I was speaking to someone at Epicon and, in the course of conversation, we touched on the difference between writing a series and writing a serial. Note that these are the definitions that I tend to use and may vary slightly from the definitions of others.
A series is a set of two or more full stories that share one or more commonalities. That commonality may be a world, one or more characters, a key concept, specific plot devices, etc.
Del Fantasma books (from Aspen Mountain Press) are a series - they share the following:
- a basic world, a continuity character (Cody)
- a location (the Del Fantasma Bar)
- a plot device (they all have drinks that relate somehow to the story)
- a genre (they are all paranormals)
A serial, on the other hand, is a story that is told in discrete sections over a period of time, often without a pre-determined ending. Think “soap opera” - those are serials. Some authors publish serials on their websites or mailing lists as well as in magazines or other venues.
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