Following are my responses to Frequently Asked Questions about writing a book as I hold and encourage it in my work.

“How long does it take to write a book?”

On one level, this question is almost impossible to answer. It depends on so many things – dedication, clarity, time available to put to the writing (frequency, duration), level of inspiration, willingness to revise as needed and to know when revision is and is not needed, and so on. I could not give you a realistic time frame.

I can say that in my own personal experience, I wrote a valuable but kind of lightweight book in about 2 months, working on it almost daily. And I wrote another valuable but not lightweight book over the course of 2 years. Another one, giving it my full attention, took 6 months. Another one, which reveals itself slowly as I grow into the landscape of what I’ve written, is taking about 5 years.

With my clients, the writing-completion process has ranged from about a year to about 3 years. Bear in mind that they all had significant other things going on in their lives during the period of writing, so it wasn’t as if they were putting their full, ongoing attention on it. They were fitting it in, and that process often includes not only doing the writing but also having to remember where they were in the writing, why they were writing it, regaining their momentum and inspiration, and so on.

If writing the book is the main thing you are doing, and if you don’t have to juggle it with other responsibilities too much, and if you write often, then I would imagine that after writing your first few chapters you’d be able to track how much you write, how often, and what helps you be truly connected to what you’re writing (and to yourself), and to use those findings to gauge how long the rest of the project might take. (You probably would do well to double that amount.)

In any case, I think your staying power and your inspiration will go a long way towards the completion of the book.

Finally, as long as you are enjoying writing the book, the question of how much time it will take may recede into less importance.

Why “Creative Midwife”?

You say you have a different approach to writing and developing a book. How might this help me?

“What’s the difference between the Writing from the Deeper Self approach and other ways of writing a book?”

Writing a book is much like a birth. There’s the conception: where you sense a longing or desire to write a book. There’s the gestation: the book grows inside you, giving you hints and more-than-hints of what it wants to be. There’s the labor (though in writing a book this is spread out over time rather than — as in biological birth — concentrated in a burst of time. And there’s the birthing: not only the final book nestled in your adoring arms, but also all along the way — the creative process that shows you your unique ways of bringing “nothing” into “something” through the written word.

As a good creative midwife, I’m present for you and hold space for you. I sense what wants to grow in you creatively, and encourage it in ways that suit your own writing-ways (which become clearer as we work together). Although the work is yours, I support your birthing process by bringing an understanding of your real motivations, gifts, ways, and innate creativity — which may or may not yet be known to you. Together, we work through any birth-writing pains so you are supported in your entire writing experience so that your book comes out actually resembling you and reflecting your deeper nature. So that you feel, “Oh, I love it, and it looks just like me!”

Yes, I do. It’s grounded in listening. Have you ever felt not listened to — unheard? Then you know how that feels, and how that blocks your trust and even your ability to more deeply mine and bring forth what’s in you. Conversely, when someone was able to listen to you — really and fully — something essential in you most likely relaxed, and then opened up to give you more and more and more. Listening is central to the Writing from the Deeper Self process. I listen to you, bringing not only my well-developed listening skills but also my decades as a professional in the publications field. Then you listen to yourself more easily. It’s a listening collaboration that we do together. When you feel heard, inspirations have room to come to the forefront of your attention. Then you can trust your process, and the writing proceeds from there.

As the rest of this website seeks to impress on you, writing a book from the Deeper Self hinges on the person who’s writing the book. The more deeply you can come in touch with your actual desire to write the book, the creative pathways that are natural to you, and the capacity to listen to what your inner guidance has to tell you, the more the writing that emerges will transform you as well as your readers.

While there is certainly a place for honing one’s craft in learning to write, my view is that the true nature of the person doing the writing is the most important factor in what gets written, and how. So we listen to you together to make a place for your true nature to express itself. And with that welcoming and cherishing, it almost always does so beautifully.

I’m not sure I’d call myself “creative” . . .

Who do you tend to work with? Are we a good fit?

“So let’s say I work with you and actually write a book. After my book is written, what happens next?”

Think you might like to work together — but still unsure?

What a few of my clients have to say about working with me:

Even if you haven’t thought of yourself as creative up till now, the reality is that your very nature is creative. It includes — but isn’t limited to — the arts. You may experience yourself as creative in a relationship, for example, or at work, or with a garden . . . there are so very many applications where the creative impulse shows up. Bringing this inherent capacity to writing a book may be new for you — but when it’s based on your own creative ways (which we will name and explore, and if need be translate into your book-writing process), it begins to flow like a river. Imagine the satisfaction of seeing your book emerge from within you without having to be other than you are, only to open up qualities and capacities that you may not have known were there.

I have worked with many people, and not surprisingly their outer characteristics have varied widely. But inwardly, there are some important commonalities.

I work with both first-time authors and seasoned writers who value their inner life and want to bring a more aware, spiritual, even soulful approach to their writing. My clients tend to be people who have made some form of healing their vocation or avocation — healers, creatives, therapists, coaches, spiritual seekers, and others for whom it’s been important to develop something of substance in their lives — who want to share their understanding with a wider readership by writing a book.

