#2: Feb 9th 2014 at 4:55:44 AM
while its a chore, wouldn't almost any series with multiple stories in it eventually hit this wall
If you've already warned them that the story is a sequel, I wouldn't heed those complaints.
All stories that go on long enough have to cut off the exposition somewhere. You don't pick up the third book in a series, then write a formal review saying, "I have no idea what's going on in this book, this doesn't make any sense if you haven't read the first two, it's not accessible to new readers". That's freaking stupid.
I don't know what your story is like, but if readers are tapering off, it's probably because of a change in your storytelling, or the story itself that they disagree with. Maybe they feel the quality of the fic has dropped. Maybe you killed someone off they liked.
edited 9th Feb '14 4:56:15 AM by FOFD
Akira Toriyama (April 5 1955 - March 1, 2024).
Total posts: 2
I have at least one series that, no matter how hard I try, rapidly loses readers who haven't read this or that piece. I mark it off as an AU, and a series, and try to avoid past mistakes of referencing other stories in the cycle too often and try to always give some context. But invariably, a series of 'can't follow it' remarks come out, and I'm at a loss. How do you keep building a story arc without losing a more casual reader? I've even tried setting up a section marked 'Gateway stories' for this series, but its like an old WB cartoon - you can hear the crickets. Those that have read through like them, and while its a chore, wouldn't almost any series with multiple stories in it eventually hit this wall? Any thoughts?
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