Hey, SE Readers. Joan with you today. In my last post, I spoke of story length. Today we’ll discuss writing a series of books.

First, let’s talk about serial fiction versus a series. Serial fiction is released in installments. This type of fiction became popular in the nineteenth century. Charles Dickens’s The Pickwick Papers was released in nineteen installments and published over a twenty-month period. Series fiction is okay if you like cliffhangers and don’t mind waiting months or years for a satisfying solution, but many readers don’t like being left without an ending. Personally, I’m not fond of serial fiction.

A series is a collection of books that are connected in some way. The thread that holds them together could be the same lead character, the same location, or the same theme. These books all have a conclusion and often can be read as stand-alone books.

Sue Grafton’s “Alphabet”…