Hello, my pretties!
At this point in the year, many writers find themselves at an interesting crossroads. You may have a finished draft, or at least a strong start to one. You may even be quietly in love with your characters and world and daydreaming about how the finished book will come together.
And then a new question appears.
Is this a one-book story, or could it be something more?
One of the biggest mindset shifts for indie authors is learning to think beyond a single book—not because every story must become a series but because readers often read in patterns rather than in isolation.
When a reader loves a book, they often want more of that specific experience. That tone. That world. That feeling they had while reading.
Series deliver on that promise in a way stand-alones can't always achieve.
As I explore possibilities for my new pen name, I'm deliberately asking bigger questions than I used to. Instead of only asking, "Can I write this book?" I’m expanding the question further and asking, "What would come next if readers wanted more?"
This shift in thinking affects character development, world-building, and even the ending you choose, so the earlier in your draft you begin asking it, the better off you’ll be.
What Makes a Series Work
A series does not have to be a long, complex saga—unless you write Fantasy or Sci-Fi, then they will expect nothing less. Many successful series are built around a recurring character, a familiar setting, or a repeated emotional experience.
In Romance, this might be a group of friends, each finding love in turn. In Crime Fiction, it might be a single investigator returning to solve new cases. In Cozy Fiction, it might be a village or community that becomes as much a character as the people within it.
Many of you may view these stories as “spin-offs,” but the reader is now invested in those characters and that world, so think about how you can give them more of what they love. From epic adventures across multiple tomes and the history of a family through the ages to the behind-the-curtains stories of people whose only commonality is that they buy their coffee from the same barista on the corner of Elm Street—more is more. And readers love it.
The connecting thread doesn't have to be complicated. It just has to be clear.
Planning Ahead Without Locking In
Thinking in series terms early can save you work later and help you avoid writing yourself into corners. For example, if you're writing a Contemporary Romance and you give your main character three close friends, you've just created the potential for three more books.
But here's the important part: Thinking in series terms doesn't mean you must write one. Not every book needs to be part of a series, and stand-alones can work beautifully, especially when they share a thematic or tonal link. Consider interest in the story—both your readers’ and your own. Are there characters you want to revisit or worlds you’d happily return to from a different angle? Are there books your readers can’t seem to get enough of? These are the books that you should consider expanding. On the other hand, if you hate the thought of returning to a certain character or your readers don’t connect with one of your worlds, writing more books like the first may not be the answer.
Your first book should always work as a stand-alone. Readers hate feeling trapped into buying book 2 just to get a complete story. But if that stand-alone leaves them wanting more of your world? That's where series magic happens.
Ask yourself: If this book were successful, what would success look like to you? More of the same, or something new built on the same foundations?
My Own Evolution
When I started writing, I treated every book as a self-contained mountain to climb. Now I see books more like stepping stones across a river. Each one matters, but they're part of a wider crossing.
This shift came from watching which of my books readers wanted more of and which ones felt complete on their own.
As you move into the next phase of your writing life, give yourself permission to think expansively without locking anything down. You are not deciding your future. You are sketching possibilities.
And that is a very good place to be.
Reflection Exercise
As you think about your current project, ask yourself the following:
- What do I love most about the story I'm writing?
- Could that element support more than one book?
- Do I prefer returning to familiar characters or starting fresh?
- If I imagined three books instead of one, what might connect them?
Reality Check-In
I'm mapping out a potential three-book arc for my Romance series, even though I haven't finished drafting book 1 yet. This feels premature and exciting in equal measure.
The connecting thread I'm exploring is a small bookshop in a coastal town. Each book would follow a different person connected to the shop finding love. The location stays consistent, some characters recur in supporting roles, but each romance is complete.
I'm not committed to this structure yet. But thinking this way is already influencing how I'm building the world in book 1. I'm leaving threads I can pick up later, planting characters who could carry their own stories, and creating a setting that feels rich enough to support multiple books.
It's a different kind of drafting than I'm used to. More deliberate. More patient. But it’s also more exciting, because I'm building something that could grow.
Happy writing,
Susan
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