Of all the things I’ve encountered in the ‘book business’ that lead to success, there’s one in particular that tops them all. In fact I can sum it up for you in one word – the most effective marketing strategy a fiction writer can employ:
*Series*
Slam dunk, game over. There’s no question that sales of a book series will far outstrip the sales of a sequence of unrelated one-off books.
Not only that, a book series is more attractive to publishers, is easier (and more fun) to promote, and has a much greater chance of being turned into a blockbuster movie or a TV show.
One of the best examples is the series by Lemony Snickett (AKA Daniel Handler) who gleefully writes in mock-Dickensian style about the terrible adventures of the Baudelaire orphans - ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’
Handler has affectionately hijacked the often gloomy, eccentric world of Charles Dickens, with a series of children’s novels that follow the lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire after their parents’ death in an arsonous house fire. The children are placed in the custody of their distant cousin Count Olaf, who begins to abuse them and plots to embezzle their inheritance.
A Book Series Will Sell Itself
You see, if you can get people hooked on the first couple of books in your series, the subsequent books essentially sell themselves. The momentum carries over from one book to the next, and the readers become desperate to find out what happens next. In fact many readers, after reading just one book, will go on a ‘book binge’ and buy all of your books in one big splurge, and then wait impatiently for you to write more.
Publishers know all of this, which is why they tend to choose authors who pitch a book series over those who pitch one-off novels.
Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t ever write single, one-off books. But if you’re starting with just one book, try to envisage how it might form part of a series – it could make a massive difference to your chances of success.
The 7 Key Components Of A Successful Book-Series
Virtually all successful book series follow the same proven formula. That formula includes the following 7 key components:
1. The stories always involve the same troupe of strikingly distinctive characters.
2. The same main character is always featured, opposite the same unpleasant but fascinating antagonist (who is also in every book).
3. The same arresting locations and icons are repeated so that readers become familiar with them, and grow to love them.
4. The hero character has a crucial mission or quest that develops through the entire series.
5. Each book thrusts a new crisis on the hero, but the crisis is germane to each book, and resolves in each book.
6. A far greater crisis for the hero runs through the entire series, and resolves only at the very end of the series.
7. The series employs a unique, consistent meme that develops across the series – e.g. English Public Schoolboy Wizards (Harry Potter), Mock Dickensian Gloom (Lemony Snicket), or Teen Vampire Romance (Twilight).
Readers become strongly attached to a series that follows this formula, because it is a ‘brand’ which they can identify with, fall in love with, and become evangelists for.
High-Profile Examples Of Genre-Fiction Series Success:
Author: Stephanie Meyer
Series character: ‘Edward Cullen’
Teen Vampire in ‘Twilight’
Book sales: 116 million copies
Author: Ian Fleming
Series character: ‘James Bond 007′
Secret agent
Book sales: Over 100 million copies
Author: JK Rowling
Series character ‘Harry Potter’
The Boy Wizard
Book sales: Over 450 million copies
Author: Agatha Christie. The world’s best selling author
Series character ‘Hercule Poirot’
Murder Mystery Detective
Over 2 billion copies of her books sold, including ‘Poirot’ & ‘Miss Marple’
Author: Lemony Snickett (Daniel Handler)
Series character ‘Violet’ (& The Baudelaire Children)
Orphans suffering an unfortunate series of events
Book sales: Over 65 million copies
Author: CS Lewis
Series character ‘Lucy’ (& The Pevensie Children)
‘The Chronicles of Narnia’
Book sales: Over 120 million copies
*Sales figures from Wikipedia
The Power Of A Series Goes Beyond Mere Book Sales…
It’s no accident that all the pictures above are from blockbuster movies or TV shows based on the books. The fact is, when you create a successful book brand with a SERIES, with a central cast of characters and a hero whom readers can grow to love and care about, this opens up other opportunities too.
Think movies, TV shows, video games, posters, toys, t-shirts, graphic novels – the works.
