The May edition of Red Herrings, the bulletin of the Crime Writers’ Association, has landed. I take particular encouragement from an article by Chris Nickson titled: CRIME SERIES IN BOOKS – WHY WRITE THEM?
Chris explains that publishers love a series because after a reader finishes the first, they’re invested in the character and likely to read the following books. He then says “I was once told that six books in a series is a magic number, critical mass for people to be fully aware of it.” I read around the time that I began writing The Spy who Sank the Armada that the sweet spot is between five and seven books, and that thereafter they sell themselves, without newsletters or promotions.
This is particularly good news for me because I am working on the sixth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures at present. This morning I reached 17,000 words. If you have read the series so far, you may wonder where the fifth book went. The manuscript is complete, but I haven’t published it yet. The title is Serpent’s Teeth. My work in progress is Cade’s Point. My plan is to publish both at the same time, hopefully in time for Christmas. I published the first two books, The Spy who Sank the Armada, and Fire and Earth at the same time. It makes the learning process of creating ebooks and formatting for paperback more efficient. Even at a local level it means I will have two new books for my stand at the village Christmas Fayre. It also frees the decks for my planned academic dive into history. Although I have always had an interest in history, my formal education in history ended when I made my O-level choices at fourteen, and pursued the science and languages route.
At 17,000 words, publication by Christmas feels like a tall order. However I have found that speed increases the further I get into the narrative. I just hope my cover designer can fit me in.