That’s what sorting through this series, which has absorbed other series has turned into at this point. I spent the day with all the notes, books, and files that fall under this as well as the ideas I’m slipping into the ‘Project Phoenix’ umbrella. For anyone curious, this hefty series has eaten 7 other tales. To be fair, a few of those 7 started with the original ‘Project Phoenix’, went off to college, and are now home living in the guest room. Except for one that we’re keeping in the basement because it likes the dark. Overall this has turned it into a series of:
18 Books
That’s after chopping away, but it might not be as bad as one thinks. Only a few characters show up in multiple books outside of the grand finale. There is a subtle mega-plot that I can’t spoil here. The length and separate main characters thing is similar to the 16 book series ‘The Harpers’ where heroes had anywhere from 1 to 3 books. The connection here is that all of the characters are from a central event and have a history that comes back to haunt them. Still, this is a pretty big undertaking and some stories are seemingly easier than others.
The biggest pain in the butt is one that I always had a soft spot for and now I looked at the notes: 45 CHARACTERS IN ONE BOOK?!?!? It involves a new hero whose city is run by supervillains, so he spends a year cleaning it up. So there was originally 52 short stories where an adventure happened every week. Not sure what to do here, especially since some characters don’t really fit Windemere. I’m thinking of moving some villains around since this hero kind of has a second book in the series. That should make things somewhat easier.
The trick here is to make sure all of the story ideas are viable, which is the task for the rest of the day. I’m tempted to bring this up with an old friend, but I still don’t think he wants to hear the words ‘Project Phoenix’ again.
Legends of Windemere 
Oh Man! I try to avoid long series, as a general rule. I’m currently whittling my way through The Dresden Files, and there are a ton of those. Then you went and compared your work to The Harpers. I loved that series, and will just have to find a slot for your stories.
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If it helps, this series won’t be tackled for years. I have a bunch of others to do and might work this one as a break between other series. I get the sense that a lot of people avoid long series.
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They sell though. Just ask Batman and Spiderman.
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True. Though comics work differently. They have a more visual element than a novel, so they’re faster reads. I wonder how many long book series are out there. Seem to be more of a fantasy, supernatural, and mystery thing.
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Too many to count. I’ve seen many detective series, but they are usually written as stand alone stories using the same characters. Perry Mason, James Bond, and Bones come to mind.
If it’s any consolation, my limited perspective tells me that solo stories aren’t selling too well either. (joke)
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Good point. That allows for starting at any point and even skipping books. As for sales, I think it’s an industry thing. Just plain rough compared to last year.
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It won’t stop me. I get more out of the journey than any potential income.
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Best mentality to take.
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LOL…words to run by!
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Gee Charles. Go for it.
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Got it. You mean pizza, right?
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Yeah. large pie with 18 books.
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Think i’ll need a bigger bookcase.
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