Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Focus isnt just a mind problem The idea of doing your writing work at home sounds lovely, easeful. But the reality is often like wading through molasses. The soft couch and soft cat call you to nap. Your partner’s loud on Zoom. Laundry and dishes are never done. Your […]
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Make Your Manuscript Work: An Interview with Laura Portwood-Stacer
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Make Your Manuscript Work: An Interview with Laura Portwood-Stacer Jo VanEvery 0:00 It was my great pleasure to talk to Laura Portwood-Stacer recently about her new book: Make Your Manuscript Work. I’ve been subscribed to Laura’s newsletter for years and often recommend her earlier book The Book Proposal Book, […]
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Spotlight On: The Power of 15 Minutes
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Spotlight On: The Power of 15 Minutes When it comes to writing the primary challenge most scholars face is how to find and protect time for this work. I use 15-minutes as a short hand for any amount of time less than 30 minutes, or so short it feels […]
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Treating each day as a new opportunity
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Treating each day as a new opportunity “My challenge is treating each day like a new opportunity to get things done without letting the perceived inefficiencies of the previous cast a dark cloud over a new working day.” – Planning Class participant (2023) If this is also your challenge, […]
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Reflections on 20 years of self-employment
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Reflections on 20 years of self-employment In April 2005, I found myself unemployed. April 2025 marks 20 years of self-employment. My approach (and my advice) is often to take stock of the context, look at the opportunities available, and pick something to try. As I said in a post […]
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Is it perfectionism? Or impatience?
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Is it perfectionism? Or is it impatience One of my coaching clients mentioned that their reluctance to allow themself to write a “shitty first draft” may not be perfectionism but rather impatience. Re-reading Jeanette Hannaford’s review of The Perfectionists Guide to Losing Control in the light of this conversation […]
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Pulling a thread from your tangled mess
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Pulling a thread from your tangled mess In Untangling Your Thoughts As You Write, I outlined a way to get started that leans into divergent thinking in the early stages of writing about your research. In it I said Yes, the published version will need a clear central point. […]
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Untangling your thoughts as you write
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Untangling your thoughts as you write One of the strengths of ADHD and other types of neurodivergence is ‘divergent thinking’: the ability to see connections that others don’t see. As a neurodivergent academic, this can be a real benefit for generating original contributions to knowledge. However, it can also […]
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Conferences as motivation to write
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Conferences as motivation to write When I talk to clients or potential clients about specific writing projects, I often ask them what they have already. It is not uncommon for them to reply that they have partial drafts of chapters or articles which are currently in the form of […]
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Making travel less stressful
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Making Travel Less Stressful This post was written just after returning from a fall trip back to Canada, to see friends and care for loved ones. We realised that the thoughts I was having about travel might help you too… I (Jo) have just got back from my holiday. […]
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Imperfect notes for perfectionists
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Imperfect notes for perfectionists One of the Academic Writing Studio team told me about a great book they’d read that they thought might be helpful for many of our people. Jeanette has been part of the team for a long time. Perfectionism is something many academics struggle with. You […]
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Motivating yourself to finish the damned book!
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Motivating yourself to finish the damned book Do you have a book project that’s been in progress for a long time? You are not alone. Over the years I’ve helped several mid to late career scholars who are weighted down by the unfinished projects they have lying around. Like […]
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