Take your readers on a

heroine's journey

into a world reimagined 


Welcome to 

STORIES WITH SPINE:

Book coaching with Catriona Mitchell.

Bringing the archetypal feminine back to life in today's narratives, to re-balance masculine and feminine in the collective. Because when the story changes, everything else does too.

Book coaching helps you turn your inspired idea into a plan, and your plan into a book.

Stories with Spine is for you if:

You are an educator, and have a non-fiction book in mind that's rooted in your professional expertise. It will explore the power and mystery of the feminine - especially the aspects that have been lost or exiled over centuries - with the aim of calling these back into consciousness, conversation and culture. 

You will challenge your readers to re-evaluate the culturally embedded belief systems and narratives they've inherited. Your book will take them on a heroine's journey - or an eco-heroine's journey - into a world reimagined, based on a new kind of co-creative, relational and inter-connected intelligence.

Your book idea aims to heal our cultural separation from the feminine, one reader at a time.

You see that a reverence for the feminine is missing from our fast-paced, hyper-productive, left-brain-biased society; that we're distanced from the deep intelligence held within our own bodies, and disconnected from the Earth, with consequences that affect us all.  

You believe that the full spectrum of the archetypal feminine is needed for a sustainable future, because this incorporates vital, not optional, organs of our human and collective intelligence. 

You're aware that many feminine archetypes have been obscured over eons, from the anthropomorphic to the abstract. From the temple dancer to the witch, the warrior, the goddess of the underworld, Mother Nature, beauty, eros, the cyclical wisdom of menstruation..

You understand that the gifts in these archetypes have been lying dormant in our collective psyche, our stories and our world. It's time to bring them back to life; and you have a role to play in their revival.

On the simplest level, the goddess is the Earth" - Joseph Campbell

Your book will contribute to a profound re-shaping of culture, by addressing such themes as:

  •   Mythology
  •   Archetypes
  •   Mysticism
  •   Eros
  •   Tantra
  •   Nature
  •   The Body
  •   The Sacred

You're seeking the guidance of a book coach because...

Your book idea has taken up residence inside you, and won't let you go.

It's time to contribute your knowledge and insights to the cultural conversation. If you don't do this, you'll be letting yourself down in some fundamental way.

However, you recognise that conveying beautiful, disruptive ideas can be difficult.

You might have been trying to write your manuscript, but keep getting stuck.

You could use help with bringing your vision to life, factoring in both the muse and the marketplace, with accountability, nurture and support.


You are an expert in your field, and an educator.

You are both scholastic and spiritual. Your book will share insights from your research and lived experience and perception.


You're already expressing your expertise through teaching, speaking, writing, film-making, consulting and/or coaching. 


Your ideas have been tried and tested over time, including in written form - articles, blogs, essays, or previously published books.


You're passionate about your subject, and would like your message to reach greater numbers via a non-fiction book that supports your education platform, and becomes a vital part of your professional ecosystem.

You are writing transformational non-fiction. Your book might also be categorised as:

Women's studies or feminism

Cultural history or sociology

Mind/body/spirit

Spirituality or religious studies

Women's health or psychology

Ecofeminism or ecophilosophy.


You're looking for a guide who can help you:

  • Define the controlling idea for your book
  • Structure your contents for optimal narrative flow
  • Walk your readers through an illuminating shift in perspective
  • Traverse the dangerous waters of self-doubt and resistance
  • Keep one eye on creativity and the other on the marketplace
  • Brainstorm big questions, especially when you get stuck
  • Honour deadlines, so you are consistently moving forward
  • Improve and polish your work with editorial feedback
  • Birth your most profound vision of your book with nurture and support.

    • Fabulous! Your input and reflections are invaluable.

    I look forward to our calls every time. 

    Thanks for being so clear."

    Melanie Swan, UK

    thesacredwomb.com

    CHOOSE YOUR NEXT STEP

    My coaching is structured, but it isn't prescriptive. It's tailored to your unique vision.

    I offer guidance at various stages of the book development process. This way, you can start at the place that is right for you.

     

    1. You're looking for your story spine

    You're at the ideas stage. You have a sense of your message, but would like to develop it and define your book's central point and purpose, before you start writing. 

     YOUR STORY SPINE

    2. You have fleshed out your ideas

    You know the breadth and scope of your material, but are yet to find a structure that works. You'd like a guide to help you map your narrative before you write your full manuscript, and/or prepare a professional book proposal to pitch to agents and publishers.

     YOUR BOOK SKELETON
    YOUR BOOK PROPOSAL

    3. You have a full-bodied manuscript

    You have a solid working draft of your book, and are seeking a manuscript assessment or a more detailed developmental edit, offering feedback on what's working and what isn't at the big-picture level.

     EDITing

    5 ways to create transformation with a non-fiction book

    Discover 5 ways to frame the controlling idea for your non-fiction book, and offer your readers a profound shift in perception.

     Free PDF
    >