Back story in a series

[sheadakota]

I am currently writing the 4th book in a series which isn't the problem- I have a solid storyline and all four books could be stand alone but work better if read in order.

My question is, as a reader how much backstory do you require when picking up a book inb a series out of order?

Right now I am just giving enough to make sense to the reader for the current book, but I'm not going into detail. Would you want more? Inquiring minds want to know- okay well my mind wants to know-

[Danthia]

Sounds like you're doing the right thing now. I'd suggest having your beta readers read it and seeing if they need more of anything. If you can get someone who's never read the others, that would be perfect. I'd continue treating it just like any other backstory. Use what's needed and make it interesting :)

[sheadakota]

Thanks Danthia, It feels like I'm doing the right thing, but you never know- I know the backstory so well at thias point, its difficult to judge if I am putting in to much or too little- its a fine line between informing and boring the reader out of thier minds!

[Phaeal]

Give the new book to betas who haven't read the first and see if they're confused.

[RJK]

I only refer back when needed. My MC realizes he's falling in love and thinks back to the love he had for his daughter, who ran away died from a heroin overdose in an earlier book.
In another scene, I relate that a character, now a sheriff's investigator used to be the MC's partner on the city PD, but transferred because of the internal politics on the city PD at the time - this all took place in the first book of the series.

At best, I devote a paragraph to this backstory, and only if it's needed to build my character, or move the plot forward.

[sheadakota]

RJK- thats sounds like what I'm doing and as soon as I get the blasted thing done- yeah a beta you never read the other three- any volunteers ?:tongue

[Lady Ice]

Depends what kind of series it is. If it's about one man and his journey, you ought to do some backstory. However it might be different stories connected to one theme.

[DeleyanLee]

Something I've wondered about: If ALL books have some kind of backstory (and they all do), why treat a sequel differently than any other book?

I mean, if someone's read the previous books, they don't want page after page rehashing what they've already read. At least, I get really annoyed by it. They know the characters, they know the world, they know what's going on--so get on with the good stuff!

If someone hasn't read the previous books, they don't want page after page rehashing something they know nothing about and get bored by the review or guilted out because before they can read the book in their hands, they HAVE to go back and read how many books? to get a grip. At least, I get really annoyed by it. They want to get to know the characters as they are NOW, the world as it is NOW, and get sucked into the book in their hands--so get on with the good stuff!

The best way I've seen backstory handled in a series was in "The Fionavar Tapestry" by Guy Gaveriel Kay. At the start of Book #2 was something called "What Has Gone Before" which was a brief summary of Book #1. Book #3 had the same "What Has Gone Before" as #2 but with the additional info on #2. I can see where having something like that would be helpful for those who are reading the books as they came out, but I was reading them back-to-back so being able to skip that review material was a blessing. I could just leap into the story and not worry about having to wade through the eternal "And just to remind you, here's backstory on the last 37 books of the series" infodump BS.

So, to me, the question is a non-issue. All backstory gets treated the same way, regardless if it's a stand-alone or series. Problem solved.