How to Structure Your Entire Book Series In Advance 

I am a Fictionary Certified Story Editor, and I can give you my thoughts based on what I know. And hopefully Kristina will see your post and fill in any gaps (or make any corrections). To clarify, do you mean, is it possible to have one series where some of the books are standalones, and some are like 2 or 3 books that are part of an overarching story arc? If so, I have never seen that. BUT I have read a number of books by authors where they have more than one series, or one or more series and some standalones, in the same story universe. If you're a fantasy reader, an example is Brandon Sanderson, who has done this with his Cosmere universe. He has a number of books set in this universe, but they are not all part of the same series. On his website, he explains, "All of my Cosmere books share a single creation myth, a single cosmology, that gives underlying theorem of magic for all these connected worlds." But The Mistborn Trilogy and the Stormlight Archives, for example, though both set in the Cosmere, are not part of the same series. I've also recently read some sci-fi romance books by authors who have done the same thing. For example, Chani Lynn Feener has different series and some standalones set in the same story universe, and what differentiate them as standalones or as separate series is that each series was set around a different group, person, or planet in that universe. For example, one series is called The Devils of Vitality, set on a planet called Vitality (hence the title). It's a dark sci-fi college romance series. It's a 3-book open series, with each book focusing on a different person from the "Devils of Vitality" group and their love interest. The books each have a different protagonist and can be read as standalones and out of order (though there are references to characters from the other books, you don't need to read the other books in order to follow the story). Then she has a closed series called A Whisper in the Dark, set on a different planet (Sanctum) in that same universe. It's a series of 3 books that follows one particular character. Those books follow that character as he's on the run, then captured, then "kind of" free. On the romance side of that, he and his love interest went from enemies, to kind-of friends, and finally to lovers over the course of the three books in the series. I think it's important to look at the story and series arcs that Kristina talked about in the video. Are the books all necessary to the story arc of the series, if it's a closed series? Are there books in there that aren't really necessary to fulfilling (or failing) the series goal? If so, they might be considered a separate series, or standalones in the same story universe. If it's an open series, what is it that unifies them? If it's something like a story world or setting, that can be enough to make books part of the same series, but is there a more specific category, or more specific elements, that can divide them into different series within the same universe? For example, with Bridgerton, it's not just the fact that they are all set in Regency England, but also that they follow members of the same family (and have the same general story arc) that make them part of the same series. I hope this helps.

@@sherryleclerc2743 OK, currently, I see this working with all of the books and series being in the same universe. They will also have members from the same organization. Most of them will be from other books (i.e., A support character or secondary protagonist in one book/series will be the protagonist in another book/series). How would you denote this so the reader will know what to expect?

@@troyphillips6820 The short and easy answer is to give them different series names. You can even put explanations in your forward, back matter, and/or marketing blurb that, though they are in the same universe as a, b, and c, the books x, y, and z are a part of series B. The more in-depth answer is that it is an artistic choice--in other words, it's up to you as the author which books you want to put together in one series, which you want to be standalones, if you want them to be open or closed series, etc. Ask yourself if there's a common thread or common/similar general story goals you want to emphasize with certain books that would put them together as an open series, or if there are books with a closed series arc that can be set apart from the other books in the same universe. For example, you said you have some that are a books in a closed series, so there has to be a common thread there that ties them together, right? And if it's a closed series, that means that each book in the series, though they each have their own individual story arc, are also all part of the larger story that is the series (i.e. are all parts of the series arc). You can give these books a series name based on that common thread or series arc, and any others related to each other series names based on their common thread or series arc. Any from the same universe that aren't part of a particular common thread, or are not a part of a series arc, can be left as standalones. I hope this is clear and not so wordy that it feels convoluted. As an example of what I mean, I write sci-fi romance under a different pen name from my fantasy novels. In my current sci-fi romance series, each protagonist in the later books are secondary characters from Book 1. They are all members of the crew of the space ship seen in the first book, and the books' skeleton blurbs are almost exactly the same (in the way that the Bridgerton series books' invidual skeleton blurbs are similar), aside from the names. But I also plan to write other books in the same universe using characters other than those crew members, so they will be either standalones or part of a different series. The books in a series can have different protagonists (as you said, "A support character or secondary protagonist in one book/series will be the protagonist in another book/series") whether it's open or closed. And there is no reason why you couldn't take a secondary character from one series and give them their own standalone book or series. For example, in the fantasy genre, I have a closed series where "secondary" characters from book 1 are the protagonists in the following books. They are all "guardians" of the realm, and each book has a different protagonist in order to show how each of them has a journey and goal that will contribute to beating the bad guy in the final book (where we'll see the four of them coming together for the big battle). Each of them has their own story that has a part to play in being able to defeat the "big boss" in that final book. They are all cogs in the wheel that is the whole series, so to speak. But I also have a novella that's like a 'side trip' from the main series. It focuses on two characters' love story (it's more romance centred than the main series), and the protagonist of the novella isn't one of the guardians, but one of the minor henchmen (a "bad guy" that turns out to be not so bad after all) we meet in book 1. Though the things that happen in that book are related to what is happening in the series, the information in the novella isn't actually necessary to understanding what's happening in the series. So if you go to my Amazon Author Central page, for example, it shows the first 2 books (the series isn't finished yet) as part of the same series, but if you searched up the series title, it doesn't show the novella as part of the series. Instead, Amazon considers it "related" to the series. So, as subtitles I have A Trial of Kingdoms Book 1 and A Trial of Kingdoms Book 2, then I have A Trial of Kingdoms Novella, which I numbered as 1.5 in brackets to show that it is related to the series, but not part of the main series. It's like a little side journey from the main series plot arc.

​@@sherryleclerc2743 So, give them different series names and then denote that they are in the same universe (i.e., "A Hassu Lú Sag Chronicles Novel") on the cover?

@@sherryleclerc2743 I think a good example of this is The Expanse series by S.A. Corey. They published a series of novellas related to the Expanse universe, but either give a main character's backstory in detail, or is related some other way. The novellas are numbered with decimals, i.e., 3.5 in Series: The Churn.