Reply To: Stand Alone vs Episodic

[Ginger Herten]

I think episodic stories don’t do as well for a couple of reasons.

One obviously is that if you didn’t like part one, you are less likely to bother with part two, etc. It’s pretty understandable, though sometimes part one is really just setting up the the characters for the action that will happen in later parts, so a lack of action in part one doesn’t mean that there won’t be action in the next parts.

Multi part stories of course mean dedicating more time and emotional energy to a story. I know I don’t always have the time and energy for a longer sequence, but sometimes I do. I think that even though fewer readers will get all the way to the end of a series, and the parts might get revisited a bit less, and the likes are diluted by getting spread out over the series, those that do make it all the way are very invested in the characters by the time they get there.

For me, sometimes subsequent stories in series are less likely to be to my taste, and I’m going to assume others have the same thing going on. Like the first story is the main character going long to short, and then the second story is short to smooth shave. I’m just not into full smooth bald though.

I’m a little torn about the numbering of a series vs leaving order up to readers. Of course Fizzy you turned that whole concept on it’s head by putting out “Rebellion” before “The Plunge.” I do sometimes wish that the “Vampber” series was numbered, because I lost track of which ones I had read and which ones I hadn’t yet about halfway through, and I do love urban fantasy, but they might have gotten less love if they had been numbered. I have neglected to mention on some recent stories that work as stand-alones, their relationship to previous stories.

It might help if series could have pages, sort of like author pages, but of course I’m always wary of suggesting things that mean more work.

I’m going to continue to write series when I am moved, just as I continue to write urban fantasy and sci-fi when I am moved to. I know they aren’t as popular as my stand alone dramatic romances, but enough people enjoy them that I think they’re worth posting, and I enjoy writing them.