Whatever the topic of my clients’ books, the place from which they approach it is an intimate one. They draw on what they already know, and they are open to what they won’t know until they begin writing. This is, in my view, the essence of the creative process. So if you already see yourself as creative, this Writing from the Deeper Self process will be right up your alley, and you’ll have my guidance and support along the way. And if you don’t yet see yourself as creative (see the previous question), as we work together, you will.

Sometimes people want to write a book simply to write it, and perhaps share it locally with family and friends (or not). In this case, once the book is written, that’s pretty much the end of it.

If your desire is to publish the book and share it more widely, including with people you don’t personally know, then there are basically three options:

1. Traditional publishing

2. Hybrid publishing

3. Self-publishing

Traditional publishing means that a publishing company takes on your book and distributes it widely (hopefully). For this to happen, there are things you need to do requiring time and effort, such as writing a book proposal, writing a query letter to a literary agent in hopes of being represented, or writing a query letter directly to a publisher that accepts un-agented submissions. If a publisher does take on your book, there will likely be a time gap of at least a year between acceptance and publication. Financially, you will receive an Advance Against Royalties of about 10-15%, and after a certain predetermined amount of books are sold and your advance is paid back, you’ll start making money from book sales at the percentage rate. There are pros and cons of traditional publishing, the pros including the support of the staff (editorial, marketing, etc.), the prestige, and the range of book distribution.

With hybrid publishing, you pay a publisher to publish your book. They take care of all elements of the Production phase (editing, proofreading, design, illustration, layout, printing, etc.), so you do have that kind of support. And your percentage of net profit from book sales tends to be higher than with traditional publishers. In this case, you need to do due diligence to make sure the hybrid publisher has professional standards, and isn’t just getting your book into print in the most rudimentary way. Your book’s reputation in part depends on such professional treatment.

Self-publishing has become far more common in recent decades. While it involves more responsibility, it also allows you the full creative range of decision-making, so the book reads and looks just as you want it to. Also, you don’t need to write a book proposal (which has been called “more work than writing the book itself”). You do need to hire the professionals who will make your book read and look like a “real” book, but once it’s in print and distributed, you get to keep all the net profit. There are Print On Demand (POD) printers online that will print and distribute your book to retail outlets, both online and brick-and-mortar.

These days, with all three scenarios, you as the author need to play a significant part in letting the world know about your book (marketing and promoting). This usually includes at least an author website, and some way(s) to let people know that your book exists, why it’s valuable, and how to buy it. Some authors depend on social media to let people know. Some use in-the-world venues. Some use both. Whatever publishing format you decide on, there are ways to make it work if you are willing to put in the work (or hire someone else who will). Most people who write a book do want to bring it into the world, and along the way you can reflect on the way that fits you best.

I have mentored clients in the self-publishing process, and am likely to do so again. If you’re a client (current or prospective) and are interested in finding out more about my self-publishing mentoring, you’re welcome to contact me to discuss your needs.

• CHECK OUT MY BOOKS on writing a book (audio excerpts included) here.

• Try out these WRITING MEDITATIONS here.

• Feel out your sense of what I can offer you from the BLOG ARTICLES here.

• Watch an INTERVIEW with me about the Writing from the Deeper Self process here.

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• Book a COMPLIMENTARY 1/2-HOUR SESSION WITH ME here.

“I have worked with Naomi for about 2 years now. She always brings a lift to my spirit.  She is so encouraging and supportive, I always feel that she is right by my side cheering me on.  I have full confidence in her skill and expertise. She seems to know just what to do with my writing.  I feel very fortunate to have Naomi as my writing partner!”

—  Cia A Robles, Choose To Be Happy Now — Stress Reduction & Relaxation Specialist / Hypnotherapist / Integrated Somatic Trauma Healing Practitioner / Transformational Counselor / HeartMath Interventions Practitioner — author, The Not So Little Instruction Book with a Big Heart: 4 Essential Practices, The Way to Feel Good Now: A Method to Recondition Your Body-Mind & Redesign Your Life

“Working with Naomi has been a total delight. Not only is she able to deeply listen to me and fully grasp my ideas and intentions but she is also wonderfully talented at helping me clarify and plan out the structure and scope of my book. Her understanding and support of me combines with her own great insight and makes her an outstanding and inspiring midwife for creative process.”

— Kathy Carlson, MA, PhD, MFT — author, The Flame at the Tip of the Candle

“Thank you from my deep heart for such a beautiful exploration of my future published book. I feel so recognized and honored by the depth of your presence and your knowledge of book publishing. I am inspired to take the next steps.”

—Pamela Overeynder, RMT, BCST, Craniosacral therapist — author,  Being in Nature: Healing Self and World

“Thank you Naomi! It’s been quite a journey – and like a birth. I am grateful to have had a skillful book midwife to help me through the tough moments. We made it happen!”

—Marianne Rothschild, MD, holistic physician and former midwife — author, Dancing with the Rhythms of Life: A Holistic Doctor’s Guide for Women