The Researchers' Writing Podcast

Live stream with Dr Anna Clemens and Dr Cathy Mazak There has been a lot of disruption, uncertainty and change in the academic world this year. Whether or not you work in the US, you've probably felt more anxious than usual and you may notice that your writing practice is shifting. My friend and colleague Dr Cathy Mazak and I warmly invite you to join our live conversation on YouTube on how to intentionally adapt your writing to the current season we're in. Instead of writing adding to your stress, we want to show you how writing can be a grounding deep work activity that creates meaning, calm and joy for you as an academic and researcher.

I'm facilitating a 3-day online writing retreat 16-18 July. All details and sign-up hereAll details and sign-up here In this video, I'm talking about why I decided to create a retreat experience for members of the Researchers' Writing Academy and why I'm opening it up for everyone to join. If you are curious about what's going on behind the scenes, interested in joining this or other writing retreats, go watch!

I invited Dr Julie Cwikla on the Researchers' Writing Podcast to give us expert advice on writing winning grants. Julie is a Distinguished Professor of Mathematics Education, the author of "From Good to Great Grant Writing" and a sought-after grant consultant. Julie and I have similar views on scientific writing. We both agree that the story should be at its center so that your grants and papers get read -- and ultimately, get accepted! This is going to be a relaxed conversation. Grab a coffee and join us live. We'd love to have you! And bring your questions! You can ask them live in the chat. If you want to dive deeper into Julie's Great Grantwriting Framework, join us next Tuesday at 11am EDT / 5pm CEST for a free live webinar hosted on Zoom: https://www.juliecwikla.com/webinar

I talk to Yvonne Rimar, who is in charge of our community experience inside the Researchers’ Writing Academy, how important being part of a community is for all of us. In academic circles, there often is little to no focus on community which can make writing very, very lonely and feel harder than it needs to be.A community structured around your writing can support your writing habits, making you show up more frequently to your writing, be more efficient in a writing session and also enjoy it so much more!The Researchers’ Writing Academy community has evolved since starting the program by listening to our members’ needs. It’s now the place for researchers from across the globe to share writing struggles, wins, ask questions, experience high-touch writing accountability and feel supported by one another.We share our favourite parts of the RWA community and why they all play a part in such a successful, shared online experience for all the academics inside the program.Finally, I give some advice to researchers out there who maybe identify as introverted or don’t think community is necessary to their publishing success. Enjoy this episode and maybe look into joining a community near you (the Researchers’ Writing Academy would be glad to have you!) for support with your writing and publishing goals.(01:15) Introducing Yvonne(02:05) Community in academia(04:05) The meaning of community(06:26) The community inside of the Researchers’ Writing Academy (RWA)(10:50) What you can gain from an (online) community (26:10) How the community has evolved inside the RWA(32:15) Writing retreats and writing sprints(37:15) Surprises from our community(41:10) What’s important in our community?(41:50) Advice for struggling academicsPodcast host: Anna Clemens, PhDVideo and audio editing: Jason RiveraJoin our free training to learn more about the Researchers’ Writing Academy atresearcherswritingpodcast.com/free.You’ll get tips on how to work with co-authors, manage your writing process, and increase your chances of getting published in top-tier journals.

I talk to Dr Jenny Grant Weinandy, member of the Researchers’ Writing Academy and Assistant Professor in clinical psychology at Ohio University in the United States. Jenny shares that when she joined our academic writing program, she was a new parent, overwhelmed with finishing her PhD and dissertation. She didn’t feel like a writer and would avoid writing tasks but she knew she needed to figure out how to make writing a sustainable part of her work flow in order to be successful not only in her career, but in her family life as well! Now she embraces being a writer and has found a writing process and routine that allows her write and publish articles in a calm and steady way. Inside the Researchers’ Writing Academy she is known as the queen of goal-setting! Jenny also shares some great advice on how she makes time for professional development in her busy schedule and how she manages to stick with programs she bought. I hope you’ll enjoy this episode as much as I did!Timestamps:(01:20) Introducing Dr Jenny Grant Weinandy(06:45) Jenny’s motivations for joining the Researchers’ Writing Academy (RWA)(11:05) What has changed for Jenny since joining the RWA(14:45) Jenny’s publishing results after implementing the Journal Publication Formula(18:00) How Jenny decides on which journal to target (21:35) How Jenny found time to engage in the program and implement the Journal Publication Formula(25:10) How Jenny keeps focused on and commited to professional development (32:05) Jenny’s favourite elements of the RWA(37:10) Who Jenny would recommends joining the RWA(39:20) How Jenny uses the Journal Publication Formula with her students Jenny’s Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=Cg5Yc4wAAAAJ&hl=enAn article Jenny published while inside the RWA: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-024-10287-6Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhDVideo and audio editing: Jason RiveraIf you’re interested to join the Researchers’ Writing Academy and learn how to develop a structured writing process to get published in top-tier journals time-efficiently, then I highly recommend watching my free writing training as the first step at: researcherswritingpodcast.com/free.

