I have attended many book fairs, both smaller and big ones. There, I met many interesting people, including authors. One of those authors said to me, “Writing a trilogy is the lazy way.” I don’t know if I agree or disagree, but let’s have a look at the pros and cons of series over stories in a single book. 

trilogy – an author’s perspective

I have written books, and from that side, I don’t fully agree with this comment. I have planned a trilogy but I also planned a lot of single books. Yes, from time to time, it is easier to plan a series because you have more options to explore the characters, get the readers attached to them, straighten out some misshaped character traits. You get the chance to let them grow and evolve as personalities and your chances are pretty much limitless (especially if you announce a series as a trilogy and then just keep writing). So that is the pro side.

But you also have to keep an overview of everything. Storylines have to be precise and timed, which can be a challenge. If you plan a trilogy, you have to actually have a plan for a trilogy if you don’t want to get something wrong in the story. And you have to have things to tell because readers will notice when you just keep repeating yourself to fill in text. So the challenge is both ways – not contradicting yourself while also not repeating yourself. And if you keep an overview of all the things that happen, you still have the details left. If you ever planned a more complex story, you realize how fast minor mistakes happen – what is the eye colour of that character, or did you give them some trait you had forgotten about.

It’s the details that make a book good – with a series you just have so much more details to screw up. An example: At the end of a book by Cassandra Clare, a character is declared an ancestor of a family in the books – unfortunately she kills that character in another book before he has any children. They don’t say that the devil lies in the details without a reason. And if all of this works out, you have to keep your writing style consistent. This can be tricky if years pass and you as a person develop. But you are also not limited and, if you have a lot of ideas, a single book might be too small a world to be filled. So, I don’t know which side I am on as an author on that topic and I hope I don’t need to choose. 

trilogy – a reader’s perspective

Having said all of this from an author’s point of view, I want to switch to a reader’s point of view. On this front, things are pretty clear – I prefer single books. Don’t get me wrong, there are so many series I read in my life (admittingly, mostly trilogies), riveting with the characters (yet, knowing they will succeed in the end, because where would we end if the good guys don’t win in the books). I have cherished their developments over the course of the books, suffering with them when they suffered, being happy when they were. With some of the characters I have quite literally grown older. I am currently reading the Terry Pratchett books in order to understand how the characters got where they are (and believe me, some things in those books really make more sense when they are read in the right order).

So, how come I prefer single books to series? First of all, because I am a really impatient person. I hate waiting. Sitting in a doctor’s waiting room without a book is pure horror for me. Can you imagine how horrible it is for me to wait months for the next book of a series? Especially if the book ended on a cliffhanger, and I have to wait for months or even years to have this resolved. Secondly, I am a keen user of the library (my book intake would otherwise ruin me…), so if the second book in the trilogy is not there I cannot continue reading and see how it goes on. I just started a series, and now I cannot get the books because someone is reading them. I really want to know how the story continues, because the third book’s teaser leaves a lot of questions I want answered!

To top all of this, there are authors who, in my humble opinion, overdo it. The Stormlight Archive series has 12 books in the German translation. I read the first one, then I read the second one and actually wanted to end it, but the book ended on a cliffhanger, so I needed to know how this would be resolved. So, in the end, it all leads down to impatience and curiosity (and the fact that I hate open ends).

and you?

Now you can make up your mind – and I will now pre-book the books I am waiting for at the library so I finally get to know how the teaser gets solved.