Update: Pitching a Series with Multiple Protagonists

In a previous blog post on pitching a series, reader A.J. asked a great question in the comments:

I wonder if you have any thoughts on pitching a series in which the protagonist changes with each book. Is this frowned on, or is it perfectly acceptable?

I didn’t know the answer, so I asked my agent, who answered with her take on the topic:

If you’re proposing a series the multiple protagonists idea can work well. Most genre fiction has a place for this idea—from romance, where there are often series of books that share some characters and settings, but might focus on, say, different family members or different people in a town, to fantasy, where various books in a series may follow different, but related, characters in the world the author has created.  Pitching these ideas to an agent or editor depends on where you are in your working relationship with that person. If you have books with them already, and they know your writing and know that you have the wherewithal to create such a series and make it work, then go for it. But if you don’t know the agent or editor you’re pitching, the most important thing is to draw them in with your writing by showing them a single polished manuscript with a compelling, wonderful, beautifully told story.  If you happen to have idea for how to expand that first manuscript into a series, great—but you may want to wait until they call you and express interest in your current manuscript and ask what you’re thinking of next before you tell them about the next five books.

Great question, A.J., and great answer, Susanna. Thank you both!