How This Debut Author Manufactured a New York Times Bestseller

The secret success behind Jessica Knoll’s first published novel

Photo by PolinaParm. Used with license from Deposit Photos. Edited by Adrienne Cobb

When Jessica Knoll’s debut novel, Luckiest Girl Alive, was published in 2015, the cover with a black rose and bold yellow title played center stage in bookstores across the country. After all, it was a New York Times bestseller.