Friday, October 21, 2011

Why a blog about book (& etc.) publishing is called "Coming Up Roses"

My name is Naomi Rose, and I am a book developer, writer, and publisher. But that's not why this blog is called "Coming Up Roses."

In my own writing experience, and certainly in my work with people who long to write the books waiting in their hearts, the process of bringing out what's there ~ and then refining it, distilling it to its essence ~ is much like the process of making rose perfume. In this process, thousands upon thousands of rose petals are gathered from the live plants at auspicious times, such as just before dawn, and while still shimmering with life are placed into (usually copper) retorts, where (often with the aid of some solvent) a fire is lit underneath the retort, and over rather a long time the essential oils in the rose petals are separated by the heat and the steam from the water. In this way, rose perfume is extracted.
It takes about 10,000 rose petals to make 1 ounce of Rose Absolute. (You can see why it would be very expensive.)

This process, and its aromatic result, is metaphorically and energetically amazingly similar to what happens when a person writes a book from the deep place within. All the initial confusions, awkward drafts, turn-arounds, false starts, and so on at some point drop away, like the rose petals that have given their essence up (literally, upwards into the retort). And what is left is the beautiful, seamless, fragrant, moving, even breathtaking, alive transmission held in wait on the pages ~ held there in suspension, waiting for a reader to open the book's cover and enter into that fragrant world and make it her or his own.

The process of writing a book is such a transformative, even alchemical, journey that it's no wonder people initially want it and fear it. Something in them will change as a result of undertaking this project ~ if, of course, it is a book of the heart. (If not, things happen within the writer, but not so much a transformation of the writer or the reader.)  And yet it's also a beautiful journey! To find what is true in oneself, and to come upon ways of giving voice to that ~ whether one is writing a memoir, a nonfiction book, a fictional account, or whatever form it takes ~ is to unveil the depth and immense beauty of one's own being. It's the search for oneself, line by line, page by page.

This essentially alchemical process distinguishes itself from ordinary book-writing by its contents, qualities, and energy carrying that alchemy for the benefit and blessing of its readers.

And this is why Rose Press books are distillations of their author's hearts, speaking directly to readers' hearts. This is why Rose Press books are fragrant, and why ~ after all the work to write them ~ for both readers and the authors, everything’s coming up roses.


For more about Naomi Rose book development: See "Writing from the Deeper Self," www.essentialwriting.com

For more on Rose Press: Books & Other Fragrant Offerings to Bring You Home to Yourself: See http://essentialwriting.com/RosePressPublishing.htm