Unleashing Female Voices: Nicola Humber on Intuitive Storytelling and Transformative Publishing

What happens when you leave a corporate career to ignite a revolution in the publishing world? Nicola Humber, the visionary founder of the Unbound Press, joins us to share her inspiring journey and unveils the heart and soul of her mission: creating a platform for female voices and transformational narratives. Nicola's story is one of serendipity and intuition, where an unplanned path led her to establish a company that seeks to change the world, one empowering book at a time. With the support of a talented team and a mentor, Unbound Press has blossomed, evolving into a haven for stories that blend personal experiences with universal themes of transformation.

In our conversation, we explore the mystical allure of writing with intuition, a process where authors often channel unexpected ideas and tap into deep, ancestral wisdom. Nicola champions the notion that every individual harbours a story within, urging those with a narrative to tell to embrace the journey without the weight of expectation. We discuss the magical relationship between authors and their books, considering how stories can co-create with their writers, infusing life and energy into the pages. Whether you are a budding author or a lover of the written word, this episode celebrates the transformative power of storytelling and invites you to embrace the magic of letting your narrative flow naturally.

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/featherlight

License code: ZTXJPK8BA5WMLKSF

My new novel The Red Magus has recently been published in conjunction with the Unbound Press.  An entralling mystical adventure set across time and space, where past and current lives converge.  Find it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

A call to action to help us keep spreading the spiritual ripple xx

Chapters

• 2:30 Unbound Press
• 15:29 The Power of Writing With Intuition

Transcript

Speaker 1: 2:30

so welcome everybody to another episode of barn to the soul. And today we have another new guest and she is nicola humber, founder of the unbound press. So welcome, nicola. Thank you so much for supporting barn to the soul oh, you're welcome, natasha.

Speaker 2: 2:47

Thank you for inviting me.

Speaker 1: 2:48

I'm excited about this conversation oh good, so I met Nicola from the Unbound Press because I am publishing my new novel with the Unbound Press, which is very, very exciting. Um, so talk to us about the ethos of the company. How do you decide who to go with, you know? Have you got set categories that people have to fit in? How does it? Or is it just a gut feeling? How do you what's the ethos and how do you choose your authors?

Speaker 2: 3:23

Yeah, I mean, part of it is a gut feeling, to be honest, and I do very much trust that. If someone is drawn to the Unbound Press, then there's a reason for that. But we are a platform for female authors and the reason for that is because so often as women, we've picked up the message that, you know, our voices don't matter. We've held back in some way, we have some kind of belief around not being good enough. So I wanted this to be a platform where we really celebrate female voices.

Speaker 2: 4:00

So it's women authors. The books have to be like, transformational in nature. Um, so that can be either fiction or non-fiction, but it like reading, it activates some kind of transformation in the reader and in some way usually the books are based on the author's own experience. So it's interesting, you know that can be again fiction or nonfiction. Obviously your book Natasha's Fiction, but you've woven aspects of your experience into it in a really beautiful way. So those are kind of the three criteria women authors, transformational books and based on some kind of aspect of their story yeah, lovely, and you read all of them, don't you first, yes, first and foremost.

Speaker 1: 4:54

And again, presumably it's just a gut feeling, you just think OK, this is going to help people, it's going to push people forward.

Speaker 2: 5:05

Totally, totally. I mean the big kind of why. I guess behind the Unbound Press is, like I and we as a team genuinely believe that we can change the world, one book at a time, so like each book is part of this greater transformation that's happening in the world at this time, at this time, um. So, as I'm reading each book, like I, I tend to have like a really clear sense of, yeah, this is like, this is a piece of the puzzle, yeah, this needs to be out in the world. And, and quite often the books we're working with you know they're quite, um, like pioneering, um, you know a lot of them are ahead of their time as well and maybe wouldn't um, you know, wouldn't get a platform anywhere else. Yeah, get that opportunity definitely brilliant.

Speaker 1: 6:04

So have you always been in publishing?

