‘The days of the one-off novel are over. If you want to get published, you should consider a series.’

Now while I hope it is not entirely true that the one-off novel will no longer find a place on the shelf (one would think literary novels would still flourish in the singular) I see the marketing wisdom in conceptualising a series of novels. Seeing the two series I’ve been involved in are children’s picture books, I thought it best, when talking about novels, to ask someone who knows what she’s talking about. Come in, Ruth Downie! If you don’t already know, Ruth, who is an old friend of the Crafty Writer, has written a bestselling series of Roman mysteries known as the Ruso novels.

Writing a series

Writing a novel is like having a baby: when you do it for the first time, there’s no shortage of people willing to offer advice. The second time a few kindly voices still offer reassurance to those daunted by the thought of facing it all over again. But by the time you’re on the third, or fourth, or fifth, you’re not only expected to know what you’re doing – you’re being asked how to do it.

My editor is currently reading the fifth book of my crime series about a Roman Army medic and his British partner. Meanwhile I’m researching the sixth. I still start each one under the delusion that this time I will get it right. I will be organised, disciplined, and confident. And so I am … until the actual writing starts. Because although I know the main characters and what sort of story it’s supposed to be, it’s still a whole new challenge. I may have climbed this particular mountain before, but each ascent needs to pick out a new route.

Some of what follows is helpful advice gleaned from other people. The rest has been learned by doing, or more often by not doing and then wishing I had. Incidentally, my own experience is of writing novels that can all be read as standalone stories. If you’re planning a series that needs to be read sequentially, you may have other thoughts. In fact you may have other thoughts about all of this. Please pass them on in the comments section!

Why a series?

It’s easy to see why publishers like series – they can build an audience. For readers, I guess part of the appeal is the minimisation of risk. A familiar name is – hopefully – a guarantee of quality. But that could also be true of standalone novels. Personally, when I settle down to read a new installment of a familiar series, I’m looking forward to spending time with characters I have grown to know and love. Which, for me, says something about the relative importance of character and plot.

The reader’s love may not be shared by the writer, though. Sherlock Holmes is not the only creation whose author has tried and failed to kill him off. I once heard someone bemoaning the fact that he was having to produce the thirteenth novel featuring a man he was thoroughly fed up with. Now there’s a problem a lot of us would like to have.

Where will you go from here?

It may be too late to mention this, but in the first book of a possible series it’s worth giving yourself some room for manoeuvre. One of the reasons Doctor Who is still with us is that he has always been able to go anywhere, at any time, and even regenerate into somebody else. That may be a little extreme, but characters need to react with other people and if your protagonist is a hermit with no family, you may find it a real challenge to get him out of the cell on a regular basis.

Crime novelists have a particular point to consider here. Unless your modern sleuth is officially involved with the police, you are going to have to keep finding reasons to allow them anywhere near a murder investigation. And if you’re cunningly setting the books before the police were formed, and your lead character isn’t a gentleman of some independence, you may have to find reasons why he or she is allowed enough freedom to investigate at all.

Not only who and where, but when

Does your fictional world draw on real events, or does it exist in a realm untroubled by the six o’clock news? Are your characters going to age in real time? Ian Rankin famously retired Rebus at sixty, the same age as his non-fictional colleagues in the Edinburgh police force. I have a slightly different issue with my leading man. He is undoubtedly maturing as the years go by, but when I failed to mention his age in the first book, readers made their own estimates. Those estimates are wildly divergent. I’m not going to annoy either end of the spectrum now by making him the ‘wrong’ age.

It’s useful to get this sort of thing straight from the very start. But if, like me, you blunder in without much of a clue – well, that seems to work too. It’s especially pleasing to stumble across something you wrote a long time ago that you can use when building a new story – perhaps something that didn’t seem significant at the time. It might even look as though you have cleverly planned the whole series and planted clues right at the beginning. Which brings me to…

Being organised

It goes without saying, of course, that you should keep records of characters with full names, birth dates, relationships and descriptions – plus a note of which books they appear in and what state you left them in. You should, and so should I. I’m sure it would be very useful, because it’s surprising how easy it is to lose track. Unfortunately it’s also surprisingly easy to find something else – almost anything else – more interesting to do. Luckily, since people from the first century had names that sound unusual to us, I was advised to set out a list of characters at the beginning of each book. There are readers who say they find these lists useful, but probably not half as useful as I do.

