26 - Book Writing Diary Part 1

I’m writing a second book! In this episode, I unpack the astrology surrounding my latest book deal and share how the writing process is going so far. If you’re curious about how to use transits in combination with profections, you’re going to want to hear this one. And if you want to explore the astrological cycles in your own life, join us in the So Below Society! The early-bird price ends April 20th. 

• 03:57 The non-astrology backstory
• 07:39 Transits, time lords, and natal potential
• 12:26 The astrological timeline
• 20:10 My writing process and how it’s going so far

Join the So Below Society (a practical & magical 3-month, transit-immersion experience): https://www.astrologywithclaire.com/sobelowsociety

Blog Post: A Beginner’s Guide to Annual Profections https://www.astrologywithclaire.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-annual-profections

Let's use astrology to bring your vision to life without burning out: https://astrologywithclaire.com/appointments

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Transcript

Hi, I'm Claire Gallagher, and this is Third House Gossip, where we spill the astrological tea. So pour something delicious and let's chat. This podcast is sponsored by me. So to support the show and support yourself, come see me for an astrology reading. Just head to astrologywithclaire. com. That's astrology with C L A I R E dot com. 

Hi Astro Lover. Welcome back to Third House Gossip. I'm really excited about today's episode 'cause we're gonna have a little personal story time. As you can tell from the name of this episode, I am writing a second book, and today we're gonna dive into the astrology behind a book deal. What happened, and also my writing process and how it's gone so far.

I'm probably going to do a couple of these episodes space throughout the writing process, the editing process, the publication process, because, well, I think it's cool [00:01:00] and it's a great learning opportunity, and if you've ever wanted to know what the ins and outs of book writing are like, these will be really interesting to you as well.

Just as a side note. But before we get into all the astrological details, I wanna remind you that the So Below Society is open right now. This is a three month transit immersion experience where you will learn how to identify important transits, figure out what they mean, and learn how to use them. The early bird price ends on April 20th.

The doors will still be open, but the price is gonna go up. So if you've been curious, now is the time to hop on it. We start on April 27th with the Taurus New Moon. Our first live class is May 2nd. It's all about getting started with transits. There's a lot that's gonna be happening in this community, and by the way, it is introvert friendly.

I am an introvert, so I [00:02:00] run my community as an introvert. And make sure it is sensitive to the needs of of others. But the stuff we're gonna be doing include now cast, which if you loved the forecast that I did during Venus Retrograde here on the podcast, you're gonna love the now cast. They take it even deeper, slow it down a bit and add more practical tips.

I am incorporating a Transit journal guide, which is a monthly download that tells you exactly what to look for, when and what to record. This is how you really learn about astrological cycles, is keeping a record. We are going to be meeting three times a month, one. End of month gathering is called the Celestial Review, where we get together casually and talk about how the astrology actually happened, like what actually unfolded.

That is awesome for learning. And then two times we're gonna meet for Planet Code channeling, where we drop the technical astrology and [00:03:00] develop an astro informed spiritual practice where we'll be connecting with the planets intuitively. It's really easy. It's not as weird as it sounds. It's very accessible.

So again, the early bird price for the slow below society ends on April 20th. We start on April 27th and our transit class is on May 2nd. So it is time to get in there and I can't wait to see you. I'm really excited about this first cohort. Every cohort is special, but this one will really be with me in the book writing intensity.

So it, it's always. Lovely to have people to be with during such an intense experience, and I am hopefully going to be spending it with you. So head to astrology with claire.com/so below society for all the details. The link is also in the show notes below. 

All right, let's get into today's topic, which is [00:04:00] basically part one of an audio journal I'll be keeping as I go through the process of writing and publishing my second book. So my first book came out in 2022, and it's called Body Astrology.

Many of you are here because of that book, and I'm so grateful to that book for that reason. But I'm really excited about having a second opportunity to write an astrology book. I have grown a lot as an astrologer since body astrology was released, and I've also pivoted my practice to where I'm no longer focusing on health and wellness.