Speaker 2: 6:06

the class is, it's just something that has if there's something that has no, you're shaking your head. Not at all, not at all. Um, no, I mean, I often kind of joke that the Unbound Press was started by accident because, you know, it wasn't part of my plan. I don't have a background in publishing, um, even though the Unbound Press is six years old now, so you know I've built up a lot of experience. But, um, it really came through the process of writing my own books, like my own author journey, um, which you know I did. I wrote my first book back in 2015. Hill You're in a Good Girl self-published it, um, and I just felt a bit like it was a bit of an anti-climax. It's something I'd always wanted to do, from when I was a little girl. Like, I love writing, I love books, and then I'd drifted. I'd always wanted to be a writer, but I drifted away from that because I picked up the message that that I needed to get a proper job.

Speaker 1: 7:10

I did.

Speaker 2: 7:10

You know, I worked in corporate, like up until my mid to late 30s, um, but then retrained as a coach, hypnotherapist, and that kind of gave me the the nudge to start writing my own books. And, like I said, I found it a little bit of an anti-climax, a bit of a lonely process. That first book, yeah. I published my second book, which was Unbound, um. I saw that someone I knew was publishing with this company called that that guy's house, um, which is a hybrid publishing model, which is what we have now at the Unbound Press. And when Sean Patrick, who ran that guy's house, um, I approached him about Unbound, you know they wanted to work with me and when he read the initial draft of the manuscript he's like you know, I could see you doing this and I, you know, helping other women to write their books and you'd have your own publishing imprint and it would be something like the Unbound Press, like he just said that name and he said those words. I was like, oh, that's what I'm meant to do and it's interesting.

Speaker 2: 8:21

Like in the year before that, as I was writing the book, one of the mentors that I was working with, who's like incredibly intuitive, she kept saying I keep seeing you like in a room, like with women, and they're writing and I was like, no, that's not me, you know.

Speaker 2: 8:40

But yeah, I just had this sense of knowing when Sean mentioned it and, you know, very fortunately, he offered to kind of partner with me as we started the Unbound Press, which was back in 2018 feels like a lifetime ago. So we worked with their team initially and then, you know, after about 18 months, I knew that I wanted to create our own team at the Unbound Press. Just magically, all of these amazing women appeared, like you know designers, editors, who you knowe who helps with our marketing, and our podcast m, who you know. You know who's our author relations um, like magician, I call her. Like you know, they all, just I don't know, appeared magically. Yeah, you know, I've learned a lot over the past six years and, you know, obviously the Unbound Press is a publishing company, but I also just see it as this amazing community, like. For me, that's almost the more important bit.

Speaker 1: 9:45

That is something that I found is incredibly supportive All of the authors. They don't sort of drift away away and you know that they sort of stay and support and and you do so many other things as well, don't you? So you do your workshops and you know you have your platform where people can go in and listen to things that you've done and previous workshops, and so it's a wealth of information. Yeah, and you do feel quite cocooned in all of that.

Speaker 2: 10:15

I'm glad you experienced that. I mean, that is really important. Yeah, you know I want, and actually each of the team. We want our authors to feel like really held and supported in the process, and some of our authors, or some writers, you know I hold space them right from the beginning of the writing process. You know they write books with me and with us as well, and that space holding is really important because I think it is because I think it's actually it's quite frightening, do I know that sounds like silly I?

Speaker 1: 10:51

I was actually very apprehensive and I think it's because you are putting your work out there and you're saying go on, then give me your views. Yeah, oh, blimey, I don't want the bad ones, but you know, I think that's why you know you put your head above a parapet, don't you? And you're open to criticism.

Speaker 2: 11:09

And.

Speaker 2: 11:09

I suppose some, some, including me that's that's you know it could be really scary yeah, for most, for most people, it can be. Yeah, it'd be, you know, strange if you weren't a little bit scared, because it is a big thing, like to put your point out into the world. Yeah, and you know, as I said earlier, so often we picked up these like beliefs that you know we're not good enough in some way, or you know we need to kind of like stay quiet. And yeah, it's below the parapet and you know, publishing a book is, you know, very obviously putting your head up there above the parapet and I think we wouldn't call ourselves authors either.

Speaker 1: 11:50

We tend to be doing other things and we write a book. So it almost feels strange to say I'm an author, you know it. Just it feels, you know, you've got to get confident about saying that as well, recognising that and stepping into that sort of that position, if you like, I mean you've got the book exactly.

Speaker 2: 12:15

But no, it is.

