in July, 2017, I sold almost 4,000 copies in less than six months. (At the time of this writing, I need sell only 85 more copies to hit 4,000!) The real test will be in 2018 when I release the third book.

Fantasy in particular lends itself to very complicated storylines. This complexity often demands longer than usual manuscripts and can often be too long for one book. Thus, most of the time a "series" of books is actually one very large story broken into multiple volumes. Tolkien's _Lord of the Rings_ is an example of this, being touted as a trilogy when it is actually one story in three volumes. If my Aggadeh Chronicles was put into one volume, by the time I'm finished with it, it would reach maybe 1500--2000 pages. A bit long for one book.

Last and foremost, series seem to be what the market demands. When an author creates a number of stories featuring the same characters, they sell far more than if they created a standalone book. As stated above, readers want the story to continue. They want to see beloved characters get into new situations. If you want to make a living as an author, you have to sell as many copies as possible. The best way to do that is to write a series.

Standalone books can come later once an author has sold enough books to either generate a stable income or has made enough money that they can live for a few years without any income to take such a risk.


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## mjl1966 (Feb 15, 2017)

Thank you David!  I love these insights from readers who buck the trends.  I have a theory about why so many series (even short ones) deflate over the course of their story.  I think it has to do with character arc.  Even if it's in a series, a book must be a complete experience.  Lemme' digress on that point for a moment.  Many authors deliberately write cliffhanger books.  Readers generally don't like that, but it is effective.  I have personally bought the next book to resolve the cliffhanger of its predecessor.  It works - but I don't like it as a reader.

Anyway, arc.  The problem is that a complete book will have a complete character arc.  Well, once you arc a character, then what?  Well, we certainly have good examples of how to make that work: Sherlock Holmes, the Hardy Boys, Jack Ryan, Jack Reacher.  Extremely well-drawn characters put into multiple plots to showcase them in compelling ways.  That is really hard to do.  But even in these cases, each book is stand alone.  No one book depends on a predecessor.  It's when the story requires that every book be read to tell the complete epic story that things get real tricky.  How do you arc a character over ten books? Or just three?  How many times have we see this fail? Then there are the epic series that bounce around, centering on different characters.  Either way, it's difficult because the stories are limited by concept, setting, or some other framework the author has to work within.  It takes serious talent to do this well.  

For my part, I'm not a fan of series because they don't well serve my favorite story form: the tragedy.  The hero can only serve the catharsis necessary for a good tragedy once.  But in a world where characters have become the core product to be recycled in multiple stories, it's tough to find a good tragedy these days.


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## Skip Knox (May 12, 2013)

As some have pointed out, there's a big difference between a series that tells one long, epic story, and those that are little more than the continuing adventures of X. Either can be done well or poorly, but I'm more likely to invest in the former.

It comes down to this: do I trust the author? A recent example for me is Josiah Bancroft. I read his book "Senlin Ascends" mostly out of curiosity, not knowing it was the first in a series. I loved his writing, though, so when I saw there was a volume two, I immediately bought it. Now I learn there is a volume three, with a four needed to complete the story. I have to admit that feels a bit long, given the premise, but I'll stick with him.

Few authors write well enough to keep me around. If they do write well enough, I'm likely to buy their other works, whether standalone or in series. It's about the story.

As for why there are so many series now, that's purely the market. It sells. Indie authors are told at length this is what they should be doing, if they want to make a livable income, which most do. Given that dynamic, it's little wonder that we have far exceeded the parameters of Sturgeon's Law.


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## EBWriter (Jan 26, 2017)

Love, love, love this post. Kudos to David for sharing his thoughts.

I have mixed feelings about series myself. If series wasn't bad enough, the concept of book "seasons"--like episodic TV shows, except with books--is also a growing thing. I myself am about to finish the third and final book in my first series, a non-fiction series about setting and achieving goals entitled _SMART FOCUS_, and I can tell you from experience: I'm ready for something else entirely.

Luckily, I have a novel that's been lying dormant for far too long awaiting revisions. But what has my mind been going back to over the last year or so? "How do I make this single novel a series?" Such thought processes have been ingrained into our thinking as independent authors _by_ independent authors, and I'm tired of feeling brainwashed by them.

Yes, I would like to pursue various avenues within the realm of this world I've created, and yes I'd like to see how they grow and what other perils they get themselves into, but does that mean I _should_ make it into a series? Not necessarily. Will I anyway? I don't know. Part of me says yes and the other part--the part that's currently winning and has been for quite some time--says maybe not because I can't think of a blasted thing regarding where to take my story from here.

