Okay, as one might expect, I've been thinking a lot about sequels and series lately. Now that I'm finally publishing, I have to look at the next stage in my career.
I've really never written a sequel before. I have one book where I stopped halfway through because the book was running too long, then finished it in a 'second' book, but that doesn't quite count--I really wrote one big book and split it into two. I've also done a couple of major rewrites to books, re-vamping characters or a setting with a new story. This, however, is really more of a complete rewrite of the same book than it is a sequel.
Lately, I've been thinking about the different 'models' that writers seem to use when planning their series.
The Jordan Model: One continuous story that's done when (if) you get to the end.
The Eddings Model: One continuous story divided into a pre-determined number of books.
The Bujold/Card Model: More episodic story centered around the life of a single, interesting character.
The McCaffery Model: Episodic series with a general over-arching storyline, different books focusing on different viewpoint characters in the same world.
Now, so far I've always followed the Eddings or the Jordan model in my planned sequels. However, I've been thinking that I'd really like to launch a McCaffery style series. It would let me do what I like--develop new cultures and magics in every novel--yet at the same time give me the market benefit of a cohesive 'series.'
Thoughts? (I'm thinking of using the AETHER OF NIGHT world as a launching point for this series, in case you were wondering.)