Speaker 2: 12:15

It is a big piece and you know, yes, we obviously kind of support our authors through the practical elements of publishing, but it's the whole thing is a transformational journey, like I talked about how the books are transformational, but each author goes on their own transformational journey, like you know this, during the writing process, yeah also during the publishing process, because every step, like, as your book is like taking form and it's it's vulnerable even to like hand your manuscript over to like to me or the editor that you're working with, you know, going through the design process and trusting the designer that you're working with will be able to capture the essence of your book, like. All of these are really, um, really vulnerable steps. So, you know, I think it's really really important to recognise that it is this transformational process.

Speaker 1: 13:13

Yeah, and weirdly you know you were talking about, was it Sean? That sort of you know got you going. It was an ex-student of mine who got me writing because he rang me up and he said he used to call me, I taught him Reiki and he used to call me master. But he did um, he rang up and he said, master, why don't you write a book I don't really want my writing a book about? And he said, no, no, write about energy management. And I was like, oh okay, you know. And that obviously stuck with him and he was doing a starting up publishing books as well for people and doing that. And so that was the only trigger. That was the trigger for me to start writing and thinking. You know I can write books.

Speaker 2: 13:58

Yeah, sometimes we need that. Yeah, you know just somebody else to reflect it back to us. I think you know if it wasn't within you that kind of like seed of an idea.

Speaker 1: 14:10

Yes, you probably wouldn't do it, would you? You wouldn't. No, I'm not doing that exactly.

Speaker 2: 14:14

It wouldn't, you know, it wouldn't resonate, it wouldn't land. But if it is there, you know, just hearing it from somebody else is like the reminder, I guess that we need.

Speaker 1: 14:23

I thought oh, yes, actually yeah, and their belief that you can do it and it's not a big deal. So he was just like, yeah, why don't you? And I'm like, oh, but I did it, you know.

Speaker 2: 14:33

so it's good, yeah, it is, and it's brilliant. Like you know, I love your book so much. It's so genius the way you've woven it together, oh, thank you.

Speaker 1: 14:43

That's brilliant.

Speaker 2: 14:58

So let's talk about your books.

Speaker 2: 14:59

Nicola, because you started but you've got a few now, haven't you, that you have published, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I mentioned the first one, which was heal your inner good girl, um, not kill your inner good girl. That's a bit harsh, um, you know, and it's very much based on my own experience. I, you know, really picked up this message when I was very young that there were certain things that would get approval, and so I very much. It's what I would call the good girl path. So that's what this book is about, and the ways that are in a good girl can show up in our lives. So, yeah, that was the first one, first one, and then that led, as these books often do, to the second book, unbound which was the start of the Unbound Press and totally

Speaker 2: 15:40

yeah, birth to everything. And this is the thing as well, like we never know what our books might lead to, because I have no idea, you know, if someone had said to me back then in you know, early 2018, um, when I was just getting unbound ready to to publish, that you know I'd be running a publishing company and we'd have like all of these books being released, you know like no, no way, but our books can take us in unexpected directions. So Unbound for me is, I don't know that was. That was the book that was probably most transformational for me during the writing process. Yeah, and it was about, you know, these five principles of living an unbound life, which I didn't know what they were when I started the writing process, but they came through as I was writing.

Speaker 1: 16:42

That's the funny thing as well. I think um I had another unbound author on Tara Jackson on the podcast and we were saying the same thing.

Speaker 1: 16:51

Sometimes you can reread what you've written and not actually really recognize it. I think where did that come? And I'm absolutely sure that a lot of us just sort of just channel it somehow or just from your brain somewhere, just dump it without actually processing it as you're doing it. Yeah, and then when you look back you think did I write that? I know there's something else that goes on during the writing process yeah, there is, there is.

Speaker 2: 17:24

I mean, I'm a big believer and I know Tara, like you know, works like this as well. Um that, you know, our books have an energy, they have something that wants to be expressed, so they kind of co-create with us yeah you know, when we begin, uh, when we commit to writing a book, it kind of enters into, we enter into relationship with us.

Speaker 2: 18:42

So I think part of that is like our book communicator, yeah, what it wants to be. So it just, you know, will bring through us what needs to come. And also, you know you can be working with all sorts of guides. You know a channel yeah, yeah through us.

