In Her Own Ink

For years I wanted to share my story. When my dream became reality I didn't know what to expect. Yes, my writing journey required great diligence. Yes, creating the book was a serious task for me. Yes, I enjoyed the process! Brainstorming creative ways to produce content and acquiring the finished product to become accessible online.  The Hardest Part of Self-Publishing      However, my job wasn’t done. You could write the best book and publish it on a worldwide platform and not get any recognition for your hard work. That was a hard lesson. Although my book was available everywhere, it didn't mean it would sell well online. Over time, I gained insight on strategies for marketing my books. Public Relations Strategies      I worked an internship in college which enabled me to practice my public relations coursework. I drafted a few press releases for my employer that were published in the local newspapers. After I became a published author, I returned t...

“So often, we envision beautiful, grand ideas and begin to work on them, but  unfortunately, we don’t finish. Could it be that we were unrealistic? No. Goals are attainable. We must stay motivated like we were in the beginning to complete the assignment” (In Her Own Ink: Strategies for Creating from Author to Author, Ashley Smith)      This book elaborates on different ways to stay motivated and disciplined. Here, we’ll discuss three approaches to keeping your flame lit in order to continue producing content energetically. Know Your Reasons Visualize Your Success Meditate on Your Inspiration Know Your Reasons      Whenever I start a book project I identify my reasons for publishing. - Why am I tackling this dream? Why do I deserve to publish? Accepting your publishing goals as a part of your purpose will stir your emotions and reinforce laser focus to stay on task. Let your reasons for publishing motivate you to finish drafting your book. Visualize You...

As we know, there are several advantages to using Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Studying approaches to getting your manuscript approved is beneficial to us. Therefore, I'll share a couple of my secrets to reducing the chances of getting your books denied.      My experience with the system dates back to 2014 when it was CreateSpace. I specialize in print copies which differ from ebooks. As you know, passing the Amazon KDP guidelines can be tricky because the system is highly demanding. In fact, my work was rejected twice over the years.  Guidelines & Considerations      Specifically, the errors which led my books to become rejected were based on fonts and page numbers. Here, I’ll discuss common considerations for utilizing this program to minimize rejections based on my experience. Standardize Fonts      It’s critical we use standard font styles. Standard fonts for the body text include but are not limited to Times New Roman...