Take your readers on a heroine's journey

to awaken their

creative potency

Hello. I'm Catriona Mitchell

I offer BOUTIQUE BOOK COACHING AND EDITING SERVICES for non-fiction that brings forgotten feminine archetypes and their mythologies back to life.

Stories with Spine is for you if...

You wish to develop a book that calls the life force and creative potency of feminine archetypes back into consciousness, conversation and culture... so that we can 're-member' what has been lost, restore our whole-system intelligence, reclaim our co-creative powers, and heal the false split between the physical and the spiritual.

You're looking for a guide to help you capture your deepest vision for your book: a work of transformational non-fiction that brings dormant or culturally exiled feminine archetypes back to life.

Your book will question cultural and spiritual norms, by exploring the rejected powers of feminine archetypes from East to West, the sacred to the profane, the abstract to the anthropomorphic.

You long to see their forms, functions, symbols, motifs and mythologies become part of embodied, living culture. Why? Because we are so much more than we think we are.

You might be writing about the Triple Goddess, Mother Earth, Kundalini, the sacredness of the body,  the priestess, the witch, the womb, beauty, bliss, eros, intuition, mysticism, the life/death cycle...

YOU ARE AN EDUCATOR AND AN EXPERT IN YOUR FIELD. YOUR AIM IS TO INSPIRE A PROFOUND SHIFT IN CULTURE, WITH A BOOK THAT HEALS THE SPLIT IN THE COLLECTIVE PSYCHE BETWEEN SPIRIT AND MATTER, THE BODY AND THE SACRED, HUMAN AND NATURE, THE KNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN, THE VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE.

You have a fire in your belly about your book because:

WE NEED TO RESTORE OUR WHOLE-SYSTEM INTELLIGENCE IF WE'RE GOING TO SOLVE TODAY'S GLOBAL CRISES.

Feminine archetypes are essential, not optional, organs of our collective intelligence, yet many have been culturally erased or are lying dormant in the collective psyche. Only when we bring their full spectrum back to life can we reclaim our totality and our co-creative powers.

FEMININE REVERENCE IS MISSING FROM OUR HIERARCHICAL, RATIONAL, LINEAR, LEFT-BRAIN-DOMINATED SOCIETY. 

We're distanced from the intelligence held in our bodies, and from the body of the Earth, with consequences that affect us all. You see the body as a micro Earth, and a living temple, because it houses our life force and the spark of our divinity. The body knows our interconnection with all of life. 

Why work with me?

I HELP YOU HONE, OUTLINE AND PITCH YOUR DEEPEST VISION FOR YOUR BOOK.

My primary role is to help you define your book's point and purpose. That is, the unique contribution you will make to the bigger cultural conversation, and the journey of transformation you will offer your readers. 

 SERVICES

YOU HAVE A STRONG BODY OF KNOWLEDGE TO DRAW FROM. HOWEVER, YOU ARE YET TO DEFINE THE CENTRAL IDEA FOR YOUR BOOK, OR DETERMINE HOW YOU'LL LEAD YOUR READERS EFFECTIVELY THROUGH A JOURNEY OF INITIATION, TRANSFORMATION AND TRANSCENDENCE.

I offer book development in 5 steps:


  • Find your STORY SPINE

  • Create your BOOK OUTLINE

  • Write a 60+ page PROPOSAL

  • PITCH to agents/publishers

  • Developmental EDITING.

 services

You and I might create magic together if: 


You have undertaken extensive research and development on your archetypal theme through teaching, speaking, writing, a PhD, documentary film-making, consulting and/or coaching. 


You're actively sharing your ideas in written form already, even if you haven't published a full-length book yet. 


Your book will endure because of its richness and depth of content. It's more than a marketing exercise for your business. You wish to make a genuine contribution to a new cultural narrative.


Are we compatible?

YOU INTERWEAVE SCHOLASTICISM AND RESEARCH WITH DEVOTIONAL AND EMBODIMENT PRACTICES. YOU SEE THESE AS RICH FIELDS OF EXPLORATION THAT COMPLEMENT RATHER THAN CONTRADICT ONE ANOTHER; AND WHEN THEY COME TOGETHER, THEY CREATE YOUR UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE. 

Your archetypal theme might be:

  •   Embodiment
  •   Eros
  •   Tantra
  •   Goddess history
  •   Masculinity
  •   The womb
  •   Eco-psychology
  •   Mysticism
  •   Deep creativity
  •   Mythology

Book coaching is where the must meets the marketplace. 