Speaker 2: 19:02

But yeah, I've had that experience. I mean, recently I just felt called to dip back into my own books and just go, okay, I'll just open them at any page and see what wants to. You know what I need to read today and it's like wow, that's really good, nicola from back then was quite wise actually.

Speaker 1: 19:26

Well, that's it. You just you do get into a real, I think just a different state somehow. Yeah, definitely, but I love the idea that it has its own energy, just like you know, your business has its own energy and you can connect to the energy of your business. You connect to the energy of anything, can't you? Yeah, exactly, and the red magus is not. Um, the actual character is not somebody I actually saw, but I have seen something similar in my regression so it's elaborated on, so maybe they were coming through and and helping me in much the same way that she helps Cassie in the book. You know completely, you just don't know what's what's.

Speaker 2: 20:10

It's a fascinating progress, that process, I think well, you know, thinking about like past lives and our ancestors. You know, I do feel often what we're bringing through in one way or another is, um is what's wanted to be expressed, yeah, for a long time. Yeah, so you know, to actually um, bring that through onto the page and into a book and then release it like it activates, yeah, a lot of really powerful healing, like back through the timeline.

Speaker 1: 20:49

So yeah, definitely, and moving forward? Yeah, exactly, exactly, definitely, yeah, so, um, do you think that everybody has a book in them?

Speaker 2: 21:00

well, I have met some people who have no interest in writing a book and I just find that really odd. Like what? Um, I mean, if I do believe there is absolutely a book in everyone, but I don't believe in, like, when it was suggested to you to write a book, there was obviously a part of you that wanted to do it, otherwise you wouldn't. I don't believe in, you know, writing a book because you feel you should.

Speaker 1: 21:35

No, not pushing yourself if it's not a passion.

Speaker 2: 21:38

No, no, because it's a big thing. You know it is. It takes a lot of time and energy. Yeah, so I do believe that there. You know, there is something within it, within everyone, that could be a book, but, um, I think you want that you do. You need to feel like this sense of well.

Speaker 1: 21:59

The way I see it, I mean it really is a calling you know it's like you can't not write your book, it won't let you not write it yeah, and then I suppose for people listening who haven't written a book, who maybe have a story going around in their heads, it's just about just start, just write something, just start writing. It is just start at the beginning. I didn't start at the beginning, I just started one particular scene and then thought where do I go now? Yeah, you know, yeah, yeah, it morphs itself, doesn't it?

Speaker 2: 22:31

it does. I think this idea that you have to have it all kind of planned out before you even start, that stops a lot of people from getting started. So yeah, I would say, I know it's easy to say, just begin. But you know you, you want to like commit to the process. So it's like, yes, I'm going to do this. I would always like connect with the book, um, in some way, like in meditation or going for a walk or something like that, just to ask what the book wants to be and just literally have a practice of sitting down every day and just seeing what wants to come and just trusting that you know it will start to take form. It can take a while. I'm in awe of anyone who writes fiction, natasha, so I'm very impressed well, when I think back, it was a very haphazard process.

Speaker 1: 23:26

It's literally this one scene was very strong in my head and I started from that point. But then, you know, and it grew and grew and became much more layered and and in fact I find that the hardest thing just making sure that everything connects. And I'm not one to start at the beginning and finish at the end, I'm all over the place. But you know, that's how it becomes a bit more layered, I think.

Speaker 2: 23:55

Definitely. I think if you're trying to like force yourself to write it in a linear way, start to finish, that can feel really limiting, yeah, particularly, you know, to a lot of the women who are kind of attracted to the unbound approach, like we don't like to do things in a linear way or the logical either.

Speaker 1: 24:17

No, we don't but you know I don't think it's necessarily a logical process, is it? I think a lot of it is, like we've said, intuitive and you know just, you've got to be in the zone and you just see what comes out the other end, almost yeah exactly so.

Speaker 2: 24:35

It's a big process of trust, like the creative process is definitely not logical, like you said, you know, you're you're tapping into your intuition and it can be easy to question that and say, oh, is that really what wants to come through? Or maybe I should do it like this or, um, you know, maybe I should change it in some way, make it more logical. But actually I found this, when we really give ourselves permission to go with it, that's when the best writing comes through. Yeah, most powerful writing. And you know, some of the women that I've I've worked with, I'm like I'm literally in awe of the books that they've kind of ended up with because they've allowed themselves to trust and they've moved through times and I'm sure you experience this as well, natasha where it's like I don't know if this is ever going to come together, like it's not making sense, who's going to want to read this? But when we can stay with it, yeah, trust, that's that's when the magic happens and not rush it.

