Earlier does not mean ancient
First find the past reference point. If a phone call interrupted your journey, something you had done before that call can use the pluperfect. An event from centuries ago does not need this tense merely because it is old.
Als das Telefon klingelte, hatte Nora den Brief schon gelesen.
When the telephone rang, Nora had already read the letter.
Keep the helper; move it into the past
The perfect ist abgefahren becomes war abgefahren; hat gelesen becomes hatte gelesen. The participle stays the same. The auxiliary still agrees with the subject: compare singular hatte with plural hatten.
Wir hatten den Brief gelesen, bevor Nora anrief.
We had read the letter before Nora called.
Put the auxiliary last after nachdem
For a sequence of past events, the earlier nachdem clause can use the pluperfect. Its finite auxiliary follows the participle. If this clause comes first, the next main clause begins with its conjugated verb. Other time contexts can use other tense combinations; nachdem does not automatically demand the pluperfect.
Nachdem der Bus abgefahren war, gingen wir zu Fuß.
After the bus had departed, we went on foot.
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References
Original explanations and examples informed by grammar references. Level placement is an editorial teaching choice.