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Jo VanEvery

Make Your Manuscript Work: An Interview with Laura Portwood-Stacer

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Jo VanEvery

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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A photo of a sand timer with purple sand, displaying a black number 15 on the side in a dark room.

Spotlight On: The Power of 15 Minutes

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Jo VanEvery

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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A countryside field with dewy mist, clouds and tree silhouettes against a bright orange sunrise.

Treating each day as a new opportunity

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Jo VanEvery

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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A person walks past a wall of bookshelves quickly on a low shutter speed causing the figure to blur across the screen from right to left. Image used abstractly to convey movement between careers, time, spaces, and personal circumstances or attitudes.

Reflections on 20 years of self-employment

Posted on April 23, 2025 by Jo VanEvery

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?

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Jo VanEvery

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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A photo of a person pulling different colourful threads of wool apart above a tangled pile of different colours.

Pulling a thread from your tangled mess

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Jo VanEvery

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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A close up photo of various threads of brightly coloured wool all loosely tangled into a pile.

Untangling your thoughts as you write

Posted on February 19, 2025 by Jo VanEvery

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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A close-up photo of a person seated in a row of people writing in a paper notebook on their crossed knees. The rest of the row of people are blurred in the background with high focus in the foreground. The scene suggests taking notes in a conference or lecture with smart casual attire. No faces are visible.

Conferences as motivation to write

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Jo VanEvery

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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My own personal photo of our beach picnic location on the pebbled shore of Lake Ontario at Presqu’île Provincial Park

Making travel less stressful

Posted on December 18, 2024 by Jo VanEvery

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

Posted on November 20, 2024 by Jeanette Hannaford

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!

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Jo VanEvery

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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How do I know when my book is ready to submit?

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Jo VanEvery

Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · How do I know when my book is ready to submit? You are almost finished with your book! You plan to submit it to your publisher in a couple of months. You’ve been working on it for a long time. You’ve not only got a full draft but you’ve […]

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