MyNextList (former FictFact) Users discussion

Do 2 books make a series? 3 or more?

Brian, if you could chime in, it would help when I'm thinking about adding a series to FF.

2=sequel
3=trilogy
4+ is series

IMHO

Teri Pre wrote: "Do 2 books make a series? 3 or more?

Brian, if you could chime in, it would help when I'm thinking about adding a series to FF."

Wow that's a loaded question!

For us a series is defined by the author as a "group of books I want you to read together for some reason".

When we add series we usually go through this process:

1. Does the author have a website? If so have they clearly defined the books as a series? If they haven't clearly defined we contact the author to see what they had in mind.
2. If the author doesn't have a website or we can't contact them? Then we hunt around wherever we can find details about the author. Wikipedia, other book sites (Goodreads, Librarything etc) to see if we can figure out where the books piece together.

We've realized there isn't a set formula for series, for some authors it's cut and dry for others they have characters or concepts that spread through other books (by other authors!) and whole universes that may or may not follow along the series structure.

Sorry if I rambled a bit. :)

:) Brian I just came across something similar yesterday in where a couple of books in one series were also listed under a different series!

So, now that adding books/series is DIY, I guess that's how I'll do it.

I think two books make a series. Technically, if only two books it's a duology but to me that is still a series.

A publisher's collection, library or re-issue of a set of unrelated books are definitely not (particularly if just a new similar look to the cover or if by authors in different centuries that never had anything to do with each other and are definitely writing a prequel, sequel or fanfiction of each other's books). So just because Barnes and Noble had a line of leatherbound re-issued classics books and calls it "Barnes and Nobles Classics Series" doesn't make it a series, nor do Greatest Books of 20th Century, Oxford World Classics ...

Universes or franchises (for example, Star Wars and D&D) can be even if by different authors; but, those are usually just in smaller story arcs or trilogies set chronologically in overall universe or following certain characters so will be in multiple series in addition to the main universe.

Goodreads allows multiple series with the first entered showing on book title and the series showing on the author page of only the primary author on the first books in series.

I prefer how fictiondb does it with three types of series.

I loathe Booklikes and Leafmarks method of one series only; Leafmarks also requires that series to be whatever series the book has the smallest order number in. Not so bad for the Fever series with a story arc on Dani O'Malley requiring Dabi's books to stay in their own series. But horrible for larger series with lots of subsets like Exile in D&D, Forgotten Realms, Drizz't, Dark Elf and who knows what other series in that franchise, maybe even Neverwinter since everything seems to be in that.

Doesn't help that in past decades publishers and authors did not always put series titles and order numbers. I can remember picking up a book because I liked the author and being surprised it was following the same characters or clearly a followup timeline of another of their books.

Authors and publishers did not always have sites/ pages to check and if you special ordered a book sometimes all you knew was a one line catalog or order form entry stating title, author, price and possibly a publisher item no or an isbn once that system was in place.

I've also noticed some back and forth when it comes to release dates. Say a book was first published in 2000. Then in 2005the author decides that the book needs a back-story so THAT book ends up being book 1. That book does so well that the author decides on a book to come after the 2000 book and publishes it in 2006. Crazy!!

So is this a discussion about what goodreads and factfict call a series for their apps? If so then 2 is a series. If not it's a mute point

I would call two books a series if I knew there was another book in the works. As three books is called a trilogy, there should be a word for a single book and its sequel. There has to be a way for people to know there is another book with the same characters and so far the only word in use is series.

Teri Pre wrote: "I've also noticed some back and forth when it comes to release dates. Say a book was first published in 2000. Then in 2005the author decides that the book needs a back-story so THAT book ends up be..."

This happens often here. The 2005 book could be listed as #0.5 (for example), particularly if a novella. However, the 2000 book wouldn't have been listed in a series anyway until after publication of the 2005 book. If the book covers say the book numbers, it's not an issue. Authors are often re-issuing books with new covers.

Karen-Leigh wrote: "I would call two books a series if I knew there was another book in the works. As three books is called a trilogy, there should be a word for a single book and its sequel. There has to be a way for..."

Wouldn't a single book and its sequel (already published or not - but listable) be a series by definition? Maybe there will be more, maybe not, but that seems irrelevant to the basic definition. Also, FF and GR want usable, easy to find categorization for their customers.

I wish that they would put the number of the series book somewhere on the cover, even on the inside would
work. When I am at the library and pick up a book I always wonder if it is free standing or not. I get sort of crazy about reading in order.

