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The last leg of our Skype tour has pulled out of the driveway! 
February 20, 2012: Aloud and Proud!
Jul 26, 2010 
You’re reading a fabulous book, you’ve invested in the characters, in their situations and suddenly, you’re on the very last page and then…it’s over. You want more. It’s like saying goodbye to an old friend.
Book 4: Fat Cat of Underwhere
But it doesn’t always have to end that way. Not if that fabulous book is part of a series.
Middle grade series come in all sorts of varieties.. From intricate plots like Harry Potter to fun and simple reads such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid. There’s even an increasing popularity of graphic novels, such as Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell or even hybrids like Bruce Hale’s Underwhere series. You can never be sure when market trends might change.
So, what makes readers love a book so much they want to read the entire series?
“I either need a plot point that keeps me coming back or a character I identify with. Humor’s in there too! “ –Jen K. Blom
“When I’m actually sad the book’s over, that’s how I know right away that I have to have the next book!” -Hilary L. Wagner
“The main character. I love a very strong voice while reading a story, it’s important to stay in tune with the characters main goal and if it’s a good one I’ll follow it all the way.” –Jen Daiker
“It could be the voice, the premise, the protagonist or a combination of all three.” –Amie Borst
“Books set in a different time period or fantasies set in an entirely unique culture that make me want to live in that world!” –Marissa Burt
I’m just beginning the journey as an MG series writer, but I often wonder if other authors started off the same way. I knew once I had the idea for my first book that it just had to be a series. There were too many situations for my main character to overcome in only one book. Yes, she is an accidental troublemaker.
Julep O'Toole: What I Really Want To Do Is Direct
I bribed two fantastic and successful MG series authors to answer some questions I had on my mind. Lucky for me, they settled for chocolate instead of money.
Did you plan for your first book to become the first of a series?
Yes, but the credit goes to my editor, Shannon Dean-Smith at Penguin, who encouraged me to write it. She came to me and said she was looking to acquire a series and would I consider writing one? I pitched her Julep O’Toole and we were on our way. -Trudi Trueit author of Julep O’Toole series and Secrets of a Lab Rat series
Is it challenging for you to carryover certain details, characters and explanations from earlier books without making it seem redundant and boring?
I think there are two tricks. First, keep the explanations short for the reader that already knows everything, but detailed enough for the new reader. Second, avoid info dumps and just pepper in the information.-Barrie Summy, author of I So Don’t Do Mysteries series
What is a good recipe for creating a “hot” MG series?
Relatable characters. I think young readers are looking for characters to spark their souls. But If I had the magic formula, I’d be a mega-selling author!-Trudi
I So Don't Do Makeup by Barrie Summy
How involved do you get with your characters?
When I’m out and about or even when I’m at home with my kids, I’m always wondering what Sherry would make of the situation, how she’d react, what she’d say.-Barrie
For you personally, is it more difficult to write a series or a stand-alone book?
For me, a series is easier than a stand alone, because it takes the pressure off to have to wrap up everything in one neat, tidy bow. It’s incredibly freeing.-Trudi
What advice would you give to writers wanting to write an MG series?
Choose your characters wisely. You’re going to be spending a lot of time together. -Barrie
First, remember that a good idea doesn’t always make for a good series. Make sure you have enough material to sustain your work through, at least, five books. Also, every book in your series should be able to stand on its own merits. Finally, and most important, don’t second-guess the marketplace. Write what your heart says must be written. That is, after all, what it’s all about. -Trudi
Some of our most memorable books from our childhood were book series. For me, it was the Babysitters Club (I so wanted to open my own babysitters club!) and The Boxcar Children (every kid fantasizes about living on their own at some point). You know those are good books when they stay with you into adulthood. I asked readers what some of their favorite childhood series were and this is what they had to say.
Amie Borst: I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure series. There was something about having control over the outcome of the story that made me want to read the books again and again.
Jen K. Blom: The Black Stallion. I was a horse nut and dreamed that every horse I read about (all, curiously enough, black Arabians!!) was mine.
Hilary Wagner: My mother got me the Little House series, something I wouldn’t have picked for my self as a kid, but I quickly got hooked!
Marissa Burt: I really liked the Mandie books (mysteries set around the turn of the century), by: Lois Leppard. the ones that stood the test of time – that I loved as a kid and still read every year – are L.M. Montgomery’s books.
Mom, There's A Dinosaur In Beeson's Lake
Trudi Trueit: Judy Blume – changed me, and changed my life. That is powerful storytelling.
I personally love writing a series because it allows me to explore my characters in many different situations that I wouldn’t normally have a chance to do with a stand-alone book. I get to know my characters on a deeper level and I find new characteristics in them that I didn’t necessarily realize or show within the first book.
It’s the same as meeting someone for the first time. You spend more time with that person getting to know them. Wanting to be around them. Becoming friends. That’s how you become so invested in your characters. After awhile your characters feel very real to you. Talking to them, on the other hand, is an entirely different issue.
Just like the readers, I don’t have to say goodbye once I’m done. I can pick up right where I left off and continue with the next dramatic and social disaster that my characters have created.
Although I do have one advantage over the readers—I don’t have to wait a year to see what happens next!
Rose Cooper loves gossip so much that she wrote and illustrated a book all about it, which includes all the juicy secrets and gossipy goodness you can get your hands on. Her upcoming middle-grade humor series, Gossip from the Girls’ Room, A Blogtastic! Novel, will be published by Delacorte/Random House, January 11, 2011. Be sure to snoop out Rose’s website at www.Rose-Cooper.com.
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barrie summy, book series, trudi trueit
