by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

It’s been a while since I started writing a new series. Late-2018 was the last time, actually. The reason I don’t start new series all the time is because it’s a heck of a lot more work than continuing already-established series.  It’s also why I’ve only written one standalone novel. If you’re writing a series, most of the world-building work has been done early on, along with character development for the principle characters. It’s also so much easier to write about characters you’re very familiar with. The books almost write themselves.

Why do it, then? For me, it comes down to a couple of different reasons. One is simply that I had an idea that I thought might work for a new series. For another, it’s the realization that two of my current series have 20 or more books in them. It makes sense to continue adding series in case others need to come to an end.

There are tons of considerations for starting out a series. You’ll need ingredients like conflict, character arcs, settings, character development, and more. If you’re a cozy mystery writer, here’s a post on starting out a new cozy series.

Start a series bible. This will save you so much work later. Every time you describe a character, add the description to the bible. Got a character who hates coffee and drinks tea instead? Add it to the bible. You’ll really manage to keep your inconsistencies down.

Make sure book one is good. This might sound flippant, but it’s really not. I don’t usually use a developmental editor, but I have for the first books in my series. It’s worth the money, in my opinion. Because if book one isn’t good, who’s going to stick around for the rest of the series?

Make sure your cover for book one is good.  Get a professional designer unless your design skills are top-notch. For the rest of your series to be a success, you need to ensure you’ve got readers. And readers definitely judge books by their covers. It’s also important to remember that the cover will need to have elements in future books in the series to indicate they’re in the same series. A professional designer can help you with these recurring elements.

Really weigh whether a cliffhanger at the end of book one is worth it.  Unless you’re rapidly releasing a series, it probably isn’t worth making readers upset.

These are just a few things to consider, so what would you add to the list? How much planning do you do when starting a new series? Do you write in series, or write standalones?

Considerations When Writing a New Series:
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