‘Lemony-holics’ and ‘Potter-holics’ are now found in every corner of the earth. The Harry Potter series made JK Rowling the first ‘book billionaire’.
By choosing to write a series, you could be one step closer to joining her.
Note. This post about book series writing is an excerpt from my eBook ‘Ten Simple Strategies for Bestseller Success’ that’s included as a free bonus to my mini-course Twitter For Authors.
If you have a favorite book series, or an experience to share, or you’re writing a book, please do leave a comment below.
Article by Jonathan Gunson
Author / CEO Bestseller Labs
My favorite book series? You showed it. The James Bond books. (Yes, I’ve actually read them.)
This post actually made my day. A little earlier, I read a re-tweet of yours which said publishers are looking for the next “50 Shades Of Grey.” Since I’m not working on any erotica, I guess that train has left the station.
But wouldn’t you know it, the YA thriller I’m currently pitching to agents, “Nightmares,” has five sequels, not only planned, but actively in progress.
Standing by for book brand ‘Nightmares’.
I agree wholeheartedly with your assertion that series sell well, but it isn’t always the case that there is one antagonist across all the books. Crime, as a genre is an exception, as the hero in a crime series usually has a different antagonist in each book. Sometimes they have a recurring antagonist, like Moriarty, but frequently, their perpetual antagonist is evil itself, or disorder and it is embodied by a new person each time. The advantage of this kind of series is that it is potentially unlimited. Crime, like the poor, will always be with us!
Yes, a series (e.g. Poirot) works beautifully with a variety of crims, murderers, felons, malefactors, miscreants and other generally antagonistic creators of crisis and conflict.
The point I was making is that the ‘one hero / one villain’ structure across a series is the top of the story pyramid for me – the optimal form – as in ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Unfortunate circumstances’, ‘‘The Chronicles of Narnia’, ‘Lord Of The Rings’.
The downside of this is the claustrophobic set of restrictions it creates. RE ‘Crime’ – I too have been tempted by the limitess (literary ) possibilties to which you refer.
A great piece, one I not only enjoyed, but that spoke to what I’m writing.
As far as current series go, I’m really enjoying Brandon Sanderson’s MISTBORN work. He’s setting up a trilogy of trilogies, all in the same world, with the same magic: a traditional epic fantasy, an urban fantasy, then a futuristic series. He’s finished the epic fantasy trilogy already, so I can’t wait to see what he’ll do next.
For myself, I have three novels finished, two of which are in a series. I deal with introducing superpowers in the real world and the political effects of their presence. And while I might only have two books of THE GOLDEN HOLLOW drafted, I have several more waiting to leap out of my mind and onto the page.
Much like the Bond novels and Sanderson’s works, I try to make each book in my series tell its own story, one that an audience can access at any point. Having a series is a good way to market books, but having a series that’s accessible from multiple points, in my opinion, is a much better way to sell the entire series, not just the first few books.
Len. There is so much work going on behind the scenes by writers who know the value of a *book series*. Discovery of these is one of the reasons I set up this blog. The number of readers is climbing steeply, so there’s plenty of room for new books. Standing by for part 3 of THE GOLDEN HOLLOW.
This is an article that I found most interesting as I have just signed a publishing contract for my first fiction novel ‘A Quirk of Destiny’ and I am now writing the second book in his series.
I hope my books have most of the elements you suggest for success and it’s great news that this may make subsequent books in the series more saleable!
Thank you for the great advice!
Catherine
Congratulations on the signing Catherine.
Jonathan, thank you for affirming what I’ve always inwardly believed. I’m presently writing the first book of a series I’m creating, and I see most of your key components already in the structure of my story; No.6 struck me as something important to add (thank you for this). But no. 2 is not a part of its structure. While the main characters will exist in each book prominently, I plan on making each book in the series a story of each character, while forwarding the stories of the other characters in the background throughout the series.
What’s your take on this?
