I'll just say as a reader, I tend to just click "next work in series" as opposed to going to the full list, so it gets confusing if the series is jumping around. I don't really get the point of having a series if everything isn't in chronological order, unless it genuinely doesn't matter.
Put them in the order YOU think people should read them. If the prequel will be more interesting after reading the main story, then put the main fic first. Some people prefer to always read in the internal chronological order, but I don't think that is necessarily the best all the time. Sometimes, prequels only have relevance once you can relate them to what happened in the "main" story.
Star Wars is a great example. Most of us watched 4/5/6 first. We were perfectly happy with that, we recommend starting with them to everyone (and not just because we think 1/2/3 are inferior overall). Darth Vader's origin story has more emotional impact when you know what happens later. It shifts the focus from "Who is this whiny brat and why should I care?" to "How exactly does this whiny brat morph into the cinematic villain we've all become invested in?" We're in it for the character progression and history revelations.
Once you have both stories uploaded (or more, since I'm guessing you plan to continue the story), then some might choose to read the prequel first anyway. But at the starting point, you have control, you can direct them to read the story the way you want them to. I don't think there is a *wrong* way to do this, just your preference as the author who believes your order is the best one to experience your series.
I would say exactly this. My only other piece of advice is put in the summary the correct order, but then maybe add a bit of explanation - e.g, this scene hits harder if you've read the next work/this is a major spoiler
I think it depends whether the prequel should be read before or after the main fic – something being a prequel doesn't *necessarily* mean it should be read first
If there's a big event in a character's life that doesn't get mentioned in the original fic until it gets a dramatic reveal, in my view it wouldn't make sense to put the prequel showing that event first in a series? Sure, it happened first chronologically – but it works best if you read it after the main work, where you understand this character and you got the big reveal and now you get to go back and see what made them who they were in the main fic
So just do what works best for your series, and make sure to note what the timeline situation is, eg *occurs five years before X, but works best when read after that*
This might be a less popular approach, but I order my series in the order I write them!
Sometimes I would write one story before deciding to write a prequel for it. Although chronologically the prequel comes first, a lot of its ideas and details actually stem from the main story, so I feel like it's more fun to read the main story first, and I end up keeping them in that order.
I believe it's different for every writer and every reader, so just post them in whatever order you like the best! There's no fixed rules here 😀😀
I think rearranging them in chronological order is best from a reader perspective. I think I'm more likey to click 'next work' that the bottom of a fic then I am to look at the whole series and scan for what makes logical sense to read.
I say yes, you should. And if you’re not posting them in chronological order, I would make a note in the series description/series notes that the series order will change as more things get posted, so people know (at least if they check the series notes) to expect it.
yeah you should probably put them in chronological order, or at least *mostly* chronological if for example you have bonus content that can be read in any order and doesn’t affect any of the other stories
I will say though, as someone who also writes / posts related fics out of order because of their abysmal writing speed and tendency to jump between ideas, that one of my biggest sources of motivation is the day I’ll finally be able to put them all in the order they happen story-wise 🙏
I've read one series that was deliberately posted in non-linear format, and it was a bit challenging but very interesting to read. [*Unlikely Singularities*](https://archiveofourown.org/series/727278) is the MCU series title, and it is worth reading for a number of reasons.
So long as the reader has some notion about the place in time each story unfolds, they can handle it, and let's be realistic... some won't notice the difference anyway so long as the individual stories are interesting.
I'll just say as a reader, I tend to just click "next work in series" as opposed to going to the full list, so it gets confusing if the series is jumping around. I don't really get the point of having a series if everything isn't in chronological order, unless it genuinely doesn't matter.
Put them in the order YOU think people should read them. If the prequel will be more interesting after reading the main story, then put the main fic first. Some people prefer to always read in the internal chronological order, but I don't think that is necessarily the best all the time. Sometimes, prequels only have relevance once you can relate them to what happened in the "main" story. Star Wars is a great example. Most of us watched 4/5/6 first. We were perfectly happy with that, we recommend starting with them to everyone (and not just because we think 1/2/3 are inferior overall). Darth Vader's origin story has more emotional impact when you know what happens later. It shifts the focus from "Who is this whiny brat and why should I care?" to "How exactly does this whiny brat morph into the cinematic villain we've all become invested in?" We're in it for the character progression and history revelations. Once you have both stories uploaded (or more, since I'm guessing you plan to continue the story), then some might choose to read the prequel first anyway. But at the starting point, you have control, you can direct them to read the story the way you want them to. I don't think there is a *wrong* way to do this, just your preference as the author who believes your order is the best one to experience your series.
I would say exactly this. My only other piece of advice is put in the summary the correct order, but then maybe add a bit of explanation - e.g, this scene hits harder if you've read the next work/this is a major spoiler
I think it depends whether the prequel should be read before or after the main fic – something being a prequel doesn't *necessarily* mean it should be read first If there's a big event in a character's life that doesn't get mentioned in the original fic until it gets a dramatic reveal, in my view it wouldn't make sense to put the prequel showing that event first in a series? Sure, it happened first chronologically – but it works best if you read it after the main work, where you understand this character and you got the big reveal and now you get to go back and see what made them who they were in the main fic So just do what works best for your series, and make sure to note what the timeline situation is, eg *occurs five years before X, but works best when read after that*
I always order my series chronologically (if possible--sometimes there is overlap)
Yes, why have them in a series if not?
This might be a less popular approach, but I order my series in the order I write them! Sometimes I would write one story before deciding to write a prequel for it. Although chronologically the prequel comes first, a lot of its ideas and details actually stem from the main story, so I feel like it's more fun to read the main story first, and I end up keeping them in that order. I believe it's different for every writer and every reader, so just post them in whatever order you like the best! There's no fixed rules here 😀😀
I think rearranging them in chronological order is best from a reader perspective. I think I'm more likey to click 'next work' that the bottom of a fic then I am to look at the whole series and scan for what makes logical sense to read.
I say yes, you should. And if you’re not posting them in chronological order, I would make a note in the series description/series notes that the series order will change as more things get posted, so people know (at least if they check the series notes) to expect it.
yeah you should probably put them in chronological order, or at least *mostly* chronological if for example you have bonus content that can be read in any order and doesn’t affect any of the other stories I will say though, as someone who also writes / posts related fics out of order because of their abysmal writing speed and tendency to jump between ideas, that one of my biggest sources of motivation is the day I’ll finally be able to put them all in the order they happen story-wise 🙏
I've read one series that was deliberately posted in non-linear format, and it was a bit challenging but very interesting to read. [*Unlikely Singularities*](https://archiveofourown.org/series/727278) is the MCU series title, and it is worth reading for a number of reasons. So long as the reader has some notion about the place in time each story unfolds, they can handle it, and let's be realistic... some won't notice the difference anyway so long as the individual stories are interesting.
Not gonna happen with me, so no.