Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Houston we have a title!

Firstly, thank you all for your thoughts and feedback for my book title. How wonderful having twenty other women's brains buzzing with ideas - I love crowd-sourcing - you came up with so many angles that I had not considered.

I've been listening to all the woo-woo warnings from y'all! 
(Man this post title's making me come out all Texan!)

Rainbows are too hippy. And off putting. And we don't like the word mamas it seems either.

I hear ya. Thank you.

And so I was all set for... The Creative Mother's Path...

Solid, sensible. Does what it says on the tin. Non-alienating.

Even though it didn't sing to my soul. But it's more important that it talks to you, dear reader, than me. After all, y'all will be buying it in your droves - right? It will be thanks to the massive popularity of this book that I will be able to afford a housekeeper for another couple of hours a week and no longer live in a hovel, but instead focus on what I am good on - creating magical women's work!

It's this book that's gonna get me onto Oprah's sofa... oh, except there is no Oprah show any more- another dream bites the dust!

But, then a couple of women who really understand me - one from spending far too long with me - Leigh, my dear real life friend, who listens and listens to each of my new dramas and complaints and eats cake companionably... And, Becky - who I've never met in real life, but we moon dance in virtual connection, thanks to the Goddess Circle, and she just gets me, really, truly does.

They both gave me the "to thine own self be true" spiel - but in a totally right on way. Don't you just LOVE it when real friends do this?

This was Becky's take, which you might have spotted in the comments section of the last post:

"Because of your affinity for rainbows and this being the year of the rainbow I love the word "rainbow" in your work. It's one of your signature words, a word you use a lot."

They were both very clear- Lucy, rainbows are key to your work.

And you know what? They are!

In my paintings, in my (borrowed) ideas about rainbow streams of abundance and the rainbow mama archetype, and even the rainbow man that I drew when I was nine, which I knew was a significant image for me and one that I was deeply proud of, even though the teacher was a bit non-plussed by.

Rainbows speak of living with all the colours, of creating, of not living a grey life, of varieties of possibility, of hope, of beauty...and of a new female archetype and way of earning.

The book centres on these ideas.

But I took on board that women did not feel an affinity or connection with the idea of the creative rainbow mama.

So I cut up all the possible words and played with them, spreading them out on the floor (thanks to my friend Tracy for dropping this idea into my consciousness a couple of weeks ago). And my favourite just appeared.  There on the floor. About 24 hours before Becky made her (almost identical) suggestion! And we're loving your subtitle to Becky - though taking on board the need to make the title a non-statement. And not sound like a parenting book - all great tips, thanking you - and so, we have a title.

Refined with my dearest Mr DA.

Run by Leigh... (who along with Becky has won a copy of the book.)

The Rainbow Way

Cultivating creativity in the midst of motherhood



9 comments:

  1. Great title Lucy, loving the process involved too xx

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  2. I'm aglow with rainbow goosebumps... literally head to toe covered in them! The title's a lovely perfect reflection of you and your intentions, Lucy. (AND I'm super psyched that I'll get to read it :)and that you'll be doing the art. Yay and Hoorayyyy for creative mamas-mothers-mums-moms everywhere! Love and blessings to you all _/\_ becky

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  3. lovely title! Sounds like you might need a rainbow painting/picture on the cover, so it reflects all those rainbows in your soul
    Can't wait to read it!

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  4. woohoooo! fabulous! love the way it happened too! The Rainbow Way, I look forward to walking in the colours of refracted light through a rain drop with you! Rainbows are so fabulous, and so used in everyday without acknowledgement, as is colour, I can feel them shining around me already,and thats just the title!! so when can we read it????

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  5. I read it and just breathed 'Oh'. It is utterly perfect Lucy...and i am so with you with the rainbow love :-) x x

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  6. Thank you dearest souls for your genuine enthusiasm and "getting it" - it means so much.

    @Mrs T - umm, I don't know how far I have left to go with it - how much re-jigging, editing, adding in new bits, padding out stuff which is still in note form, and a couple of new chapters still to go...Really hard to judge. I'm guessing early next year, Feb/ March 2013, though it could be longer...

    There will be another book out before: Moods of Motherhood, a compilation of my writings on mothering to celebrate 2 years of Dreaming Aloud. Hoping to send off for proof copy of that next week. So that will be out in November.

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  7. It's 64,000 words, twice the size of Moon Time, and quite a bit more yet to go...

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  8. LOVE IT! You found the perfect title:subtitle combo. I can't wait to read the book!

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