Mama Said, "We Did It!"
- J.V. Sadler
- Mar 28
- 7 min read
Updated: Mar 31
The journey to publish my first horror anthology was quite a rollercoaster. But after almost 2 years, the hardwork paid off. We did it!
It all started when I joined an online Facebook group Angels of Darkness. (Black Women Horror Writers). Current admins of the group are C.Y. Marshall (Group Founder), E.M. Lacey, Lori Titus, and Dahlia DeWinters. On May 12th 2024, I made a post in the group teasing the idea of putting together an anthology. I was inspired by the many online spaces that Black horror writers were curating. Of course, I yearned for more creepy stories written by AND published by US. At some point, I thought to stop yearning and start doing. Why not me? So the dream team came together! Lori Titus, E.M. Lacey, Miracle Austin, C.Y. Marshall, and me.
We held meeting after meeting, trying to narrow an idea. With our imaginations combined, there were so many possibilities. By June, we had a title, a front cover design, a Dark Fairytale theme, and a call for submissions. We wanted stories that were, obviously, from Black women horror writers. Then, we specified the anthology would be PG-13 and were firm on no Artificial Intelligence-generated stories. Why have "artificial" intelligence when we could showcase our human intelligence?
All of us were in agreeance in paying our authors. This industry is tough on indie writers. It is especially inequitable towards Black writers . . . and super duper quadruple extra inequitable for Black women writers. And if you add on additional intersections (queer, trans, disabled, low-income, etc.), we have to work so hard just to be seen, let alone paid. A paid opportunity acted as an incentive for writers to apply to an anthology that really did come out of the blue, was not backed by a known publisher, and really had a low chance of coming to fruition due to the lack of overall funding or public attention. Also, Black artists deserve to be paid! Simple as that.
Let's talk about the first Kickstarter. I launched our first attempt at crowdfunding in October 2024 with a $2,000 goal. A major mistake that I made was thinking that people would support an anthology before all of our authors, the stories, and the collection was put together. I quickly learned that my crowdfund would've had more traction and trust with the general public if some things were already solidified. For those who do not know much about Kickstarter, a crucial element is that it is all-or-nothing. If you do not raise the full goal by the end of your crowdfunding period, you get nothing of what was raised. Na-Da.
The problem was that this required fronting some essential costs which included getting the front cover made. Now, I already had a package of ISBNs from Bowker, so I fortunately I didn't have to worry about that. To some, just over $100 isn't too bad, right? Sure, when you have stable income. Which at the time, I did not. I want to thank my personal circles and those who support me behind the scenes who helped me front these costs or provided crucial advice on the project--I'm keeping folks anonymous just in case they don't want to be named. I kept with my side hustles (which always keep in my back pocket till this day) and, eventually, the upfront costs were handled.
The first Kickstarter ended November 2024 and we raised $130 out of the $2,000 that we planned for. The wind was really knocked out of my sails. I wanted to quit. But the planning team encouraged me to continue on. They believed in this project. They believed in me. We extended our call for story submissions to March 2025.
This is where another rock in the road comes along. During this time, I was trying to earn my Master's degree from the University of Cincinnati. It was my last semester--graduating summer semester--so I was slammed with final papers and curating my Master's portfolio. My neurodivergencies were extra spicy. I'm pretty open about my mental health journey. For those who don't know, I'm Bipolar. Bipolar Type 2, to be exact. This means I have the depress-y kind of Bipolar and not the Manic-y kind. Instead, those with Bipolar II go through hypomania (a more subdued form of mania than you would typically see in Bipolar I) but then we may go through intense Depressive episodes. PS: I'm also on the autism spectrum and have generalized anxiety, SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
A week before I was set to walk the stage in mid-August 2025, I faced some hard times with my home life. I was dealing with instability at home while also working on graduating. A cherry on top of everything, I was having some difficulties with the only class I was taking for the semester which happened to be the every last class that I needed to have all my required credits. My spotty attendance due to my disability (exascerbated by instability) threatened my passing the course . . . although, my actual submitted work in the course and grades on assignments were pretty solid.
