How to Plot a Series That Rocks
How to Plot a Series That Rocks
The Painless Way to Plot a Series
Readers love to buy books in a series...
...but if you already struggle with plotting,
outlining a series can seem like an impossible task.
It's easy to get lost...
A well-written series can be addictive.
A few months ago, I bought a book on a whim -- an urban fantasy novel by an author I'd never heard of before. He hooked me on page one...
...and I spent the rest of the day devouring the story. It was funny, it was fast-paced, and I loved every second I spent with the characters.
Guess what I did after I read the last page?
I checked Amazon to see if he had any other books out.
I found two novels and six short stories, all focused on the characters I'd just fallen in love with.
I bought everything. Without reading the descriptions. Or the reviews. Or even checking the prices.
That's what a great series can do for your sales. Motivate readers to buy your entire backlist.
But plotting a series is a lot like juggling.
You have to...
+ Tell a bigger story, or weave multiple stories together so they dovetail cleverly
+ Give each installment a satisfying ending that makes the reader hungry for more
+ Set up each installment so the story feels like it's building toward something big
+ Weave connections between each installment that delight your reader
+ Make sure each installment moves the story forward
...and if you drop a single ball, you lose readers.
It's no wonder so many writers give up on writing series completely...even though they know that well-crafted series can be the difference between scraping by on your royalties and making a living as a writer.
I bet you already know that you should be writing series if you want to attract a lot of fans quickly.
You might even have tried to do it...and found that you didn't know how to sustain a story that complex.
Maybe you used up your big conflicts in book one, and had no idea where to go in book two.
Maybe you made it all the way through book four, but the story sags in books two and three.
Maybe you published your series and discovered that people who read the first book aren't buying the rest--your series didn't hook them.
All of those problems can be fixed before you start writing...if you've got the right tools.
I'm going to give you those tools in...
How to Plot a Series that Rocks
You'll learn:
- The 3 types of series, and how to structure each one
- How to start with the big picture of your series, then break it down into easy-to-write episodes
- How to use story questions to give the series a sense of rising action
- How to handle cliffhangers
- How to create connections between the stories in your series, even if each book has a new protagonist
- How to keep the romance going when a series features the same characters in multiple books
- How to generate internal conflicts big enough to last several books (and how to resolve those conflicts in stages)
- Tips for casting your series characters so they're strong enough to support a bigger story
- Techniques for constructing a world that unifies your stories and gives your series enough room to expand (into multiple series or spinoffs)
And to simplify the process of plotting, I'm going to give you templates for each installment of your series.
These templates will be flexible enough that you can adapt them to any kind of story...
...while giving you enough guidance that you won't be struggling to keep your series going.
You can reserve your seat for only...
Get started now!
Everything You Need to Plot a Compelling Series
You'll get:
- More than three and a half hours of instruction in both video (MP4) and audio (MP3) format
- 12 brainstorming worksheets to help you plan your series
- A guide to creating a series bible, so you don't lose track of any important details
- 20 plot templates that cover every type of episode you could write in every type of series
If you're writing short stories or novellas, series aren't just a good idea -- they're essential.
Because your audience is made up of four different types of readers:
Impulse Buyers: Readers who'll buy each new book in your series as soon as they come across it, because they want something fun to read right now. If they like what they read, they'll splurge--often buying an entire series at once.
Bargain Hunters: Thrifty readers who look for big box sets that allow them to buy a bunch of books at a discount. They won't spend 99 cents each for 6 books--but they feel like they've made a smart decision when they get those same six books in a box set for $4.99.
Multitaskers: Readers who listen to audiobooks while they're doing other things. The problem--if you're writing short stories or novellas? It's hard to find a good narrator who wants to take on projects less than an hour long, especially if you're royalty-sharing through ACX. A series-turned-audiobook is a meatier project that makes it easier to get your audiobook produced. Plus, readers don't want to spend one of their Audible credits on a short book when they could get a longer one.
Traditionals: Readers who want to curl up with a real print book. A novel-length book--they'll often balk at buying slender volumes containing a single short story or novella. Writing series that can be published in a print anthology allows you to tap into all those readers who don't buy ebooks, even if you're writing short stories.
If you're not giving each type of reader a chance to buy your fiction in the format they prefer, you're leaving some of your potential fans out in the cold.
Writing a series means plotting on a larger scale...but it doesn't have to be overwhelming.
Register your seat in How to Plot a Series that Rocks and get the tools you need to map out a series your readers will love.
This Is Your Complete "Write a Series in a Box" Kit.
If you want to write a series but feel overwhelmed by what a big project it is...How to Plot a Series that Rocks is the solution you've been looking for.
Regards,
Lynn
Frequently Asked Questions
Your Instructor
Bonnie Johnston is a writing mentor and award-winning author with a passion for teaching fiction writers how to increase the emotional impact of their stories to turn readers into fans.
She blogs at Write Smarter, Not Harder, where you can download her free ebook, Editing for Story.
She's also the author of The 30 Day Novel Workbook, The 30 Day Romance Novel Workbook, and The Writer's Guide to Getting Organized.
Bonnie would love to teach you her methods for plotting organically, creating archetypal characters, planning a series, making setting a character in your story, and much more.