Academic Writing Amplified

What do I mean by radical change, and how does it happen? I am sharing 10 systems for enacting radical change for your writing, your career, and academic culture as a whole. Womxn prioritizing their chosen career activities, their own needs and their own writing practices over the demands of others is radical. I've talked about the radical change and what it can mean for us as individuals and as a community on the last few episodes of the podcast. On this episode I'm sharing the 10 systems you need in place to help you accomplish those changes. #1: Mission Method To enact change, you need to be able to set intentions, and use tools and strategies to follow through on them. The first system you need helps you get clear on your mission in order to set those intentions. Think purposefully about what you want out of your writing and your career. Draft an academic mission statement that will guide you in keeping the things that are most important at the center of your career. This statement will change over time as you grow as a scholar, but it's the first building block to making any needed change in your career. "The academic mission statement is something that you write and then you continually revise and touch back on… it's not a static thing." #2: Activities Alignment Once you have your mission statement in place, you need to have a system for analyzing your activities to make sure they are aligned. This is a system that helps you filter new opportunities and set up boundaries to make sure you are staying on mission. #3: Freeing Time This is how I refer to time management systems. I look at them in terms of freeing time to use on the most important aspects of your career. In our Navigate program, we use tools like the Ideal Week exercise to help you envision where you can save time and what needs more of your attention. We also make sure you are using systems and repeatable processes to streamline tasks that are taking up more than their fair share of your time. As scholars and thinkers, we need spaciousness in our days and our minds in order to create. Time systems are incredibly important to creating change in your career and preventing burnout. #4: Soaring Systems Soaring systems are my framework for writing systems. When you're soaring during your writing, you are gliding along, supported, upheld, propelled. It feels energized and positive. When you're slogging during your writing, you are dragging, struggling and feel stuck in the mud. I use a combination of soaring sessions, achieved through natural times of energy and focus or co-writing, along with writing springs and retreats to create a comprehensive and vital writing system. Whichever way you set your writing systems up, be sure you are using techniques that are: Consistent: they happen at some kind of regular interval. Sustainable: they are able to be dialed up and dialed down to support the changing demands of your year. Relational: foster a positive relationship between you and your writing rather than dread. #5: The Right Goals Method This is what I call my goal setting system. In order to set meaningful, achievable goals, I urge you to practice regular self reflection so you know what works well for you. We are all different, and the way we set and accomplish goals should reflect that! The things I teach about goal setting involve recognizing the need for different types of goals, setting goals of the correct size and timeline for you, and tracking. #6: Mindset Mastery This might be #6 on this list, but systems for mindset management are incredibly important. Everything else flows from this point. When we talk about mindset in Navigate, we take on the opinions of others that are stuck in your head, Imposter Syndrome, negative feelings about writing, and how thoughts influence behavior. However you choose to handle this system, be sure you don't skip it! #7: Project Prediction Plan This is my system for project management. As an academic, you are a de facto project manager, there is no getting around it. We balance multitudes of projects of all different types, from writing to teaching to service to research to admin. Being able to predict what needed tasks are on the horizon and how fast projects move to completion is a vital tool you need in your tool belt. Make sure you have systems in place to manage all of your projects. #8: Pipeline Propel I also recommend a specific pipeline management system to help you manage your writing projects. This system helps you decide what projects to work on when, diagnose clogs in the pipeline, get rid of projects that are no longer serving you, and publish your best work. #9: One Year Goal-Setting We can only realistically map out about 3 months ahead with a deep level of detail and accuracy. But having a system for mapping your writing projects and goals for the year is a good idea to keep you on track and aligned to your mission statement. #10: Five Year Goal-Setting Using a 5 year goal-setting system helps you create a strategic plan. Choosing a place you want to be in 5 years and then working backwards to see what you'll need to have in place to get there helps you make steady progress. You'll want to come back to these plans with your yearly goal-setting system and adjust accordingly. "We are embracing the idea that we are taking care of ourselves first and our careers first, and that by doing that we will have a better and a greater impact on the world." These are the 10 systems you need in order to enact and maintain the kind of radical change I've been talking about on the podcast! They also happen to be the 10 modules we teach in my Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap course that is open for enrollment TODAY (if you are listening in real time)! You can take these systems and run with them! Learn about them, set them up in a way that works for you. If that sounds completely overwhelming, or you're looking for a leg up in getting them implemented, we'd love to have you join us in Navigate! Learn more about Navigate here. Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page Follow me on Clubhouse: @cathymazak This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode77.

