What to Consider When Writing a Series: Part 1
L.C. Scott founded eFrog Press in 2011. She has a B.A. in English from UC Berkeley, an M.A. in Education from Stanford, and a doctorate in educational leadership from UC San Diego. During her freelance writing career she wrote dozens of magazine feature stories, chapters for textbooks, study guides for educations films and newsletters. For many years she created websites for small businesses and children’s authors. She has taught at the high school and university levels. Hershey: A Second Chance is her chapter book for struggling readers about a mischievous rescue Doberman and a young boy who loves him. Today she shares Part 1 of lessons learned when creating a book series.
Planning is Key
Some additional planning is needed when you are writing a series. At eFrog Press we have worked on series for children and for adults. Today we will share how authors came up with their series titles, series logos, and cover design.
Series Title is a Serious Decision
Creating the title of a series is a great opportunity to use key words to help readers find your books. Many authors do not start to make a profit until the second or even third book in their series is published.
The first series we worked on in 2011 was a collection of biographies for young readers about people who have made a difference in the world. We considered calling the series “Lives of Famous People” but these biographies were about people who were more than just famous—they had made an impact. People like Barbara McClintock, a geneticist and the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize on her own, were featured. And Jesse Owens whose impact is still being felt and whose life will be featured in a new movie RACE starring Stephan James, Jeremy Irons, Jason Sudeikis and directed by Stephen Hopkins, in theaters February 19, 2016.
So the authors of the different titles in this series chose A Spotlight Biography because these well researched books focused a light on interesting people who had left their mark. The next decision was how the series title would appear on each book cover. We wanted to use some kind of spotlight.
Our first version is the blue cover with a spotlight coming down from the top. But then one of our cover designers came up with a beautiful modern cover with the spotlight over the top right corner. Now we have a nice template for all future titles in the series and the current titles look related.
Learn more about other books in A Spotlight Biography series for young readers.
Planning a New Historical Fiction Series
When we began working with retired professor and academic research librarian Richard Fitchen, he was planning a five-book fiction series about the history of the United States. He wanted a series title that reflected both the depth and breadth of these stories. After much thought, he named his series An American Saga. He loves history and political science and wanted to use story to engage readers and educate them at the same time.
The series title was actually easier to create than the series logo. The designer came up with many versions but all had an American flag. Since the books spanned centuries, the American flag changed in appearance—more stars and stripes over time. The author wanted a flag to span our country’s history, so he requested a furled flag so the number of stars was less clear.
The designer also came up with a template for the book covers. The author thought very carefully about the elements on the cover, the colors, and the font. Each cover has a key city from the novel at the top and a mode of transportation during that time period at the bottom. The fourth title in An American Saga series, Justice on Trial, was published in 2015 and the fifth and final, Proof of Concept, is scheduled for 2016.
To learn more about these books, Richard Fitchen, and An American Saga series, visit the author’s website at RichardFitchen.com.
Advice on Planning a Series
So if you are planning to write a series, take some time before you publish the first book. Your series title is a wonderful opportunity to include key words that will help readers find your book. Second, give some extra thought to your series logo. And, finally, books in a series should look related whether viewed on shelves or online. Think about how to make them look connected through color, fonts, or design elements. Once you have approved the cover for the first book in your series, the subsequent covers will be a snap to create.
Want to know more? Check back for Part 2 later this month where we will share important decisions to make about formatting your ebooks and designing your print books in a series.
Please Share
What elements have you considered when creating a new series?