And so this gives me an opportunity to share what I'm doing now. I perceived at the time that this book deal came out of nowhere. It was really just a spur of the moment email that I got that I wasn't expecting. And at the time I was very [00:05:00] confused. I was pretty down on everything and was looking for jobs in other industries, um, because I just wasn't sure how I was gonna.

Continue to be able to make astrology work. So I was in a really tough spot. So you can imagine that that type of news, hitting me out of nowhere felt like a full body. Yes. I was just so overcome with gratitude and excitement about that opportunity. So that's a little bit about the non astrology backstory, where I was a few months ago trying to figure things out.

It's when I disappeared. I don't know if, if you follow me closely, you know, there was a period of about three months where I didn't post any podcasts. I didn't do any blogs. I just kind of didn't do anything. And that was. Uh, that period of like, okay, I guess I have to get a job. I guess I'm gonna search for something else to do with my life.

And it was [00:06:00] really, it was Mars retrograde for me. It was really confusing and, uh, difficult. Without giving too much away, and a book is a journey. It really. Tends to shift and change. And so I don't wanna put anything, you know, in concrete terms 'cause it could shift.

But the book is essentially on astrological cycles, specifically on profections and other time Lord Systems, because that's what I specialize in and what I use in my practice. And it's really geared towards getting to know your time Lord or time lords and. Working with them as friends and allies. So it's gonna be a very concrete, practical book, which is something I hope I do.

And everything I make is make astrology, concrete and practical. And I'm super excited about the topic. There's no title yet. All of that is to come and you know, I'm not really. Uh, just [00:07:00] FYI. When you author a book with a publisher, you're not really in charge of the title or the cover or any of those things.

Like you get a say, but you don't get the final say. So I have no idea what it'll be called, but that's the basic idea around the topic. So, astrological cycles and how they activate and enliven the birth chart. Okay. So here's the astrology details of the first inquiry, all the way up to signing the contract of the second book.

A little idea into how I look at transits and cycles. I don't believe. Your birth chart is active all the time, meaning I don't believe everything in your birth chart is active all the time. I think certain configurations are turned on by time, Lord [00:08:00] systems and or transits or other ways of marking astrological time and otherwise they lie kind of dormant or very low hum in the background.

I also believe that there has to be the natal potential in a birth chart for something to manifest. So for example, I have the natal potential in my birth chart to write books and to publish books. I have a Mercury Mars conjunction in the ninth. And a Moon Jupiter conjunction in the third. So that axis of media and publishing and writing is very strong.

And there's other things about that that are a little bit beyond the scope of this podcast that really kind of stamp the word writer across my chart. So I already have the natal potential for writing, and so you might have the NA potential for something completely different.

And when it's [00:09:00] activated, that thing comes to its full manifestation. But the natal potential has to be there, if that makes sense. So when you're looking at astrological cycles, you're looking at time lords, you're looking at perfect, you're looking at transits, whatever, whatever system you're using to mark time astrologically.

It can only activate what's already there in the birth chart, and it's important to understand the birth chart so that you can understand the potential. So instead of running to timing first, it's really essential that you dig deep into the birth chart or else timing doesn't really have anything to root into.

You can study transits and you can study time lords and all of that stuff, but if you don't understand what they're activating, you're not going to be able to make sense of it. Right. So the, the birth chart is really the root of everything, including astrological cycles.

One of the main techniques I use in my practice is called Annual profections, [00:10:00] and I did a little blog on this on my website. I'll probably link it in the show notes below. I. I also did an episode that teased it. It's called When Transits Don't Do Anything. So listen to that episode if you want more information.

'cause I'm not going to teach you how to do the technique right now. I'm just going to tell you what happened in regards to the technique. But the basic idea is that every year of your life is linked to a certain house in your chart. And when the profection or the activation comes to that house, everything in that house is activated and the planet that rules that house has also turned on or activated, and it's called the time Lord.

So my time Lord, this year is Jupiter. And I think it's really interesting to note that when I was going through my career confusion and I had taken a step back from astrology and I [00:11:00] was training for other jobs and, you know, applying for jobs, et cetera, Jupiter was retrograde during that time. And, um, the direct station, the end of the retrograde was really.