MY METHODOLOGY INCORPORATES:

  • Message development
  • Transformation journey
  • Project management
  • Editorial feedback
  • Industry insights

This involves a dance between right and left brain

It's my role to see that:

  • What is in your head is clearly conveyed on the page
  • You find clarity, focus, and creative velocity
  • Your message is fine-tuned, and your structure is intentional
  • The connective tissue between you and your reader grows healthy and strong

  • You are free to explore the mystery of the creative process, while being held accountable to deadlines to move you forwards.

As one of my clients described it, this is an act of "switching the lights on together."

 About BOOK COACHING

YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT BUILDING AN AUTHOR CAREER WITH A GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF READERS, WHETHER YOU SIGN UP WITH A LARGE PUBLISHING HOUSE, AN INDEPENDENT OR ACADEMIC PRESS, A HYBRID PUBLISHER, OR YOU DECIDE TO SELF-PUBLISH. 

Praise for my services:

I can honestly say I couldn’t have done it without her. My book is so much better for her gorgeous, subtle and sensitive touch. Thank you for making my book shine."

GINA CHICK - WE ARE THE STARS

Simon & Schuster (Australia), Oct 2024

ginachick.com

**CURRENTLY NOMINATED FOR AN AUSTRALIAN INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLER AWARD**

The thought-provoking practices and techniques Catriona offers took my book to another level, allowing me to see its deeper purpose.

LAURA AMAZZONE - author of Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power 

Hamilton Books

lauraamazzone.com

I believe that Catriona is the only coach I trust to make this the book of my dreams. She is flexible, kind, clever, generous and the most incredible listener and close reader.

JANE HARDJONO

Embodiment coach

janehardjono.com

 PRAISE

YOUR BOOK IDEA IS ALIVE IN YOUR BLOOD, BREATH AND BONES. YOU KNOW IT'S YOURS TO WRITE... BY DRAWING ON YOUR INTELLECT, YOUR LIVED EXPERIENCE, YOUR INTUITIVE SENSES AND YOUR DEEP CREATIVITY. THIS IS HOW YOU WILL MAKE YOUR UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO A NEW CULTURAL NARRATIVE. 

If you run into self-doubt or resistance...

I am trained in mindset work and embodiment methods, as well as in feminine empowerment coaching to help you get back on your feet. Creative blocks are almost inevitable with a book on this subject, but we'll catch these early on and dissolve the resistance that shows up.

If you're afraid of being seen and heard...

I'll guide you back towards confidence and conviction in your message. This is big, because being an author these days requires you to be a speaker too. The subject of your book is personally edgy, if not culturally disruptive, and going public with it can feel scarily exposing. I've got your back.

I only work with projects that are 100% author-written. 

AI is no substitute for this process. Here's why.

  • Your book's topic is intimately connected to your real life. You will draw from your personal, lived experience as well as your research and development, and will incorporate deeply felt memoir elements, to make a wholly original contribution. 
  • In recent years you've gone through a process of profound feminine 're-membering.' This has come to you through your cellular and intuitive intelligence. Your words will emerge from this place too. AI can't address the subtle energies of the body or write from the deep centre of your being.
  • This work brings your unique philosophy to light. It asks you to define what you want to say at the deepest level. This is your dharma, and articulating it sparks a growth-curve of personal and spiritual development. Your book works on you as you work on it.
  • Along the way, I'll share tools and techniques that can help you become a powerful emissary for your message. Your message isn't something external to you; it is who you are. This work will prepare you for standing behind your most deeply felt ideas, and speaking about them in public and on social media.

YOUR NEXT STEPS:

Start at the place that's right for you. Our work together is always tailored to your unique vision and needs. 


You're at the ideas development stage

We begin by defining the point and purpose of your book. This is difficult to do early on, but tremendously helpful and illuminating. By clarifying what your project is about, and its value for the reader, you'll start your work off on a strong footing.

MINI STORY SPINE

 → It's time to structure your narrative

Here, I'll support you with finding the bones of your story, and ordering them into an effective outline before you start writing. This way you know exactly where you're going and why, when you get into the long-form writing. This level of clarity brings joy and momentum.

 YOUR STORY SPINE

 → You need a proposal for agents / publishers

When you have an outline for your book, it's time to prepare a compelling and convincing 60+ page book proposal. This is an art-form unto itself that requires selling instead of telling; and high-touch professional guidance can make all the difference.

YOUR BOOK PROPOSAL

 → You have a partial or full manuscript to edit

You have written a solid working draft of your book. Now you're seeking detailed, professional insights, refinements and suggestions on what's working and what isn't, from an editor who is well-informed and sensitive to your subject and goals.

EDITING PACKAGES

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