Eager Journalist: Will Write for Food!

Considering the relative ease of social media, and given how popular it’s become to post snippets of one’s life online, we might assume we know what another person, a Facebook friend, perhaps, is going through. That would be a mistake.

Three years after becoming a news reporter, I spent a summer working at the Kingsville Record in Texas.

Using myself as an example, I’ll tell you why. After The Savage Murder of Skylar Neese hit #12 on the New York Times bestseller list in 2014, and with the popularity of Pretty Little Killers, released soon thereafter, many people assumed I was set, possibly even making a six-figure income. Especially given that I appeared on several popular TV shows, such as Dr. Phil , Dateline , 20/20 , and others.

However, in actuality, after that single book advance was divided four ways, I earned $12,500 on both books. I receive a royalty check every six months; my last one was almost $850. And in 2015, I earned a whopping $7,000 for another book advance. Add to that the $2,000 in royalties and other income I received, and my grand total, before taxes, was $9,000. Certainly not enough to live on, and most definitely below the poverty level.

Seeing my book featured on the cover of Elle, just below the photo of Kristen Stewart.

There’s a reason they call us “starving writers.”

Add to this my health condition, which I finally pinpointed as a reaction to off-gassing from new construction. In particular, the toxins that pressed wood emit. So in early February, using what little savings I had, I moved out of my brand new townhouse and fled to Florida, where I hoped a combination of sea breezes and medical treatment might make a difference. And it did, amazingly so! Today, I feel like a new person.

Taking a break between interviews for the true-crime book, “Guilt by Matrimony,” in 2015.

While in Pompano Beach, I finished two more books, but typing fourteen to sixteen hours a day caused so much inflammation in my shoulder that I could barely use my left arm afterward. Fortunately, I seem to have found the solution for that problem, too, which means I’m back in full-throttle writing mode.

It hasn’t been easy. From February until now, I’ve been living on the generosity of loved ones. Thank God for good friends! But accepting handouts does little to help one’s self-esteem. Still, I try to look at the bright side: even though I’ve fallen from middle class to far below that, I have more—much more—than many people. And I am so very grateful for that, just as I am for the dozens of people who call, email or post such kind words of encouragement on Facebook, as happened again today.

Preparing to give my 2013 TED talk, based on my memoir, “Sister of Silence,” at Connecticut College.

So folks, what I want, and need, is a real job. My first love is journalism. I’ve been told that I’m an excellent interviewer, one people open up to, revealing tidbits and stories they would tell no one else. Any many people say I’m an equally good investigator, one who has pieced together many a story that revealed some important truth the public needed to know. Had a right to know. I have other skills, such as marketing and public relations, but the world of journalism is where I truly shine. And since writing books isn’t paying the bills, I may have to relegate writing books to a hobby.

It’s an economic decision, really. One that may take me far, far away from Almost Heaven. So if you know of a reliable media outlet who needs someone like me, with a work ethic second to none, please send them my way. If you have any other ideas that may help me climb out of this economic slump, I’d love to hear them, too.

Next time, I’ll talk about why you should never leave someone you love alone in a hospital. Have a great week and thanks for reading!

* * * *

My seventh book, Shatter the Silence, a love story and the long-awaited sequel to my first memoir was released May 7. That’s on the heels of Tales of the Vintage Berry Wine Gang, a collection of my newspaper columns from 1988-91, which came out in April. Prior to those two books, Guilt by Matrimony was released last November. It’s about the murder of Aspen socialite Nancy Pfister.

My memoir, Sister of Silence, is about surviving domestic violence and how journalism helped free me; Cheatin’ Ain’t Easy, now in ebook format, is about the life of Preston County native, Eloise Morgan Milne; The Savage Murder of Skylar Neese (a New York Times bestseller, with coauthor Geoff Fuller) and Pretty Little Killers (also with Fuller), released July 8, 2014, and featured in the August 18 issue of People Magazine.

You can find these books either online or in print at a bookstore near you, at BenBella Books, Nellie Bly Books, Amazon, on iTunes and Barnes and Noble.

For an in-depth look at the damaging effects of the silence that surrounds abuse, please watch my live TEDx talk, given April 13, 2013, at Connecticut College.

Have a great day and remember, it’s whatever you want to make it!

~Daleen

Editor’s Note: Ms. Berry is a New York Times best-selling author and a recipient of the Pearl Buck Award in Writing for Social Change. She has won several other awards, for investigative journalism and her weekly newspaper columns, and her memoir, Sister of Silence, placed first in the West Virginia Writers’ Competition. Ms. Berry speaks about overcoming abuse through awareness, empowerment and goal attainment at conferences around the country. To read an excerpt of her memoir, please go to the Sister of Silence site. Check out the five-star review from ForeWord Reviews. Or find out why Kirkus Reviews called Ms. Berry “an engaging writer, her style fluid and easy to read, with welcome touches of humor and sustained tension throughout.”