Why Writing In A Series Makes Smart Business Sense

The best way to gain traction in the fictional author world is to write a series. Readers fall in love with the world you've created and want to read more. As your series grows, so does your readership as you build your backlist with related books. Traditional or self published, it's common to see trilogies, or even series that go on for ten or more books. 

But what makes a series?

In truth, it can be just about anything. Series can be built around small towns, families, friends, office romances, or even profession. The idea is to build a set of books around something readers can get connect with.

When I set out to write Behind Closed Doors, I'd originally planned for it to be a standalone novel. However, as I continued to write it, I knew I want to write stories for Chris's brothers as well. Each book in that series takes place in a different town. There are very little similarities as far as setting, personality, or storyline. The connection is the fact that they are brothers.

In contrast, the books in my Serpent's Kiss series are all set in St. Louis. That series also happens to be centered around the members of a private BDSM club, so it's pulling from two different connections. If readers are looking for stories set in the midwest, St. Louis, or if they're simply looking for a kinky story, then they know this one fits the bill.

That's another great thing about series. It saves readers time.

Most readers are drawn to certain types of tropes they enjoy. For some, it's small town romance. For others, it may be family sagas. Having your books grouped by series helps readers to weed through the millions of books available and gives them a quick glance as to what they can expect from your story and if they might be interested in reading it.

This is another reason why genre hopping isn't the best idea for authors who are wanting to write to the commercial market. Now that doesn't mean you can't write what you want. Certainly, you can. But it does mean that if you're going to write a sci-fi romance, then an erotic historical romance, followed by a sweet small town contemporary romance, you may have trouble finding your footing with readers.

Pick a lane and stay in it. At least, for a little while. It's a lot easier to build traction that way and give readers the chance to discover you and your stories.

If you want to write in three vastly different genres, then it's probably a good idea write under different pen names. Not only will this be a sign to readers what type of book they're getting, but it also helps with the algorithms. 

When you're writing in a variety of genres, especially ones that don't have a huge cross over of readers, it confuses the computers. They don't know who to show your books to and often they choose wrong. That can lead to low sales and/or low ratings for your book.