June 2024 PNP Roundup
Last Month in Review
Greetings, dear readers!
Here are some of my favorite media I’ve consumed over the past month on writing, productivity, and managing all the things. Some of this content is new, some of it is old, but all of it has kernels of wisdom for busy academic writers.
1. These are the Publish Not Perish posts from June, in case you missed any:
PNP and Coaching Deals, Upcoming Rate Changes, and Dutch Adventures
Using a reflective writing journal to improve your writing practice
2. PNP is on sale! You can get a yearly subscription for 20% off until July 14th. That’s only $48 for the year!
Benefits of a paid subscription include twice-weekly newsletter posts, access to all the previous paid posts (more than 100,000 words), and the ability to join the PNP writing circle—an asynchronous writing accountability and support group.
3. ’s recent newsletter on revising after peer review contains some excellent advice on managing feelings and the process of receiving peer reviews. I’m also a big fan of this tip:
Process the reviews on your own schedule. I once received (and read) peer reviews at 11 pm. Thankfully, the reviews were mostly positive, and I didn’t lose a night’s sleep. But on another occasion I read a pretty tough peer review (on my phone hiding in the bedroom) during a family vacation—definitely not a good choice. Now I try to wait and read the peer reviews when it works best for me rather than the minute they pop up in my inbox.
I was devastated when I got my first peer review, even though it was a revise and resubmit. I took all of the feedback personally and was down for a week before I could even consider revising. From that point forward, I waited until I was emotionally prepared to receive peer reviews, and I never opened a review on weekends or at night.
Never fear, dear reader; eventually, my skin grew thicker as I began to realize that two people’s option of my work had nothing to do with my self-worth and could not judge the overall quality of my scholarship, but I still maintain the rule that I only open peer reviews when I’m ready to do so!
Want more on navigating peer reviews?
4. of Culture Study recently reflected on her academic experience after a decade away. In this sobering piece, she writes,
This is where the cultish components of academia come to the fore. The institution thrives on our fear of failure, on the mortification of “sunk cost,” and by sucking up our available time and resources in ways that make it impossible to cultivate other skills or quadrants of life. We stay, despite so many signs we should leave, because we have allowed the work to paper over the doors. If others left, we shamed or pitied them; if others wanted in, we cheered them. That thinking has shifted significantly since then, but at the time, particularly for someone in the very thick of the job market, it felt like there were two options: sure, it was suffocating in the room, and everyone was starving and cranky. But if you left it, it really did feel like you would cease to exist.
I’m very new to my academic exit and my circumstances were different than Anne’s. That being said, her words here reflect some of my own deep fears as I considered leaving. Sunk costs, judgment from my peers, and the fear that there were no other good options for me were the major barriers I faced when considering other life and work options for myself.
But I agree with her that many people in the academy have shifted their thinking about exiting the ivory tower. In part because many of us are more aware of how difficult it is to obtain an academic position in the first place, as well as how overwork and underpay affect so many people.
My own perspective on academia has shifted recently because I believe it is one avenue for meaningful work for some scholars but not the only one. Part of the work I do in my new business is coaching people on exploring other avenues for themselves. This is important because I don’t want others to suffer from the same fear of leaving that I did, and I also believe that leaving is not the best option for everyone. My main focus is to support individuals in determining their best path forward.
5. Over on Twitter Becca Mason laid out some quick tips on determining tenure conventions at your institution. Institutions are very reluctant to state “requirements,” even though there are conventions and patterns that can certainly be identified. For these reasons, Mason recommends that new tenure-track faculty go on a fact-finding mission by speaking with the following people:
In some cases, your department will facilitate some of these discussions, but in many others, faculty are left to figure things out for themselves.
I would add a couple of people to Mason's list: the staff members in charge of collecting tenure files and ensuring that they are complete. For me, this meant one staff member in my department and another at the college level. Both of these people had a wealth of knowledge on both the procedures and politics of tenure and promotion cases.
6. Speaking of the tenure hustle, wrote a great set of advice for folks in their first year on the tenure track. You can read the full piece here. Here’s one gem for you:
The time to focus is now. Year 1 is a time to figure out what kind of scholar you want to be and how to get to tenure. I see the first year as really a grounding period to set up for the years to come. So that means getting clear on tenure requirements. It means focusing on having strong course preps that will improve from minimal to moderate tweaking in the coming years. You should also solidify what articles need to be sent out and when. And most importantly, you have to get good at managing: classes, graduate students, research funds, receipts, etc. Project management is a core part of being an academic— it’s how we turn big ideas into digestible and doable tasks. Staying organized and keeping a precise schedule will help you prioritize what needs to be done when.
Congratulations to everyone, including Jordie, who just finished their first year! It is an incredible achievement, and I hope you take some time to relax and recharge this summer.
Thank you for sharing my work, Jenn. Navigating peer review is emotionally tricky! I am glad we are talking about it.
Thank you for the shoutout Jenn! What a great list of smart pieces from smart women.