A Series Of Series

I have been told repeatedly in order to be successful as an author I needed to choose a genre or at most two closely related ones to write in so that I could build a brand upon that platform. I have been instructed to to write series because it drives readers to you in search of what happens next. I understand both of these pieces of advice but have found that neither fit my style as a writer.

I am not opposed to series. Like any author it is my goal to keep readers coming back for more. I have four different series in the works at the moment along with a book I thought was a stand alone but has a prequel set to come out next year now. I have a set of children's books which I don't qualify as a series because they could all be stand alone and can be read in any order desired. While I have the different series, much like some of my favorite murder mystery authors will follow different detectives through different book series, mine are all in different genres.

I have one set back during the time of the Salem Witch Trials that blends historical fantasy with mild erotica. There is a series that highlights various aspects of a syndrome I know well, PTSD. My personal favorite is a series mixing suspense / thriller with just a touch of paranormal. Finally I have my own murder mystery series set in my home of Las Vegas with several ties to my own day job. What these books lack in common for genre they still carry with them in my writing style. Like many authors I read, I have a way of building the story, letting the flow reach its peaks and valleys, then using the same way to wrap up the loose ends in every book I write.

It wasn't until I began writing my thriller series that I found a way to carry the story beyond that wrap up ending. Everything I created before that was a one and done style of book. Even though my PTSD series can be considered a series, the books themselves can be read in almost any order and it is actually a novel with a series of character background novellas. The children's books are similar in the respect that they have the same theme and writing but do not require a particular order.

I have a found a love of writing these series because it allows me to delve deeper into some of my characters but I refuse to be pressured into choosing one type or genre over another. I know many thriller and mystery authors can go on for years with the same series because they can continue to introduce new and interesting situations. When I get more into my mystery series I may discover the same thing. Right now all of my series have definite ends. The PTSD series is five books, the historical series is seven, and my thriller has four total. I appreciate the advice I am given but I think as creative people is more important to find a way to take things that have worked for others and blend them into our own personal style.