Is your career 90% awesome? Do you spend most of your time doing things that are important for your scholarly work? I can show you how to get there. In my last episode I talked about what radical change in academia looks like. The outcome of that radical change is that we build careers that are 90% awesome. Careers in which we do things we love 90% of the time. When you first wanted to become an academic, you got into it for the act of creation, the making of knowledge that had the potential to change the world. But what happened to this aspiration when it came in contact with reality? Our ruthless academic culture--the one that exploits contingent faculty and graduate students, squeezes tenure-track faculty into more and more teaching and service, and more and more unpaid admin, and more and more minutiae--has led you to believe something I'm not ok with. It led you to believe that you have to suffer to do the scholarly work. I'm here today to tell you the most important message you need to experience radical change in 2021: You don't have to suffer. You're allowed to strive for a career that's 90% awesome. Your career is made up from the activities you do every day. And if you hate most of the things you do every day, your career is going to be 90% awful. Choosing Yourself It is ingrained in us at every turn that time, energy, and money are scarce in academia. These beliefs are enforced by us being underpaid as graduate students, expected to work nights and weekends out of "passion" or because "that's what I had to do when I was a graduate student." Awful. This works out perfectly for institutions because by the time we get tenure-track jobs, we are "just lucky to have a steady job." So, we pretty much tolerate the culture of overwork and the glorification of busy, the toxic colleagues and the "we don't have money for that" messaging because we are so ingrained in scarcity that we feel like we have no choice but to suck it up, buttercup. And still, we spend sleepless nights wondering if our publications and grants are enough to get us tenure or full. "We cannot collectively change academia if we keep believing in awful, in suffering, and in settling." -Cathy Mazak If we've learned anything as academics over the last year, it should be that we need to deeply and profoundly make choices that go in the service of ourselves, because our institutions will not have our back. Academics who choose themselves, and who have put the systems and processes in place to support this deep belief in their own work and worth, are not scared by all the uncertainty around us and the ever-impending crisis in their institutions. That's because they know that what they are building is not dependent on their institutions. What they are building is bigger than that. "The message for all academics, loud and clear, is: choose yourself." -Cathy Mazak Achieving 90% Awesome Achieving this kind of career is not some dreamy, esoteric thing. It is achieved through two things I've talked about in past episodes: Values Systems The values part is easy. You just have to believe that academia should be changed, radically, and that you are worthy of the career you want. Done. The systems part is harder because the systems behind a mission-driven academic career, a career where your scholarly work, not the minutiae of emails and committee meetings, drives your day-to-day routine, are hidden. Most of us know that our advisors got work done, but how they got work done is absolutely still a mystery when we graduate. Or maybe we did see how they got work done, and it was by driving themselves into the ground. But these systems do exist! I've been teaching them (and refining them) for myself for almost 20 years, and for hundreds of other academics for almost five years. You really only need three sets of systems: Time management systems Writing systems Pipeline & planning systems So for all you skeptics out there, if you are onboard with the idea that the values we espouse inside of academia need to change, then all you need to start living out those values is a set of systems that are 100% learnable. I teach these systems inside of Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap, and if you want to be sure to get all the info when I open the doors for enrollment from Tuesday, April 27 to Monday, May 3, join the waitlist here. If you're ready for a radical change in academia, you need to be in this cohort! Get on the Waitlist! Be one of the first 10 to sign up and you'll get a free spot at our retreat! And, if you're thinking about joining the #radicalcohort of Navigate, we want you to know that we're offering a reduced payment plan so that you can get started in the program for $247 (with 8 additional payments of $247 monthly after that). If you'd rather pay in full, Navigate will be at the special lump-payment price of $1997. Pulled in a thousand directions and can't seem to carve out time to write? Download my 10 Ways to Make Time to Write cheat sheet for ideas to implement today! Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page Follow me on Clubhouse: @cathymazak This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode76.

