Mercury is your writing skills, ruling your 3rd house of thoughts, conjunct ascendent of expression and in the sign of Leo, the ego.
So in reality your writing expression is directly related to your self expression, so the theme of your book seems very appropriate.
Speaking of your personal experience.
The conjunction with Uranus gives extraordinary insight and the ability to see things in an original way.
The downside is that Uranian energy is not stabile and continuous. It comes and goes in spurts. Your ideas come like lightening bolts, and sometimes last as long. You have to catch it quickly, or you get bored, or just move on to the new lightening bolt.
Mercury in a developing sextile with creative Venus gives a refined style to your writing, nothing vulgar or disturbing would suit you. You can also express yourself easily when speaking with others, you can persuade and convince.
You need a stabiliser here, but you don't have one in the chart.
The 9th rules your higher thoughts, philosophy, religion. But for you more importantly it is publishing, ruled by Jupiter and Neptune.
The midpoint between these two planets is exactly conjunct North Node, confirming this is the path you should be taking.
And creative Venus is moving towards an easy trine with Jupiter. Again, helping your creativity, but alas also making things a little comfortable for you, preferring comfortable surroundings, and easy work, which can also slide over to the side of laziness, laziness because you love that comfort.
Jupiter also rules the 5th of creativity, helping you tie together the energies you need to harness to come across to others, to convince them about something.
The 3rd is ruled by virgo, the sign of health care, remedies, medicine. It is also meticulous in its detail, which helps anchor the expansive Leo mercury.
Consider that the mercury/uranus conjunction has been hit recently, by restrictive Saturn in opposition, and by erratic Uranus by square, and positioned in your MH of career.
Mars rules the MH, making you authoritative with initiative and energy in your career area. Mars also rules the 4th of home, and mars sits on the south node. You might be tempted to work from home, but South Node with mars says you should resist this temptation.
Ascendent ruler sun is in the 12th house of institutions, hospitals, subconscious, deep hidden motives.
It looks like this "down" period is just a passing transit, and certainly opposing Saturn can tend to push you down, but it passes.
So with Leo ascendent, mercury/uranus, of ego, MH and mars in Aries of the individual, Venus in comunicative gemini, and Sun positioned to make you look inward, it would seem that your intuition has been pulling you in the right direction, your chart is heading this way.... self expression, self help, also teaching others in that easy flowing way you have of communicating with others, teaching "How to" by using your experiences as the basis from which to work.
If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about the down period, just try to avoid the lazy feel-good habit of doing nothing, or just rattling around talking about yourself to others.
That Jupiter/NN/neptune in libra of art and gracious expression, will help you get your message across. It's your destiny in a way!
You haven't lost it, it's just preparing you.
Be ready for it when the wheel turns and it comes on you all of a sudden one morning.
Good luck with the project, keep us posted as to how it goes.