I’m talking to Jennifer van Alstyne about how to best leverage social media as an academic. If you don’t know what to share on social media except links to just published articles, then my guest Jennifer van Alstyne will have great content ideas for you (spoiler: you can share about your article waaay before it’s published and you can share that link more than once!). And don’t worry, using these strategies doesn’t mean that you have to spend more time on social media. We also talk about a more hidden barrier to why you might be avoiding social media.Here’s what we will cover: (01:25) Introducing Jennifer van Alstyne(05:00) Should academics be on social media?(08:25) How much time and energy should academics invest in social media?(11:25) Cultivating an audience on social media(19:10) How academics can post about their research and papers(26:32) Which social media platform is best for academics(34:35) Optimising your social media feeds (37:05) Utlising hashtags and tags(40:35) Incorporating social media a part of your writing and publishing process (41:50) Accessibility guidelines for social media(44:00) Mindset and feelings about sharing your publication on social media(48:35) Where to find and how to work with JenniferWith her company, The Academic Designer, Jennifer helps professors feel confident showing up online through social media, website design and bio writing. You can find her on social media under the handle @HigherEdPRLink to accessibility guide that Jennifer mentioned: https://www.accessible-social.com/ by social media strategist Alexa Heinrich. Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhDVideo and audio editing: Jason RiveraWant to learn how to develop a structured writing process to get published in top-tier journal time-efficiently? Then check out this free class I recorded:researcherswritingpodcast.com/free

This episode is all about persistent myths about writing scientific research papers and why they aren’t true. I think this is a very important topic because holding one of these wrong beliefs could be what’s keeping you from enjoying writing papers and being good at it. Whether you’re a native or non-native English speaker, or you’ve never used storytelling in your writing, or maybe you’re convinced that writing is slow and frustrating for everyone, join me while I break down these 5 common myths about writing research papers.In this episode, I cover: (02:10) Introducing the myths(03:15) Myth #1: Need to be a native English speaker(07:35) Myth #2: Storytelling covers up holes in your research (10:20) Myth #3: Using fancy and complicated phrases and sentence structures(14:00) Myth #4: It’s enough to hire someone to proof-read and clean up your paper(19:13) Myth #5: Writing just is a slow and frustrating process Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhDVideo and audio editing: Jason Rivera Want to dive deeper? We have a free training on how to write clear, concise, and compelling papers from start to finish using a structured and time-efficient writing process. Head over to researcherswritingpodcast.com/free to save your spot now!

Many academics don’t have to pay for professional development out of pocket. But that is often not advertised. In my experience, there is often a lot more “hidden” funding available than we first think. This podcast episode is about getting funding for a professional development opportunity, for example for taking a writing course or program such as the Researchers’ Writing Academy. Remember that it is in your institution’s interest that you develop your professional skills such as academic writing because you being able to write well and fast will likely translate into publishing a lot of quality papers and having productive academic staff is in your institution’s interest. In other words, paying for a highly effective program is a profitable investment for your employer. You still have to make the ask though! So let me guide you through our proven 5-step process to secure professional development funding from your institution.Timestamps:(01:05) What you should know about professional development funding(03:30) Identifying possible sponsors(05:47) Send an email(08:35) Pitch the professional development funding opportunity in person(12:10) How to make the ask - the pitch template(19:35) Common objections you’ll hear and how to respond(24:00) Follow up by email(25:20) Repeat and get that funding!Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhDVideo and audio editing: Jason RiveraAnd when you are ready to invest into acquiring the skill of writing papers for top-tier journals time-efficiently, then the best first step is to check out my 1-hour free writing training: researcherswritingpodcast.com/free.

In this episode, I’m talking to Sabina Hirshfield, visiting Associate Professor at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and member of the Researchers’ Writing Academy. Sabina has pioneered eHealth and mHealth interventions to improve health outcomes for sexual and gender minority populations. In our interview, Sabina told me that she discovered our academic writing program after a colleague shared our website on social media and that after going through the content, she identified the struggles she was having with writing papers in a timely manner. It was taking her forever for her papers to get written and she felt like she needed to break that!This was such a fun talk with Sabina and we discuss so many topics that concern researchers today: from how continuing to learn and take professional development even after you finish your degree is so essential (but also that it’s okay if it’s fun!), to how academics have a hard time admitting they don’t know how to write well and how a program like the Researchers’ Writing Academy can help you feel less alone in the world of academia! Timestamps:(01:11) Introducing Dr Sabina Hirshfield(07:30) Sabina’s motivations for joining the Researchers’ Writing Academy (RWA)(11:00) How Sabina changed how she collaborates with her co-authors since joining the RWA (14:45) Sabina’s publishing results after implementing the Journal Publication Formula(16:25) How Sabina approached taking the program(18:33) Writing can be enjoyable and learning never stops(23:45) Observing how other academics approach writing and their publishing habits(29:40) Sabina’s favourite elements of the RWA(32:06) Why we both love writing retreats and co-writing sessions(34:20) Why Sabina has referred several colleagues to the RWA (36:00) Feeling unproductive and time management struggles(39:30) Why people stay inside the RWA after their first year(43:52) Listener question: Which verb tense should I use in my paper?Sabina’s Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fy3K49sAAAAJ&hl=enPodcast host: Anna Clemens, PhDVideo and audio editing: Jason RiveraIf you’re interested to join the Researchers’ Writing Academy and learn how to develop a structured writing process to get published in top-tier journals time-efficiently, then I highly recommend watching my free writing training as the first step at: researcherswritingpodcast.com/free.

Discover the power of planning with a unique pen-and-paper method inspired by the Bullet Journal technique. This approach helps you organize your entire academic life in one place, making it easier to manage projects, publications, and tasks. Say goodbye to scattered notes and digital overwhelm! Learn how to create a personalized notebook that suits your research needs, blending structure with the freedom of journaling. Perfect for those who prefer analog methods, this system makes planning both effective and enjoyable.