Why do we struggle to find time to write while the academic establishment requires publications in order to maintain or advance our careers? It's time for radical change. Designing your career with intention is a radical idea. Securing your writing at the center of your career is a radical idea. And friends, radical change is what we need in academia! It's time to move away from the scarcity mindset we've been socialized into, and start making decisions from a place of intention instead of a place of fear. To do that, we need to see what needs to change (radically) and then step into our power to make that change. Let's go! Scarcity vs. Intention We are led to believe that there is never enough in academia. And that we are 'on' 24/7. Right off the bat in grad school, there is no time that is off limits. We are urged to find our own funding and told there is no money for anything. This scarcity mindset continues as we move through our careers. The way it manifests: Never saying no. Any project that might lead to publication needs to be pursued, because there are never enough publications. Leaving projects languishing in your pipeline that should be cut, just in case. Overextending yourself in teaching and committee work. "When we live our careers from this place of scarcity, we make fear-based decisions." Designing your career with intention is anti-fear and anti-scarcity by definition. Your decisions are based on the intentions you set, not on fear. In our Navigate program, we start by helping you craft your academic mission statement. Then we move through time management, writing and pipeline management and strategy systems to give you the skills you need to design your intentions around that mission statement. Why It's Radical & How Writing Fits In Your writing is the tool you use to make an impact in your field and to move your career forward. While the publications that come from your writing are an expected part of advancing your career, no one else is checking in with you to make sure you get your writing done. Centering your writing, giving it the spot it needs to have in order to propel your career, is a radical act because you are putting yourself and your needs first. "The fight to center your writing and scholarship is a microcosm of the fight for change, impact, and justice." The radical part is a womxn getting what she wants and needs. Anchoring your writing at the center of your career is focusing on you rather than what everyone else at your institution needs or wants. And friends, that is radical! And it is just what academia needs to drive change on a larger scale. It's time to put writing where it belongs! "Making sure writing gets this prioritized place it deserves in your career is equivalent to making sure you get this prioritized place that you deserve in your career." Are You Ready?? If these ideas resonate with you, and you're ready for some radical change in your own life and career, it might be time for you to join us in Navigate! Enrollment opens on April 27 and we start up in May. We're calling this cohort "The Radical Cohort" because we're seeking to make radical inner change that leads to radical outer change. This means: designing a career with intention, not suffering, feeling calm and collected, and exercising powerful agency over our lives and careers. We'll teach you 10 systems to help you accomplish these radical changes. Be sure to get on the waitlist to be the first to get more information and the chance to sign up! Sign ups will open first to our Momentum members, then to the waitlist, and then to the public, and the first 10 to enroll with get a free spot in our next 2 and a half day virtual retreat! Be sure to get on the waitlist here: https://www.cathymazak.com/navigate-waitlist/ Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page Follow me on Clubhouse: @cathymazak This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode75.

