Welcome to my weekly meme Tell Me Something Tuesday where I ask you something and you tell me the answer!! It’s as simple as that and I thought it would be a great way for all of us bloggers to get to know one another! So this is how it works: I post a question here on my blog and then i give my answer. I invite all the bloggers to take the question and post it on their blog with their answer and we can hop around and see what everyone says! If you are a blogger don’t forget to leave your link at the bottom of this post! If you aren’t a blogger – that’s okay too!! Leave your answer in the comments section!

 

 Tell Me Something:

At what point do you think a series has gone on too long? How long should a series be?

 

My answer:

This is a tough question because on one hand I love it when a series goes on because sometimes it’s hard to let certain characters go. Yet, on the other hand sometimes it feels like the story is just going on for the story sake, you know what I mean? Like it could have ended but then didn’t.

As a writer and a reader I think I would rather be left with wanting more of a story than left wishing it would end already.

That being said, in general, I think 3 -4 books in a series is a good number.  I feel like we get a lot of time with the characters and there is enough room to really make a story grow and be interesting. At the same time I think 3-4 books is still short enough that you don’t get the never-ending feeling.

An example of a series I think (again, this is my opinion) has gone on too long is:

The House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast.

I have read all the books in the series (not the newest novellas with extra background on the characters) and there have been quite a few of them that have left me banging my head in frustration or sometimes just plain mad. There was one book in the series that I completely didn’t really enjoy… it felt like an entire filler book that started at point A and stayed on point A until the last three pages where something happened then the book ended. Big. Fat. UGH.

So why did I read the next book? Because a friend of mine read it first and said it was better than the last and then she lent it to me so it was free. And to be honest, I like some of the characters. After like 7 or 8 books (I have stopped counting) I have gotten invested in some of them. To be truthful I am not a fan of Zoey the main character… she actually really annoys me. But I love Stark (one her many love interests) and Heath (also a love interest) and partway through the series I got really interested in her BFF, Stevie Rae’s storyline, so I kept reading just for that.

But at one point it felt the series could end and wrap up and they kind of restarted everything again…

Will I continue with the series? I am not sure yet. Possibly.

Another series that I think is going on a bit too long is:

The Black Dagger Brotherhood

Note: this is an ADULT series not a YA series

I actually really like this series and have read all the books except for the newest published. There definitely is room for this amount of books in the series (I think we are at 10 now…) because each one is based on a different character so it lends some new aspects and plotlines. It definitely works but it’s a lot of books with the same running theme.

I think one of my issues is I read the first 6 books or so back to back and I started to get tired of it all… I think it was just too much all at once. I think reading them a little more spaced out would work better for a series of this length. They are good though, so I would recommend them if you like adult books and vampires.

So that’s pretty much what I have to say. 3-4 books is I think the best amount. When you get up to 6, 7 and 8 the content will need to be really fresh and totally new. I think as a writer that is challenging and takes a lot of talent. Not that it can’t be done because it can (not sure I could do it, lol).

So what do you think?

 

Before you go grab next week’s question:

What do you think Ebooks should be priced at? How much is too much and what is fair?

 

Oh and one more little announcement! I have started Movie Monday! A weekly meme here where I review a movie or just talk about one. My first post was yesterday and is hearing some crickets, LOL. If you have a chance to stop by the please do!. AND if you want to maybe join in Movie Monday let me know and I will start putting up a linky so we can all talk movies together!

Also, tomorrow I am posting a special post about my experience with Ebook Pirating… a topic I have stayed quiet on. Find out why tomorrow!!!

Thanks Everyone!

Link up for this week here!



2 Comments

  1. I agree that if you are going to write a lot of books in the same series, you need to keep it fresh or else I will be bored and stop reading. I like your 3-4 rule, but I want to know ahead of time because I like to know what I am waiting for. Because if I can, I will wait until all the books are out and then read them all one after another. I’m weird like that, lol.:)

  2. I like your rule of 3-4 books as well, though I also like some series that go on a few more books, like 6-7 books. I also like Krista’s idea of waiting until all the books are out to read them in a series, but I find I can’t do that. Once I’m hooked on a series, I have to read the latest books asap. LOL

    I agree that HoN has gone on too long and it’s supposed to be a 12 book series. I stopped reading after Awakened, whatever number that is. I couldn’t invest anymore time into the characters and like you, found Zoey a little annoying (but still love Stark).

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