Eventually, I passed the last course. I finished my portfolio presentation. My home life was sorted out. I walked across the stage. And then I turned my attention back to Mama Said. Here, I have to shout out my amazing authors and the Angels of Darkness community. Their patience with me was incredible even as I delayed the project month-by-month-by-month. I made my best attempt at accountability through email communications and Facebook posts in the online group. Finally, I finished the anthology edit. Lori checked my work and made additional suggestions. Then, we were back on track!
January 2026, we launched the second attempt at a Kickstarter campaign. We had a full author line-up, a completed manuscript, and more publicity posters/materials. This time, I set the crowdfund goal to $500. Although this amount wouldn't fully cover what we needed to make it happen, it would put a good dent in the costs. It also helped that we had a smaller collection of authors than we had intitially brainstormed, so we didn't need to raise as much for author payments. I'd also rather have a fully funded goal that was guaranteed for a payout than set a higher goal that posed the risk of failing again. Also I was able to get into a great paid internship! At that point, I was financially stable enough to cover the remaining associated costs beyond what the $500 (minus Kickstarter fees) would cover.
[Hey, you're over there feeling bad that I paid out of pocket for expenses. But you can always buy my books and/or throw some lil' coins my way just because. See my linktree at the end of the article for how you can support me, personally!]
February 2026, the Kickstarter ended. Fully Funded! We raised exactly $505, so it was a close call. We made it 100% only 3 days before the end of our crowdfund period. Oh yeah, It was go time.
I did push back the initial publish date from February 28th 2026 to March 18th 2026. I needed just a bit more time to polish up some things on my end. I had my files ready in IngramSpark and ordered my physical proof copies. I was up to the wire with the proofs. The retailer links had went live for pre-orders Saturday March 14th and I didn't get the proofs in the mail until that publish date Wednesday late afternoon (depsite having paid expedited shipping--GRRRR!!) Fortunately, the physical proofs were beautiful, shiny, fancy, and Sadler-approved! And the rest is history.
As you can see, publishing an anthology can be messy. Well, maybe not as messy if you got your shit together. This anthology is really a sight to behold. Mama Said is resilient. The authors, planning team, Kickstarter backers, and my personal community were my source of strength. I am so proud of this achievement and, yes, it is quite an achievement.
On top of everything, the profits from anthology sales are going to a cause that hits close to home for me. Black Girls Smile Inc. is a non-profit supporting mental health services for Black women and girls! They are destigmatizing mental health for Black women and girls and fillings gaps in access to various wellness needs in the Black community. I am proud to become a regular donor for this organization. IngramSpark publisher compensations don't arrive until 90 days after the end of the month (of the last book sale). I'll be watching those book sales rise and rise, anticipating our very first donation to the organization! (NOTE: Black Girls Smile Inc. is neither in official partnership with Mama Said nor anyone on the planning team. These donations we, on the planning team, decided on alone.)
The work put into this anthology was worth it the moment I held the book in my hands for the first time. Seeing the authors and planning team get excited over the finalized product is worth it. Looking back at the initial idea in a Facebook post to seeing the book on retail sites is worth it.
Mama Said deserves all the support and all the sales! The anthology has global distribution through IngramSpark's network, so we're worldwide. Also, the book is available for library systems. Currently, it's on Libby, Hoopla, and Overdrive. I hope to see our books on physical shelves including local bookstores (shout out all the 'Nati bookstores!).
You can search and find the book everywhere. But here are some buy links to popular retailers:
Don't forget to leave a rating and review on your platform(s) of choice! Reviews and ratings helps our anthology climb up the almighty internet Algorithm. Plus, I'd love to hear what you think about the collection.
Want to see more from me and support more of my work? Visit my LinkTree.
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