The point is to have strong emotional continuity across a series for readers to hook into. Readers look forward to a world they can re-inhabit in each successive book.
An allegory for what you describe might be a circus. Same circus, different performers. But personally I’m never comfortable with that. A central character readers come to know and CARE for is a huge anchor.
Overall it’s a matter of degree – ranging from one-off, completely unrelated books to the other end of the scale with books that contain all the 7 elements. A known central character with a overarching mission is always the strongest approach, but if you really do have a variety of characters to feature one by one, and the central ‘theme’ is strong enough, it may be enough to transcend this.
Thanks Jonathan.
I understand where you are coming from, but I have to politely disagree about one main character in a series being “the strongest approach”. There have been some hugely successful series which feature different lead characters in each book, and I believe that approach is part of their success. For example, Anne McCaffrey’s dragonriders series. By focussing on a different character in each book, McCaffrey opens her world more and allows the reader a better opportunity to cast themselves as a character there also. More of an opportunity perhaps than if the world “belonged” to one particular hero/ine.
For me, *this* is the strongest approach – although I believe it is a subjective matter. Of course, McCaffrey offers the emotional continuity of a community of characters – although she then does mix it up by creating a series of far-distant prequels.
I’m probably a little sensitive to the issue as the series I’m currently working on features different main characters in each book
You are almost certainly right about one central character/s being more attractive to movie makers. And I like your other points 
Sarah
A very good point you make. In fact I would be the first is to encourage you to keep charging along the path you’re taking.
I don’t claim that having a single central character in a series is the ONLY approach, so we’re not as far apart on this point as you may think. There are plenty of examples that feature different lead characters through a series just as you describe. (Anne McCaffrey is a personal favorite of mine.) Some of them are even ‘hugely’ successful, and have very large fan bases. They offer a type of ‘stage’ on which different actors can strut and fret their hour as it were.
What I AM saying is that it’s what happens to an individual that gains the most attention. The reader makes an ‘investment’ in a character, and this is why ‘the one’ prevails. Human nature dictates we ‘follow the one’. We may not like this, but there’s no way to change it. We want to follow the trials of a single human who we care about increasingly.
Of course, this can happen within one story, with different characters leading different stories within one imaginary realm as you are planning right now. But if a single main character is drawn across one story after another, readers will not only want more of that character they’ve invested in, but come to care about that character to a greater degree.
Invoking the unifying power of a single central character across a series has long since proven to be the most ubiquitous and universally successful of all approaches. It’s also the origin of the expression ‘The Hero With A Thousand Faces’. That cliché did not occur by accident, and is also what I’m referring to as the ‘strongest approach’ to story.
Nevertheless, given the success of Anne McCaffrey, more power to your elbow Sarah.
Thanks
And your clarification helps me appreciate better the point you are making. I think I actually agree with you now, darn it!
I know what you mean, I do the exact same with my series. Each book the main character from book is present, he’s always the core of the overall storyline. But I always increase the role of side characters or add new characters. As I start book 4, he’s the only original character from my first book that will be included.
Great to hear. A colorful cast of individuals who support or work against the lead character will help to expose the lead’s strength of character in a crisis. [Character = Destiny]
Agreed. Most fun I ever had writing was for my Shadow Trilogy. Good times.
So true, I write a series but also attempt to do stand alone projects. Honestly, I don’t enjoy writing anything as much as I enjoy writing my series. I’m on the verge of dumping everything and just writing my series and shorts featuring some of the side characters. Plus it’s a lot more fun to promote.
Sounds like you’re on track now Kevin. Keep me posted re progress please.
Excellent advice, just tweeted it! Yes, series are definitely the thing, yet they’re not as easy as they sound: each book has to be complete in itself, yet make you want to pick up the next one. Some series are linked (the story grows from one to the next and you’re well advised to read them in the right order), other are unlinked (like Agatha Christie’s Poirot series: you can read them in any order you wish).
