As anyone who has ever binged-watched a multi-season TV show will tell you, the “Previously on…” starts are a godsend for those who spend more time staring at their phone screens than the TV.

It’s also great for those of us with memories like a sieve who need a reminder of all the important things before watching the next installment so we can keep track of the characters, events, and remember why the main character finding some random key chain is actually significant.

For books, especially ones in a series well past a duology or trilogy, readers might also need a heads up about what’s happened, especially if it’s been years between tomes.

Most writers do (or should do) their best to plant reminders using dialogue, backstory, and other information delivery elements to clue readers in about what they need to know, but another option is including a The Story So Far… page for any book that’s a sequel and beyond.

Writing A Book Series: The Story So Far… PageWhat Is It?

If it isn’t obvious yet, it’s a page, or multiple pages, at the start of a book that is a sequel or a later installment in a series. The page recaps the main events of the previous book/s.

What To IncludeMain story/big events of the series so far.Any need to know info important for the story about to be read.Who the important characters are, where they are in the journey (physically and/or emotionally), and important relationships between characters.World building (if it’s necessary).

Letting readers know these basics, and anything else you deem important to include for your story, can help jog memories and keep the right events present for the book about to be read.

If that sounds like something you’d like to add to your series, you’ve now got a place to start. To level up the content of the page, the following guidelines can give you a few more ideas that you are free to chop and change based on your own preferences.

GuidelinesLength

Remember that The Story So Far… is not a chapter at the start of your book, so only make your recap as long as it needs to be.

If you can stick to one page, great. If you need a little more, try to keep it to six as a maximum. Obviously, the bigger a series, or the deeper into a series you go, the larger the recap will be, but that’s still not an excuse to make it excessive.

Try to be as efficient as possible and stick to the need-to-know facts.

Characters

As characters make up such a big part of the story, adding a specific character recap is also a great inclusion.

Character Recap

Name of each character.A summary of who they are/where they’re at.One important fact/thing about them.

Example:

Jenny Carla is a waitress who lost her job on the same day an eviction notice was delivered. She was so upset that she ignored the rest of her mail, which included a birthday card from her grandmother with a scratch-off lottery ticket that could turn her fortune around. Jenny has always had the worst luck, and is so unlucky some might say she’s cursed.

Have Fun With It

When it comes to recapping your The Story So Far… have fun with it!

You could write it in the voice of one of your characters or from their POV, as if they’re reaching out to the readers and giving their opinions on everyone else.

Mention The Best Bits

Don’t forget to treat it like a highlight reel, mentioning the best bits to remind readers, but also hook anyone who might read your books out of order (it’s not ideal, but it happens).

Spill Or Skip The Spoilers

While to spoil or not to spoil is indeed a great question, this page is intended to catch readers up on a book they’ve already read. That gives you permission to include spoilers if they’re important to know.

If, however, you really don’t want to risk spoilers being “out there” or to ruin the reading experience for anyone who does accidentally start at book 5, you can skip the spoilers and be vague about the biggest events.

If that’s your preference, try writing the spoilers the same as you would your book blurb and hint at things instead of outright mentioning them.

As you can see, adding a The Story So Far… page can be a really great feature for your series, so keep it in mind and plan for it when you’re writing. From a reader whose memory is very much like a sieve, I can guarantee that it will be very appreciated by anyone who picks up your books.

— K.M. Allan

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