Who Among You With a Successful Novel Series Is up for the Challenge of Creating a New One?
After writing 14 books in one series, author Jeffrey Siger explains his rationale for starting up a new novel series.
When I decided to write an essay for Writer’s Digest on the challenges of starting a new mystery series after having written a successful one already—my 14-book Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series, which is set in Greece—I had to pause to remember what had been my motivation.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that abandoning an established success to venture off in a challenging new direction is consistent with how I’d always lived my life. That’s how I gave up my position as a name partner in a distinguished Manhattan law firm to live on the Aegean Greek island of Mykonos, where I soon began to write mystery novels exploring issues confronting contemporary Greece in a way that also touched on its ancient roots.
Why did I give up the lucrative practice of law without a scintilla of an idea of what lay before me? I was giving up assured financial security in exchange for the uncertain existential benefits of being a writer.
But things worked out even better than I had hoped. My debut novel Murder in Mykonos eventually emerged as Greece’s #1 bestselling English-language book. The New York Times Book Review named me as Greece’s thriller writer of record in a 2019 issue. My books have received multiple Best Novel award nominations. And I have been formally honored this past fall in Athens by the Greek National Tourism Organization for my body of work and its portrayal and vision of Greece.
So some may wonder whether I’m risking all I’ve achieved by venturing off into writing a new series. I fully appreciate the anxiety writers feel when venturing away from their comfort zone when writing about characters they often know better than their own families. And then there’s the risk of jeopardizing the good will and support the books have developed with longtime dedicated fans.
So yes, there will be challenges to confront. A publisher may not want to risk losing a reliable audience for the writer’s work by offering up an unproven series. What’s the guarantee that the established audience will follow? There is none.
On the other hand, it’s often difficult to garner critical attention for a new book in a long running series— call it review fatigue. But when the debut novel in a new series from a known author is offered up, it’s likely to generate more attention than would another book in an ongoing series. So for me, the challenge is invigorating.
My new novel, A Study In Secrets, is the debut work in my “The Redacted Man” series, and is unlike anything I’ve written before. First and foremost, it’s set in New York City, not Greece, and features a Sherlock Holmes-worthy amateur sleuth possessing a complicated George Smiley secret-agent past. Michael A lives a quiet, comfortable life since retiring from the intelligence services. Practically a recluse and partially handicapped, he spends his days imagining the lives of the anonymous people he watches in the park beneath the windows of his New York City townhouse—number 221. Until one day, he has to abandon his life of isolation and become involved in saving a young woman.
Though both Michael A and my Athens-based series’ protagonist Andreas Kaldis share a keen sense of justice, their lives are very different. Andreas is Chief Inspector of Greece’s Special Crimes Unit, tasked with investigating matters of national concern or official corruption. He is the father of two young children, and happily married to a prominent member of Greek society who often helps him navigate its Byzantine ways.
Michael A is a character I’ve sought to bring to life for nearly a decade, driven by the same storytelling desire that’s percolated within me for at least half a century. It was there with me in high school when I thought I could make a career as a writer … until I realized how unlikely I was to earn a living at creative writing. That pragmatism led me to ultimately become a lawyer—a career choice I rescinded decades later that led me to first create Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis—and now, Michael A.
As biased as I admittedly am when it comes to the merits of my characters, I don’t see how mystery fans won’t respond positively to a multi-faceted protagonist like Michael A. So that is the gamble I have made. Whether it pays off in the way I hope, only time will tell.
It’s never guaranteed how your instincts—and the fates—might play out in chartering the course toward realizing your life’s passion. I would simply advise: Be not fearful of embarking upon those new directions. Instead, be thoughtful and pragmatic in assessing the attendant risks and potential rewards of any new venture—and whether you’re truly prepared to live with the results. In the end, it’s a decision each author has to make for himself or herself.
Check out Jeffrey Siger's A Study in Secrets here:
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