Do you set intentions for your career and have the skills to follow through with them? I'm sharing a little bit about my own story to shed some light on the difference between control and intention. I have a pretty long history with trying to control things. I did my undergrad, with 2 minors, in 3 years. I white-knuckled my way to graduation and I did it through carefully strategizing my next steps, leveraging one course into the next, meticulously placing summer sessions in the mix. What my undergrad experience taught me was that I could do that. I could strategize and control my way to making an outcome occur. And I would do that over and over again throughout my career. This was an invaluable lesson. The choices I make and strategies I employ for my career trajectory don't involve white-knuckled control anymore, but they do involve intention. When I created Navigate, I had been strategically steering my career for almost 20 years. Creating Navigate In Spring of 2017 I launched the first cohort of Navigate. I developed the program as an organized way to create the kind of writing-for-career transformation that I had been helping clients with in one-on-one coaching. I built the original marketing messages of Navigate with those client's phrases in my mind. They talked about being pulled in a thousands directions by their responsibilities, feeling overwhelmed by all the things they have to do and guilty that they were not writing more, that they had let writing "fall to the bottom of the list" but couldn't easily see an alternative. The original promise of the Navigate program was to "help academic womxn write and publish more". But as I kept trying to articulate what the promise of Navigate was, and as I developed the course over the years, the theme I kept returning to was control. When I think about what I want to teach academic womxn to do, what continues to come up for me is "I want to teach womxn to control their careers." So, Navigate is about helping your write and publish more, but at its core, Navigate is about controlling your career. Not the white-knuckle kind of control that led me originally down this strategic path back in that dorm at IU in 1993, but a deliberate, intentional kind of control. Making choices from a place of confidence instead of fear. Setting intentions to guide you on the career path you are building for yourself, and following through. That's why we start with an academic mission statement and build everything from there. "Navigate matches intention-setting with the actual skills and strategies it takes to realize those intentions." -Cathy Mazak Coming Soon The waitlist for my next Navigate class is coming soon! Be sure to get on the waitlist, and when you sign up you'll get some great bonuses (I don't want to give it all away, but there's keep your ears open for the word "retreat"!). Stay tuned for more information. Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page Follow me on Clubhouse: @cathymazak This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode74.

Does writing keep falling to the bottom of your list? Do you think you need accountability to hold you to your goals? I want to show you why you need community instead. Accountability, or the idea that you need an external person to "hold you" to your goals, is rooted in patriarchy. Entrenched social structures in the culture of academia have given rise to womxn who are not trusted to hold themselves to their own standards and who perhaps do not trust themselves. A lot of womxn who come to my writing programs are looking for accountability at first, and I get it. But I challenge you to explore new ways to get writing done that aren't sending a message to yourself that you are weak, can't hold time for yourself and are not to be trusted with your own work. So what else can we do? We can feminize the concept of accountability in 3 ways. 1. Practice Self-Trust Self-trust is a muscle you strengthen by using it. Practice listening to and relying on your inner voice to know what is right for you alone. Give your own voice more weight than the voices of those outside of you. Relying on an outside entity to force change is unsustainable. Instead, cultivate the ability to trust yourself to know the best way forward. As Alexandra Frazen says in this wonderful article, go with your "hut" (heart + gut). 2. Build Boundaries I've talked about boundaries in many different contexts, and I'm bringing them up again here because they are that important. You must create boundaries around your time in order to have the impact you desire. Remember: the things you spend your time doing in your career are your career. Don't you want writing to be at the top of that list? "How are we holding firm to what is important?" -Cathy Mazak 3. Community The fantastic news is that learning and growth and development don't have to come on your own. When we are in community, we are surrounded by others who have shared experiences and shared values, and that is powerful! A community lifts us up to our goals, rather than holding us accountable. "When you think you need accountability, what you really need is community." -Cathy Mazak If you're ready to get radical and open yourself up to creating growth in your life and the lives of your community, join us in Momentum! Coming soon: pre-enrollment for my Navigate course, helping you to navigate a career of your own design, using 10 systems and powered by writing. All of our Momentum members will get priority sign up and special bonuses, so if you've been thinking about trying Momentum, now is the time! Learn more and sign up here: cathymazak.com/momentum Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page Follow me on Clubhouse: @cathymazak This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode73.

