managing an academic career

Joe MoxleyProfessor of English

University of South Floridahttp://joemoxley.org

1. Besides a style or documentation manual, what writing resources do you own or regularly consult?

2. When was the last writing course you took? What did you learn in the course?

3. Do you tend to write scholarly material (check one of the following)

a. Once a day, every day, for at least one hour.b. Two or three times a week, or three hours a week.c. Once a week, usually on weekendsd. Christmas break and other holidayse. Rarely

4. What questions and issues about writing or publishing would you like me to address in today’s workshop? In other words, what do you want to get out of today’s session?

1. Why Write?2. What obstacles do you face

as a writer?3. How can you support your

research and writing goals?

Identify and overcome the obstacles you face as a writer

Help you prioritize research projects

Use a Career Research Planner help you achieve to focus on your scholarly goals

For pleasure or to gratify "the need”

Advance knowledge (i.e., to be a producer rather than a consumer of knowledge)

Understand material better

Improve teaching

Join the academic community and "the invisible college.“

Improve career options and earn money (e.g., grants, textbooks, commercial articles)

Tenure/Promotion/Career Advancement

Experience ideas, places, concepts that are impossible for you outside of your imagination

Ten to fifteen per cent of the professoriate publishes 95% of what’s published!

Why?

Please “freewrite” for 3-5 minutes (i.e., write without stopping in response to the following prompt):

The obstacles that interfere with my achieving my research and

writing goals are

Boice says Academics:◦ Isolate themselves as scholars◦ Procrastinate◦ Believe writing is painful◦ Assume that research can only be done in

large blocks of uninterrupted time◦ Make themselves “too busy” with teaching to

do anything else

1. What obstacles do you face in your efforts to achieve your academic writing goals?

2. What can you do to overcome the obstacles you face as an academic author?

EPCC Workshop Google Document

Be aware of Scholarly Discussions. Subscribe to Listservs in your discipline.

Play an active role in Listservs Join the COS (Community of Science) Subscribe to The Chroncile’s Job Information Service

Write e-mail notes to other scholars when you have questions.

Volunteer your services as a consulting reader for the journals and book publishers in your discipline.

Interview a major theorist or editor in your field and publish the interview in a professional journal.

Coauthor and co-edit projects.

Have your research proposals and research designs critiqued by established scholars before conducting a study.

Use the peer-review process to solicit tough criticisms.

Consider editing an anthology of original essays

Create a disciplinary Website or Blog

When you cite someone extensively in an article, send them a copy of the published version.

Prioritize. What work promises impact? What's most realistic?

Here is the procedure:

1. Choose someone you wish to approach and read their work with some care;

2. Make sure that your article cites their work in some substantial way (in addition to all your other citations);

3. Mail the person a copy of your article; 4. Include a low-key, one-page cover letter that says

something intelligent about their work. If your work and theirs could be seen to overlap, include a concise statement of the relationship you see between them. The tone of this letter counts. Project ordinary, calm self-confidence. (Agre)

Network Attend conferences, write book reviews, and get

to know leading editors, researchers, and scholars in your field.

Networking cannot substitute for good research, but good research cannot substitute for networking either.

You can't get a job or a grant or any recognition for your accomplishments unless you keep up to date with the people in your community (Agee)

DoubtingBelieving

Visualize success While composing, ignore negative thoughts

(such as, I don’t have enough time, this is a stupid idea, I’ll never get this published).

Persevere. Follow your passion. Exorcize your demons.

Read Conceptualize scholarship as a conversation. Annotate with a bibliography tool

(RefWorks/Endnote/ProCite). Seek the original, seek impact. What's the big picture?

Put yourself on the spot. Challenge yourself

Understand the Academic Reward System

Think rhetorically. Understand criteria for tenure and promotion decisions

Think Rhetorically What counts as research and scholarship? What expectations guide the salary,

tenure, and promotion decisions?

The activity requires a high level of discipline-related expertise.

The activity breaks new ground, is innovative.

The activity can be replicated or elaborated.

The work and its results can be documented.

The work and its results can be peer-reviewed.

The activity has significance or impact.

Scholarship of Discovery Scholarship of Application Scholarship of Teaching Scholarship of Service Grant Writing

Number of AAUP members: 121Titles published annually per press: between 5 and 2,000Average number of titles/press: 74Press size, by annual sales: $250,000 to $50 million

Average number of employees per press: 34States with at least one AAUP member press: 42, plus the District of Columbia

Number of books published by AAUP members in FY 2000: 9,000Total U.S. book sales by AAUP members: $450 millionAAUP members' revenue per title: $50,000

Total number of books published in the U.S. in 2000, all publishers: 60,000

Total U.S. book sales in 2000: $25 billionRevenue per title, all U.S. publishers: $417,000

Writing Log Research Plan

Idea/Brainstorming Space

Job Portfolio

Curriculum Vitae

Conference Proposals

Major Projects Folders

Annotated Bibliographies/

Endnote Libraries

Blogs Wikis Facebook Twitter Academia Linked-in Content Management Systems

◦ Wordpress◦ Joomla◦ Sharepoint◦ Blogger

Writing Space/Scholarship is Changing

More use of visuals (visual rhetoric)

Use of animations and video

More collaboration

Interactive writing tools (track changes, subscription, roundtripping)

1. What major theories are scholars debating in your discipline?

2. What are the primary research questions in your discipline?

3. What methodologies are considered appropriate?

After reviewing the contents of major journals conferences, think: ◦ What important new research trends can you

identify? ◦ Seek New Patterns, Research Methodologies,

Metaphors, and Connections Across Disciplines

Decide on a publisher—better yet, a list of five to ten possible publishers—before writing the report or conducting the research. 

Will the journal help you reach the community you need to reach?

Determine each journal’s ranking. Is it a refereed, first-tier or second-tier journal?

Be reasonable. Submit documents to appropriate places. While in general it makes sense to submit to the most distinguished journal or publisher, you may first need to develop a batting average.

If appropriate, query, e-mail, or talk to the editor before submitting the essay.

Decide on a publisher—better yet, a list of five to ten possible publishers—before writing the report or conducting the research.

Determine each journal’s ranking. Is it a refereed, first-tier or second-tier journal?

Be reasonable. Submit documents to appropriate places. While in general it makes sense to submit to the most distinguished journal or publisher, you may first need to develop a batting average.

If appropriate, query, e-mail, or talk to the editor before submitting the essay.

Don’t accept everything you hear. Ignore the cranks. Like bad drivers, there are too many cranks for you to police.

Be your own worst critic. No one will take your work as seriously as you do.

Don’t try to critique your work at the last minute.

Don’t take criticism personally. Focus on the positive. Don’t waste your energies writing to

editors and telling them why they were fools to reject your ideas.

Instead, place your energies into moving forward. Either immediately revise the manuscript or send it back out for consideration elsewhere.

Don’t try to critique your work at the last minute. This is impossible.

When writing, don’t worry about criticism.

When you submit something, be sure it’s as good as you can make it, or, at the very least, that it won’t embarrass you.

Get to know the editors who decide whether or not to publish your work. Call the editor if you are unsure about a reviewer’s comments.

Develop a realistic research plan. Update your plan regularly

Archive your efforts and achievements.