how to finish WRITING a book series? market a book 3? keep readers invested? build hype? structure?

Рет қаралды 3,810

Bethany Atazadeh - YA Fantasy Author

Күн бұрын

This Q&A is all about WRITING & PUBLISHING a series, specifically the sequels and final books in that series - and there were so many good questions! We're going to talk about finishing a series strong, saying goodbye, marketing later books in the series, keeping readers invested, how to structure / plan a series, and more!
MENTIONED IN VIDEO:
◦ Beta Reader Playlist: • BETA READERS
◦ How to Market a SEQUEL (book 2 versus book 1): • How to Market a Book S...
◦ BookBub Feature Deal: • I GOT A BOOKBUB DEAL! ...
◦ Save the Cat Writes a Novel OUTLINING EXPERIMENT: • OUTLINE A BOOK WITH ME
** PUBLISH AND THRIVE COURSE** (coming back soon!): heartbreathings.teachable.com...
◦ My Self-Publishing course: www.udemy.com/course/novel-se...
TIME STAMPS:
0:49 - finish a series strong?
3:30 - how do you say goodbye?
6:19 - manage reader expectations?
8:00 - keep readers invested?
9:36 - fave/most effective series marketing strategies?
14:15 - what if the tone/theme changes across the series?
17:40 - how do you structure a trilogy?
21:00 - should I write ALL the books? or one at a time?
25:02 - mistakes / plot holes you had to deal with?
26:05 - what is the best book size?
28:45 - what resources (books / courses) do you have?
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📖 T H E Q U E E N ' S R I S E S E R I E S :
◦ THE SECRET GIFT: books2read.com/thesecretgift
◦ THE SECRET SHADOW: books2read.com/thesecretshadow
◦ THE SECRET CURSE: books2read.com/thesecretcurse
📚 T H E S T O L E N K I N G D O M S E R I E S :
www.bethanyatazadeh.com/thest...
◦ COLLECTOR'S EDITION / BOX SET: amzn.to/34A9wFw
◦ THE SECRET GIFT: books2read.com/thesecretgift
◦ THE STOLEN KINGDOM: books2read.com/thestolenkingdom
◦ THE JINNI KEY: books2read.com/thejinnikey
◦ THE CURSED HUNTER: books2read.com/thecursedhunter
◦ THE ENCHANTED CROWN: books2read.com/theenchantedcrown
◦ The Stolen Kingdom Audiobook: www.audible.com/pd/B088FVQNJK...
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📖 B E C O M E A P A T R O N :
Where you can receive digital early reader copies of my books, writing & publishing advice, help with your author platform, meet writer friends, and more!
/ bethanyatazadeh
💻 M Y A U T H O R N E W S L E T T E R :
Sign up for FREE exclusives (the first HALF of The Stolen Kingdom + a step-by-step self-publishing guide): www.bethanyatazadeh.com/contact
❤️ M Y M E R C H :
teespring.com/stores/bethanya...
📚 M Y S E L F P U B L I S H I N G C O U R S E :
www.udemy.com/course/novel-se...
___
📒 M Y O T H E R W O R K :
◦ EVALENE'S NUMBER: amzn.to/3sZPlKi
◦ PEARL'S NUMBER: amzn.to/3Kyp63Q
◦ MARKETING FOR AUTHORS SERIES: amzn.to/3pTrbPG
◦ THE CONFIDENT CORGI: amzn.to/36aJd9m
◦ Novel Planner Notebook (mug cover): amzn.to/3hYnzYo
◦ Novel Planner Notebook (laptop cover): amzn.to/3KwvW9Z
___
❤️ C O M P A N I E S I L O V E & A M A N A F F I L I A T E F O R :
◦ PUBLISH AND THRIVE: heartbreathings.teachable.com...
◦ WRITING STICKERS & the book launch planner (10% off discount code is BETHANY10): stoneridgestickers.com/?ref=Q...
◦ EPIDEMIC SOUND (where I get my music! If you'd like to try it for a month, using this link gives me a free month! Thank you in advance!): www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
◦ DRAFT2DIGITAL: www.draft2digital.com/bethany...
💬 L E T ' S C O N N E C T 💬
Website | www.bethanyatazadeh.com
Instagram | / authorbethanyatazadeh
KZfaq | / bethanyatazadeh
Patreon | / bethanyatazadeh
___
Thanks for watching!
❤️ Bethany
Note: some of these links are affiliate links and will support me with a little extra income at no extra cost to you. :)
#Authortube #NovelWriting #SelfPublishing

Пікірлер: 40

@melissafrick3997 6 ай бұрын

I always tell my beta readers "annotate that Google doc like a regular book! Talk to it like a friend! Act like you're hashing it out with your best friend and leave all your comments and feels!"