Really pivotal and I'll get to that in a bit. But essentially, once you know who your time Lord is for the year, that's the planet to watch. You can kind of put all the other transits and celestial motion in the background and really focus on your time, Lord. So the time Lord's sign placement, the time Lord's speed, the time Lord's direction, the aspects that the time Lord makes both to your natal chart and also in the sky, you know, in the real time sky.

Those become very essential turning points for your year, and they tend to correlate with major events or occurrences. profections and time Lords tell you what's active in the chart. So remember I said I have a Moon [00:12:00] Jupiter conjunction in the third house of communication. This is a real signature for creating, right?

Uh, both podcasts, sand blogs, and products and books, okay? All of that stuff can be signified by that particular configuration in my chart. And so the profection activated that conjunction. All right. And then the transits to that configuration, or around the rest of the birth chart tell you when those potentials awaken, right?

So they're activated and then the transits tell you when the things actually happen. Hopefully that makes sense. Okay. So here's the timeline. I told you when Jupiter was retrograde, it's when I was really confused and I didn't know what to do. And it was kind of an in-between space where I was just kind of trying to figure things [00:13:00] out.

And within three days of Jupiter Stationing Direct, I got an inquiry from my editor at my publisher and. That is really significant. So if you take one thing away from this podcast, when your time Lord stations and changes directions, things in your life also change directions. Okay? So within three days of Jupiter Stationing Direct, I got an inquiry from my editor just asking, Hey, are you interested in writing a second book now?

To be technical. Jupiter, when it's stationed direct, was within orb of my ascendant descendant axis, so it was really activating my natal chart at the same time as it's stationed. Also, within 24 hours of this [00:14:00] inquiry, mercury made a conjunction to my natal Jupiter, which is my time Lord. All right, so news in regards to what Jupiter signifies in my chart, which is typically writing.

So that alone proved to me that perfect combined with transits is really something that was just awe inspiring to me. And so I encourage you to really start watching transits from your time, Lord, and transits to your time Lord. Okay. The initial meeting I had with my editor to talk about my book ideas was on the day of the actual station.

So there was an inquiry within three days of the station, and then on the day of the station we were talking and I was presenting a list of ideas and getting feedback on which one they wanted to go with. I spent, [00:15:00] mm. The next week actually on vacation with my husband, and then I got home and I wrote a book proposal for the project in two days. And this is really significant for me personally because when I wrote the proposal for Body Astrology back in 2019, which is feels like forever ago, it took me.

Over a month and that proposal got rejected and I had to rewrite it. So it was a really difficult process. The first time I wrote a book proposal, this time I did it in two days and the feedback was great, let's move forward. So. That was cool and that correlated with the Leo Full Moon making a conjunction to my natal Mars in the ninth house of publishing.

So it doesn't have to do with my time Lord, necessarily, but it [00:16:00] was activating the potential in my birth chart to be connected with people in the publishing world and doing these types of projects. So then I went through this really intense period. It was basically a week long where I received an offer.

For the project, and I knew right away that I needed to counter offer. I knew it wasn't the right offer for me. So I went through this really intense period of, okay, how am I gonna negotiate? I. Do I need an agent? And I interviewed several agents and that was wild for me because I, I'm like, I feel like a nobody who, who am I to get a book agent and all of that stuff.

It was really surreal and I was having to talk about large sums of money and what I, what I wanted for this project and when I wanted it [00:17:00] and how I wanted it. All of that stuff is really. Out of my comfort zone. It's just not something I'm used to doing. These negotiating, uh, powerful deals. And of course that was the exact time that Pluto was conjunct my moon in Aquarius.

In the third house was that week of counter offering negotiation and interviewing with book agents. You can't make this stuff up, y'all. Okay. Um, I. Decided not to go with an agent and I may change my mind if there's book 3, 4, 5, which I really hope there there is. I wanna write many books. Um, I. But I decided to negotiate on my own with the publisher and that was definitely a Pluto move and to my surprise and delight, they were really receptive to my negotiation.

So [00:18:00] that's really awesome. Another reason why we can thank Pluto and we don't have to be super scared of it. It'll definitely. Push you and ask you to dig deep and do some things that are a little scary for you, but it can also help you walk through that threshold and make it to the other side. Publishing is a slower process.

