Mid career writing blues

When you are untenured, perhaps a doctoral student, on the tenure track, or a non-tenure track lecturer, you might assume that anyone who gets tenure has it easy, and has it made.

And while there is some truth (a great deal really) that tenure makes our lives more stable and less anxiety ridden, there are many pitfalls for mid-career faculty.

Mid-career professionals no longer "must" publish to survive. Without this external push there are often no clear models for how to construct identities as scholars. Also, there is often a great deal of guilt that comes with the territory: "who am I to feel bad, I have tenure!"

The task of the mid-career professor is to  discover who you wish to become as a professor, and what this vision means to you. You have the burden of choice and freedom; one of the key existential struggles of humans liberated from "want."

Try to do some writing, perhaps in your academic journal, on what kind of scholar you wish to be. What do you want to do with your career- it is yours.

A Great Editor

From time to time, most of us need an editor. And not just any editor, but someone who will deeply respect our work, and give us the type of service we need and deserve.

So, toward that aim, I want to introduce to you Greg Lamphear.  Greg is a trusted colleague, co-author, and friend. We just finished writing a book together, Writing and Publishing in English: A Guide for English as Second Language and International Scholars

Greg is an outstanding editor; in truth, he is the only one that I trust enough to recommend to the people I coach. Let me tell you why. First, Greg has the perfect background for this kind of work. He is an award winning journalist, and also is an ESL teacher. He is also an extremely talented writer (although, he is fairly shy about it- don't say I told you!) of fiction. This combination makes him highly skilled, and also sensitive to the needs of authors. He is very good at what he does.

Second, Greg understands academics. People who I have referred to him have been extremely pleased with how respectful he is of their ideas, while still doing a great job at editing and improving their writing. That is a really hard balance to get, and he does it well. You can tell him the type and depth of the edit, and he will do it. Want a simple proofread- ask him. Want more developmental editing? He can do that tool.

Third, Greg is just a great guy to work with. I think you will find him kind and empathic- no need to every be embarrassed around him. 

The best way to contact him is via his greglamphear@gmail.com

He has a new website up. https://sites.google.com/site/writingeditingpublishing/    Not much on there yet, but it is in the process of being developed.

Remember- there is no shame in getting the support and help you need. The shame is in NOT getting your needs met, and not reaching your full potential as a scholar. 

Shame Part 2

There is another type of shame; the same of believing that you "should have gotten this by now." It is amazing how often I have heard similar messages from scholars who are, frankly, smarter and better trained than I.

Do you relate to one of these?

"I should know how to write and publish by now"

"I should have finished this project by now"

"What is wrong with me that I can't write more quickly?"

"A smarter person would have been able to _______"

"Why do I need to feel stressed before I can write? What is wrong with me?"

These shame-based statements not only are painful, but are powerful inhibitors to writing productivity and success. They sap us of the energy and focus we need to achieve. They lead to anxiety, worry and depression.

Relate to these? Again, time for some work.

Shame

A few days ago I wrote about stress. Before that, fear. An emotional, or perhaps better stated a cognitive/affective experience, that may hinder scholars even more, is shame. I am not sure exactly why this is so, but have noticed in my coaching practice how shame is often a powerful force in the lives of scholars. Regardless of its source, shame leads academics to feel as if they are not worthy- worthy of being part of the "club," worthy of being able to have voice, worthy about even taking the time to write.

If you resonate with this, it may be time for some candid self-evaluation and commitment to work through it. Do know, however, that you are not alone.

Policy Article

In the social and behavioral sciences nearly all of the topics that we study have public policy implications.  Even if you are not a policy researcher-perhaps your work is more applied, theoretical, or clinical- a great way to get "unstuck" and to think about your work in a new way is to write a policy article.

Policy work can connect to local, state, federal, or even transnational policies. The key is for you to think about the implications of your work within the framework of policy. This is what led colleagues and I to begin to do some work around the criminalization of immigration.

Today, do some free writing about the policy implications of your work. Also, do a search in google scholar on your topic, and add the words "law" and "policy" to your searches. See what you find.

Stress

How much stress and pressure must we have to succeed? How much, and of what types, get in our way? It would be nice to have an easy answer to this question, but it is so personal. I hope to work on a model that explores this, but for now, I can say that each of us must explore our own expectations, our own internal machinations that push us toward success, and those that seem to inhibit us.

Perhaps some work for many of us in the new year.

Happy New Year

I wanted to wish all of you a healthy, productive and writing-filled 2013. May your writing this year transport you to places, internal and external, that you never dreamed possible.