The solitary nature of writing can perpetuate the image of the "typical" professor, a lone (male) figure, doing it all alone. But writing together, as womxn, is a radical act! The image of a typical professor is usually as a lone (male) intellectual, head down, wrestling the big ideas of academia all on his own. And academia perpetuates this vision. We are socialized to be toxically self-reliant. Not a lot of value is placed on asking for help, sharing your wisdom with a community, or making sure the voices of others are heard. There's an unspoken implication that if you aren't "smart enough" to figure it out on your own, maybe you shouldn't be here. Writing itself can encourage the 'lone wolf' academic ideal. After all, it's your brain, your ideas, and the blank page. Even if you're co-writing a piece, it's usually a back and forth kind of collaboration, not an in-person activity. And sometimes all this solitariness can make it difficult to keep dates you set with your writing. So my team and I decided to try an experiment last Spring, and not only has it been a huge success, but it's clarified to me that writing together in community as womxn academics is a radical act. Writing Together is a Radical Act Writing together is a radical idea. Womxn writing together is an even more radical idea, because that act of solidarity, of lifting each other up, of standing together and getting your voice heard in an academic culture that has traditionally devalued you, is powerful. And sharing space with others who are working toward their writing goals multiplies the energy, focus, and investment of everyone involved. Our experiment progressed from one scheduled Zoom co-writing time per day to 6 scheduled time slots per day and an always-open room where participants can meet at any time that works for them. Members wanted more connection with their fellow co-writers, so we added Mindset Monday calls, where we give prompts for small groups to discuss to help propel them into their weeks. We call the program Momentum, and we want you to experience it for yourself! Join Us in Momentum! Jump into Momentum , pick your 1 or 2 co-writing sessions, and start experiencing the solidarity and community of many womxn writing together at the same time. It's $27/month to join, and you can cancel anytime. Click here to learn more and come join us! Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page Follow me on Clubhouse: @cathymazak This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode72.

Have you ever struggled with where to publish your interdisciplinary qualitative work? Have you received feedback questioning the rigor of your research or your ability to express it? My guest on this episode is Maira Quintanilha, creator of Qualitative Research Blueprint. Whatever your struggles, questions, or curiosities about qualitative research, Maira has got you covered. She shares her own qualitative research journey, what prompted her to create Qualitative Research Blueprint, and why she thinks this kind of research is especially important. Key points discussed: Maira's journey with qualitative research: from having it assigned to her as a grad student, to flourishing with an excellent mentor in her PhD program [3:00] Learning by doing [5:00] First attempts at publication, and how feedback shaped her work [9:30] Submitting work that might not be perfect in order to be open to new perspectives [11:30] Embracing discomfort in the review process in order to learn and move forward [14:00] The important role of qualitative research in health sciences [18:30] How qualitative research helps us understand the 'why' of people's choices and behaviors [19:00] Using the COREQ checklist and how she came to see it as a helpful tool for developing whole researchers [22:00] Using rigor to gain confidence, and Maira's vision for qualitative researchers [24:00] Embracing methodologies, finding the right audience, and understanding what you can control [29:00] Who is right for Qualitative Research Blueprint and how it can help researchers at all stages of their careers [30:00] Key Quotes: "There was a lot of learning by doing." -Maira Quintanilha "Rarely, if ever, things are perfect. But you need to know how to write what you did well." -Maira Quintanilha "Your qualitative research might not be perfect, but don't hold it back from trying to publish." -Maira Quintanilha "It was the process of submitting for review, and getting feedback, that helped me design the next study better." -Cathy Mazak "At the end of the day, qualitative research is really about understanding how people make [it] through the day." -Maira Quintanilha "The more I do [qualitative research], the more comfortable I get with the people that don't believe [in] what I'm doing because I know how powerful what I'm doing is." -Maira Quintanilha "You can take that opportunity, no matter where you are, to make your research stronger." -Maira Quintanilha Be sure to sign up for Qualitative Research Blueprint, open for enrollment now! In this course, you will gain the confidence and skill to achieve your desired outcomes by learning how to design and implement research methodologies, and write rigorous, impactful research. You'll learn everything from data collection and analysis techniques to methods for writing up findings and research theory and strategy. QRB is NOT a one-size-fits-all online course. There is an emphasis on each individual attendee and project, as well as community building and support. Sign up using my link, and you'll get these great bonuses from me: My brand new Writing Sprint Blueprint course, which walks you through how to set up a 2 week writing sprint to make major progress on your writing project. My Funding Formula training, which is usually reserved for Navigate clients only. Learn how to ask your institution for whatever you need, including a letter template and tips. Be sure to use this link to get these great bonuses in addition to Maira's comprehensive qualitative research teaching! Pulled in a thousand directions and can't seem to carve out time to write? Download my 10 Ways to Make Time to Write cheat sheet for ideas to implement today! Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page Follow me on Clubhouse: @cathymazak This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode71.

