Readers love book series. Publishers do, too. For the author, this could mean creating a world that will engage characters, a giant puzzle that has to be solved, one created with clues. For the author, it also means creating characters that readers will want to follow and to connect with. But this isn’t something an author can pull off without investing time and creative imagination. So how do you create a winning series? Below are some few tips:

Consider the Depth of Characters

You want to start by creating an interesting cast of characters and determine the role each of the characters plays in the series. Are you about to write a story that revolves around one character? How about the setting? Will your setting come out as a character, a place where emotions, life, a sense of mystery, excitement, etc. are deposited? This is the time you create your protagonist and set the limits. You want to determine the circle of friends, have a clear idea of what the villain looks like, and decide which character needs to die in the story and which survives.

The Relationship between the Different Books in the Series

You want to determine whether the books are supposed to be strongly connected, one with the next, or if they are going to serve as standalone entries in the series. You want to determine if the characters will evolve through a single, well-developed conflict or whether they will have to solve a mystery in each book in the series. For instance, Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling is written to be read in a sequence. The conflict grows in complexity from one book to the next and the characters develop as the conflict intensifies.

How Fast Is the Passage of Time in Your Series?

Time is a very important element of setting, but you want to think about time from the perspective of change. From the moment the story starts to when it ends, how much change will the characters go through? Will your young protagonist age through the story? What becomes of the world the characters inhabit? Readers are excited to discover the life of the place where your story takes place and as they explore your characters, they want to see them as they react to the changes in their lives and around their world.

Think about the Vastness of Your Story’s World

What kind of world do you want to create for your characters? Is it a world in which everyone knows everyone else or is it one that the characters begin to learn as they discover each other? What are the sophisticated elements of this world? What makes it unique?

These are four things you need to consider when creating a series and the more deeply you think about character, the links between the books, the speed at which time flies, and the nitty-gritty of the story world, the more likely you’ll create a story that is both exciting and meaningful for your readers.