Discussion: Why Series Work Better in Some Genres Than Others

Hey everyone! This week’s discussion topic is about I trend I’ve noticed recently with books and series. I’ve noticed that some genres, such as fantasy, science fiction, and dystopian, tend to contain more series while some, like contemporary and romance, tend to be more standalone books. I’m going to discuss my ideas on why I think certain genres lend themselves to series better than others, and give recommendations of both a series in that genre and a standalone.

Also, these are just about the genres I normally read so I know more about. For example, I don’t read much mystery or thriller books, so I can’t discuss whether they work better in series or standalone and what they usually come in because I don’t know much about them.

From my experience, I’ve noticed three genres that tend to be more series.

• Fantasy/Paranormal
  • Harry Potter
  • Twilight
  • Percy Jackson and the Olympians
  • The Lord of the Rings
• Science Fiction
  • The StarboundTrilogy
• • The Firebird Trilogy
  • Maximum Ride Series
• Dystopian/Futuristic
  • The Hunger Games
  • Divergent
  • Legend

I think the main reason why the above genres lend themselves better to series is because there is more world building. In each of the above genres, the author creates their own world full of complex problems, and a good SFF or Dystopian book creates a world that feels as realistic as ours does. I mean, think of how complex the Harry Potter world is or the Grisha Universe. If these books were in standalone format, then there would be a ton of info-dumping, or underdeveloped worlds.

I also think the plot lines of these books work better in series books. Usually there is some sort of large, overarching problem, but then a lot of mini problems that both keep the plot moving, develop the larger problem, and allow the characters to develop. if it was a standalone, the plot would either feel very very rushed and underdeveloped, or the book would be 800 pages long. There is also the problem that without a series, you wouldn’t care about what was happening as much because it wouldn’t be rich enough and realistic enough to you. This kind of ties back with world building, but you would probably care less about a couple teens overthrowing a government structure if you didn’t know the ins and outs of the government and who the teens were and the struggles they faced, etc. You wouldn’t be invested enough. 

Again, from my experience, I’ve noticed two genres that primarily tend to be standalones.

• Contemporary
  • I’ll Give You The Sun
  • The Hate U Give
  • All the Bright Places
• Romance
  • Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour
  • When We Collided
  • Alex, Approximately

The one thing I will say about these two genres is that in addition to standalones, they tend to have a lot of overlapping stories. Think Anna and the French Kiss series or the Pushing the Limits series. These are series, but different than the series mentioned above. There are the same characters, with some serving as secondary characters and then getting their time to shine, and in the same setting, but can work as standalones because there isn’t one overarching problem that needs to be followed chronologically. It’s particular popular in the romance genre because each little friend group gets to have multiple happily ever afters and the author can keep the characters alive.

I think the main reason is that both contemporary and romance books focus on one pivotal moment in the character’s life, and the before and after so we can see how this event changes them. Whether it’s falling in love like in romance books or another life changing event, it’s hard to drag it out into multiple books. Both these genres are more like short glimpses into the characters’ lives, as opposed to a giant plot line that leaves the world forever changed like in the genres that support series better.

Also, most contemporary and romance books don’t need the world building– the explanation of culture and politics and how it came to be- because it is our world. We know the background of the world the characters are living in, so a lot of explanations and explorations necessary in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Dystopian are cut out, leaving a shorter book and allowing the author to jump right into the story.

Well, maybe not exceptions, because this isn’t really a rule I presented, but the books that don’t fall into the patterns I’ve described above. Because, of course, authors are creative and can do what they want !!! They don’t need to follow any customs if they don’t want to !!! They are independent (wo)men who don’t need anybody !!!

• Fantasy/Paranormal Standalones
  • The Hobbit
  • The Night Circus
• Science Fiction Standalones
  • 1984
• Dystopian Standalones
  • Ummmmm
  • Idk
• Contemporary Series
  • TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE
  • The Raven Cycle (is this even contemporary)
• Romance Series
  • Effortless With You series
  • THE START OF ME AND YOU (brb SOBBING)

And now onto the discussion part! Do you think my observations are accurate? Why do you think certain genres support series better than others, and what genres do you think have more series in them? Do you have more examples of the “exceptions”, for lack of a better word?