Dan Padavona:
The Business of Writing (Interview)
Welcome to
Thriller author Dan Padavona!
You are going to
love this interview with Dan! I’ve been following his career since he first
broke onto the indie scene back in 2014, with the publication of his dark
Vampire Horror novel: Storberry. Over the course of 3
years he continued to make waves as an Indie Horror author, publishing a
succession of well-received Horror novels and novellas.
In 2017/2018, Dan
took the plunge and re-emerged as a prolific writer of dark Serial-Killer
Thrillers with the introduction of his Scarlett Bell series – followed soon
after with the Darkwater Cove, Logan and Scarlett, and Wolf
Lake series.
With the
popularity and success of his thriller books, Dan was able to commit full-time
to writing as a career in 2021, retiring from his previous career as a
Meteorologist.
With over 40
novels and novellas to his name, and no sign of him slowing down any time soon,
I talk to Dan about his writing process and how he measures success as an indie
author.
Without further
ado, here is the man himself: Dan Padavona!
When you made the crossover
from writing horror to dark psychological thrillers, how much of the way you
write (writing process) did you need to change to launch yourself as a thriller
author?
I see my genre
choice in terms of a Venn diagram. In one circle, I make a list of genres I
love to read and write. The other circles includes genres people read
voraciously. The overlap is the sweet spot. For me, these were serial killer
thrillers and dark mysteries.
After switching
from horror to thriller and mysteries, I implemented story beats into my
planning process, rather than writing from the seat of my pants and creating
the plot on the fly. My process is to devote a short paragraph to each chapter
before I start the first draft.
Story beats keep
me writing—I never take a day off because I can’t figure out where to go with
the plot. Beats also make it easier for me to track clues and important twists
that make up the mystery portions of my thrillers.
When you come up with a story idea, do
you think of it from a visual or cinematic perspective before you put your
ideas on paper? Have you had any experience with screenplay writing and would
you ever consider turning your novels into screen adaptations?
For better or
worse, I grew up watching television and movies. I naturally think cinematic
perspective.
Though I wrote
screenplays during college, I’ve never considered doing so for one of my books.
I have feelers out for adapting my books to the screen.
What is your process for
writing a long-running episodic series? Do you write an origin story with a
future series in mind or is it more of an organic process because of the way
you build such a strong setting/world in the first book?
Good question. I
suppose it varies from book to book, but I always have a series in mind when I
write a story. A series allows me to better flesh out character arcs and
develop long-running subplots. It also attracts more readers, as my target
demographic prefers series over stand-alones.
A series is also easier to
profitably market because I can use the first book a loss leader. Provided I
write a compelling story and keep my readers entertained, people go on to read
several books in the series. This pulls my advertising out of the red and into
the black.
How important do you think
‘world building’ is in terms of writing a series and how do you approach this
aspect of your writing?
It’s less
important for thrillers and mysteries than it is for fantasy, obviously. But
world building is an important part of my workflow because I enjoy living
vicariously through my characters and in their environment.
Take the Finger
Lakes, for instance. This is the setting to several of my novels. Because I
love to visit this region and will one day retire there, I’m proficient in
building fictional settings near the lakes. This gives me a stronger sense of
my surroundings and allows my storytelling to flow freely.
Do you intentionally
incorporate elements of your own character (and those around you) into the
characters of your novels? Detective Thomas Shepherd of your Wolf Lake Thriller
series has Asperger’s syndrome, did this aspect of his character come from
personal experience or is it merely a narrative device used to increase the
depth of character and complexity in the series?
Whether
intentional or not, relationships and past experiences shape our fictional
counterparts. Some of my friends and family members inspire fictional characters,
and key moments in my life, positive and negative, influence plot-lines. We
write what we know.
I know several
parents of children with autism and Asperger’s. When creating Thomas Shepherd’s
character, I wanted added depth, and Asperger’s seemed to fit the traits I
imagined him displaying. The Asperger’s angle took on a life of its own. To
this day, I receive thank you emails from parents of autistic children for
presenting Thomas in such a positive light. I never intended to build awareness
of Asperger’s and autism, but I’m happy my books help others.
Considering the previous
question, how important do you feel it is it to add realistic character traits
and complexity to your characters and what effect does it have on the overall
strength of the narrative?