I like what Skip Knox said: "It's all about the story."

So what if my story's finished with only one novel? What if, like one of the greatest stand alone novelists of our times, Stephen King, I find myself years down the road finally recalling my story and deciding that, yeah, maybe there _is_ more to it? (I'm thinking of King's novel _The Shining _and its long overdue sequel _Doctor Sleep_.)

Regardless, if the story's done I shouldn't feel obligated to force it _*no matter what the market says*_. Write to market? Why not write for the story and write it well? Why follow the masses over the cliff of an overly saturated market like David was stating in his original post?

I want to write with _meaning_. I want to _enjoy_ the writing process and _enjoy_ the characters. Not slave over butchering extending a manuscript that was perfectly fine as a standalone story. Why stretch it out until the fiber of its being is so loose the plot completely falls through?

It remains to be seen what the destiny of series will be. I for one think it's time for a change. It's the trend setters not the trend _followers_ who *innovate*. With book series being pushed to the forefront the way it has been for years, the "Independent" has been sucked right out of "Independent Author." We're now very much _dependent_ on the market for our sustainability--or many would make us to believe. But just like the stock market, the book market can crash. And I believe it's way overdue.

*Afterthoughts:* You know, another thing that's been trendy ever since Peter Jackson's take on Lord of the Rings movies--which I hate with a passion and is mostly, in my humble opinion, a huge money racket--is taking books and splitting them into parts. In addition to the final LOR movie, take _Harry Potter and the Deathly_, _It_ (the 2017 movie version), _Mockingjay_, and more. Why is it these movie makers all feel they have to stretch out one book into two or more movies? One word: money. Mostly, anyway.

Also, I hate that many books are now being rewritten from another character's perspective. _Twilight_, _Fifty Shades of Grey_, _Divergent_. All these have alternate books of a different name just to tell _the same story_ from a different character's POV. Talk about unoriginal and rehashing content!


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## Fleurina (Nov 13, 2017)

I have never been a fan of books in a series, well not since I was a kid and devoured every Jennings and most of the 52 Chalet School books. If I do read any these days they tend to be partly standalone, such as Sue Grafton where she continues with the same characters, but there are no cliffhangers. Even then I get bored and want something new. I can only take so much of Kinsey going for runs, eating burgers and chatting to Henry. And I loved the first Jack Reacher, Killing Floor, but gave up part way through the second one. Thought it was maybe a blip, but no, gave up on the third as well. Another series I read were the Shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella, but, for me, they got less funny as the series progressed like she was running out of ideas. Oh, just remembered I loved an Elizabeth Jane Howard series about a family in Sussex, I think the First was The Light Years, followed by Marking Time and another in the trilogy. 

So, yes, I gravitate towards standalone books and am more likely to read a series if they do not end with a cliffhanger - and I can normally tell that by reading reviews - not by peeking  

I also find it annoying when the series number is not clear to me on the sales page - that can make me give up before I start. 

Fun thread!


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Fleurina said:


> I have never been a fan of books in a series, well not since I was a kid and devoured every Jennings and most of the 52 Chalet School books. If I do read any these days they tend to be partly standalone, such as Sue Grafton where she continues with the same characters, but there are no cliffhangers. Even then I get bored and want something new. I can only take so much of Kinsey going for runs, eating burgers and chatting to Henry. And I loved the first Jack Reacher, Killing Floor, but gave up part way through the second one. Thought it was maybe a blip, but no, gave up on the third as well. Another series I read were the Shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella, but, for me, they got less funny as the series progressed like she was running out of ideas. Oh, just remembered I loved an Elizabeth Jane Howard series about a family in Sussex, I think the First was The Light Years, followed by Marking Time and another in the trilogy.
> 
> *So, yes, I gravitate towards standalone books and am more likely to read a series if they do not end with a cliffhanger - and I can normally tell that by reading reviews - not by peeking
> *
> ...


For me, that's the difference between a series and a serial. I love series! Serials - not so much.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

My take on it: http://charles-reace.com/2016-08-31_series_serials_and_sequels

In summary:


> I'm probably spitting into the wind here, as I'm sure there are both real and imagined financial reasons for The Three S's, but I'd love it if authors as well as TV and movie producers (in the broader meaning of "producers") might have the chutzpah, perhaps, to take their successes as a sign that they have the chops to try something new, rather than feeling the need to recycle one successful idea until it fades to black for the last time, "not with a bang but a whimper."


