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I was learning that regardless of how moving or well-written your story, if the author is not “famous” or doesn’t have tens of thousands of social media followers, sadly, most agents and traditional publishers are unwilling to invest in you or your book. And, for most people, repeatedly hearing the word NO is that crushing blow that breaks the spirit or the fire that motivates. Rather than be discouraged, my new motto, “Never underestimate the power of rejection,” was born. I used that woman’s denial as a springboard to higher heights. 

I changed courses, took matters into my own hands. With months of research and recommendations from friends, I found a hybrid publisher—a cross between traditional and Self-Publishing—and negotiated a contract. The company provided heavy lifting like proofreading, typesetting, assistance with a book cover, and finding a distribution channel. 

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          I am so thrilled I went this route. Unlike with a traditional publisher, I retain the rights to my work and will receive substantial royalties for all book sales. Rather than taking up to two years to release my book, it took three months. I had spent time and money crafting and shaping my story, putting it in the best shape possible before hiring a copyeditor to polish and suggest final touches for the work.

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          So, as I sit here at the beginning of 2024, an Amazon number one bestselling author in several categories, I am humbled to have bested Caroline Kennedy and Paris Hilton in the fashion biographies and memoirs category for at least a few days. I sat in awe within twenty-four hours of its release as Daddy’s House topped the charts in Women’s inspirational spirituality, Black African American biographies & memoirs, and spiritual biography categories. You—my listeners and supporters—did that. 

 

I want to share words from a small publisher who did not accept my book due to budget constraints. But he was kind enough to analyze the work and provide a report, suggesting changes to ensure publication. His words were instrumental in moving me to not give up on publishing Daddy’s House.

 

This unnamed Source highlighted many of my strengths by stating, “Mildred’s writing is mostly excellent, with a strong poetry in her choice of words. While the first few pages have some rough spots (more on this below), Mildred’s language really carries the reader through the full manuscript. Sometimes her sentences are very effective in their economy (“So many porches, only two bedrooms”) but her command of language is varied so that word economy does not become a crutch; rather, it is just one of many tools in Mildred’s literary toolbox. (At the end of this “Strengths” section, I have listed some of my favorite sentences and turns of phrase.) 

 

          This memoir is filled with contradictions, most of them beautiful and effective. The primary contradiction is her love/hate relationship with her parents. The misery and conflict are obvious, but through careful writing, Mildred is able to simultaneously convey a deep love and respect. I’m still not sure how she does this. 

 

          The contradictions start early in the book. Soon after fantasizing about physically hurting her father, Mildred enjoys “a piggyback ride on my handsome daddy’s back.” How can she enjoy a piggyback ride from this brutal man? The answer is: because Mildred is a human, and this is the unpredictable way that our emotions can flow. In this sense, I found the radical honesty of this manuscript to be riveting. Another poignant contradiction comes when a racist white teacher gives Mildred a leg up and introduces her to the American Automation Technical School in Columbus, Ohio. 

 

          Mildred effectively portrays herself as relentlessly ambitious, and this becomes infectious to the reader. Mildred’s forward momentum starts in the Prologue and carries all the way to the end of the manuscript. This momentum is a key element of this story, and Mildred captures it in a profound and inspiring way. 

 

          While some of the manuscript’s most dramatic moments are beyond harrowing, Mildred also mixes in wry humor, which helps to bring just enough levity so that the reader doesn’t become too overwhelmed by the enormity of challenges she faces. (Some examples of wonderful clever sentences are listed below.) 

 

          I also like the pro-woman orientation of Mildred’s story, beginning when she is five and she sees two dogs having sexual intercourse and she is “happy the female was winning.” Though it sounds odd to say, this is the beginning of a subtheme of sisterhood that runs through the manuscript. (On the subject of intercourse, in one funny paragraph ruminating on the sex lives of farm animals, Mildred concludes with, “Even Mama and Daddy contributed to the labor force with a new baby almost every year.”) 

 

          By sharing the horrors she has faced, the path toward forgiveness feels both powerful and very real. When late in the manuscript Mildred finds her father weeping on his neardeathbed, I miraculously felt this sadness deeply, even though Abraham is an absolute tyrant for most of the story. 

 

          Indeed, very early in the manuscript we learn how violent Mildred’s impulses are toward her father. That violence is, of course, taught to her by her father. But it’s shocking to read about how a young girl wants to “gouge his eyes out with that hot poker” or “punch him in the stomach for playing us like that.” The force of these emotions really sets the stage meaningfully for the overall narrative arc of the story.”

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Here are some examples of sentences and turns of phrase that particularly moved me: 

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