Undoubtedly the unlinked series model is the easiest to write and the most likely to achieve commercial success. At least I think so. What’s your opinion?
Claude, J.K Rowling sorted out the ‘series’ issue you mention by making her Harry Potter books a ‘SERIAL’. Each book featured a spectacular mini-crisis which was resolved – creating a satisfying ending. But wait, there’s more… the overarching crisis driven by the antagonist Voldemorte continued across all 7 books.
And yes, an ‘unlinked’ series of books as you describe it is easier to write. But something to keep in mind is that a greater story that is developed across an entire series is more attractive to movie makers.
Thanks for the anser, very interesting (I hadn’t thought of analyzing the Harry Potter series that way – can’t say I read them, just the first…)
Thinking of the movies, eh? Yes, don’t we all dream to see our books on the screen…That opens up a whole series of other issues: I’m always disappointed (well, nearly always) by the way books that I love (like the Tolkien series) are portrayed in the movies. For me, hobbits never looked the way they do in the movies, sigh!
Claude. The writer of ‘Mary Poppins’ P.L.Travers was given considerable latitude to influence the Disney movie musical of her book. But she still disliked the end result.
Additionally, when movies based on books turn into box-office blockbusters, the characters can become synonymous with specific actors. e.g. David Suchet as ‘Poirot’ (Agatha Christie.) And Daniel Radcliffe as ‘Harry Potter’. (JK Rowling).
You’re right, although the first couple of books have to be solid to earn that following. I have lots of favorites which are series. The Ranger’s Apprentice series, 39 Clues, Chronicles of Narnia, and many more.
Hi Jonathan,
I agree, a series is good. My publisher accepted my first book ‘How to Survive a Pisces’ only on the condition that I wrote more than one book, so my Zodiac Survival Series was born.
I’m now on book 8 ‘How to Lavish a Leo’ and just finished ‘How to Soothe a Virgo’ (going backwards through the Zodiac) http://www.o-books.com/index.php?id=100&p=578
so your advice works for Non-fiction too!!
In Peace
Mary
Mary. Conratulations. I’ll also observe that in non-fiction the ‘series’ idea can be taken to a ridiculous extreme – see ‘Dummies Guides’, and the ‘Chicken Soup for ..” series. They have become uber-brands which have transcended the original content
Hi Jonathon,
Great post and much to learn from the success of series done by others. DUTY AND DESIRE is the debut in my ‘Winds of Fire’ series and what started as one story in 2002 ended up as 4 books. So yes, it turns out I’m writing a series after all. But it wasn’t until I started writing the 3rd book that I began to realize why I’m writing these books. Now I know it’s to bridge cultures and break barriers.
Thanks for great advice as always!
Anju
It appears that you’ve discovered not only purpose but an ETHOS Anju. This often occurs for writers, but only after summoning the muse on a regular basis. I’ll add that writers, musicians and artists have unique advantage: We have a striking sense of identity, we know who we are. “I am a writer.”
Thanks for this post. My editor suggested a series for The Garbage Man’s Daughter, saying, “Readers can’t handle all the drama little Davida Kincaid goes through in one book.” You confirmed her words.
By the looks of your site Gloria, everyone should read ‘The Garbage Man’s Daughter
‘.
Jonathan,
Excellent advice. I’ve just finished my second DCI Matt Proctor novel (to follow published ‘TOO SMART TO DIE’) with a third at the planning stage. However, I like a bit of variety though and plan to alternate my series crime novels with other writing. For example thriller SARCOPHAGUS and a short WW 1 mystery ‘The Zeppelin of Kinver Edge’ followed ‘TOO SMART…’. Keeps the ‘writing muscle’ well-honed. What do you/others think of that approach?
Tom
Tom, by all means write in other genre. The point is to build up a series in each if you have the fortitude and stamina to do so. There’s nothing stopping you writing a one off – it can certainly succeed. Most romantic fiction books are one-offs for example. It is the author name that provides the continuity in that case. But to come back to the point, readers buy into a series far more and in greater numbers.
