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.

Should You Write Under A Pen Name?

Pseudonyms, or pen names, have been around for a long time. Woman used to use them to hide their sex from readers back when it was uncommon for women to write and publish books. 

 

Today, pen names are still used to hide the author's sex. If a female author is writing in a genre that is predominately male, such as thriller or science fiction, they may choose to use a pen name to mask their sex. Some authors decide to use initials and their last name so the reader doesn't know which sex the writer is. Yet others, choose a different name altogether.

 

But writers aren't only using pen names to hide their sex. They could be using a pen name to differentiate between different genres of books.

 

For example, Nora Roberts is famous for her romance novels. However, when she branched out into futuristic mystery stories, she decided to publish under the pen name of J.D. Robb.

 

Why would she do this? The short answer is marketing.

 

When Nora Roberts decided to publish her first futuristic mystery, she was already well established in the romance world. Her readers knew what they could expect from her stories. But writing romance and writing a mystery set in the future require different story elements. Readers of those genres expect different things.

 

There's also the algorithms to consider. Computers are funny. They like things to be direct and straightforward. So when an author that has written dozens of romance books puts out a new book, the computer is going to want to show that new book to the readers who've previously enjoyed that author's stories.

 

Not every romance reader who's loved Nora Roberts's romance novels is going to enjoy her mysteries. It's a totally different genre. But the computer gets confused. The author is the same. Surely the same readers would want to read this new book, too.

 

In steps the pen name.

 

These days, many authors are open about using pen names. It isn't a secret as it has been in times past. This way the readers that want to follow the author to their new genre of books can, but the new name makes it very clear which type of story the reader will be getting. And it makes the algorithms happy, too.

 

So the question becomes, when should you use a pen name?

 

1) When you want to mask your sex. If you're a woman writing a thriller or a man writing a romance, you may choose to make it less obvious which sex you are. I know a few male romance authors who write under pseudonyms.

 

2) You write in multiple genres. This is perhaps the most common reason I encounter these days. I know several authors who write in different genres who use a different pen name for each genre so they don't confuse readers or the algorithms. 

 

When it comes down to it, using a pen name is all about marketing. You want to present yourself in the best way in order to find your right readers and sometimes that means using a pen name.

 

To Pen Name Or Not - Bound by Books Podcast

 

 

 

Danielle Bannister and Marianne Morea are talking all about pen names on this week's episode of the Bound by Books Podcast. They both have experience with pen names and they are sharing their wisdom with listeners.

 

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