Singles, Serials, Series, and more! Which do you prefer to read?

Hello! I am currently preparing for the release of RET, the final book in my Kaddim Brothers series. I am also getting ready to write the first book in my new shared world set of stories. So, I thought it would be interesting to do a post on Single Stories, Serials, Series, and Shared Worlds. I'm also curious as to which ones you prefer to read and/or write.

Single Stories

These are stories that stand on their own. (Also called standalones.) You don't need any background information from previous books by the author to read them. And at the end of the book, it's finished, the story arc is complete. There's no more to the story and the characters will not make an appearance again in future stories.

  

Serial Stories

Serial stories are full stories, but released in small sections. When you reach the end of the section, the story is not complete, and you have to wait for the author to release the next section, or buy the next book in the serial. Some books like this are released as a "series," but really aren't. Common serials are the stories releases through Kindle Vella. A lot of fan fiction. The Webtoons that I read. They are all released a chapter at a time. It's similar to watching a series on many of the streaming services. As a reader, you have to hope the author doesn't decide to quit writing the story before they reach the end.

Series

Series are very common in the fiction world, especially in romance. In a series, you get a complete story arc in each book, but there is also a series arc going on that doesn't end until the last book in the series. In J.D. Robb's (Nora Roberts) futuristic romantic suspense series, Eve Dallas must solve a crime (or two) in each book. But the relationship between Eve and Roarke (along with many other characters) is explored throughout the series. In my Kaddim Brothers series, each brother gets their own individual romance story, but the series explores the changes in the space racer team they are on. With series, you can pick up a book at any part of the series and get a complete story. There may be information from the previous books that would help you understand some of the history of the characters better, but you can still enjoy the book without having read them.

  

Shared Worlds

Shared Worlds are similar to a series. While they can be read on their own and each have their own story arc, there is not an overall series arc. Shared worlds can be written by one author, or many authors. There may be characters in common between the stories, or situations that connect each of them, but each story stands on it's own. There can also be series within a shared world, especially if it is a multi-author shared world. The book I'm reading now, Three Left Turns to Nowhere contains three stories that are all part of a shared world. Decadent Publishing has many shared world stories, including the 1Night Stand line, which I wrote many stories for. I've been contemplating writing a story in the same world as a book I wrote called Made For Her. And the next stories I write will all be part of a shared world (universe). They will take place in the same universe as my Kaddim Brothers series, but will all be individual stories, exploring many situations and relationships. The only thing they have in common is the universe they take place in, and space racing.

  

So, I'm curious.... Which of these do you prefer?

I read all of them. And I write all of them but serials. I'm not ready to try those yet.