Help, I need a new story!

A successful series will probably have your publisher hoping for a book a year – or more. From listening to people who have achieved this level of productivity, I suspect it involves a great deal of self-discipline and hard work. And coming up with new ideas on a regular basis.

Some time ago I met the author of several successful series, including one that’s now run to seventeen volumes. Since she was clearly a woman who knew what she was doing, I asked if she had any tips. Her advice was to keep your lead character under pressure.

Pressure doesn’t mean just giving a detective a new mystery to solve. That’s not pressure; that’s a plot device. Real pressure, as I see it, is something that makes the protagonist – and the reader – emotionally involved. What is at stake here? What does your character stand to lose if things don’t work out?

For example, Aline Templeton’s Cold in the Earth tells the story of a police investigation. That’s the plot. But the powerful emotional drive behind the book comes from the fact that the investigating officer is married to a sheep farmer, and this particular story about her is set in 2001 – the year of the foot and mouth epidemic.

In one of his Dan Starkey novels Colin Bateman chose to up the tempo with the murder of a well-loved minor character. That certainly put pressure on his very fallible hero – and on his readers.

Not interested in crime and disaster? Try a little nuisance. Think of the upheaval caused in Winnie the Pooh’s world by the arrival of Kanga and Roo.

And for a great example of how to play seemingly-infinite variations on the same setting and characters, take a look at Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…

The longer a series extends, the more backstory the characters accumulate, but the less chance there is that anyone will read the books in the order they were written. Thus the beginning of each book has do several jobs at once.

1. It has to engage the reader’s interest in this new story. If this doesn’t happen then the next two points are immaterial.
2. It has to introduce the characters to new readers without overloading those readers with information – or sounding repetitious to people who’ve met them already. The best writers do this so subtly that it hardly shows at all. I’m currently enjoying the Smiley novels, and admiring the way John le Carré manages to hold – or distract – our attention whilst slipping in the information that we need to know.
3. Ideally, it has to perform these introductions without giving away too much of the previous plots for readers who might want to go back to catch up.

Into the future…

It’s a great honour to be told that somebody has enjoyed your story enough to want to read another one. It’s also a great responsibility, because the last thing you want to do is disappoint them. So every book is a fresh challenge. It’s a chance to do something new. And every time, something better.

Ruth Downie took up writing fiction as a cheap and harmless hobby to keep herself entertained when the children had gone to bed. She only intended to write one novel to see if she could do it. The first in her series featuring Roman Army Medic Gaius Petreius Ruso was a New York Times bestseller. The fifth, SEMPER FIDELIS, will be published in January 2013.

Related posts:

1. Writing historical crime novels – interview with R.S. Downie
2. Writing historical fiction 1 – creating your historical world
3. Writing historical fiction 3 – using fact in fiction

This five part workshop is aimed at people who want to explore writing as part of their Christian walk – you can work through the material on your own or as part of a discussion group. Topics covered include:

• Identifying your style
• Figuring out your message, and whether Christians can be involved in so-called ’secular’ writing
• Using your writing to share your faith
• Writing as Worship to God
• Prophetic writing

It’s completely free and you can go at your own pace. Hope to see you there!

Related posts:

1. Christian Writing Course
2. Christian writing outlets and courses
3. Niche markets: Christian ‘chick lit’

Related posts:

1. Writing for children: Picture books
2. Crafty Publishing
3. Writing for children: sex, love and romance

What are the defining differences between traditional publishing, self-publishing, print-on-demand services, and co-publishing?

