Wouldn’t it be great if every reader started your series with the first book and continued onward in order? But sometimes readers start in the middle of your series, especially if it’s in paperback, and they can easily get confused. You need to hook them on your story quickly.

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To do that, you need to make sure that every book in your series invites new readers into your world and brings them up to speed quickly. And you have to do it without boring your existing readers. It’s a tall order, but I’ll show you how.

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I ran into this problem with A Kiss Before Doomsday, the second book of my Dru Jasper urban fantasy series. After the first book made a big splash on the front table at Barnes & Noble, we followed up with a big publicity push on the second one. For many readers, Book Two was actually their entry point into the series.

I’m proud of how many reviewers made a point of saying that they didn’t feel lost at all. They felt perfectly comfortable starting the series in the middle, because I made it as easy for them as possible.You can, too. Here’s what you need to do in every book in your series.