Today I’m giving two presentations at the Willamette Writers Conference in Portland, Oregon. One is on researching your novel to make it more authentic; the other is on writing a book series. The fun part of putting the latter talk together, was delving into the history of series. Here, for fun, is some of what I found. These snippets of information will also serve as downloadable notes for those taking the course today.
- 75% of book series are for kids, and most are fiction
- Series got their start in the early 1900s because dime novels made them affordable
An article to read: “Writing series: Three authors tell all”: https://pamwithers.com/?p=209
Historical perspective: How many titles did various series go to back when? (Wikipedia)
Wizard of Oz, starting in 1900, went to 14 titles
Tale of Peter Rabbit, 1902, 6
The Bobbsey Twins, 1904, 72
Tarzan, 1914, 26
Nancy Drew, 1930, 175
Little House on the Prairie, 1932, 12
Perry Mason, 1933, 82
Curious George, 1941, 58
James Bond, 1953, 14
Master and Commander, 1969, 21
Sweet Valley High, 1983, 400
Dummies, 1991, 1,800
Captain Underpants, 1997, 11
Harry Potter, 1997, 7
Popular Culture and Philosophy Series, 2000, 89
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, 2001, 5
Currently, the most popular series (first title represents series; info from Wikipedia):
1. Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
2. Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
3. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
4. Divergent, Veronica Roth
5. Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
6. Twilight, Stephenie Meyer
7. Vampire Academy, R. Mead
8. Clockwork Angel, Cassandra Clare
9. Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
10. Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R.Tolkien
11. Lost Hero, Rick Riordan
12. Eragon, C.Paolini
13. Uglies, Scott Westerfeld
14. Maze Runner, James Dashner
15. Hush, Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick
16. Chronicles of Narnia, C.S.Lewis
17. Bad Beginning, Lemony Snicket
18. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
19. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, D. Adams
20. Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris
Books I recommend for outlining a novel:
Statistics
Adult series’ most popular genres (in alphabetical order)
Children’s series’ most popular genres (in alphabetical order):
FICTION
NONFICTION
Resources I recommend:
Examples of publishers who specialize in series (for more, Google “submission guidelines” and “book series” or check out goodreads.com, http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1381.Best_Series):
Top-earning book genres (http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/which-5-book-genres-make-the-most-money/?view=all):
Here’s how to locate them.
1. Go to my home page (www.PamWithers.com)
2. Click on “Books” at the top right.
3. Note the list of my titles on the middle right, and click on the one that interests you.
4. Click on “Read the story behind the book” just below the book summary.
Which inside stories are most interesting? I’d say First Descent, Andreo’s Race and (if you like horror stories, because every author has at least one) Paintball Island. Happy reading!