1. A traditional publisher will foot the whole bill and take full responsibility for the editing and production of your book. The publisher will also market and distribute your book, although you will still be expected to participate in promoting it. You will be paid royalties on the sale of a book and in most cases will receive a monetary advance on your royalty once a contract has been signed. In other words, in the first instance, they pay you.
2. If you are a self-publisher you do everything yourself. You pay for and arrange the production of the book and are fully responsible for editing the text. You also take it upon yourself to market and distribute your book to bookshops or direct to the public. Distributing the book to bookshops is the most difficult aspect of self-publishing and what makes traditional publishing, along with its quality-control, the first-choice option.
3. A POD company is essentially a printer who has an online presence. The only difference is that most POD companies give you an option to link up with a distribution wholesaler such as Bertrams or Gardners to make it easier for you to get your books into shops. However, the onus is still on you to contact the shop and ask them to stock it. A POD company will also virtually warehouse your stock so you don’t have boxes shoved under the bed and will post out copies to customers ‘on demand’. They do not do any marketing for you beyond perhaps featuring you on their website. You foot the whole bill and are responsible for editorial quality control.
4. Co-publishing is when you and the publisher split the costs but all of the ‘traditional’ functions of a publisher are provided. Splitting the costs usually takes the form of an advance stock purchase which you can then re-sell to recoup your costs. In other words, you commit to buy x-amount of copies of the book. This will guarantee that the publisher can cover the basic costs. Increasingly, formerly traditional publishers are offering co-publishing deals to new authors whom otherwise they feel are too big a financial risk. For the pros and cons of these please see my previous post on co-publishing.

How do writers distinguish between quality POD companies and vanity publishers masquerading as traditional publishers?

1. A POD company should be up front in what it is offering. ‘Big name’ companies such as Lulu, Lightning Source and Smashwords do not claim to be publishers. If you put any of these company names into a search engine, the company blurb will feature key words such as ’self-publishing’, ‘printing’ and ‘distribution’.
2. If you are unsure about a company, try this simple test: if you cannot tell in under 10 seconds whether or not it’s a POD company or a publisher (whether reputable or not) then there’s a problem; they should be that up front about it.
3. There are a host of online writing communities where fellow writers share their horror stories about vanity publishers. Again, do a search with the key words: ‘Company Name’ and ‘vanity publishers’.
4. If you are looking for a traditional publisher rather than a POD company or co-publisher, beware of anyone who advertises that they are looking for new writers. A traditional publisher does not have to do this.
5. You should also look at the royalty percentages on offer: a traditional publisher will not offer anything beyond 15% (more likely 7 – 10%).

How do writers find a good co-publisher? What should they watch out for?

1. See if the publisher also offers traditional publishing contracts. If not, this limits your career progression from co-publishing into mainstream publishing. If the publisher’s traditional wing is listed in one of the reputable market yearbooks (such as The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, The Writer’s Handbook or Writer’s Market) you have a better chance of getting good service as they will have a reputation to protect.
2. Look for evidence that they can and will actively distribute your book into bookshops, not just ‘make it available’ to bookshops on request. Any fool can do that if they have a registered ISBN and it is no more than you would do yourself as a self-publisher.
3. Check out the publicity surrounding previous titles (again, ask your favourite search engine). If there is nothing beyond the company and author’s own websites, I would question their marketing effectiveness.
4. Consider the bottom line. How many books do they expect you to purchase? Can you honestly sell that many through your own contacts? I would think twice about anything over 700. In addition, make sure you are being offered a minimum of 35% in royalties to compensate for your financial risk.

Related posts:

1. Co-publishing – pros and cons
2. Going Indie – starting an e-publishing company
3. Getting your book to market

Two of these stories were written when I did my MA in Creative Writing at Northumbria University. The third, Enemy Lines, was made into a short film by FNA films. It was screened at festivals in New York, Jersey, Newcastle and London. You can see a taster of the film here.

I have adapted and extended another of the stories, Another Man’s Shoes, into a feature-length screenplay. Although it has still to attract a producer, the screenplay was a semi-finalist at the Socal Film Festival in California in 2009.

But now, for the very first time, you can read the original stories as they were first written, applying the creative writing principles taught in The Crafty Writer’s extremely popular Creative Writing Course.

The Yacht Trip
Can a ghostly meeting on a remote Northumberland coast prevent a tragedy?

Enemy Lines
A soldier and a war protester change sides. Will love conquer all?

Another Man’s Shoes
It is said we all have a doppelganger. But what happens if yours is already dead?