@susanreimer9317 6 ай бұрын

The lesson which is “the lie that they’re telling themselves in the beginning flipped on its head.” Such a succinct way of explaining this concept. Thanks!

@ericarowanarts 6 ай бұрын

These were super helpful! I'm in the middle of writing book 2 in my first series and was waffling on whether or not I should go back and add chapter 1 to book 1 at the end and you convinced me to do it! I'll have to adjust my cover to account for the extra pages but I think it'll give me more click-thrus! Thank you for sharing your insights!!

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

Yay I’m so happy it was helpful! And that’s awesome, I think teasers for the next book in series can’t hurt and they def grab me as a reader! :)

@AuthorAnnaCatanzariti 6 ай бұрын

I have recently thought about getting into my fairytale retelling series. Ive very nervous cause i am someone that wants to do all the things, but this video is inspiring me

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

Writing a series is a lot of fun, if you're interested maybe give it a shot!

@ReasNailWorld 6 ай бұрын

Thank you, Bethany❤ Because of you, I motivated to write again😊

@DeeBlaregold 6 ай бұрын

Wow! How exciting! Thanks for sharing your advice.

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

@nataliest.5234 6 ай бұрын

I wanted to comment and say that I finally, finally published my book today, due in no small part to all of your videos. I figured out how to format thanks to you, and figured out how not to give up when I really just wanted to go play in traffic at some points. Thank you so much!

@saritaschaffter9276 6 ай бұрын

I am planning to write a trilogy. Got my titles figured out and genre. But I’m planning on rapid releasing starting next year. This video was inspiring.

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

That's awesome! Glad you enjoyed the video!

@Iheartyt5596 5 ай бұрын

I agree I’m also going to finish this series regardless of how book one does. Been working on it since 2017 can’t give up on my characters. But I’m going to hold back book 1 until the second is done. Hopefully by May. Already got 3 chapters written. This was honestly the deciding factor to not go with trad publishing. They don’t want a series book 1 that can’t be a standalone and if book one doesn’t do well they don’t want book 2 and tell you to move on and write something new. I literally cannot do this. I’m too invested and need to see it through!

@kellypicard7927 6 ай бұрын

Great topic!

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@ElsaLouiseSinger 6 ай бұрын

I'm working on book 2 in my superhero duology and working on a long middle grade series, so as I only have to worry about a book 2, I'm a little nervous for my MG series. However, I really want to make my MG series sort of like Magic Tree House and how I read those as a kid was not in order, but whatever we had at home or whatever interested me in the series regardless of the number they were in the book and that series still has an overarching story but they can also be read as standalones, at least how I read them as a kid

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

That's awesome!

@ivanaparty85 6 ай бұрын

I found that I really want to write my ending even though I'm only five chapters in and basically connect the dots

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

Nothing wrong with writing out of order, if that works for you! :)

@davidmackie3497 6 ай бұрын

Isaac Asimov would always write his ending first.

@kayweda5929 6 ай бұрын

Some of the tips in this video remind me of what I read in Helen Scheuerer's "How to Write a Successful Series: Writing Strategies for Authors over" break. Good book. I recommend it.

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

Oooh that sounds really good, I’ll have to check it out, thank you!

@kayweda5929 6 ай бұрын

@@BethanyAtazadeh I loved it and could not put it down! One of the best non-fiction books I've read because she uses examples from trad & indie books, movies/TV and her own experience with the process for her own (indie) books.

@mlbullbooks 6 ай бұрын

Great info! I’ve got some ideas how I plan to market my trilogy series books, and I may partially use my Kindle Vella too, as it’s based on the childhood adventures of the main character and pastor (Isaiah Johnson) of my trilogy series. Some authors have used their Kindle Vella series to build interest in a related book series.

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

That’s awesome, that could be fun!

@teachermom2509 6 ай бұрын

Do you set a goal on how many books you will write in a year? If so, what is your goal?

