Word Witch Wednesday - brewing a book series

Deciding to write a series or a standalone book is tough. It's important to take your story idea and weigh the options. I'm going to assume you've already sat back and figured that out, and you want to write a series.

Book series are popular. Readers love to follow their favorite characters through all sorts of adventures. But there's nothing more disappointing than picking up the new book of one of your favorite series and finding the story fell flat. I've abandoned many series because the story faltered and the characters didn't grow.

Here are five tips to help you build a successful book series:

1) Make certain your story idea has enough juice to last through the whole series. If the plot flops after the second or third book, you're going to lose readers. Each book must have a solid story that can stand on its own and interconnect with the previous books. It helps if you're a plotter to plan the series. As a pantser, even I made certain when I was writing TOTEM, I had a solid story idea for each book before I started. Sure, those ideas were as simple as "they will search for the ____ totem in this book," but each one had a purpose in the overall plot.

2) Keep a story bible. Plotters usually have this started before they begin to write the first chapter. I keep notes as I go along. I mark down the basic plot points in each chapter and record character traits. It is also wise if you go back and read the previous books in the series before starting on the next one.

3) Don't limit your fictional world. You want to have room for growth. There will be rules and borders, of course, but a book series needs space to stretch and expand. Your characters might be trapped in a walled city, but there is a whole unknown world out there for you to continue on in if you want to do so.

4) Characters must grow. Characterization is vital to a series. Readers want the heroes they adore and the villains they loathe, but it wouldn't be realistic if the characters stayed the same throughout each book. Time has passed. A person will not be the same today as they were last year or even last month. Some internal issues we struggle with for years, but there will be little changes in attitude, a bit of wisdom gained, and possibly a fashion makeover.

5) Be able to let go. If the overall story arc comes to an end or if your individual story ideas disappear, know when to call it quits. I hate it when I read a series and it's the same plot over and over. "This love triangle has been going on for twenty books. Have the protagonist choose one already!" Sometimes it's tough to let go of characters and worlds we've come to love, but you'll fall in love again. That's one of the wonderful things about being a writer.

Have you written a book series? Do you plan to? What tips do you have to share?

Word Witch Wednesday - the final Totem covers!

We're here! Thank you so much for joining me on this mad journey. I've gotten excellent feedback on this series of blog posts. I hope I've given some of you the courage to experiment with graphics yourself.

Make sure you've caught up on all the parts of the mad science of book covers to see my bare elements before I hacked them to pieces and glued them together!

Part 1 - knowing the book cover elements of your genre.
Part 2 - the basic elements.
Part 3 - image shopping and backgrounds.
Part 4 - cover models.
Part 5 - fonts and the remaining elements.

Remember back at the beginning when I said not to form a definite picture in your mind of what you wanted as your cover? When you see my covers, you'll understand why. I had to make several last minute changes, but wow, they worked out so well. It makes me giddy just looking at them!

I'm also going to include covers that did not make the cut. This way you can see why I wasn't around much last week. I had to tap into that creative madness.

TOTEM #1

Dark Dawning with our lovely protagonist, Ametta Dorn. I was lucky to find this cover model. She is Ametta to a tee! And thankfully, she fit well with the background.

Troubles: I had a golden eagle in the background. It's an important part of this story, but it didn't stand out. It also took away from the overall mysterious effect. After I had some other eyes on the cover who agreed, I removed the bird. In fact, I removed all the totem animals from the covers. It made them cleaner and allows your eyes to focus on the people. The biggest decision I had to make was the color of the background. If you remember the original image, it was gold. And I loved the gold. I still do. Blue or gold, blue or gold. When I saw all three covers together, I knew it had to be blue.

Watch out behind you, Ametta! There's a bad hunter silhouette! I think he has a gun. I'm not sure. He could be roasting marshmallows.

TOTEM #2

The middle sister with her geeky tendencies, Kinley Dorn. I had several poses of this one model, and I'd been set on using another one. But when I got frustrated with it, I tried this pose and wowed myself. It's kind of ethereal, and it suits her so much.

Troubles: the model, oh yes. I wanted to use the image of her standing there with her arms crossed in a black tank top. But it wouldn't work with the background. The lighting on the model was yellow, and no matter how I played with it, it wasn't working. I originally avoided the above image because of the hair. It's difficult to trim around fine strands of hair, but when I darkened the background, it matched the color of the model image's background. I didn't have to trim!

Secret fix: Remember when I told you to buy model images that had three-fourths or their entire bodies in the pictures? That one isn't a full body shot. In fact, she was cut off above the eyebrows. I added in the top of her head. Can you tell?

Months ago, I thought a snowy swirl at the bottom of the cover would look neat. What the heck was I thinking?

TOTEM #3

Don't tick Saskia off! I think the glare says as much. It's not the original model I wanted, but she has all the attitude I needed.

Troubles: Another last minute model change. None of the images of the model I chose for Saskia worked with the background. This time, they were just too bright. I was tempted to go buy another one, but I went through my image file and spotted this woman. Not quite what I imagined Saskia to look like, but she has the power and strength. Plus, the black jacket! I had to add on the top of her head too.

Oh man. That snowy swirl is hideous! And the middle model... a little stunned looking. Plus, I tried putting a tattoo on her. Ha! Thankfully with the model on the final cover, her hair covers her neck and chest, so I didn't have to worry about tattoos. Does the fox look like it's flying?

Whew. We made it. And nothing blew up! Well, maybe I did a few times, but I'm getting pretty good at putting tops of heads back on.

What do you think of the covers? Also, are you interested in seeing similar posts when I put together the covers for the remaining six Totem books? Yes, there are nine books in total! The next three will feature the heroes. The final three will have... uh, the couples or their animals. Maybe? I don't know! I need to write them first.