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## Fleurina (Nov 13, 2017)

> For me, that's the difference between a series and a serial. I love series! Serials - not so much.


Ah, yes, I hadn't even thought of it like that - it makes all the difference


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

NogDog said:


> My take on it: http://charles-reace.com/2016-08-31_series_serials_and_sequels
> 
> In summary:
> 
> I'm probably spitting into the wind here, as I'm sure there are both real and imagined financial reasons for The Three S's, but I'd love it if authors as well as TV and movie producers (in the broader meaning of "producers") might have the chutzpah, perhaps, to take their successes as a sign that they have the chops to try something new, rather than feeling the need to recycle one successful idea until it fades to black for the last time, "not with a bang but a whimper."


One of the biggest frustrations for new and aspiring authors is that readers don't like buying books from an author until that author has more than a couple of books to offer. My first book sold 312 copies in four years. With the release of my second book, both titles sold 2,000 copies each in less than _6 months_. It is my hope that with the release of the third book in July, 2018, that sales on the three books combined will exceed 15K copies.

What all this means is that there is a huge amount of financial stress on a new author to squeeze out as many books as possible. _World Building_, the process authors go through to set up the environment where a story takes place and develop the characters that interact within it, can be difficult and time consuming. When under pressure to produce as many books as possible, the easiest way to do so is to simply take the world and the characters one has created and write another story about them.

Unfortunately, for those readers who do not like series, this means writers are driven to spread a story among multiple volumes in order to accomplish multiple books in the shortest period of time. Originally, a series was essentially a standalone novel written by the author with a sequel or two written because the first book was so popular. The trend towards multiple-book stories has been very clear since the 1960s. Today, particularly in the Fantasy genre, stories are pretty much expected to be in a trilogy format. (You can thank Tolkien for that!)

Fortunately, once an author has become established and income is no longer a concern, you will start to see standalone novels coming from this author because they can take the time to work on them.

I know two series in Science Fiction that are collections of standalone stories: Anne McCaffrey's _Brainship_ series and Fred Saberhagen's _Berserker_ series. Saberhagen's _Berserker_ series really stands out in this matter because he had the concept for the series before he had any stories written. As a result, you can pick up any book or short story in the series and get what's going on pretty quickly without having to read one particular book as an entry point. He also had allowed a variety of other authors to play in his sandbox, so there are a number of stories in the series from others as well. At no point do any of the writers assume that you've read the other books, so each book stands alone cleanly and doesn't require reference to other books in the series. Always different characters, always different stories, but all with the same related theme. McCaffrey's _Brainship_ series started off with _The Ship Who Sang_, which is a novel that was actually a number of short stories on the subject that were sewn together into a novel. In the latter years of her life, McCaffrey invited authors to collaborate with her on _Brainship_ stories.


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## carlhackman (Feb 23, 2018)

I enjoy series, but also love to find good stand alone novels, but then I'm biased as I write both. But, if I read a series I do prefer it if they are episodic rather than follow a huge plot arc. Terry Pratchett is one of my favorite authors and influenced me a great deal. You can pretty much pick up any discworld novel without having to have read previous ones.


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## &quot;Serious&quot; ... but not really (Aug 14, 2017)

I am not a KU member.  But I get plenty of free books from Amazon. It is easy. Authors will usually put a first in a series up for $0 promo. There are hundreds of them in the genre you like likely. Get to you genre you like and then sort cheapest to more expensive. $0 comes up first. Take your pick. There is likely a bunch. 

If they don't grab my attention right away, I delete them and move on. Those get half a cent Select KENP if it is that much. 

I do find works that are good and done well. I follow the author and check if they do other $0 promos later.  I think soon Amazon will notify you if you follow an author and the author does a $0.  Hope so soon. 

I only follow the authors I thought did well.  Any more, it is about what is free to me. I like free. I am not going to pay $10 a month to get all I want as KU. Most stuff is not that good. The book has to grab me in the beginning --- I will give them an extra page to grab me, but that is all. 

Now the series stuff, if the first $0 promo of the series is good ... I now have to decide to spend money on the rest. Was what I read that good to pay for the next (?), is the question.  If yes and the rest are KU and the sum of prices is >$10 ... I sign up for KU and get the rest free - if it is THAT good. Plus I can get samples for free. That should tell you something about the rest of the series if you are not going to buy them. 

