Hi friends,
When the Chronicle published this piece a few weeks ago about how disconnected students are this semester, my entire social media network shared it simultaneously. It’s been a tough year and a tougher semester for everyone in the classroom. As I’ve talked to people over the past few weeks, it seems like there is a dual desire to disconnect for a little while and decompress, and to spend real time getting work done on writing that got set aside for the past year.
A lot of writers I talk to feel like they are constantly operating from a deficit model. When they spend time with their families, they feel guilty for not lesson planning. When they are lesson planning, they feel like that time could be better spent writing. And when they sit down to write, they are reminded of how long it’s been since they’ve had movie night with their kids. It’s like productivity whack-a-mole, where you always feel like you’re not doing enough.
One great thing about the summer is that it gives you time to reset and remember what sustainability looks and feels like. You might not get five articles out this summer, but you might be able to start a pipeline that leads to the five articles being submitted this year. You might not be able to write an entire book in three months, but maybe you can get the narrative nailed down and then spend a week at the beach with your friends. I think this is a particularly important moment in academia to use the summer to shift away from constantly operating in the negative—not enough time, not enough energy, not enough resources, not enough articles, not enough prestigious journals, not enough chocolate when you need it—toward producing work that you enjoy doing and that you’re proud of. In other words, start writing the book/article/blog you want to write, and let the rest fall into place.
Let’s work together!
If you feel like you could use a little help with writing this summer, I have a few ways I can help (for all budgets!). I'm particularly excited about the first one: after working with so many people on their book, I'm offering a workshop on it! Details are below.
How to Write a Book Workshop (July 13-August 3, 2022)!
I’m hosting a book writing workshop July 13-August 3! “How do I…write a book?” Is a question I get asked a lot, usually after the first or second coaching session with a writer. They know they want to write a book, have collected a lot of data, have taken productivity and accountability workshops, and maybe even have secured a contract. But…then what? I consistently hear that there isn’t support for what comes next: the messy, intermediate book writing phase. In other words, people want to know how to write a book well.
That's where this workshop comes in. You can learn more about the workshop here, and register here.
You can use the promo code letswrite2022 to get 10% off the price of registration, and because writing is better with peer pressure friends, you get $50 off if you register with a friend!
Let's Write - Tuesday Lunches in May! (May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31) *Free*
In the next installment of my Let’s Write series, I’m hosting Tuesday lunches in MayEvery Tuesday in May, I’ll open up a Google room from 1130-1 (eastern) for us to write together. We can spend the first and last 15 minutes chatting about the writing process, and write silently from 1145-1245. No need to register, just show up at this link here if you could use some accountability. If you want to sign up, you can register here and I’ll send out weekly reminders. Bring your friends!
Editing and coaching services
My summer calendar is filling up pretty quickly with editing and coaching jobs, so if you think you’ll need an editor for a book manuscript, article, tenure and promotion materials, or grant applications, now is a great time to get on my calendar. You can learn more about the types of editing I do here.
Brag to me!
I love hearing about your successes—getting tenure, scoring that on-campus interview, submitting the R and R, getting that advanced book contract. I’m also here to commiserate for the not-successes, so feel free to share those with me too. Yesterday I got a piece accepted with no revisions and today I got a piece (that I love!) rejected for the second time, so the universe is keeping me balanced. How are things going for you?
Take care, and happy writing!
Kelly