I usually like to go to independently owned coffee houses…but there come times when I really, really need a cup of coffee and Starbucks is the only thing around.
I popped in last week and instead of asking for a “small coffee” (I never look at their menu because it makes me confused), I got a little daring and asked for a small chai tea latte.
“A short or a tall?”
“A…well, the smallest size you have.”
“That’s a short. If you ask for a small, you get a 12 oz. tall. Medium is grande and venti is large.”
Oh.
She rang me up and said, “Here’s your treat receipt!” And then went off to make my drink. What the…..??
Once I figured out that was a coupon to come back later that same day, I realized my drink was ready…and they were asking me something else.
“Would you like a splash stick?”
Huh?
“I’m sorry—what’s a splash stick?” But I felt dumb for asking. Apparently, everyone else knew what a splash stick was.
She explained it was a device to plug up the sipping hole in the lid while I walked back out across the parking lot. She looked a little impatient by now.
As I left, I started thinking about how I feel when I leave Starbucks—confused. (Although that quickly morphs into hyper because I down the caffeine pretty fast.) I think they’re just used to their regulars over there—customers who visit every day and know the routine and the lingo.
It really doesn’t make me happy to feel like I don’t know what’s going on, and I don’t want my readers to have the same experience. I’m currently working on the third book of my series and I don’t want to make assumptions that my readers know what I’m talking about when I bring up people and places from previous books.
I think it’s easy to assume our series readers are regulars and know all the characters as well as we do. And that our readers will catch on to inside jokes from previous books in the series…or be acquainted with the series’ backstory.
I’ve read series books both out of order and with large gaps of time in between books. When characters aren’t really introduced, I’ll usually try to figure out who they are by the way they relate to other characters—but if I still don’t get it, I’m giving up…who has the time? I’d rather have a small tag that won’t bore the regular readers of the series but will fill in the newer readers: John, Mary’s oldest son, stomped into the room.
If there’s an inside joke or a character idiosyncrasy that cracks up the regular readers, then the new readers should be filled in to give them the opportunity to “get it” when the joke is made.
If there’s backstory from previous books that directly affects the plot, then it should be briefly worked in (probably through dialogue or some other pretty innocuous way). That would serve to both fill in new readers to the series, and to remind regular readers of background, too.
We can write each book in our series as a standalone and play it perfectly safe—but then we do risk boring the readers who have read the previous books in our series. It’s a little bit of a balancing act.
How do some of your favorite authors fill in new readers while keeping regular readers from getting bored? How do you do it, if you write series?
My favorite series have generally been ones that build on one another to the point that you’re entirely lost if you haven’t started at the beginning.
Christopher Paolini, author of the Inheritance saga (it’s fantasy for YA), started the 3rd book in the series with a sort of foreword, if you will, that recapped the major events of the first two books. Then he started with the book itself.
I write fantasy where the stories do tend more to build on those of the previous books rather than be true standalones. I’ve yet to figure out how to tackle the issue, but there’s a sort of given that you’d read the first book before the others unless you really want to jump in medias res.
I was so CONFUSED the first time I went to a US Starbucks (we don’t have them at all in Norway – which I think is a shame since I secretly love Starbucks even if I too like the principle of indie coffee shops – but I have visited Starbucks in other countries before). The sizes were okay – those I’d already familiarized myself with in Japan – but the speed of things in there, and that you had to order in one queue, pay in another, and get your drink in a third, was just too much to handle at first ;)
As for series and clues – I never read series out of order, so I tend to get annoyed with books that reiterate major parts of the previous book(s) for the benefit of new readers. Then again, a few reminders isn’t too bad – in fact it can be helpful even if you have read the previous books, because often you have waited a while for a sequel, so every detail from the first book might not be fresh in mind. It’s good to have a short “where were we” early in the book.
I quite liked how JK Rowling did this – every one of her books started with the end of the summer vacation before the new year at Hogwarts, so that a casual mention of what had happened to Harry before the summer felt casual and not out of place.
That is a tough one, isn’t it? Specially in a mystery series, where you should also be careful that you do not inadvertantly give the ending of the previous books away. While at the same time make sure people who have read and loved in order get their money’s worth.
We don’t have any independently owned coffee houses nearby but we do have a Starbucks (a favorite place of mine). It took me forever to say grande instead of medium. LOL
I enjoy a series when you’re able to read a book out of order and not feel like saying, ‘what are they talking about’ all the time. Instead, when you finish your interest is peaked so that you go looking for the other books to fill in that ‘hint’ of background that the author gave you.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Elizabeth – What an important thing to write about! I agree that series authors can sometimes make things a bit hard for their readers who “join the series already in progress.” What some of my favorite authors do is slip in backstory here and there (e.g. “_____’s wife, who had just recovered from ____” to describe someone who met with an accident in an earlier novel). That way, the reader gets to know the characters and can go back if s/he wants.