@davidmackie3497 6 ай бұрын

You almost answered the following question, but not quite. Question: Assuming I've _already_ written a 5-book cycle that is one long story (with 4 intermediate semi-resolutions, of course), should I release all 5 books at once, or one book at a time? Personally, I don't like to start reading a book series until it's done. (I've been burned a few times with series that never got finished.) But maybe the anticipation for each new book would hype the series??? [Everyone feel free to give your opinion.] How this happened: I work FT, and in my spare time have been writing a book that turned into a trilogy that turned into a 5-book cycle. I've never tried to get any published because I didn't have time for both writing and publishing, and writing was a better hobby. But now I'm nearly done, and also close to retirement. So it's time for take this loaf out of the oven. Happily, I don't need to earn money from writing. But like any self-respecting author, I want my stuff to be read (and liked) by as many people as possible. p.s. They've gone through extensive editing and rewrites, and were liked by beta readers. So, assume they are good books in your answer. I'd love your thoughts on release strategy.

@speakingfromtheheart-f1h 6 ай бұрын

I know 3 book series and all, but how can you write a book duet?

@storyquest35 6 ай бұрын

It would be prudent I would think to warn the readers that the next books in the series are more intense by also maybe switching genres/niche? Like example my first novel I'm writing is probably going to be a new adult, fantasy romance but the next book will be more of a adult, spicy fantasy romance novel. Why? because my character's are maturing into adulthood. First book, they're around the ages of 17-19 and the next book they will be in their mid-twenties. So the romance will be building with each book. Is this correct to assume? Warn the reader before heading to next book. Not to mention I want the second book to be able to be a stand alone as well. If that makes sense.

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

If it’s a standalone that will help but I think everything I said in the video can still apply to an extent because you will want your readers to read both books, so yeah just being super clear about it in your marketing. As far as changing genres, if it applies then yeah definitely, although readers don’t typically check a books genre in my experience, it might still help on the back end.

@Perseph23pom 6 ай бұрын

On behalf of my own inprogress series, thank you for this video. Just wondering, which video you have is to look for finding beta readers and to tell them apart from scammers?

@5Gburn 6 ай бұрын

Good one. There is no way except to have them sign a notarized NDA and send it to you via snail mail (you'd have to compensate them for this, which limits it to the amou t of betas you can afford). This still doesn't prevent the possibility 100%. An added layer of protection is to register your copyright with the copyright office and re-register it once you've published the final draft. If you do that you can put a warning on page 1 of your beta read document including the copyright registration number. Even if you only do that second step it'd highly discourage potential IP pirates.

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

Glad to help! Here's my video on how to find betas: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/a9Cmqd14ntangI0.html (It's a super old video, but still all the things I'd say now.) As far as scammers, I would disagree with that comment below, I think there are multiple other ways you can protect yourself that are far less stressful or expensive. (1) your work is copyrighted under U.S. law the moment you write it, email it to yourself as proof if you ever need it (2) you're sending them a ROUGH draft of the book, not the final - honestly, anyone who wants to steal it would have to do the work to edit it and make it good, which isn't going to happen because the whole point of stealing is that they're too lazy to do that - people who pirate books are going to be pirating the ones already published on amazon, not partially edited books. (3) you can create a google form to ask some questions and weed out people who are too lazy to answer - again scammers/piraters are lazy, they're looking for a QUICK steal, not something that includes a lot of work (4) my personal favorite - send them the book in pieces, not all at once. ONLY the beta readers who put in the work to make thoughtful, helpful notes (which show they're clearly invested and again not scammers) are allowed to continue on reading. Just to name a few examples of what you could do. p.s. don't stress about this, it's VERY VERY unlikely.

@Cozylittlewildrose 6 ай бұрын

I have a side note- how do I apply the beat sheet Save the Cat to short stories? 😅

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

The same way you'd apply them to books, if you've read STC? It's all about them happening at rough percentages, so they'd just happen faster?

@kayweda5929 6 ай бұрын

I spy the Queen's Rise omnibus proof under the Secret Gift on your right (our left) ;)

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

Hehe nice catch! I’ve been sneaking it in now and then to see if anyone might notice!

@NotMolly-jf2rh 6 ай бұрын

All of my friends and most of my family is already dead so where do i find trustworthy beta readers?

@BethanyAtazadeh 6 ай бұрын

None of my family or friends are on my beta team, I post a sign up form online with each new book. Check out my beta reader videos for more tips: kzfaq.info/sun/PL3IFBPbxQRyqamqUdk8eV4n5YO813X61g&si=VddYUY1YspHiwq5N