Standout Authors Unbound amplifies the voices of underrepresented writers and indie authors to disrupt an industry that rewards conformity over authenticity.
Thanks to Hady Méndez for telling me about Ashley K. Stoyanov Ojeda!
What if the history you learned in school was missing most of the story?
Ashley K. Stoyanov Ojeda discovered this when a publisher approached her to write about influential women. She started researching Latina contributions and kept hitting dead ends.
Stories that should have been everywhere were nowhere to be found.
So Ashley teamed up with Mirtle Peña-Calderón to write the book that should have existed all along, The Book of Awesome Latinas, a book that profiles 74 Latinas whose contributions had been buried, erased, or simply never told.
In this conversation, Ashley and Mirtle talk about what it takes to recover lost history, the power of collaboration, and why representation matters.
Highlights
A book born from frustration.
Before the profiles, the research, and the collaboration, there was Ashley hitting wall after wall trying to find Latina stories that should have been everywhere.
“I was getting really frustrated because I couldn’t find a lot of information about Latinas in history books or even online.”
So she started an Instagram page to share what she could find. Then she realized she needed help, real help from someone who knew how to dig up stories and structure them into something readable.
That’s when she reached out to Mirtle, who had newsroom experience and a knack for profiles.
How they found each other.
Ashley knew she needed help take on such a big project so she reached out to Mirtle, a journalist with newsroom experience.
Mirtle’s response? Radio silence.
“I only have one amendment to her story and that’s that I ignored them completely for six months... I did have an e-copy of her book. Did I read the e-copy of her book? I did not.”
Mirtle was drowning in 200-300 emails a day at her journalism job. Ashley’s pitch got buried.
But persistence pays off. Six months later, they connected and discovered they were perfect collaborators. Collaboration unlocked what neither could do alone.
Structure made the impossible possible.
Mirtle created a repeatable format for each profile: headline impact, origin story, family context, career achievements, and lasting influence.
Having that framework meant they could tackle dozens of stories without getting overwhelmed or losing consistency.
“By asking myself those questions, I can find themes or things... to explore later on.”
Daily reflection questions helped Mirtle spot patterns across the research that became narrative threads connecting the individual stories.
Platform building happens before the book.
The traditional publishing path worked backwards from what most people expect.
“Publishers will find you because you have an audience already, right? It’s like the opposite of what you would expect.”
Ashley’s Instagram page became the proof of concept. The audience came first, then the book deal.
But it’s not just about follower counts:
“Don’t let social media numbers be your only way of thinking that that is the way to build a platform... there are plenty of people who have a lot of followers and their books don’t sell.”
Real community beats vanity metrics every time.
Ashley discussed the importance of building community to sell the book.
“I would rather have 100 people that actually want to interact with me, that actually appreciate what I’m writing, than 100,000 empty likes.”
Instead of chasing follower counts they’re building genuine connections with people who care about the work.
Turn constraints into strategic advantages.
Even though Ashley and Mirtle live across the country from each other, they turned that distance into an advantage.
“She can tackle the Southeast and I can tackle the Pacific Northwest.”
Instead of being limited by distance, their different locations let them build community in multiple regions simultaneously by doubling their reach on opposite sides of the US.
The work is bigger than the book.
What started as frustration with missing history became something deeper: a way to show readers they’re not alone in their struggles.
“We just want anyone who reads this book to feel that one that they carry the strength of their ancestors with them and two that they’re in good company.”
The profiles aren’t just about celebrating individual achievements. They’re about creating connection across time and experience.
Closing Reflection
Ashley and Mirtle prove that the most important creative work often starts with noticing what’s missing.
They didn’t wait for someone else to write the book they wanted to read. They built a structure that worked, and got it done.
If you think your project is too big, too important, or too overwhelming to tackle alone, this episode is your reminder that collaboration can unlock what individual effort can’t.
What’s your author story? Maybe you’re wrestling with a project that needs a collaborator. Maybe you’ve been ignoring emails from potential partners. Or maybe you’re sitting on stories about representation, recovery, or resistance that need telling.
Drop a comment and share what you’re working on. Your work matters too, and this community is here for it.