Very informative–I may change the novel I’m writing so to one of a series.
Very important. I am currently writing a book, and I plan to write the book so that a series will be possible. I have realized all the pointers in this article are absolutely true, and I would like to thank Jonathan for such valuable information for authors.
Rachel. Check out the article http://bestsellerlabs.com/if-printed-books-die-can-you-still-get-a-publisher/ If printed books die can you still get a publisher? (Yes)
Really interesting article, thank you!
I’m in the process of writing a series with many lessons to be learnt but this article has really helped me get my head around it.
I hope that a series wouldn’t be ruined by changing the protagonist between a selection of main characters. Judging by the success of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series it can work if the reader is able to fall in love with the world rather than be limited to a select few characters.
Agree Jenny. The point is to establish series continuity. Changing the main protagonist makes this more difficult, but what you say is true… I’ve read several of Terry Pratchett’s books and his disc world does pull things together across the books. PS. I met him several years back – we were both speaking at the same Sci Fi seminar.
Great post.
I certainly think that the series where changes impact the main characters provide a better reading experience (for me at least) than the series where the character is essentially the same in every book.
E.g. in crime fiction, Lee Childs writes the Jack reacher series. And he is an excellent writer.
However, barring trivial stuff, Reacher is the same guy in no 16 (I’ve not read 17 yet) as he was in 1. Or 2.
Contrast with John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport. Sandford is also an excellent writer (won a Pulitzer for a non fiction book or report, forget which) – and Davenport AND the cast of supporting characters change throughout the books.
For crime series I think it’s difficult to write a series that has an overarching villain for the entire series – which is a shame, because I think those series ARE better. You listed some great ones up above….I’d like to add some further examples:
1. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (currently at 3 books – been waiting for book 4 for a while…)
2. George Martin – Game Of Thrones Series
3. Stephen King – The Dark Tower
And from TV, I loved what Joss Whedon did with the Firefly characters in that series and then onto the film Serenity.
James, whatever a writer can do to provide a link for readers between books is of value for a series. But more crucially, the central character should also arc somewhat. If that character remains completely unchanging – as you point out – it runs the risk of becoming tedious. This is what happened to the Agatha Christie character Poirot. Christie herself grew immensely bored with the lack of growth and started to refer to him (privately) as a ego-centric little creep.
[...] The Hottest Tip No Fiction Writer Can Afford To Ignore This post is about the importance for fiction writers of writing a series. There are some great examples too! I’ve got my own spin on Indie Publishing and writing a series, and I’ll be talking more about this as I get the first book in my first series ready for Kindle. (That series will be called The Kingston Chronicles btw!) [...]
[...] repeat what I wrote about ‘series’ in an earlier post: Of all the things I’ve encountered in the ‘book business’ that lead to success, this is [...]
This is very good.
When I finish my current screenplay project I MUST start THE ASSASSINS CODE 2.
Many thanks for the post.
Chris.
Hi, Jonathan,
Thanks for sharing your good information… I’m a little late in responding to your ‘hottest tip’ article.
Of my nine books, 5 are in the Bailey Crane Mystery series. Excerpts from these 5 books were just posted on http://thefinalcurtain1.wordpress.com, Goodreads, and http://www.goo.gl/TeQpP. The books track the life of Bailey Crane, his loves, his musing and fusing of elements to solve crimes — some inspired by real crimes. The books are basically uncomplicated reads, not so convoluted in plot lines, about a transplanted son of the south trying to understand his own demons and those who prey on society. The books can be read independently but do have a chronological order, show the life shifts and age progression of the main character. Admittedly, much of Bailey Crane’s character and the details of his personal affairs mirror to some extent my own life.
