Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Mention book is a series in the Query?

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Posted by Dmfitzgerald (Member # 2570) on :

I'm ready to send out my query letter. The novel I've written is going to be a series of 5 books. I have most of the second one done and outlines for 3-5.

Do I mention that I see this book as a series in the query letter or do I just sell it as a single book. The end of the first book could actually be the ending of the entire piece.

Thoughts?

David

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

I have no expertise in this area...but I think it might be better if substantial portions of said series of books were actually written down before making promises about producing more than one in a series. (I'm a great believer in a book standing alone, even if it's part of a longer series.)

But let's see what others say...some who've marketed series.

Posted by JamieFord (Member # 3112) on :

No harm in mentioning it, as long as the first book can stand alone.

Also, no need to have the other books written. It's fine if they are, but if you have a tight outline/synopsis waiting in the wings you should be okay.

Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :

I have been told by three different authors that when they got their agents part what the agent told them was a selling point was that it was a series. However, I do agree that the book should also have the possibility of being stand-alone.

Posted by AstroStewart (Member # 2597) on :

I am in a similar situation, with book 2 about 90% completed (in a rough draft sense of the word "completed") I've looked around on various agent blogs and advice sources and the best advice I've come across is to put something like this in the query "[title of novel] is a stand-alone novel, but has potential to be expanded into a series."

From an unheard of, first time author, I've gotten the impression from reading agent blogs etc, that telling prospective agents that "this is a planned 23 book series" makes you come off as somewhat amateurish. Or at the very least makes someone think "you've never even published a single novel but you're thinking about a series? One step at a time..." but mostly it makes them worry that the plot of your book 1 is not self-contained. Unless you're a superstar, most readers want the story to wrap up when the book ends. Even in long series, each novel is relatively self contained with a strong plot that opens in the beginning of the novel and closes in the end, even while the overarching storyline continually evolves.

Saying "this is a 5 books series" makes agents (so I've heard) afraid that your book won't have a satisfying ending. Saying "this book is self-contained but *could* be book 1 of a series" lets the agent know that, if successful, you have more books being planned, but also that book 1 has a satisfying ending, and could do well on its own.

Posted by darklight (Member # 5213) on :

I wrote this in my query letter:

quote:
I plan to use the characters in this novel in a number of other stories, each one exploring a different teenage character

I felt this said all that needed to be said; that the original story is indeed self contained, and there is the possibility of more to learn about the charaters that weren't the MC in the original.

Posted by JamieFord (Member # 3112) on :

Sounds great to me. Good luck!

Posted by lehollis (Member # 2883) on :

I heard (read) an agent recently say that a common question for editors, after reading a submission by said agent, was, "What else is in the quiver." It's a big consideration. I got the impression it doesn't have to be a sequel, though. It could be another book in a similar genre. I think both editors and agents want to know you're not going to write one book and then go back to your day job.

So, I think its best to make sure the book stands alone, but have ideas, outlines, synopsis or whatever for follow-up books or even other books. Then if you have ideas for a sequel, mention that as briefly as possible to the agent.

Posted by RMatthewWare (Member # 4831) on :

From what I've read from authors and those that give advice in the field, it's good to mention that a book is a part of a series. You'll notice that there are a lot of books/movies that are in a series. The plus of this is that if the first one does well then they've already got an audience waiting for the second. If the first one tanks, then they don't have to do any more.

You don't have to have the other books written. When you write the contract you discuss how fast you have to put out the other books. Depending on the contract, you could get 6 months, 1 year, maybe even 2 years. Just remember, once you sign, you are responsible for making deadlines and you could lose your advance if you fail to make those. (Yes, from what I've read, this is one of the cases in which you could have your advance revoked).

As others have said, the first book should be a stand-alone. It's fine to leave things unsaid, but it shouldn't be "Part 1" and "Part 2". It should be complete books that finish a story. Don't get to the end and have to say "To be continued..." That's a little annoying. Think Harry Potter (I'm just picking a well-known reference). Each story finishes the main plot-points by the end. But each novel builds on the others as well. The only instance where it could have been part 1, part 2 was between books 6 and 7. The novel closed with a major plot point unresolved, but (SPOILER WARNING) the major question of who the Half-Blood Prince was revealed, as it should have been. If the novel is named the Half-Blood Prince, we should know who that is by the end.