Realistic traits
are important because I want my characters to be memorable. I broke an
unwritten rule in the Wolf Lake series by adding a few
more characters than writers recommend. Give readers too many people to keep
track of, and they’ll get confused and lose interest. By infusing my heroes and
villains with strong, defined traits, readers are able to remember who they
are.
When I wrote Her Last Breath, the first book
in the Wolf Lake series, I found Thomas kept performing amazing acts
of kindness normally not seen in traditional dark mysteries and thrillers. The
acts made sense. Thomas spent his life overcoming Asperger’s and forcing
himself to open up and display emotion. He sees the world through sympathetic
eyes. Thomas rubs off on the other characters, and the various characters merge
to become a family of sorts.
What kind of marketing did
you do to re-establish your author brand as a thriller author, and what do you
think is the most successful marketing for self-published authors? Is there any
one thing that has helped you sell more books – i.e. could you outline your
path to establishing your brand and your most successful sales method/s?
From the
beginning, I realized I wouldn’t survive as a thriller author without
successful marketing. This is a highly-competitive genre, and I was starting
from scratch. Rather than stroke my ego and assume my storytelling would win me
readers, I utilized AMS and Facebook advertising to grow my following.
I accepted that I
would lose money for a few months (or longer) before sales caught up to ad
spend. But I saw those losing months as investments in my future.
My
bread-and-butter is advertising the first book in a long series. As I stated
earlier, this is my loss leader. The profit comes from people reading the rest
of the series. I doubt it’s possible to profitably achieve scale while
advertising stand-alone novels in competitive genres like thrillers and
mysteries.
How do you go about
soliciting reviews for your work, or is it a more organic process for you in
that the reviews come on their own accord? Do you have any advice for
indie/self-published authors as to the best way to gain reviews?
I utilize beta
readers to catch typos my editor missed and to seed my reviews with honest
opinions. These first reviews were very important early on, as they established
social proof that my books were worth reading. Since then, my readership has
grown to the point where I receive far more organic reviews than I dreamed
possible. Beta readers still play an important role, but I get all the reviews
I require from readers.
You have many of your books
available in audio format – do you think audio books are worth investing in for
self-published authors? I.e. is it a revenue stream that pays dividends in your
opinion? What’s your selection process for finding a narrator that your readers
will want to listen to?
This is a
controversial topic. I know successful authors who swear by audio-books and see
them as the future. I’ve been disappointed with audio-book sales so far. Despite
hiring professional producers to record books which are highly-ranked, audio-book revenue remains a small, insignificant portion of my total earnings.
That said, even if
you aren’t experiencing strong audio sales, the inclusion of audio-books looks
more professional. When readers visit my buy page on Amazon, they see the
e-book, the paperback, and the audio-book. I’m hopeful the future will be
brighter than the present.
You often refer to Dean
Koontz as being an inspiration and a favorite writer of yours. What aspects of
his writing inform your own and how important do you think it is (especially
for independent authors) for writers to have good quality role models within
their own genre/s?
Besides penning
amazing prose, Dean Koontz writes tense and frightening thrillers while placing
importance on family. Not every scene needs to be full-on darkness. In a Koontz
book, I get a healthy dose of happiness to go with the scare factor. It feels
more realistic and hopeful, and that makes me care more about the characters he
places in jeopardy.
Koontz also ends
his stories on optimistic notes. It’s hard not to finish one of his books
without feeling positive about the future. I don’t know another dark thriller
author who manages this as well.
Can you offer any advice to
fellow writers if you could go back in time and “do it all over?” What’s your
top tip for other indie authors?
If you want this
to be a career, start with the Venn diagram. There’s no point to writing
stories in a genre without enough buyers. That doesn’t mean you have to sell
out. What it means is finding a happy medium between what you love and what
sells.
Of course, if all
you care about is the art, write in any genre you love or create your own.
That’s wonderful, and I support your efforts. Just don’t complain about lack of
sales. Do it for the love of writing and forget about making a living from your
stories.
Finally, thanks for sharing
your thoughts on writing and independent publishing. Where is the best place
for readers to find your books?
I encourage everyone
to visit my Dan Padavona: Thriller and Mystery Author website, where I keep readers up to date
on my writings. I also include an advice section for authors.
Readers can also
find my books on my Amazon page.
Thanks Dan.
I recommend and
encourage every one of my readers to share this interview and check Dan’s books
out. You won’t be disappointed.
