If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I have authored and continue to work on two series. I started Our Cyber World over a year ago. Four titles into it, an idea for a very different series emerged, and Tracking Jane was born.

As I watch my two series develop and elicit reader responses, both in reviews and sales, I am noticing some interesting differences. At first blush, though it’s been out a shorter period of time, I would have to count Tracking Jane as the more successful of the two. Why is this? I can think of a few possible reasons.

The most likely of these? My writing has improved–perhaps becoming more gripping? It is interesting to observe myself progress as a writer. The things that mattered most when I first got started may not loom as large now. My style also seems more malleable to accommodate character voice. Maybe I’m freer, too, to focus on things that matter most to readers, and that is resulting in stronger connections to my writing.

Another likely possibility hinges on the difference in structure for these series. As I have explained previously, Our Cyber World does not follow a necessary sequence in its stories. Some build on others, some happen somewhat in parallel—hence the term I use, parallelequel. Though I like how this approach lets me feature and explore different characters in the protagonist role, it may also diffuse the reader desire to read the next installment. To be honest, it may even confuse readers. The Tracking Jane series, on the other hand, follows a more linear approach. Each episode follows the last, and we can watch Jane progress through her life struggles.

But perhaps reader enthusiasm and support for Tracking Jane arises from its more emotional content and internally conflicted character. Oh, there’s some of that in Our Cyber World. I always look at characters first as the principal drivers for my stories. But Tracking Jane delves deeper into a characters inner struggles to show how they relate to external challenges. With its tight, at times uncomfortable first person portrayal the reader gets to experience Jane’s plight and story at a far more personal level than any story I’ve written to date (perhaps with the exception of The Ignored). As I watch readers go from one story to the next in the series, and from the feedback they give me via reviews and emails, though I may have no hard quantifiable evidence, I strongly suspect this third consideration is driving Tracking Jane‘s success.

Now, I only have to keep it up, maybe apply some of what I’ve learned through Tracking Jane to my next Our Cyber World release, Ghost Writer. Pray for me. This is hard to do.

If you would like to read through some FAQ/Q&A posts about these two posts:
    1.   7 Questions & Answers about the Our Cyber World series
    2.   The Tracking Jane series in 8 Questions & Answers or Less