But this moved really quickly. I basically signed my contract on the day Jupiter was conjunct my descendant. Which means it was opposite my ascendant. Right? And a couple of days before Mercury stationed retrograde, which I was hoping for, I signed, I think I signed body astrology contract when Mercury was retrograde.

And sometimes you just have to sign a contract. You can't just wait three weeks till Mercury stations. So this time I was, you know, pleasantly. I was pleased. Let's just say that, that Mercury was still somewhat direct before I had [00:19:00] to sign the contract, but the fact that I signed it on the day Jupiter was conjunct my descendant.

Another tie in with the time, Lord. Super interesting. So from initial inquiry to signed contract was 40 days. That is. Warp speed. If you've ever worked in the publishing realm, it's a very slow realm. Things do not move quickly, and so I just thought with the time, Lord, activations and the transits that it was moving at warp speed.

So hopefully that made sense to you. If you got a little lost, you. Uh, need a couple things. One, keep listening because the way I learned astrology was by journaling and by listening to podcasts until they made sense. And two, you need to join the So Below Society because this is what we'll be diving into, is identifying important transits and [00:20:00] figuring out what they mean and how to make the most of them.

So remember, early Bird ends on April 20th, so hop in there if you're interested.

Okay, so that's the astrological story. Now I wanna bring you up to speed about the writing process and how I write and what it feels like, and basically how I'm using astrology to write this second book. So I started writing approximately. Well, by the time this comes out, it'll be over a month ago, and my goal is to have a first draft done by April 27th, which is really, really quick.

And my due date is July 31st, which is also really, really quick. So they, they basically gave me four months to write this book. Body astrology took me a long time and I had to write it. Three times, and that's maybe a story for [00:21:00] another book writing diary, uh, as to why I had to write it three different times.

But I am bound and determined for that not to be. My experience with this second book, I'm really excited to have a new opportunity to reframe writing in my life and connect with it that in a way where I believe it's something that comes easily to me, not something I have to struggle through. So my goal is to have my first draft done by April 27th, and when I say that, I mean a messy, not polished first draft, just me sitting down and getting everything out, and then I'll transition to heavy editing until the end of July.

So the big difference between this book and body astrology and my writing process, and this may sound like a no-brainer to you, but it is not a no-brainer to me, is that I started separating my writing from my editing. [00:22:00] Yes. So with body astrology, if I sat down to write, I. Pressured myself to write the chapter out exactly how it was gonna be in the final draft.

And what that equated to was me taking about 15 minutes to write one word that that is not efficient and that is not how we get a book written in in four months. So. I, um, decided that that had to change and that I could not sit there and painstakingly think about what I was gonna write. So now I'm doing a process where I have writing days and I have editing days.

And on the writing days I open my document. I have a topic, sometimes I have an outline and. I just go and I don't use my backspace button. I don't delete anything. I have typos. I have paragraphs that are not finished, [00:23:00] half written words, concepts that are not fully fleshed out, but I just write until I can't write about that topic anymore.

And then I have editing sessions where after a few weeks, honestly. Of writing that chapter. I go back and I start to fix the typos, add what I missed, rearrange the paragraphs, all of that stuff, and make it into a more polished presentation. I'm also writing with the moon, so. I am doing this quick drafting process when the moon is really bright, not necessarily when it's waxing, but when it's bright.

So that is first quarter Gibbes, full moon and disseminating. And when the moon is dark, I am editing. So New Moon last quarter, moon balsamic [00:24:00] moon. What did I miss? I think that's, that's good. Yeah, so basically if the moon is more than half bright, I'm writing and if the moon is more than half dark, I'm editing.

And that has been really helpful in terms of just having a schedule that's easy to follow. I. Speaking of schedule, I had a cute idea where I was like, I'm gonna have dedicated writing days where I write all day long, two days a week, and then I'll add a third when I get really close to the deadline and.

I can write all day. I've done it many times. Um, but I, I started batch writing and writing five plus hours a day and realized, you know what? I don't wanna do it like that this time. So, um, I quickly realized that I needed more variety in my schedule and I needed to shift that a bit. So these days I write.