Different Tracks: sometimes it’s only when you change tracks that you realise the route you should have taken.

Related posts:

1. SoCal Film Festival – semi-finalist
2. Short Story Film Festival: ‘Enemy Lines’ in New York
3. Enemy Lines in Jersey

Related posts:

1. Writing children’s picture books
2. Overcoming writers’ block

Does it exist?

When asked the question ‘what do you think of writer’s block?’ most people would sympathise, but not crime novelist Mark Billingham. His reply when I interviewed him for my blog late November 2011 was, “No such thing. Unless someone has broken all your fingers there’s nothing stopping you writing.” I cheated really because I’d already met him (at Oundle Literature Festival March 2011) and the question came up then, but I asked him because I wanted to prove a point.

He continues, “It won’t always be any good of course, but writers have good and bad days, same as anyone else.” And that’s the thing to remember. We are the hardest judges (although some editors aren’t far behind) of our output. It’s easy for the days to fly without a word written, but just 300 a day would get you a 100,000-word novel in a year.

Don’t Panic

But what happens if you’re all prepared; at your keyboard with a blank page and cursor flashing encouragingly but nothing pours forth. As the great Douglas Adams wrote… Don’t Panic!

There are LOADS of ways to get your writing juices flowing. I run a fortnightly writing workshop here in Northampton, England, with 10-15 minutes for each prompt to come up with something. It doesn’t always happen. Even I (who set the tasks) have times (fortunately not many) when my brain freezes whilst all around me are scribbling away, but then other exercises can produce, in my opinion, some of the best things I’ve written in ages.

Sentence starters

The option I generally find the easiest (but one of my writers loathes) is sentence starts. Picking one from my 365-Day Writer’s Block Workbook (Vol 1), ‘Although they legally belong to me…’, could take you in a variety of directions. It’s first person present tense. What is it that I own? What’s the conflict? The action’s happening now, what led to this? I find once a sentence is underway it’s far easier to keep going and it’s a trick that some authors (including famous ones) use if they’re stuck. Go to bed with a sentence half-written and the chances are you’ll be able to continue in the morning.

Another regular exercise is keywords. Picking five words at random to include in a piece is fun and although we all have the same words, the stories end up being so different.

Use pictures

If you’re a visual writer, then pictures can work wonders, especially of people. If you google ‘male 50s’ you’ll be greeted with loads of potential characters. Ignoring the celebrities (and women!), pick one and give him a name, age, height, occupation, quirk, regular saying, siblings, marital status and so on. Once you get to know your characters they’ll repay you by doing some wonderful things on the page.

Titles are good. Look through a magazine and pick a phrase that grabs you and see if you can make it the influence of your story.

Play with POV

If you’re stuck on a current piece, try changing point of view (from first to third or vice versa, or you could try second!), tense (present / past – future!) or add in a new character or dilemma / scenario.

Perhaps you’re too close to it? If you can, leave it to marinate and work on something else. That way you go back to it with fresh eyes.

Just write something!

But most of all, write something. Do freewriting. Even if it’s ‘I must write something’ repeatedly, your brain will kick in. As Mark said, it may not be good, but you can’t edit a blank page.

Morgen Bailey is a writing-related blogger, podcaster, writing group host, is the author of numerous short stories, novels, articles, has dabbled with poetry but admits that she doesn’t “get it”, and is a regular Radio Litopia contributor. She also belongs to two other local writing groups (one of which runs the annual H.E. Bates Short Story Competition) and when she’s not researching for her critique group, is a British Red Cross volunteer, walks her dog (often while reading, writing or editing) and reads (though not as often as she’d like). Check out her blog including the exercise section to get your creative juices flowing.

Related posts:

1. Breaking the Block
2. How doing other art badly can help your writing
3. Writing children’s picture books

1. Writing Historical Fiction 1 – Creating your historical world.
2. Writing Historical Fiction 2 – Doing the research.
3. Writing Historical Fiction 3 – Using fact in fiction.

If you enjoy reading books like The Long Song and the Ruso series you will also enjoy my literary thriller, The Peace Garden, which deals with the aftermath of the Soweto Riots and its repercussions in the lives of two young lovers. To find out more, read Ruth Downie’s review of The Peace Garden.