Two books is called a duology (like trilogy for three, but duo is two).

Karen-Leigh wrote: "I would call two books a series if I knew there was another book in the works. As three books is called a trilogy, there should be a word for a single book and its sequel. There has to be a way for..."

That word I believe is "duology."

D.A. wrote: "Karen-Leigh wrote: "I would call two books a series if I knew there was another book in the works. As three books is called a trilogy, there should be a word for a single book and its sequel. There..."

Thank you for the time it took to retype your answer. People must of skimmed over the first time you said that a book and it's sequel is called a "duology." I caught that you had answered the question before it had even been asked.

Since three books is a trilogy, I always think of a series as four or more books. That's just me. Don't know if there's a rule for that or not.

So if you have 10 or 20 in a series- should that get a new name?!?

Well, 10 could be "declogy". And why not! I came up with "seri" for the plural of series, so why not "declogy" for 10 books! :)

Do you think there should a limit to the number of books? Do you ever think, "Oh, these books are getting boring? It's time to bring things to a close?" There is an author I won't name who had a very good series and she felt the end had come at book 23 or 24. She then did a spin-off but I just couldn't get into it because it was so much like the other one. She might as well have kept writing the other ones.

When I stop enjoying a series, I stop reading. There are some series that even at number 30+ I still enjoy. There have been others where the first book or two were just ok and the author hit his/her stride at book 3. And then there are those who have only one book in them and that's the first one. The rest are trash. You never know until you try!

Teri Pre wrote: "When I stop enjoying a series, I stop reading. There are some series that even at number 30+ I still enjoy. There have been others where the first book or two were just ok and the author hit his/he..."

One of those for me was Robin Carr's Virgin River series.. She stopped at 20 and while I read them all, the last few just didn't live up to the rest of the series. Then she started a new series set in a different locale and I quickly snatched up the first four books. I quit after that because they just didn't have the "magic" of Virgin River and didn't keep my interest.

So Terri- what shall we call a series that branches out.. Lol - Jayne Ann Krentz has written a few connected series- written in the past, present & future.. Under 3 of the names she uses! They are all interconnected! (Yep- love them! Lol!)

We'll have to come up with something clever and in the future, we can say that were were the ones to add the word to our lexicon! :)

Debbie wrote: "Do you ever think, "Oh, these books are getting boring? It's time to bring things to a close?" There is an author I won't name who had a ve..."

This is an interesting question, and one I've given some thought to in the last few weeks. There are some series that I've been following since the 1980's, 1990's, and early 2000's, which I eagerly wait for the next installment. However, in the past five or six years I've started loathing to read a book by new authors if I find out it's book one in a series, or any book in a series. With rare exceptions, I find that subsequent books in these new series are re-hashes of characters and situations in book one; there is very little, if any, character development and growth through new situations. What's worse is a full-size-novel's-worth of short ebooks, the first short book being free, a charge for subsequent short books, and each short book ending in a cliff-hanger compelling you to buy the next book to continue the story, and each short book taking less than an hour to read. I don't begrudge anyone earning money from their writing, but setting the reader up to buying subsequent short books just to complete the telling of one story (usually $1.99 or $2.99 for each of about seven short-books for a total of about $14 to $20 plus tax) feels kind of cheesy to me. To make it even worse, I haven't enjoyed these books, they are mostly highly predictable and unsatisfying. Maybe there are some good reasons for this that I could be cheerful about, but I can't think of any.

I now always scrupulously read readers' reviews of the last written book in a series before I undertake book one--for me there's too much good stuff out there to be read, both new and old, to waste time otherwise.

I completely agree- & If a novella comes out- & it connects a couple of other books in a series- that's all good - but I get very annoyed when a new series of "novella's" come out- 10 or more- all the size of a chapter- so in essence we've paid $10-$20 for a 10 chapter book- I look VERY carefully at the size of the book. Regardless of the author- I just cannot do it!

I agree! If I can't get it from my library (most of these types are digital), then I don't bother. I haven't felt that it has made any difference to the next book in the series.

Shirley wrote: "So Terri- what shall we call a series that branches out.. Lol - Jayne Ann Krentz has written a few connected series- written in the past, present & future.. Under 3 of the names she uses! They are ..."

I love the way Brandon Sanderson has done his books. He does have series within a world called the Cosmere. Each series are in a different time frame and have an element hidden within from other books. It is pretty amazing to read.

Thanks, Tiffany- will look for them!!!