Single Title or Series?

So I have these three romantic comedies I want to publish. Lately, I’ve been hearing that the smart move these days is to publish a series rather than single titles. Series build reader loyalty. Series carry better name recognition. Series are where it is at.

I’ve heard this from a variety of sources: an author with a three book contract whose publisher is holding off on publication until all three books are ready to go so they can be brought out within months of one another, more than one agent, and in an article by Bob Mayer in this month’s RWR.

Mayer especially went into detail about career planning and goal setting, and how it relates to the market. He made some points that might seem obvious to some people, but not me. I have kind of a thick skull. Born that way. And I’ve been so stuck on the idea of single title (well, until the paranormals…but those are going to be my focus again after I get these three rom coms pubbed) that it never even occurred to me to try to make these three books a series.

Then came Bob. Who pointed out that series don’t have to have the same characters (like my paranormals) but can also be set in the same place. Ahhhh, I thought. Then brightness descended into my dark mind and I realized: all my rom coms are set in small towns in Michigan. How difficult would it be to make them the same small town?

All the small towns I write about feature natural elements I love about Michigan: changing seasons, abundant water from lakes to rivers to creeks. Michigan also has man-made troubles: a failing auto industry that is plunging the state into economic despair.

Plus I could totally see my heroines being friends if I introduced them to each other. I can do it. I know I can. I am just amazed that I didn’t think about this before…