A pet peeve? Authors who give spoilers to Book 1 in Book 2.
Definitely important to fill in the important blanks–but not the UNimportant ones. My biggest pet peeve when reading is when a writer defines words–even if they are big ones–and adds extra sentences to explain the unnecessary. Please don’t treat readers like they can’t read on or between the lines!
How do I do it? I edit, edit, edit and have others read, read read. This way, I can add or subtract as I see is needed, and others can tell me if it’s too much or not enough information.
Michele
SouthernCityMysteries
Oh, Elizabeth, your experience at Starbuck’s reminds me of how I felt at folkdance camp this year trying to do English Country dances and not knowing which way to go half the time. I just laughed at myself. But as a reader, I get frustrated when I don’t know what’s going on, so there is some really good advice here for series writers. Sorry I don’t have anything to add.
Karen
I struggle with this one because although I’m writing connected books, I don’t have that multi-book deal, so I have to consider the fact that I might end up pitching book 3 to a totally different publisher, and it won’t be hooked back with boos 1 and 2.
I’m totally anal about reading in order. I’ve stopped reading mid-book when I realize one of the characters has had her story told in a previous book. I want to know how he/she got there.
It’s a bit different in mystery, because I think authors can refer to other cases without the reader having to know how they were solved. But the person to person stuff–I want to watch that grow.
Robert Crais used Joe Pike as a secondary character for many books before giving him one where he starred. There was no problem reading it out of order, BUT the experience was much richer if you’d read the others, because you could really feel for him, knowing how his past shaped his behavior in that book.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
As I’m working on a sequel to my upcoming book, I’m trying to remember to drop a line now and then that references and explains what happened in the past.
I can so relate to this. I’m a fairly new member of a local group and I still feel like you did at Starbucks. Hate that. Haven’t had the series problem. Yet.
My favorite series, still is, are the alphabet mysteries by Sue Grafton. She always has a paragraph or two along the way to tell us what happened in the past.
I, too, have an on-going series started, as stand-alones and it is a lot harder than I thought it would be getting the characters organized.
That’s so funny! You should try ordering a Starbucks coffee in Mexico. They keep asking me questions in Spanish I don’t understand. “I just want a coffee!”
My mysteries are code based and I leave all my codes at the beginning of the novel, that way, if a reader wants to solve it ahead of time they can. But, I drop hints to solving both the codes and the mystery throughout the book.
CD
Elizabeth, I’ve been to Starbucks millions of times, have never been asked whether I’d like a splash stick, and had no idea what one was until I read your post and the linked USA Today article! I so admire your facility for taking everyday events in your life and relating them so effectively to writing.
Books in a series tend to build on each other, but, you’re right, you have to satisfy your regular readers while not losing the new ones.
I once read a book in a series where the author just stopped and reintroduced what had happened in the past. I kept reading since I knew the author and liked the series, but otherwise, I’m not sure I would have.
Helen
No slapstick coffee for me, thank you!
As I have not even sold no 1 yet, I have not worried too much about no 2. But I certainly agree that readers should be able to grab any book in a series and get the point unless it is clearly stated it is a trilogy or something.
I like how J.K. Rowling introduces each book in the series. The first chapter usually begins in the summer a few weeks before school starts, and Harry’s waiting for the owl post. When he gets the mail (or not, it depends!) it’s a good way to explain who the people are sending him letters. But it all flows well and continues to move the story forward.
When I was young I never really liked how the Babysitters Club did that. It was just an information dump in the first chapter. So I’d skip that! But the later books in the series were written by ghostwriters, so I suppose it was easier just to cut and paste the same chapter.
I don’t drink coffee, but I got hot chocolate from Starbucks once and it confused me too. And that’s just cocoa. It’s all too complicated there!
Whenever I’m at a Starbucks, I always have to think of the scene from a Tom Hanks movie (I think it was “You’ve Got Mail”), where he and his friend go to Starbucks, and Tom Hanks says “Starbucks is for people who never get to make a decision in real life. Here they have to make five different decisions just to order a cup of coffee.”
I like reading series, and if an author peaks my interest with a good back story, I’ll usually go back and read the entire series from the start, even if I haven’t come in at the beginning.
I don’t know what’s wrong with using small, medium and large since they accurately describe the size of the drink I want. I’ve also never heard of a splash stick. Thanks to your blog, I am better prepared for my next trip to Starbucks:)
I haven’t tried writing a series, but understand what a fine line the author must walk in order not to give away too much from previous books or too little. I tend to read a series in order so I like subtle reminders of what may have happened in the past without having to reread the entire incident.
