Another part of writing a series is making certain your readers get a
recap when each successive book reaches publication. The difficult part of this
is giving only enough information for newcomers to be able to follow what's
going on, and for returning readers (who might have read the older books quite
some time ago) to be reminded of what they read in the previous volume. Sound
easy? It's not.
As the author, you know exactly what went on in your previous book. As
the author, you're too close to it. Your readers, on the other hand, may have
read lots of books between this one and the last, or they may be just starting
your series and reading it out of order. Therefore, each book must stand by
itself as well as continue the story from a previous volume. Are you beginning
to see how this can be more difficult than it sounds? It is.
Let's start by talking about background filler. Though background filler
is a major point to consider when first introducing a character, that character
has to have enough personality to make the correct impression—whether
protagonist or antagonist—on new readers right from the character's
introduction in each successive book. Professional editors are likely not going
to remember your individual characters from one book to the next, so they will
be looking for character identifiers from the get go. As for returning readers,
they too need a nudge regarding the characters' details and development to
envisage them as the story unfolds. Everyone needs to get to know your
characters from their present lives, not their pasts. Remember, just because
you introduced a character (or a scene, a location, a setting, etc) at the
outset of the series, readers rarely remember it later. You have to jog their
memories.
Protagonists must be consistent in the way they behave. They must have
powerful motivations and emotions. These attributes are far easier for readers
to remember than such things as physical details. It also helps if you can find
a way to mention something in the preceding book about the next one to come
(foreshadowing) and then repeat it in the following volume.
If all these things fail to happen, your editor may suggest you do a
rewrite. It happens more often than you want to think about.
Keep those fingers flying!
Dar
Chief Editor of JLB Creatives Publishing
About Dar Bagby:
Dar Bagby serves as the Senior Manuscript Editing and Proofreading Director at JLB Creatives Publishing.
Dar also has a degree in music, vocal performance; she is an operatic soprano. But she discovered early on that traveling with opera companies, away from her home and family, just wasn't for her. "A nice home on the lake is a much better fit for my choice of lifestyle," says Dar.
And of course she loves to read. Her favorite stories are those from novice authors who are trying out their writing wings for the first time. She even co-teaches a young writers workshop at a local library, along with Janet, the CEO of JLB Creatives, who appears via Skype at each session.
Dar's husband and she (and the dog) love camping. She says, "There is an unbelievable number of wonderful places to see right here in the U.P., and most of the places offer terrific campgrounds." Her enthusiasm does not stop there. "Being from the frozen north, we're avid hockey fans and are lucky enough to live close to a university that supports a team in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, so we attend most of their home games. We often have some of the players over for a home-cooked meal, as I love cooking for more than two people and enjoy entertaining whenever possible."
** Want to know more about getting your book published? Visit JLBCreatives.com and find out!
