Aspiring Author - Will I have a chance to publish the book I left my career to write?

Q. In late 2002, after 20 years as a university-level English teacher, I quit to write a novel. It is now complete, but I am wondering if I will have a chance to publish it, since no one seems interested in reading it. I find the entire question of getting work published extremely difficult. It has taken financial sacrifice to give up my job, and of course now I am worried if I have made the right choice. I am all right for about a year but then I will find myself in a very difficult financial situation.

— Aspiring Author

A. Both your wildly creative imagination and the intense desire to live out your dreams are highlighted by the Mars–Neptune–Sun grouping traversing your Ascendant and trining your inventive Pisces Moon.

Your exit from a secure teaching position in late 2002 was well timed, as progressed Venus conjoined natal IC (emphasizing the capacity to realign your life with your values) and as transiting Jupiter traversed your 10th house (offering the potential for worldly opportunities). Creativity overflowed, as transiting Uranus trined natal Mars and sextiled natal Venus all year long, while the waning sextile of the progressed lunation cycle (in November 2002) strongly supported innovative life redesign, both to express your talents and to set the stage for a significant new beginning in August 2007 at your next progressed New Moon.¹

But as you’ve discovered, it’s one thing to write a book and quite another to sell it to a publisher. Your 12th-house Mars in Libra and Neptune–Sun conjunction rising in Scorpio indicate how very uncomfortable touting your wares can be; the 10th-house Uranus in Leo at the Midheaven (square 1st-house planets) may both long for and fear recognition, making success elusive. The solution is to get support from others who are strong in what you’re lacking.

For instance, hire someone else to sell your book. Call upon your well-placed 1st-house Mercury to network with everyone you know to locate an agent; read books about marketing yourself,² or hire a coach who specializes in working with authors; or perhaps find a published author with good understanding of the field. Allow the powerful creative visualization capabilities of your Moon trine Neptune to attract the right support team. Write affirmations to avoid immobilizing self-doubt (transiting Neptune square natal Mercury),³ and journal regularly, exploring the question: “What does it take to live my dreams?”

Above all, be realistic; even those who manage to get a first novel published can’t necessarily sustain themselves on the proceeds of the sale. What can you do now to generate income, so you won’t end up in a major financial bind next year? Natal Uranus at the Midheaven is the mark of a potential entrepreneur. Why not tutor students, edit the work of other writers, lead writing workshops — whatever buys you time by making money and is aligned with your values. Who knows? You may even learn to enjoy selling yourself without selling your soul.