When we lived in Colorado I was nervous every day when ordering my lunch sandwich, with all the options. First the veggies; tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber … Then the cheese; American or Swiss. Then the dressing; ranch, Italian, … Then mustard or Dijon. After a while, fortunately, I got “my” sandwich and just ordered “the usual” every day, puh >:)
Cold As Heaven
It is such a careful line, isn’t it? I’ve been both annoyed at not being filled in, and annoyed at getting retold too much, though the second only happens if it comes too fast, I think–maybe it is a trick of pacing. I’m not looking forward to that part though (for my own book, I mean…)
comments:
Stephanie–I like the idea of a forward–especially with a complicated series like “Eragon” (which my son LOVES!)
Reading a series in order is definitely what we SHOULD do as readers. One of my concerns, though, is the difficulty accessing backlists (with some publishers). Sometimes the bookstore will have only the 2 or 3 latest books in the series and it can be harder to get the earlier ones. I think shelf space has gotten expensive.
Rayna–So true! I wanted to put in a line about something from Memphis book one…but it was going to give away too much. I got rid of the line, even though I thought it was clever. :)
Alex–And a line here and there is probably the perfect way to do it.
Cruella–YES! Oh my goodness. You just reminded me…I stood in the wrong line. I think the lady must have decided I was mentally deficient in so many ways…I stayed in the order line, thinking she’d give me my chai tea there. But no, she wanted me to move to a different line. Sigh.
You’re right about the placement of the “catching up” part of the book–early is better. I think, as long as the backstory isn’t too long, that readers will put up with a little bit of series backstory at the beginning of a book.
Rowling’s approach was brilliant.
Mason–I wonder why it’s so hard for me to order the way I’m supposed to at Starbucks! Surely I’m not becoming a rebel at the beginning of middle age!
Hints are perfect, I think.
Margot–Yes! Spoilers are SO frustrating! Especially in a mystery because I might have wanted to go back and READ that previous book…under the writer gave away the ending.
Piedmont Writer–I think Sue Grafton does a wonderful job with getting readers caught up. Good example!
Clarissa–I can’t imagine going to Starbucks in another country! It’s confusing enough here in the States…:)
Code-based? Very interesting! I like the idea that the reader has the choice of how far they want to go with it.
Michele–Probably even better if some of our beta readers weren’t familiar with the other books? That way they really could let us know what they found confusing.
h –Thanks so much! I’m so glad to hear that you’re a regular and hadn’t heard of the splash sticks either. This Starbucks location was barely more than a storefront…at a grocery store…so maybe they’re used to more pedestrian traffic in that location.
Helen–I’d like to think that I could pick up new readers with my second or third book in Memphis BBQ and then have them go backwards and still sort of know what’s going on….but it’s such a tricky balance.
Yeah, I don’t think it’s a great idea to hash through ALL the backstory. Unless it’s easy for the regular readers of the series to skip over (like if it were in a forward or something.)
Karen–I can only *imagine* trying to dance something different than I was used to! At least you kept your sense of humor. :) I don’t think I kept mine at Starbucks…
Terry–Now that would be a pain to write. So basically you almost have to write each book as a standalone.
I think you’re right that the series experience is a lot richer if we read in order–especially if there’s character development throughout the series.
Laura–Rowling handled it all really well…as she did with almost everything!
Oh, right–you know, I think a lot of children’s series do that info dump in the first chapter. I guess they assume that kids won’t read the series in order and they need lots of info? But I don’t think Nancy Drew did that…but the series was good to tag all the characters pretty well the first time they appeared in the book.
Haven’t tried the hot chocolate there, and now I’m scared to!
Carol–And sometimes we can just follow what the others do, but sometimes we can’t. No fun feeling like I’m out of the loop!
Jane–That’s what I think! Sigh.
And I’m with you…subtle reminders work best. And it would have worked well at Starbucks, too. Instead, we used up a lot of time with me being confused.
Dorte–Just plain coffee, right? :) I like the idea of being able to jump into a book, even if I haven’t grabbed book one.
Hart–I get annoyed both ways, too. :) I think I must be a hard reader to please…
That is a great point, and an author who does that well is Alexander McCall Smith – he makes sure newcomers don’t have to read from start to finish, but he doesn’t bore the old timers either. Magic. Agatha Christie is rubbish at this, sadly:(
Ingrid–And I’m one of those people who has a hard time making one decision! :)
That’s what I’m really looking for. I’m looking for readers who’ve just discovered my books *at* book 3, and go back and read the earlier ones. Fingers crossed.
Alexandra–I LOVE his books. And you’re right…he does it really well. I love Christie (one of the main reasons I’m writing today), but I agree with you on the sharing of series backstory with her…