In Her Own Ink

After publishing a few books I’ve developed my own system for drafting manuscripts. Over the years I’ve gained insight on how to enhance my work and avoid the pitfalls of producing content. Now I aim to share my proven-strategies to overcoming common challenges for both new authors and experienced authors. Although there are many obstacles to writing books, we’ll focus on seven approaches to enriching our process for creating.  Stay Organized. I stress this step because it’ll help us tackle our work more efficiently. Staying organized looks like having our content divided into sections. Personally, I organize my work into a few categories such as introduction/conclusion and objectives. Reader engagement, and outline, etc. Organizing my binder is among the first steps to diving into my projects and I encourage you to practice this approach as well. Don’t Work in Chronological Order. Writing our books from A to Z will overwhelm us and increase the likelihood of getting writer’s bloc...

Meeting our writing goals are important. However, not being fully-present won’t get us anywhere when it comes to producing content. After getting some rest I encourage you to follow at least one of the six tips discussed.  Don’t fight your body’s clock. I f you know you work better in the morning than at night, follow your body energy’s peak hours and tackle that book in the morning time. If you’re a night-person, work on your book at night. It’s easier on the eyes. Take baby steps. Organize your outline. Tighten up by reviewing pertinent pieces of your book. You could gain more insight on the bigger picture. Plug in your quotes, scriptures and questions wherever they belong.  Like a puzzle. Don’t work on your book in chronological order! That will trigger writer’s block and become overwhelming. We know writing a book demands a lot. When stuck on that one chapter you can’t pass go nor collect anything.  Develop your manuscript in sections. To reduce getting caught up in o...

I’ve been publishing my books on Amazon since 2014. I’ve learned a lot over the years. Now I want to share some of my secrets with you to continue to further your book goals and ensure they become a reality.  We’ll discuss seven tasks to do prior to publishing. If you’ve already published a book, you’ve already got the tools to move onward. However, I’ll provide a bonus tip that you may not have  considered so read our article until the very end. Create a marketing plan. Before your book drops you should already have an agenda on how you will gain exposure around your title. Gather information on yourself and book for journalists, bloggers and podcasters. Put together a media kit. This includes your “short” biography, book summary, excerpt, and more. This information will help others learn more about you and make it easier for them to build an article, promote you and your story and so forth. Don’t overlook this step. Get an editor. I’ve heard from too many individuals the pla...

Having published eight books taught me a lot about the common reasons some of us haven't finished writing our manuscripts yet. Based on my personal experience I’ll share practical approaches to developing and finishing the draft. Here we’ll review five challenges authors will face, and methods for overcoming them. No focus. It’s easy to hold a book idea and draft an introduction and chapter. However, where do we go from there? Beginning a draft shouldn’t start with our introductions. Instead, create clear messages. Before diving into any project, I ALWAYS develop my book objectives. These goals will direct my pen, outline and book’s messages. I focus on making two to five messages I want readers to take away from my nonfiction work. No structure. After focusing on my key messages for the book, I get organized. I get a binder and separate sections: 1) introduction/conclusion/objectives, 2) outline, 3) chapter content, and so forth. Because I’m a visual learner, I write a book layout...

After I finished drafting my first book I aimed to get it edited. Working with an editor was a lot different than what I expected. I had a couple of preconceived thoughts about working with an editor.  The Total Page Count The word count is required. The number of pages was irrelevant. First, I learned that editors do not require the total number of pages of your manuscript. Instead, they will determine the cost of the job based on both your word count and turnaround deadline.  Constant Communication Contact based on clarification, only. Also, I thought I would stay in constant communication. However, that looked different. My experience was straightforward. I provided my project and deadline, and they gave it back to me with the marked up edits and the book-ready approved edits. My editor reached out to me for clarification only when needed. Conclusion Approaching an editor demands your manuscript’s word count. It’s best they contact you for any questions about your work, and...

We’ve all been there. Stressed, overwhelmed and stuck. Writing a manuscript is a daunting task that many of us are able to start but some of us are strained to finish. In short, completing a project of this magnitude lies in our organization skills. We’ll explore techniques to reduce our stress and gain clarity to finish writing the book.  Upholding Wellness and Motivation Be ready to go hard into your mental work. Dive into your book development routine with fresh eyes and the determination to accomplish your goals for that session. Building yourself up.  Self-motivation requires consistent approaches to rekindling your flame. Triggering power thoughts include referring back to notes for carrying out those rich ideas you had.  Upholding tunnel vision to produce content could look like reinforcing laser focus. To concentrate, I encourage you to reflect on inspiring messages beforehand. Listening to nature sounds to clear your thoughts. Or, moving your body. Sometimes I ta...