Speaker 1: 25:41

You know, I think this probably took me three or four years. Yeah, because you know I'm working full-time and you've got family and all the rest of it. But there's there's no point in pressurizing yourself. It's just about when it's right, it, it will all come together, yeah, and then you find people like you will all come together, yeah, and then you find people like you yeah, at just the right time.

Speaker 2: 26:09

Yeah, the books, they have their own sense of timing as well, though I think and that's you know quite often we've been working with an author and you know they've been thinking it's going to be released on one day and then, like, the book has something completely different in mind yeah, we just have to go with that, don't we now?

Speaker 1: 26:25

do you? Um? I will put up all your details underneath the episode. But you, you provide writing support or writing calls for people outside of the Unbound Press, don't you as well as?

Speaker 2: 26:37

yeah so is that for people who?

Speaker 1: 26:39

have started their books, or not started, or just really want to do something, not sure, or all of the above?

Speaker 2: 26:47

all of the above basically, I mean actually just coming up um, in November we run an annual unbound book writing challenge which is a free um three-day, um like training journey which helps people who you know are just getting started, but also, if people you know are writing a book and have felt a bit stuck, you know, it just helps to kind of reactivate the process. So, yeah, I mean I work with writers at every stage of the journey and, like you say, not just unbound press authors, like I'm just a big fan, like, however, you want to publish your book, I just want to make sure that it happens and other writing presumably as well.

Speaker 1: 27:36

If people just you know they're thinking about doing articles or totally whatever they you know if they're going to zoom off into some other writing profession. It's all a great skill, isn't it?

Speaker 2: 27:49

it's all learning it is and it's. You know, a big part of my work is helping women to write in like the fullest expression of their voice, because so often we've learned, oh no, you need to write in a particular way, either at school, um, you know, in the academic world, or in the corporate world, and it's like, no, but what actually is my authentic voice? So, um, and when we can do that, that's so powerful. You know, whether it's for a book or, like you say, some other kind of writing.

Speaker 1: 28:21

Yeah, lovely. Well, I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience so far with the Unbound Press, because I knew nothing about publishing books, or that's not my forte, but I have learned from all the professionals and yourself, so I have really enjoyed it and yourself. So, um, I have really enjoyed it, um. So let me just ask you one last question, nicola, about spiritual practices. I often ask my guests this, um, just because I'm nosy and I like to know um, what one spiritual practice do you do every day that really helps you to sort of stay centered and balanced and in a good place?

Speaker 2: 29:05

I mean, I have a few, um, but there's one thing actually thinking about it that I do do like every single day, and that is to like sit at my altar I have an altar in my office and like some incense and pull, pull a card, like I normally pull three cards, um, like with decks that I especially love. You know, what do I need to know today? Um, and then I will usually journal on the cards that come through. But yeah, I love, I love Oracle cards.

Speaker 2: 29:41

So that just helps me to you know, tap into yeah definitely Tap into your intuition.

Speaker 1: 29:48

Yeah, exactly yeah, I often do my cards. I have far too many packs. I've got a lot.

Speaker 2: 29:59

Yeah, I know they're so, they're so. It's interesting. I've got cards like decks that I use in the morning for myself personally, and then actually Tara that you mentioned, tara Jackson's Embodied Wisdom deck. I use that when I'm holding space for writing. I'm very connected with the Unbound Writing community. So if I'm pulling a card for a session that I'm running, I'll use Tara's deck.

Speaker 1: 30:23

Oh, that's lovely. Yeah, that connection, as well as everything else that it's going to bring through, that's lovely, isn't it? Definitely, yeah, brilliant. Well, thank you, nicola. Thank you so much for coming on to the podcast and supporting Barnes Sons.

Speaker 2: 30:41

It's been a pleasure to have you on. Oh, I've loved it. I loved it so much. Really good to talk with you, natasha, so thank you, no, thank you, much appreciated.

Speaker 1: 30:51

So if you've enjoyed listening to us chatting. No-transcript.