So far, I just want a good read. I don't care about the series. And I don't want to spend money if I am not REAL hooked into the book. Just move on and try and find the next good freebee.  Follow the author and wait for free promos. There are so many authors and books now ... just know how to watch and get them free. 

I really think the only thing that makes a series worth while is KU readers can pick up what they want as much as they want for $10/month.  If it is not written well - why bother to read them. There are plenty to pick from now that are free. There are good ones out there that are free - but you will cull a lot I think - I do.


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## Stevej37334 (Jun 2, 2017)

I also prefer stand-alone books. Maybe that's why all seven of my books are stand-alone. I like the excitement of writing something different every time, not limiting myself to a series, which I think can quickly go stale for all but the very best writers. I realize this goes against conventional wisdom when it comes to spurring repeat sales. But I'm 61 years old, too old to waste what writing years I've got left writing anything but what I really want to write.


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## nomorekbboards (Jul 3, 2016)

With me, it depends on the series and the book. Some series, such as Lord of the Rings and the Foundation Trilogy, are wonderful. 

Dune is an example, in my mind, of a book that stood alone very well. The rest of the series is lacking. The newer books by the son of the author are mostly garbage.

The Xanth series should have ended long ago. Now it's just become ridiculous. The first 2 or three books were fantastic.

Generally, though, I prefer standalone books. I want to get a definite end to the story in one volume.


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## Simon Haynes (Mar 14, 2011)

Over the years I've developed a preference for TV series vs standalone movies. I like to get to know the characters, I enjoy over-arching plot lines and I prefer to binge watch.

I find it's the same with novels. If I find something I like, I want more of it. I don't want to start over.

Going back many years, the Famous Five series was one of my faves as a kid. Asimov's Foundation, the Hornblower books, Ramage, Bolitho ... I was always a sucker for a good series.


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## Fogeydc (Oct 24, 2017)

Simon Haynes said:


> Going back many years, the Famous Five series was one of my faves as a kid. Asimov's Foundation, the Hornblower books, Ramage, Bolitho ... I was always a sucker for a good series.


I have very fond memories of Famous Five books that I got when we lived in England for a bit in the 50's.
I groused at my Mom for years after she gave them all away while I was in boarding school -- she thought I'd outgrown them! (I was in high school by then, & we were back in the USA)
I did like FF better than any of Blyton's other books I ran across.


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## prairiesky (Aug 11, 2009)

I dislike having to buy 4 skinny books to complete a story.  Just write 1 good book.  Often times, I get distracted and forget to buy the next book, so never really finish the series.


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## &quot;Serious&quot; ... but not really (Aug 14, 2017)

prairiesky said:


> I dislike having to buy 4 skinny books to complete a story. Just write 1 good book. Often times, I get distracted and forget to buy the next book, so never really finish the series.


This is true for me too. 1 and 2 were good let's say, but I never come back for #3. So I think by the time the author gets around to having 3 finished they should box all 3 as one book and add others to that 1 book later. Price accordingly. Reader now just has to pick up one book. 200k words or more as a good with parts 1,2,3,... as one buy is no big deal as all parts make one story. Some authors make box-sets for this reason and leave the first part book as the draw to the box-set.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

See . . . and I really don't like book bundles of 3, 4, or even more books. I want a given volume to be one complete story. In Kindle it's hard, for me, to keep track of where each ends so I can manage my expectations for plot point resolutions. Also, I like to space out the books in a series rather than read 'em all at once. Having more than one book in a single file makes that harder.


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## CaptnAndy (Dec 11, 2014)

As an insatiable reader as a kid, I still remember the series of books by Howard Pease about the adventures of Tod Moran in the Merchant Marine. In my own work I have one 5 novella series, Coastal Event Memories, which tells the stories of 5 different groups of survivors, scattered around North America, after an extinction event. That event is the common thread of all their stories. My other books are not in a series, and include historical naval fiction and hard science fiction. The series is wide, and the first book is free. 

I don't hate book series, but I'm also an old guy (74), and chose to spend my writing time on what interests me. I don't expect to ever have a large writing income, because I don't choose to spend a lot of time or resources on promotion. My current project is the first book in an alt-history series that offers a non-fantasy alternate view of the war in the Pacific.


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