\n<\/p>\n
I am going to ask a most contentious question:<\/p>\n
When you encounter a series, are you inclined to read them as soon as they\u2019re available, or do you want to wait until the series is complete to binge them?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n This is contentious because it\u2019s a case of reader preference being at great odds with How Publishing Works. Or \u201cworks.\u201d<\/p>\n I have to start by outlining the downside to waiting, a reader habit which I know frustrates authors and publishing folks: if the sales for the early books are low, or decline, the series may not continue. So waiting has its own risks, more for the writer than for the reader.<\/p>\n And I know enough about publishing to curb my Strong Inclination to wait until a story arc is complete before I dive in, but my inclination is always<\/em> to wait for a complete story arc, even if it\u2019s over three or six or more books.<\/p>\n Why? Because romance, that\u2019s why<\/strong>: I want to know the end is present, that I and the writer know where we\u2019re going, and that I won\u2019t be troubled by cliffhangers (rude). One of my most firm connections to the genre, and genre fiction in general, is that I know the ending is there, that we\u2019re not going on a journey that has no destination in mind. I\u2019ve been burned many times by tv shows, for example, that go off the rails in pursuit of one more season that goes too far beyond the original storyline.<\/p>\n This desire for an ending is part of my other hobbies and projects, too: if I start a quilting project, I like to know who it\u2019s for and where it\u2019s going. One of my favorite methods of planning is \u201cenvision where I want to end up, then work backwards.\u201d I\u2019m rather destination-focused.<\/p>\n As I said, I do know this is not optimal for things like publishing sales reports, but this is my preference and I indulge in it or ignore it depending on the circumstances.<\/p>\n For example: There\u2019s a new Nora Roberts out soon, Birth of the Witch, <\/em>which will be the first of a trilogy. I know Nora has enough fans and publishing history that this trilogy will be completed and I can read one and then anticipate books two and three, or or I can wait for all of them without worry that the later books won\u2019t arrive. They will.<\/p>\n Indie publishing thrives on long-running series, like,\u00a0REALLY LONG RUNNING SERIES, <\/em>and some writers craft long story arcs to keep readers engaged. I\u2019ve encountered many readers who are delighted to discover a book and find there are 10+ more of them to deep dive into. Ice Planet Barbarians<\/em> is like this, and 10 or so years ago, Kristen Ashley\u2019s books were a similar reading experience. A reader would discover them and we\u2019d joke on Twitter, \u201cOk, bye! See you in a few weeks when you\u2019ve read them all!\u201d<\/p>\n The type of series is important, too \u2013 specifically I\u2019m talking about the series that have a larger story arc that requires sequential reading, and not books that operate as somewhat standalone stories in the same world.<\/p>\n The choice to wait for the whole story arc, or read the installments one by one only thrives in a world where writers are equipped with marketing and publicity for all their titles, and alas that isn\u2019t the world we are in.<\/p>\n I asked the SBTB team and got a healthy mix of answers:<\/p>\n Carrie:<\/strong> Binge it!<\/p>\n Amanda:\u00a0<\/strong> I typically read them as they come out.<\/p>\n Sarah:<\/strong> I\u2019m calling that \u201cAmanda style.\u201d<\/p>\n Elyse:\u00a0<\/strong>I do Amanda style but if it\u2019s already all out then I\u2019ll binge.<\/p>\n Tara:\u00a0<\/strong>I wait until it\u2019s done, unless a friend says I must read it asap.<\/p>\n Claudia:\u00a0<\/strong>Same as Elyse!! If it\u2019s already out there I will show no restraint. lol<\/p>\n Susan:\u00a0<\/strong>BOTH.<\/p>\n Read as it comes out, get to the last volume and realise that I forgot what happened, reread the whole thing.<\/p>\n OR: buy the whole thing as it\u2019s coming out, meaning to Amanda it, and then get distracted by a shiny rock and binge it when I remember.<\/p>\n Sarah:\u00a0<\/strong>I relate very much to \u201cI forgot what happened, reread the whole thing.\u201d SO very much.<\/p>\n Shana:<\/strong> I follow Amanda in all things.<\/p>\n Sneezy:<\/strong> I do both as well. With manga and webtoons, I\u2019ve gotten used to reading each chapter as it comes. With books, the stakes for a cliffhanger or unfinished series feels more\u2026 dangerous??? Threatening?????? It really makes no sense. It\u2019s not like webtoons and manga are guaranteed to finish (a moment of silence for Nana<\/em><\/a>) and I certainly prefer to have the whole thing before going in with both mediums, but for whatever reason my brain is a lot more precious about books.<\/p>\n Susan:<\/strong> HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW EDITIONS OF NANA<\/em>.<\/p>\n HAVE YOU HEARD THAT IT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE GETTING AN DNDING AFTER ALL THIS TIME<\/p>\n Sneezy:<\/strong> the WHAT.<\/p>\n WHAT.<\/p>\n WHERE DID YOU HEAR THIS?????? WHAT DID THE MANGAKA SAY????????<\/p>\n Susan:<\/strong> Nana Manga Finally Returning After 15 Years<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Sneezy:<\/strong> Susan, I can\u2019t<\/p>\n I\u2019m not breathing<\/p>\n Are you breathing?<\/p>\n It\u2019s actually happening!!!!<\/p>\n A series having a finale after a 15 year pause?<\/p>\n That\u2019s a long time to wait for a new book. Biggest congratulations to\u00a0Nana<\/em> fans!<\/p>\n And speaking of series, what about you?<\/p>\n I\u2019m very curious about your preference: Would you prefer to read a series as they arrive, or would you love to binge-read a completed series from start to end? Do you binge some and not others? What\u2019s your preference?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am going to ask a most contentious question: When you encounter a series, are you inclined to read them as soon as they\u2019re available, or do you want to wait until the series is complete to binge them?\u00a0 This is contentious because it\u2019s a case of reader preference being at great odds with How […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11989],"tags":[1606,7746],"class_list":["post-30155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poetry-news","tag-read","tag-wait"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/smartbitchestrashybooks.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BoxofBooks-DPh-scaled-e1749149113558.jpg",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"POETRY NEWS<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"I am going to ask a most contentious question: When you encounter a series, are you inclined to read them as soon as they\u2019re available, or do you want to wait until the series is complete to binge them?\u00a0 This is contentious because it\u2019s a case of reader preference being at great odds with How…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30155"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30157,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30155\/revisions\/30157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}