Publishing books is like running a cross country race. We aim to not only build stamina to pace ourselves for the distance, but to compete with our past performances and run our best times.  Resiliency at Work I ran cross country for three years in college. Yet, out of all of my races, there was one in particular which stood out. Not because I won first or second place either. In fact, I was late for the meet. Despite watching everybody start the race from the parking lot, I was determined to overcome my obstacles. Surprisingly, I landed third place among my team mates. Again, I was the last runner to start, but not the last to finish. Let’s Go! Do you have a solid foundation? Are you behind on your book? Still, highly resilient, you hold the willpower to go the extra mile. Awesome! Let’s reposition ourselves to finish stronger.  As you know, writing books requires self-motivation and discipline. However, what specifically does that entail? Going the distance and maintaining m...

A false start is whenever an individual is gung-ho about their book. Initially, they’re unstoppable, ignoring the naysayers and pressing forward no matter what. However, life throws curve balls and the author gets off track and their goals steadily slip into distant dreams.  We’ve all been there! At least I know I have several times. Here we’ll discuss contributing factors but also techniques to get back on course. Creating A Solid Foundation Whenever I had a false start, it was because I didn't have a system in place. I did things that landed me in the dark over and over again. I dived into my book chronologically. I would write the introduction and a couple of chapters or so and then get overwhelmed. Through my excitement I just started writing my book off of the top of my head! Then I wondered how I got trapped into writer’s block. First, go hard on creating a solid foundation. Develop a good outline. This starts with having specific objectives and messages for our readers. I re...

Elisa Norman recently published her first book, Stop Calling Me Jesus! My Triumph Over Mental Illness. Her book is a memoir based on a period in her life on her recovery journey.  She partnered with IN HER OWN INK for support on self-publishing services. Now her book is available on Amazon. Based on her publishing win, she strongly endorsed the company.  This is what she said about working with Ashley Smith: “In Her Own Ink Publishing LLC is amazing. I'm so thankful. Ashley is very professional in the way she guides you throughout the process. I really appreciate the care and time she took with my project. I recommend this company to anyone thinking about publishing a book." Show your support and purchase a copy of Elisa’s book. Make sure you leave a terrific review. Buy Now. Have you been sitting on your book? Don’t know how to finish? Stay fixated on publishing in 2026. Collaborate with IN HER OWN INK now to reap positive literary results. At IN HER OWN INK we guide indep...

Ashley Smith, Book Coach Have you published your book?  That was the question which rekindled my fears to get started. For years I shared my dream of writing a book. And, for years others asked me about it. If this sounds similar to your reality, you’ve hit the jackpot.       Therefore, let’s dismantle the energy of your naysayers. Your self-doubts and aim higher to fulfill your purpose, which is to write that book. Are you ready? Collaboration With a Book Coach      My name is Ashley Smith. I’ve published eight books on Amazon. My goal is to work with aspiring authors to empower them with the tools to meet their dreams. Motivating individuals like yourself to get a handle on your calling and to finish the book.      IN HER OWN INK offers guidance on self-publishing; book coaching, interior book design, and steps to finishing your draft and getting published online. With emphasis on nonfiction, specializing in mental health and rec...

In my book, In Her Own Ink: Strategies for Creating from Author to Author, I discuss the importance of naming our book projects early on. Opposed to calling it simply “my book project,” give it a name. Fruitful Lists Before diving into any project, I create a list of titles to help create the book’s identity. During this brainstorming session I allow my thoughts to flourish. Every idea is a “success thought.” I’ll use the extra titles for chapter titles and headings. Also, I keep all lists, because I might use the title for another book down the road.  Building on Solid Rock In the beginning, your list of titles might seem of little importance. Still, your remaining titles help carry the messages in subsequent sections, especially during the development of your outline. Thus, it plays a significant role in building the foundation of your book design.  Adding Your Special Touch Personally, I like to use subtitles to bring clarity and to help the reader recognize the topic. Whil...

“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...