Welcome friend! For some time now I have been wanting to chat with an author about writing series with standalone books. As I was setting up my interview with Hayley Reese Chow about Time’s Orphan, I remembered that she is exactly the person I can talk to. Hayley Reese Chow is the author of Odriel’s Heirs, the 2020 winner of the Florida Author Project and 5th place finalist in the 2021 Book Blogger Novel of the Year Awards. She is also the author of Into the Churn, a romantic YA sci-fi.
Let’s learn from her!
Hi Hayley! Welcome back to Armed with A Book. It is great to host you again. Thank you so much for taking out time to talk to me about writing standalone books in a series. Let’s start with the series that brought us together. What is Odriel’s Heirs about?
Hi Kriti! Thanks so much for having me! Odriel’s Heirs is a YA epic fantasy series that follows three guardians of a world besieged by a demon necromancer, his commanders, and their horde of the undead. The series spans generations, and each entry focuses on a different guardian, who have inherited different abilities. The first book follows the Dragon Heir with the power of fire, the second follows the Shadow Heir with the power of invisibility, and the third follows the Time Heir with the power to heal.
Did you always want to write it in standalone books or did it just happen to evolve this way?
From the day I wrote the very first words of book one, I always envisioned it as three standalone books with large time gaps in between. My first experience of this format was in high school when I read Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters trilogy, and I absolutely loved the epic scale the generational standalones gave to the story, as well as the satisfaction of seeing characters from the first two books grow up.
I haven’t read your book yet but I remember when we first got in touch, it was book 3. I was intrigued to jump into a third book without the other two. What are your thoughts on this as a reader?
So, another wonderful thing about a series of standalones is that readers can jump into the story at whatever point they want! And if one character or storyline intrigues them more than the others, they don’t have to read the first two to get there. I’ve had quite a few readers who picked up book 3 and enjoyed it as a standalone, and I’ve even had some who, after finishing book 3, went back to read through the earlier books. Of course, readers who read through all the books will get more satisfaction out of the last book and pick up on all the little Easter eggs sprinkled throughout—so the starting point definitely depends on the reader, and how much of a journey they want to undertake.
As a writer, what appeals to you about standalone books? What’s the best part of writing them?
I love that each one has its own self-contained adventure, so that when readers close book one, they feel a satisfaction that the story was told completely. I feel like in a lot of series these days, book one just feels like part one of a single story told in three volumes, which can be risky if the writer hasn’t completed the series yet. Writing standalones also gives me the flexibility to stop the series in case it totally flops or I need to go in a different direction—without shorting me or the reader of a satisfying ending.
How do you market/promote your series?
I’m definitely still learning how to market and promote my books, but my goal for this first series was definitely exposure over profit. In that vein, I keep my books as affordable as possible and run lots of free promotions for the ebooks. I also love entering contests both for the exposure, but also to get feedback on how my books measure up and how I can improve them in the future. Since they stand alone, I can enter books 2 and 3 in contests and promotions as well as book one, so that’s also an added benefit to standalones.
Are there certain genres that you think may lend better to standalone books or it’s totally dependent on the story and author?
I think I’ve seen them done well in almost every genre, but honestly fantasy and science fiction standalone series are definitely my favorite. The large time gaps and different main characters allows the writer to really expand on the world and deepen it from different perspectives and angles. Plus, when you spot a cameo from a previous book, it’s always SO fun to see how they’ve changed and see the repercussions of their actions in their previous adventures.
What was the most challenging part of writing a standalone book in a series? You have written three books in the Odriel’s Heirs. How has each book affected the next?
The biggest challenge at first was trying to decide how different I wanted book 2 to be. I wanted it to be unique, but I also wanted to bring back the elements the readers enjoyed from book 1, so that was a tough balance for me. By the time I got to book 3 though, I was a much more confident writer, was super comfortable in the world, and intensely excited to really give the series the epic conclusion it deserved.
The events in each book definitely set off a series of dominos that affects the adventures that follow it, which is another boon for the readers that stick with the whole series. They get the broader picture of things that happened or were foreshadowed in book 1 that then come to fruition in book 3. Readers don’t need book 1 to enjoy the final showdown, but if the reader sees the first ripple, then it gives them a greater appreciation for the tsunami that hits 36 years later in book 3.
I have a few questions about you as a reader. What were some of your favorite stories growing up?
Ooh, I was a total fantasy nerd, and I would definitely attach myself to different authors and try to read all of their books. I loved Garth Nyx (Sabriel), Tamora Pierce (Song of the Lioness), Patricia Mckillip (The Forgotten Beasts of Eld), David Clement-Davies (Fire Bringer), and Brian Jacques (Redwall), and still have their books on my shelves today!
Have you read other series with standalone books? Do you have a favorite amongst them?
Absolutely! Though honestly they’re kind of hard to find. I already mentioned the Sevenwaters trilogy by Juliet Marillier, but The Shendri Series by E.P. Stavs also does this very well. The Graceling books by Kristin Cashore are also loosely connected and can be read in any order. The Fox and O’Hare books by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg also can stand alone, but mostly because they have an episodic feel to the heists. I think my favorite has to be the Sevenwaters trilogy though, mostly because it had such a strong impact on me at the time.
What advice would you give to an author looking to get into writing such a series?
Find an outline structure that works for you (I personally love the one from Save the Cat Writes a Novel) and plot your heart out! When you know (even roughly) what will happen further down the line, it allows you to foreshadow in earlier books and give the reader that huge payoff at the end. It’s hugely helpful to know what the consequences of the character’s actions will be so you don’t feel like you want to go back and change it 2 or 3 or 4 books down the road (especially if you plan to publish book 1 before the last book is written).
Into the Churn is your latest novel. Tell me about this book. Is that going to be a series? Do you have ideas about another standalone series in the future?
Into the Churn is a dual-POV science fiction adventure with a side of sweet, swoony romance. It follows two characters who live on a stormy, backwater planet and enter the system’s deadliest (and most lucrative) race. I usually think of it as Hunger Games meets The Scorpio Races in a different galaxy. It’s my first traditionally published novel, and though I had a sequel in mind, I wasn’t sure I’d get to write it, so it definitely reads as a stand-alone. But since sales have been doing well, I got the green light from the publisher to start the sequel, so I’m super excited!
As for other standalone series in the future, I have no idea. I have a concept for a standalone sequel to one of the books I have written (but haven’t published yet) but there’s a couple directions it could go in, so who knows if it’ll actually happen.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I just put in one last plug for standalone series! There really are so much fun (to write and to read) so if you’re thinking about writing your own, you should definitely go for it! We need more of them on the shelves! And thanks so much again, Kriti, for having me!
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me.
Are there standalone series you love?
Tell us your thoughts on this post in the comments. We would love to hear from you!
Thank you for hanging out with us today. Connect with Hayley on Twitter, Instagram, her website, Goodreads, Amazon, TikTok.
Cover image: Photo on Unsplash
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