The books have few reviews, and I have solicited none… of course, I must do so. Obviously, my wish would be that these Bailey Crane books could approximate the quality of John D. MacDonald’s ‘Travis McGee’ character, but I suffer no such delusion… I have read and loved all twenty-three Travis McGee books. If my Bailey Crane Series can find a large audience, I’m delighted. Sometimes I fear it is my own marketing efforts and ineptness in our new digital world that prevent its progress. But, then, they are relatively new to the market. It is my hope that Bailey Crane does not become just an ‘ego-centric little creep.’
Any advice from you would be welcomed. There is more on me at: http://www.about.me/brchitwood.
Thank you.
Billy Ray
Just a side note, that series work differently in the romance genre. Because the main couple has a guaranteed happily ever after in the first book, romance writers are aces at creating secondary characters with the potential to become heroes and heroines. Readers beg for their story.
Nicole… true re Romance being a little different re Happy Endings. Clever insight re secondary characters. ~ Jonathan
This is a very good piece of info. I’m working on a novel, in the Christian Romance genre, that I think may make a good fit for a series. This gives me much to “chew” on. Thanks!
Standing by for your series Marie. ~ Jonathan
I could not agree with you more!!! My favorite book series is actually written by three seperate authors if I am not mistaken. It might come as a surprise to you but they are The World of Warcraft books based on Blizzard’s MMORPG. Every book is filled with action, rich environment, and detail. I found myself feeling anger, remorse, joy, and completely sympathising with the characters. A must read for the fantasy lovers out there!!
Jim… are you writing a fantasy series yourself?
~ Jonathan
I’m a ‘Potter’ as well as a ‘Lemony’ fan, and used to read ‘Famous Five’ and ‘Secret Seven’ as a kid … the characters were near enough to being my best friends. Just by accident my first book (published with Sid Harta and available on Amazon) ‘Merlin’s School for Ordinary Children – The Ring of Curses’ developed into a series. What I like about it is the writing of it … my characters are already well developed, my plot is under way and my location gets an update every time I write another story. So far almost finished #3 and got a good start on #4. All good fun.
Cheers, Margaret Rose Blake
Margaret.
The ‘Famous Five’ and ‘Secret Seven’ are childhood home territory for me too. Have you caught up with Richard Hardie? He is of similar ilk. Very approachable, and understands the era and the world that you and I happily inhabit. http://twitter.com/Richard_Hardie_
~Jonathan
I was never planning a sequel to my book True until I received hundreds of requests for one. It seems that different characters struck diverse chords with most saying, “We need to know what happens to all of these women” so yes they will all be there five years later. The central one as the focus….Do you believe a sequel should also “Stand Alone” for those that may not have read the first?
Melinda.
Each of the Harry Potter books stand alone – just – although the overarching story of Voldemorte continues through all. If you can work some continuity from the first story into the sequel then so much the better – think of your longer term readers coming off the first book, dying to know what will happen next… as you have wonderfully discovered. Joanne Harris did this after Chocolat, with an unplanned sequel (at least I think it was unplanned) The Lollipop Shoes , and then continued it even further with Peaches For Monsieur le Curé . Each can successfully stand alone, but are so much the better if read in sequence.
~Jonathan
[...] http://bestsellerlabs.com/the-hottest-tip-no-fiction-writer-can-afford-to-ignore/ [...]
You’re so right about the selling power of a series. My Montana Sky Series books practically sell themselves. I don’t have a single protagonist, but I do have a new hero and heroine in each book with the same setting with the same secondary characters in a small town. I have readers who keep asking me for the next story.
Debra. Same setting, same secondary characters, readers asking for more. Perfect.
~Jonathan
Thank you so much for these words of wisdom, Jonathan.
I’m deep into writing book 3 in the May the K9 Spy series.
It’s been a tremendous amount of work but oh so enjoyable.
The fans, young and old, have been encouraging so…
The dilemma is, do I stop after 3 or leave loose strings for another?
Would welcome your thoughts.
KCF. Only you will know if you genuinely have enough story left in you to write more. I suspect you have. Why you’re writing these stories also has a bearing on your decision.
~Jonathan