Related posts:

1. Writing historical fiction 1 – creating your historical world
2. Writing historical fiction 2 – doing the research
3. Writing historical fiction 3 – using fact in fiction

And now, here are those tips for choosing a good children’s book (apart from mine!):

Beware of marketing

The best books for children are not always found on the big flashy displays. Not to say that everything on the front-of-shop racks are poorly written, but don’t just grab the first thing you see in your lunch hour. These books are usually character driven spin-offs from television shows or toy product lines. They’ve got a massive advertising budget behind them and trade on ‘product recognition’. This does not necessarily mean they are well-written books. I was shocked to read some Thomas the Tank Engine Books the other day. They were quite simply film stills with captions, taken directly from the TV show. The original Thomas books by the Rev WV Awdry were wonderfully conceived and written, but since the TV franchise took over in 2002 (note they are now Thomas and Friends) the quality has gone downhill like a runaway train! So take some time and delve a bit deeper into your local bookshop.

Assuming you’ve got past the glitzy displays and into the dustier depths of the shop, what do you look for?

A good story

Quite simply, is it fun to read? Is the plot well constructed with a good beginning, middle and end? Are the characters engaging and realistic? Does the plot line deal with emotional issues without being too soppy? Does it dare to be daring? The other day I was delighted to read Pigs by Robert Munsch (illustrations Michael Martchenko). This is the story of a little American girl who opens a pig pen and lets the swine loose on the town. While I feel the book is a bit wordy and could do with a better balance between words and pictures (and less repetition), the story itself is brilliant! It’s funny, engaging and slightly ‘naughty’ – which children love. For older children, books that are often snubbed by the literary critics, are the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. They’re subtitled ‘Die Hard With Fairies’ and the first in the series is simply one of the best reads I’ve had in years.

Quality writing

It’s amazing how poor the writing in children’s books can be. Just because children are not that good at reading yet, does not mean publishers can get away with producing shoddy material. Read a book before you buy it – or at least sample some good chunks of it. Good literature doesn’t have to be boring. Anything by David Almond is guaranteed to entertain and challenge on an intellectual level. His first children’s book is Skellig about an angel in a garden shed, but my favourite is The Fire Eaters about a little boy in the 1960s who befriends a carnival freak.

Another beautiful writer is Eva Ibbotson. I loved Journey to the River Sea and The Star of Kazan. Ibbotson has the rare talent of knowing how to couple rich, atmospheric writing with a rolicking plot. She deals with historical and fantasy themes.

For a more contemporay, dare I say, tweenybopper, writer, Jacqueline Wilson is one of my favourites. She’s often maligned for being too gritty, but, in my opinion, she handles the darker side of childhood with sensitivity and an unflinching eye. I would recommend The Illustrated Mum about a young girl dealing with her mother’s mental health issues. It is a fine example of good writing and a respectful treatment of a difficult subject.

All of these writers have either been nominated for or won major awards.

Awards

For the confused adult buyer with not much time on their hands, an award nomination or win, is often a good guide. The major awards for children’s writing are the Carnegie Medal, the Kate Greenaway, the Guardian and the Whitebread in the UK. The Smarties Award, unlike the others, is voted for by children themselves, so is a good measure of what young readers themselves like to read. In America, the John Newberry Medal and the Caldecott (for picture books). Canada and Australia also have prizes (see list above) as does the Christian market in the UK and the USA.

A lack of preachiness

This applies to any book with a ‘message’; not just a Christian message. We need to respect young readers and their right to be able to make up their own minds about issues. Writers can present a positive viewpoint without resorting to brainwashing. The jury is still out in my mind about the most popular children’s series of the last decade: Philip Pulman’s His Dark Materials trilogy (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass). While the books certainly fulfil all of the above criteria of good children’s literature (and I enjoyed reading them), his overtly evangelistic atheism borders at times on a preachiness that would be condemned in a Christian book. And at least most Christian books are found in Christian bookshops so readers know what they’re getting. On the other hand, if more Christian books were as well written as Pulman’s they could compete on a more equal footing. (Was that a rotten tomato?). For a more in-depth discussion of spiritual themes in children’s literature see my article ‘Once Upon a Time.’

