She Ignored the Rules and Built a Bestseller

About this video

At the Author Nation 2025 conference, which Dale says he visited at the beginning of November, Dale holds a two-minute hallway lightning round with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Melissa Storm. Storm says she writes every genre under the sun, is currently focused on fantasy, and has written over a hundred books, having lost count. Asked what made her start writing, she says she was weird and lonely as a child and books and animals were her only friends. She says she learned literally everything faster by doing than studying, calls ‘stay in your lane’ the worst advice she received, and gives her own best advice as ‘do it first or do it best, preferably both.’ She identifies as a number one achiever in Clifton strengths who never stops, says motivation never drops for her, and names Facebook ads as the one tool she relies on. Asked what action moved her progress most, she credits having a high risk tolerance and deciding to run for the USA Today bestsellers list when she had no audience, then making it happen. She says authors overthink literally everything, especially marketing, resets creativity by changing location, describes her writing style as quirky and authentic, and is currently working on AI automations. She hopes readers close her books feeling the world needs them to be their true selves and that what makes them different makes them powerful.

Key takeaways

• Melissa Storm rejects ‘stay in your lane’ and instead advises doing it first or doing it best, preferably both
• She credits a high risk tolerance and aiming for the USA Today bestsellers list despite having no audience as the action that moved her progress most
• She says she learned literally everything faster by doing than by studying
• Facebook ads are the one tool she says she relies on
• She resets creativity by changing location and says authors overthink everything, especially marketing

Episode details: published January 5, 2026 · 3:01 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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