Starting-your-book

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STARTING YOUR BOOK

A Guide to Navigating the Blank Page

by Attending to What's Inside You

by Naomi Rose

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INTERVIEWS

From "Friday Author Series," Self-Publishing Experts ( http://selfpublishingexperts.com/2011/04/29/friday-author-interview-series-naomi-rose/)

Friday Author Interview Series: Naomi Rose
Posted on April 29, 2011 by Andrea Costantine

“Writing a book is a joy and a challenge—a journey from where you are to where you will eventually end up, and who you will be when you get there.” ~ Naomi Rose

Naomi Rose (Photo by Lucie LeBlanc)

What inspired your book/how did you get started?

The subject of how to start writing a book that comes from deep within had been sitting in me for quite some time. But I wasn’t aware of it until a very supportive friend offered me the use of a little one-room cottage in her back yard to write “something.” It was such a lovely, retreat-like environment—one whitewashed room with a skylight and incense and candles, a view of sky and roses, and no phones or computers—that I had to give myself that gift. So I went and sat there several days a week for about a month or so.

I wrote an inspired draft in a relatively short time, in the inspired environment provided by my friend. Later, I revised it over a period of more than a year before publishing it.

What was the hardest part about completing your book?

Convincing myself that “less is more”! There was so much more that I could have said about the creative process, the joy of discovery, the universal obstacles to proceeding (fear, doubt, self-judgment, not recognizing one’s own unique creative pathways, etc.), and so on. But I kept it relatively short and (hopefully) sweet. When you’re just beginning to write a book—even pre-beginning, just contemplating beginning—you don’t need to be overwhelmed with material that will only become relevant and fascinating later on, once you’re deeply immersed in the process.

Did you learn any lessons in the book-creation process? If so, what were they?

I definitely did. Here are some of them:

The need for sacred space: In writing Starting Your Book, I came to see that if you have an external sacred space that helps to activate the sacred space within. The gift of that cottage was a blessing; but even more than the cottage itself was the love and support behind the gift. Dedication and inspiration: I also learned that when you dedicate yourself to using that sacred time and space to writing a book (even with the uprising of doubts, fears, false starts, and the usual complex of obstructions), and take some deep breaths to get below that anxious state, inspiration actually comes. Inspiration is available to us. We may have to court it with intention, concentration, a willingness to be present to what’s in our hearts—but it will come, in its way and time.

Embodying your writing: I also learned to engage not only with the words I was writing, but also with the response happening in my feelings and body as I wrote. To notice when I was in my head and when in my heart (heart-writing has a longer, different breath, and finds connections instead of analytical distinctions). To notice what my body was saying, and honor that as a contributing voice to the writing—whether that meant simply realizing I was tired and needing to attend to myself (take a breath, take a break, sit back and reflect on what I had written and let it touch me, inform the writing to come)—or actively mining my bodily responses for images, understandings, metaphors, and the like.

An enlarged experience of yourself: Finally, I learned that to share what is in you, in a deep, sincere, exploratory way, expands your sense of who you are. There is a very special joy that comes from successfully articulating something that has depth and meaning to you so that others, too, can benefit. In writing this book, I felt I had done what I was suggesting others do: I attended to what was inside me, and it wrote me all the way home.

What tips or advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Take the time to see if the book you want to write comes from your heart’s desire. If so, take that desire seriously, even if you are temporarily afraid. And if the book is not of your heart—maybe just an idea that seems good in the moment, or you’ve been convinced that writing it is a good career move, etc.—slow down and take some time to reflect on what you would really want to write about.

This goes against some kinds of advice to prospective authors that I’ve come across, but I stake my entire professional reputation on it. Writing a book is a joy and a challenge—a journey from where you are to where you will eventually end up, and who you will be when you get there (not the same person who began, because writing the book can transform you in the process). Writing a book also tends to be a long-term relationship; and so if you don’t love it from the start, you won’t want to stay with it all the way through to the end. Happily, there usually is a book waiting in the heart, if you start looking inside and listening.

If you had to do your book all over again, would you?

Yes, I would definitely write Starting Your Book all over again if I had to. I’m really happy to say, I would do it exactly as I did it. (I’ve written other books that had a longer, harder labor and birth, but this was not one.) I would write it as I did; revise it as I did; make the text and cover relevant to the subject and visually beautiful as I did. I would find the very people I found who helped me with the production. And I would include everything in it that's there, including the testimonials from readers of an earlier, less visually polished version; a letter from a sincere reader who's a writer in response to reading (the earlier version of) the book; and the part on “How This Book Was Written” at the end, sharing with my readers the details of the process by which this very book came into being.

Are you writing or planning to write an additional book(s)?

Yes, I am in the process of writing a book called Living in MotherWealth. It's a sequel to an earlier book I wrote called MotherWealth: The Feminine Path to Money. The premise of Living in MotherWealth is that there is a way to just “be”—and that if you can find your way to your true nature, everything is provided: you don't have to “leave home” to go get it, even including money. Having written about that experience in the first MotherWealth book, years later I realized that I hadn't yet fully explored how that worked: how just being who you are provides for you. I was so used to doing and getting, trying to make things happen without very much trust. I began this book about 3 years ago, and—as books often do—it changed direction entirely, took me on its journey, and taught me more about how to do what the title says. It's a wonderful, challenging, healing book to be writing.

What else would you like to share about you or your book?

I think Starting Your Book can help anyone who already knows they want to write a book, or think they might. I also think it can sound a chord with anyone who hopes there are some treasures inside them, but isn't sure how to get to them. Presumably, that constitutes a large audience. Who doesn't want to find out that there are wonderful things inside them, that others will cherish reading or otherwise experiencing? It makes you feel connected.

How can people find out more about your book?

Just go to the page on the Rose Press website: www.rosepress.com/Starting-your-book.html. You can read more about the book there, including a chapter excerpt and a meditative practice. You can also order it online

To go or return to the Rose Press "Starting Your Book" page, click here