Quality illustrations

I toyed with putting this point first on the list, as illustrations are what makes children’s books magical. But I fear that many adult buyers are wooed simply by pretty pictures. Do the pictures complement the text and vice versa? Does the text over-clutter the illustrations or do the two elements work together to tell the story? On the other hand, beware of too much visual detail in stories for younger children. Simpler lines and bolder colours may not be aesthetically pleasing to an adult eye, but they are easier to engage with for a child under four. From four upwards the illustrations may be more sumptuous. However, this trend may be reversed as children approach eight or nine where the ‘cooler’ minimalist, cartoon-style illustrations are more in vogue. If you’re interested in illustration for children’s books, I recommend Illustrating Children’s Books by Martin Salisbury. In a later article I intend to discuss the relationship between the illustrator and writer in children’s picture books.

Original concept and presentation

There is a fine line between original presentation and a gimmick. Let’s admit it, it’s a challenge to find a different way to tell an age-old story, particularly at Christmas. But with that season of joyful spending coming up, I would recommend What’s Christmas? by Alexa Tewkesbury. This gets my vote for the best Christmas book of the season. It is an endearing tale challenging the traditional ways of telling the Christmas story. The beautifully constructed text is matched by charming illustrations and a little bit of subversive humour (look out for the Puffin Guide to the North Pole!).

Another recommendation is Father and Son. The poetic beauty of Geraldine McCaughrean’s words with Fabian Negrin’s exquisite illustrations, make this a book to be treasured. Written from Joseph’s point of view, Jesus’ earthly father contemplates the enormity of the task before him. This is a book that will touch the heart of every parent while inspiring awe in every child. Why didn’t I vote it ‘book of the season’? Simply because I felt it was written first for an adult and then for a child.

Age appropriateness

This applies to both subject, telling and presentation. Young children can be rough with books. Will your choice stand up to Junior’s attentions or should you put it away for another year? Are the illustrations and the text suitable for the age of the child you are buying for? Is this really just a clever, tongue-in-cheek tale for adults or an excuse for an adult flight of fancy? Is the child first in the author’s mind or the adult? A good book will balance the two (so that parents don’t get bored when reading to their sprogs) but children’s books should be for children first, adults second. When choosing a book for a particular child, beware that publishers rarely print an age guide on the covers. This is because some seven-year-olds are reading Harry Potter and some 12-year-olds can barely manage Winnie the Pooh! To try and help confused adult buyers, retailers have different shelves for different age groups, but this varies from shop to shop. If in doubt, ask a parent.

Old books aren’t always ‘timeless’

I know it’s hard to accept, but just because you enjoyed a book as a child, it doesn’t make it timeless. Nor does it make it a classic. The great children’s classics of the last century or so (Black Beauty, The Water Babies, Little Women etc) are quite difficult for modern children to get into. Some children will grow into the classics, some won’t. Don’t force the issue. And quite simply, not all ‘old’ books are classics! The Nancy Drew series, which I loved as a child, makes me feel ill when I try to read it now. Great stories, yes, but so badly written. The Famous Five and Secret Seven are also a bit long in the tooth. Again, they’re good stories, but the ginger-beer drinking days of yore are more likely just to bore. Fantasy books, such as Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland have fared better, perhaps because their make-believe-worlds are outside of time and harder to date.

For some excellent material on children’s books visit the Centre for the Children’s Book website or their recommendations page.

Related posts:

1. What makes a good children’s book?
2. Writing for children: Picture books
3. Young Adult vs Adult fiction. Where’s the line?

I know everyone says it, but this book and its prequel, David and the Hairy Beast, will make great Christmas presents. You can place an order through any bookshop in the world (that’s right, anywhere on planet earth) or, if you want it quicker, you can order directly from the Crafty Publishing website.

If you are in the Newcastle upon Tyne area on Saturday 26 November, Amy and I will be giving a talk about our creative process and how picture books are written and illustrated. Click here for directions and details.

Related posts:

1. Crafty Publishing
2. The David Project
3. Writing children’s picture books