How My Self-Published Memoir Led to a New York Times Bestseller

The story behind Pretty Little Killers and The Savage Murder of Skylar Neese

Hey everyone. This is the first guest post on The Self-Taught Marketer Substack. Daleen Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of The Savage Murder of Skylar Neese. I asked her to break down how she got there. It all started with her self-published memoir. What follows is her playbook.

—Cory

On March 30, 2014, I woke up to find a 6:53 a.m. email from my publisher.

My book, The Savage Murder of Skylar Neese, was number 12 on the New York Times Bestseller List!

I’m a New York Times bestselling author … I’m a New York Times bestselling author?

I am a New York Times bestselling author!!!

I felt like I needed to pinch myself as I opened the attachment that Adrienne Lang, my publisher, had sent around. And felt that way again, as I followed the string of replies from everyone cc’d on that life-changing email from BenBella Books.

Because how often does someone become a NYT bestselling author? Once. The answer is once. Yes, you can write several books, and have one or more hit the list. But once you get there, it is something you have forever.

The title doesn’t go away. You can’t be stripped of that “crown.”

The file showed my book sandwiched between literary giants: Laura Hillenbrand, Sheryl Sandberg, Robert Gates, Cheryl Strayed, and one of my favorite authors, Malcolm Gladwell. The Savage Murder of Skylar Neese was right up there with 12 Years a Slave, Unbroken, The Monuments Men, Lean In, Wild, Orange Is the New Black, and David and Goliath.

On that day, I knew the interviews I had conducted, the long hours I had put in, and the agony that book had caused me, all of it collectively, were worth it.

And it had only taken two years from the date I wrote and self-published my first book, Sister of Silence, to get there.

Here's the playbook I used to help Sister of Silence break out, which set me up to hit the NYT list with The Savage Murder of Skylar Neese and its expanded edition, Pretty Little Killers.

1. Build your platform before you have anything to sell

Long before I self-published my memoir Sister of Silence in 2011, I was talking about my writing on social media. Not to sell anything. I didn’t have anything to sell yet.

I was showing up for people and asking about their families, their jobs, and their health. Whatever they were posting about, I was there, genuinely curious.

That’s what built my platform. Sincere interest, over the years, with no ask attached. By the time I had a book to promote, I had a group of readers who actually wanted to hear from me.

Every traditional publisher expects authors to have a platform. This is how you build one that’s real.

2. Give your work away

An ARC is an advance reader copy.

They help you build fans of your book and momentum before your book comes out.

I gave away advance reader copies to anyone and everyone. Friends. Fellow reporters. Librarians. Bookstore clerks. Teachers. College professors. Mental health experts. Other writers.

They spread the word before Sister of Silence was even available—free publicity, weeks and months of buzz, before the release date.

I also sent ARCs to literary journals, which led to reviews I could post the moment the book went live.

The instinct most first-time authors have is to hoard ARCs because they feel precious. They aren’t. They’re marketing collateral. Every copy in the right hands is worth more than the copy itself.

3. Pitch thirty outlets, not three

I sent thirty news releases to major newspapers around the country. I told them about the memoir. I told them why it was timely and why it mattered.

Several of those thirty got bites.

The biggest was Bob Edwards.

Anyone under forty may not recognize it, but Bob was once the voice of NPR’s Morning Edition. He’d been beloved by millions for 25 years before moving to his own show on Sirius XM. His producer, Ariana Pekary, emailed to say they both loved my book and wanted me on the show.

I drove four hours to Washington, DC on February 9, 2011. Nine days before Sister of Silence was released.

Two days after I met Bob in person, I found his Facebook message:

“You are a magnificent storyteller. When I started this show, I thought most of my guests would carry the hour, but few have. You will.”

Our interview ran on Sirius XM on March 8, four times that day. Orders came in immediately. Sales averaged $1,000 a month from there.

The lesson: you don’t need thirty hits. You need one. But you need to pitch thirty to get the one.

4. Go to where your readers are: in person

In 2012, a reader named Sharon single-handedly promoted Sister of Silence around the Bay Area. She told me there was enough interest for a West Coast book tour.

So I flew to California. I drove around the state, handing out flyers, free copies of Sister of Silence, bookmarks, and business cards. At schools, women’s shelters, bookstores, libraries, and hospitals. To baristas, store clerks, therapists, and strangers on the street.

I spoke at a UC Berkeley conference. I did interviews. I met Elaine Hagebush, whose daughter Megan had designed my memoir’s cover. Elaine introduced me to her entire book club, who became some of my biggest cheerleaders.

One speaking gig at Livermore High School got canceled the morning I arrived. My book had been banned. (School officials denied it. The librarian told me the copies were no longer on the shelf. Students emailed later saying they never reappeared.)

Sister of Silence got a lot of attention after that.

Show up in rooms. Hand people your book. Most authors won’t do this because it’s uncomfortable, expensive, and inefficient. But that’s exactly why it works.

5. Let your readers become your sales force

My most devoted readers called themselves “Daleen’s army.” People I had met at writer’s conferences, readers I had corresponded with, members of book clubs who had adopted me.

Rick Shartzer was one of them. An English teacher in Ohio who loved the rough draft of Sister of Silence when I workshopped it at a Cleveland writer’s conference. Through word of mouth alone, Rick and so many others made the book successful.

You don’t build an army by asking for one. You build it the same way you build a platform by showing up for people, consistently, over time, with no agenda.

The payoff

A while after the California tour, I was standing on a stage in Connecticut, giving a TEDx talk that was based on Sister of Silence.

Around the same time, Skylar Neese went missing in Morgantown, WV, where I then lived. Because of my memoir and journalism background, my Facebook followers were sharing behind-the-scenes tips.

I queried the only agent who had taken a serious interest in Sister of Silence back in 2010, Katherine Boyle of Veritas Literary Agency. An auction quickly ensued. She signed my coauthor and me in August 2013—a two-book deal.

That’s the takeaway for any writer who wants to do what I did. Writing, self-publishing, and promoting Sister of Silence led me to a phenomenal agent. This led to the contract that produced The Savage Murder of Skylar Neese and Pretty Little Killers.

On March 30, 2014, I woke up a New York Times bestselling author.

Everything I had done was worth it.

What I took from Daleen’s story

The things that sold her book don’t scale. Driving around California, handing out free copies. Pitching thirty outlets to get on Bob Edwards. Being genuinely interested in her readers for years before she had anything to sell.

There’s no AI-shortcut version of any of that. Which is exactly why it still works, and why it’ll keep working.

One more thing. The playbook above is what got her book in front of readers. Her mastery of writing is what made them finish it. Those are two different skills, and she’s teaching the second one in a live workshop on April 29 on pacing, transitions, and the specific choices that keep someone reading to the end. If that side of the equation is where you need help, you can sign up here:

https://daleenberry.gumroad.com/l/ymnky

Or get in free with an annual paid subscription to her Substack: https://substack.com/@daleenberry

I started The Self-Taught Marketer Substack to help people learn how to do the same thing Daleen did: build an audience without a team, one unscalable move at a time.

If that’s you, you’ll like what I’m writing here.

—Cory