On the book, at least I write something every day because [00:25:00] I have a business to run. But in terms of book writing, I tend to touch in with the book every other day and touch in with it for about two to three hours instead of five, to however many that just feels more accessible, uh, to me at the moment.

The other big change that I made this time. And I'm so glad that I did is I joined a writing community and I'm an introvert, so joining any type of community is a really big deal for me. I've been wanting to join this writing community for. A long time and I just, just was too, not afraid, but I was like, I don't have a reason to, or whatever.

But something about the book coming through gave me quote, permission to unquote, to join this community, and I'm so glad that I did. Because we have co-writing sessions where you get together a couple times a week with a group just over audio, [00:26:00] and we write together and we touch in and and talk about what it is we're writing and how writing felt for us that day.

And it's just a really great way to put protected writing time on my calendar beyond the writing that I do alone. And it's also just really nice to be able to talk about the project with people because with body astrology, I felt like I wasn't allowed to talk about the project, and I also didn't know who to talk to about it.

Yeah, I was very isolated and alone, so that has been a real bright spot for me and just very well spent money. Um, the other thing that I did. This time is I spent Mercury and Venus retrograde doing book interviews, and many of you I got to meet in a book interview and thank you so much to everyone who sat with me for an interview and I did 40 interviews on astrological cycles and.[00:27:00] 

Wow. That was an experience. That was an experience on so many different levels. It deserves its own podcast episode. It was definitely an experience as an introvert and as a mental projector to sit with people for, you know, up to five interviews a day. It was very energetically, I don't wanna say taxing, because I enjoyed it, but it was like.

Intense to listen, uh, to people for that long. It was, it was super interesting. It also reaffirmed what I'm studying and writing the book about and really showed me that it's powerful and that it works. Like I already knew that it worked, but to watch it work with so many other people was really cool. So.

When you start a book project during Mercury retrograde, it can be kind of tricky. It doesn't really [00:28:00] feel like a great time to start something. So what I did instead was I researched, so I used the retrograde to do interviews and also to compile a bunch of old material that I've already written that I could repurpose for the book.

So again, you can start anything you want during Mercury retrograde or another retrograde. You just might start it. Doing some reflection instead of charging forward.

What else do I wanna share with you about the writing process? You're always welcome to ask me questions if this is interesting to you. Um, but. Like what happens when I actually sit down to write, I have a checklist, kinda like a focus checklist that gets me in the groove. I have like a note card that reminds me of what I need to do. Close my email down, close my browser, take my phone out of my room and put it in a different room. Close the door. Get my drink, whatever.

And [00:29:00] then I have, um, note cards or intentions that I read about my book. And I thought it might be powerful if I read these intentions on the podcast, and that's really vulnerable for me because it's very private, but I think it's powerful to state these things out loud. So I'm going to read them to you, and this is what I do right before I sit down to write every time.

Here we go. I am writing this book in flow and with ease. I'm having fun.

I have permission to simplify and adjust techniques to support a modern person. That's important because, you know, astrology can be a lot in technical. I am so proud of this book and love to share about it. That's a really important one because I did not have that experience with body astrology, and so I'm really calling that in this time, oh, here's a vulnerable one.[00:30:00] 

This book is Beloved Changes Lives and is a best seller. I support and am supported by this book, both now and for many years to come. And then I go through a little visualization process where I imagine.

Whatever part of the book writing process I'm in completing. So right now I'm imagining pressing send on my draft to my editor. But you could also imagine holding your book in your hands, seeing it on a shelf, you know, whatever part you're working with. So I am imagining pressing send on my draft at the end of July.

I think that is all of the major points and highlights I wanted to share with you in our first book writing diary. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for being a part. Of my life. I really love having people to share this with. It means so much to me.

And if you wanna take [00:31:00] these concepts specifically, transits deeper with my guidance, I would love to see you in the So Below Society. It is a friendly space. It's a calm space, it's a safe space. I. And we are starting April 27th, but the early bird pricing ends on April 20th, so hop on it now. If you're interested.

It's astrology with claire.com/so below society, and the link is also in the show notes below. All right, talk to you soon. Love ya.