Welcome to the Supernatural Underground!
In this post, I'm exploring what readers want in their Fantasy Fiction, series or standalone. Some say it boils down to things like mood, attention span, ability to commit... time constraints. I think it is more about personal taste in literary style and favorite authors. Still, we can't always explain why we love the color blue over red but we feel the truth of it just the same.
Is it a standalone novel you reach for first? A complete story from beginning to end in one volume? There are some fantastic ones out there.
Sarah Beth Durst is a master at this subgenre, as is V. E. Schwab, Holly Black, Garth Nix, Tanith Lee, Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood...so many more.
Or do you prefer a series with a much longer story arc divided into multiple books? Are you willing to wait the year or more between instalments in order to experience such an epic tail?
NOTE: There is also a subcategory of the series, immensely popular in the 1800s and not unlike online streaming platforms are these days. Enter the serialized novel. Here the story is delivered over a period of time in bite-size chunks, usually marked by cliffhangers at every mini-conclusion.
Care to weigh in? I'll post the results near the end of the month!
I'd love to hear more in the comments!
xxKim
9 comments:
Standalones are relatively uncommon these days. Three (and oddly, duologies these days) definitely seem the rule, not the exception. So reaching for a standalone takes *work*.
As a keen reader, reviewer, and commentator, Paul, do you have any thoughts on whether the novella has stepped into the standalone slot over recent years?
Oh, the novella! That's a good Q, Helen.
Paul, you are right, there are fewer standalone books in Fantasy than series. If we look at sub-genres of Spec Fic like YA Fantasy, SF and Horror, we'll find more, but for traditional fantasy, three seems a magic number. (Or more for Urban Fantasy!)
My agent was saying the other day that the shift is toward scaling down to duologies or standalone, mainly for economic reasons. The market is definitely changing!
Thanks for jumping in with your voice, and putting up with the polling issues.
I'm a fan of all types, to pick and choose from depending on attention span, energy levels and need to escape, and of course the quality of the writing. Have been greatly enjoying novel serials from Anne Bishop lately, a good way to dip in and out of a world without feeling like you need to remember every aspect. The Alex Bledsoe tufa novels are also great for this. It's not dissimilar to a crime novel novel/tv series approach where you have common characters/worlds but new stories.
Then again have happily read the Wheel of Time series multiple times and will go back to it again if I need a real rabbit hole escape.
Probably not m
May I just say a big loud no to cliffhangers! 😁
Those are great examples, Unknown. :) I love that idea of a crime novel/tv procedural series where it's the same character and world but with new stories. Ones that can be read in any order.
And Anon, I have a love-hate relationship with cliffhangers. We certainly see them in the streaming platform series and TV. :)
I don't mind them in novels unless the publisher discontinues the series before it's complete!
Thank you both for dropping in!
📕 🙏🏼 ❤️
Kim! That unknown was me, getting cut off in half a sentence cause typing on phone weirdness. I think at the end I was trying to say having all options is good, though of course also knowing what type the current book/series you're getting into helps with that. Anyway I hope you're okay up there with all that water, and I'm pleased to hear Ava is getting some air. I look forward to seeing the new books xxo Shell
Personally I look for series. When its a good book, I just dont want it to end. And luckily I have been fortunate enough to find amazing series each time. And Im an avid reader
Shell! It's you!!!
This house is on sand and not in any catchment zone... still high and dry. So many are not so lucky. Blessings and strength to everyone out there who has lost their homes, and lives. It's traumatic for all touched by this constant rain and water rising...
I know the phone weirdness... OMGosh.... and I feel 'all options are good' too. But it's nice to KNOW in advance what you are getting into, as you say, though publishers rarely plan that far ahead. They want to see the results first (sales) either way.
Thanks so much for checking back in!
I hope to have amazing news to share soon!
xxKim 📕 🙏🏼 ❤️
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