Five years ago this month I released my first Haunting Danielle book. Back then it wasn’t called The Ghost of Marlow House. At the time I had named it Haunting Danielle, Book 1. While I had intended to write more books in the series, I hadn’t intended to give them each regular titles.
After releasing the first few books in the series I realized what a foolish idea that had been. I went back and gave each book its own title. It was one reason the series name, Haunting Danielle had been so prominent on the covers early on. Although one reviewer once accused me of doing that so it would make it harder for reviewers to find my books to be reviewed. (I have to admit, that theory cracked me up—it also made absolutely no sense.)
Haunting Danielle was a serious genre hop for me. Back then I was writing romance under my Anna J. McIntyre pen name. As a younger reader, romance had been my favorite genre. But romances had change, and as a writer, I had also changed.
I was having moderate success at my romances, and when I tossed out the idea of genre hopping to paranormal cozy mystery a number of writer friends whom I respect advised me not to do it. In many cases that is not bad advice. Genre hopping can be a killer for a new writer’s career.
But I really—really wanted to write Haunting Danielle. I confess, I had no clear picture where I planned to take the series, I just knew I wanted to write that first book.
Now to the title of this blog post—Fans fuel a series. I sincerely believe that without the feedback from my readers—through reviews, emails, blog comments, and Facebook posts, I would not be preparing to release Book 22.
My Haunting Danielle fans have inspired me as much as that muse sitting on my shoulder whispering story ideas into my ear. And to them, I am eternally grateful. I am so enjoying this adventure, and I hope to continue bringing my readers stories they will enjoy.
I worry sometimes that I have too many characters in my Haunting Danielle series. Am I making it too confusing for the readers?
Well, I used to wonder about that, but now, not so much. I’ll explain why…
Since my surgery my exciting life has been comprised of working at my computer from early morning to late afternoon, time on the exercise bike, an afternoon nap, and then early to bed where I watch mysteries on AcornTV via my Roku. I avoid stepping outside—hotter than hades out there, and since I can’t go swimming yet, what is the point?
Reading a book in the evening is not really an option. After spending all morning on the computer I need to give my eyes a rest. Early on in my recovery I was listening to audiobooks, and then I discovered Acorn.
I initially signed up for AcornTV after seeing an ad for a spinoff of the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. This new show takes place in the sixties and is about Fanny’s niece. However, I’ve only watched a couple of the episodes—the great Agatha Christie stole my attention.
First it was Miss Marple —and now I am watching Poirot.
Over on Netflix I had fallen inlove with shows like Father Brown and Midsomer Murders. I think part of the allure for me with British mysteries are the fabulous old estates and castles. I have absolutely no desire to live in one of those dusty old places, but what a marvelous setting for a mystery!
Back to Agatha Christie. I have been enjoying her series but yikes, the abundance of characters! One needs a scorecard. I am not suggesting it is a reason to stuff even more characters into my books, but it does alter my perception on how many is too many. My verdict, you need enough to tell the story. And with mysteries, that often involves a few more characters than other genres. It’s those red herrings, doncha know.
Readers have been asking me this question: How can I be a beta reader?
In the beginning of the Haunting Danielle series I used a small group of beta readers—most were people I knew personally. About midway through the series I expanded my pool of beta readers, reaching out to subscribers of the Haunting Danielle Newsletter.
I received dozens and dozens of inquiries, which unfortunately meant not everyone who was interested became a beta reader.
What does a beta reader do?
Technically, I have three groups of beta readers. The first is a smaller group—those people I know personally and who I won’t be adding to via my newsletter.
The second group of beta readers—which are selected from Haunting Danielle subscribers, receives the book BEFORE it sees the editor. They are told to ignore any typos or grammar issues and basically, just read for the story. Their job is to look for plot holes and inconsistencies with the series. While the general rule is to ignore typos, I ask them to point out anytime I used the wrong character name. (It seems that has always been an issue with me, and it is amazing how the wrong character name can slip through regardless of the countless eyes checking.)
This round of beta readers are also expected to tell me what sucks about the story or if they especially like something. Telling me what they liked about the book isn’t meant to stroke my ego (although that is a perk) but it helps me understand what readers enjoy, so I can try doing it again.
While the general rule for this round of beta readers is to critique the story and check for plot holes, if they find something annoying—perhaps I overused a phrase—then I want them to tell me.
Changes are made to the book after these betas get back to me. The book then goes off to the editor. When the book comes back from the editor, it then goes to the last round of beta readers, while I read the book again, via the text to audio feature on my word processor. This means my eyes read the words, while the robot voice reads them aloud.
Unlike the second round of beta readers, the last group is asked to do what the previous group did, but also to look for any homophones or punctuation/grammar issues we all missed.
What are requirements for a beta reader?
A beta reader must be a fan of the series—one who has read all the current books. This is important because it would be impossible for a beta reader to catch series inconsistences if he or she hadn’t read all the previous books in the series.
Since I select these groups of beta readers from Haunting Danielle subscribers, a beta reader needs to be a subscriber of the newsletter.
Subscribing is fairly easy. You can do it here. I never share subscriber information, and I try to send out newsletters every two weeks, where I include a raffle for prizes.
A beta reader must be willing to read the beta copy and send me his/her comments typically within a three day window.
Are you looking for new beta readers?
I’m not now, but I might be in the near future. While I tend to stick with the same group of beta readers, over time I lose some. It’s typically because their schedule has changed and they just don’t have the time to read and respond so quickly.
When I reach out for new beta readers, I will send a notice to all the newsletter subscribers asking those who are interested to apply.
Why would anyone want to be a beta reader?
Beta readers aren’t a paying job—so it is typically done for the love of the series. It is an opportunity to help shape the series and keep it on a positive course.
Why do you seek beta readers who already like the series? Wouldn’t it be better to use someone more objective?
Not necessarily. Let me explain. Imagine I was writing a new book for the sci-fi genre. It is the first book in the series. I would search out beta readers who loved the sci-fi genre, and then seek from them their honest, objective opinions, be it good or bad. Because, it would be sci-fi readers I am seeking, not romance or mystery readers.
In the case of Haunting Danielle, it already has its “readers.” Those people who enjoy the series. THEY are the ones I am seeking to entertain and please. I already know some people hate the series. I have no desire to make changes to my books based on the reviewers who may have given me one star reviews—not unless those one star reviews were coming from a significant segment of the Haunting Danielle fans.
No author will please everyone. It is impossible and a foolish goal. However, I want to please my Haunting Danielle readers—yet even with those, there will be some who will be disappointed and dislike where I am taking the stories. My beta readers help me navigate this journey, and hopefully help me avoid sinking or crashing into a iceberg. Metaphorically, of course.
