WRITING Trilogies - How to sell a three-book series (Part three)
In Part 3, trilogy writer David Barker
looks at how to pitch a trilogy to an agent or publisher as well as the
commercial aspects of writing trilogies for traditionally and self-published
writers.
Let’s suppose you’re a pre-published writer and you have a great idea
for a trilogy. You’ve plotted it out and you can really see how the three
stories are going to pan out beautifully. What’s your next step? My advice
would be to write the first story and see where that takes you. The characters
or the world might reveal themselves to you in a way you hadn’t predicted and
that could have knock-on effects on the rest of the trilogy.
Assuming you’ve written the first story and still know
where the rest of the trilogy is headed, what’s next? That depends on how you
want your story to get to market. If you want to be traditionally published,
you’ll probably need an agent. And if you’ve visited many agents’ websites recently,
you’ll know not one of them is specifically looking for trilogies.
Agents have to fall in love with that first story above
anything else. So make sure it’s as polished as it can be, and make sure it’s
sufficiently self-contained that the agent doesn’t need to read the rest of the
trilogy before getting the concept, the characters, or the villain. But you should
absolutely make clear in your cover letter that your story has ‘series
potential’. This is a big boost to its commercial appeal even if the number of
subsequent books in the series is not yet specified.
Assuming the agent signs you up (hallelujah!), they will help figure out the best way to pitch your trilogy to publishers. At this point, you may be required to write a short synopsis for books two and three. Even if changes are suggested by your editor down the road, they’ll want to get a sense of where the overall story arc is going. Three-book deals are not uncommon – if a publisher is going to invest in a new series (and debut author), they’ll want to know there are at least two more books on the way.
The same process applies if you are un-agented and applying directly to indie publishers. When I approached Tiny Tree about the London Falling series, I didn’t have to write synopses for stories two and three but I did have to outline the rest of the trilogy during my meeting with them before they agreed to sign me for three books.
One of the oddest things I’ve noticed about trilogies is that they are nearly always described as a ‘new series’ when the first book is published, but never pre-announced as the start of a trilogy. That moniker is only ever applied in retrospect, it seems. I guess it gives the publisher maximum flexibility in case they want to extend the series, or woe betide, cut it short. They may expect momentum and author efforts to do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to publicising books two and three in a trilogy.
If you intend to self-publish your books, you obviously have complete control over the series. A trilogy can be especially useful for generating sales. First, because any buyer of book one becomes a potential buyer of the sequels. Second, because you can package the trilogy at a bargain price to tempt people to buy all three at once. And finally, because you can always give away book one in the hope the reader will come back for more and end up paying for books two and three.
For those who think that a trilogy limits the expansion (and commerciality) of a book series, remember that a successful trilogy can always be extended via a prequel, a stand-alone spin-off or even a related second trilogy, such as Kieran Larwood’s three books about Uki Patchwork. And it seems Jenny McLachlan is doing the same with Land of Roar – a new series called Dragon Riders of Roar comes out next year.
The cover of Uki and the Outcasts by Kieran Larwood
*Header Image: Tita Berredo & Ell Rose
*Other images courtesy of my bookshelf
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David Barker has been writing stories for over 10 years, after many years working as an economist. A graduate of the Faber Academy, he has written adventure novels for adults (The Gaia trilogy, published by Bloodhound Books) and for children (the London Falling series, published by Tiny Tree). He has also written scripts for pantomimes (published through Lazy Bee Scripts) and has two short stories included in anthologies.
You can find more about David and his writing on his website, on X (Twitter), Facebook or Instagram.
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Tita Berredo is the Illustrator Coordinator of SCBWI British Isles and the Art Director of Words & Pictures. Follow her on Instagram and X (Twitter) through @titaberredo or www.titaberredo.com
Contact her at: illuscoordinator@britishscbwi.org
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Ell Rose is the Illustration Features Editor of Words & Pictures.
Find their work at fourfooteleven.com
Contact them at: illustrators@britishscbwi.org
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