Has your qualitative research article been rejected or given a painful revise-and-resubmit? Here are the 5 things you should do next. What should you do when your article gets rejected, or you're given a painful revise-and-resubmit? I'm talking specifically about qualitative research here, but the basic principles can be applied for all kinds of research and writing. In episode 9 I lay out the step by step plan I use to process and respond to feedback and writing criticism, so check that out if you haven't yet. 5 Things to Do After Receiving a Rejection or Revise and Resubmit for Your Qualitative Article #1: Think About Fit Some journals might seem like a good fit by topic, but you'll want to delve a little deeper. Who is on the board and what kind of work have they published? What kinds of things has the journal been publishing in the last 2-5 years? Can you tell if the journal has an aversion to qualitative research in general? #2: Analyze Feedback What is the feedback really saying? Is it trying to help you improve your article, or is it expressing a core difference in belief about how knowledge is made (i.e., they don't put stock in qualitative research)? If it's a core difference, you're not going to convince them to accept your work. Better to move on. #3: Dig Into Your Disciplines Qualitative research is highly interdisciplinary in nature. Dig in to the different disciplines your article touches on. Make a list of each one, then look for journals that might be a closer match to one or another of those disciplines. You might need to make some revisions, but consider submitting under one of those other areas. #4: Double Check the Rigor If you listened to episode 69 you know that this was a stumbling block for me with the first article I tried publishing. As qualitative researchers, it is especially important for us to clearly establish the rigor of the research. On my journey, rejection with feedback and 7 years of development as a scholar got me where I needed to go. If you'd like a slightly quicker route, I've got a shortcut for you: My friend Maira Quintanilha's course, Qualitative Research Blueprint is enrolling now. This course is for qualitative researchers who want to hone their research skills as well as anyone looking to add qualitative research to their repertoire. (More info on this fantastic opportunity below.) #5: Try Again If you get a rejection with feedback, be sure to analyze that feedback before you decide what move to make next. Try not to read into a desk rejection with no feedback. Go through the steps outlined above and submit to another publication that might value qualitative research more highly, or be a better disciplinary fit. Pivot, and send it someplace else! "If you feel confident in the qualitative rigor of your work...then it really is best not to spend a lot of time overthinking...when you get rejected." Bonus Step: Hone Your Qualitative Research Skills Confidence in the rigor of your research is so important! If you've received feedback about clearly expressing rigor (like I did), or if you've struggled in any way with your qualitative research, you are going to want to sign up for the Qualitative Research Blueprint course by my friend Maira Quintanilha which is now open for enrollment! In this course, you will gain the confidence and skill to achieve desired impacts with your qualitative research project by learning how to design, implement and write rigorous, impactful research. You'll learn everything from data collection and analysis techniques to methods for writing up findings and research theory and strategy. QRB is NOT a one-size-fits-all online course. There is an emphasis on each individual attendee and project, as well as community building and support. If you sign up using my link, you'll get these great bonuses from me! Fast Action Bonus (must sign up by Friday 3/12/21): my recorded workshop 5 Strategies for More Qualitative Publications First access to my brand new Writing Sprint Blueprint course, which walks you through how to set up a 2 week writing sprint to make major progress on your writing project Access to my Funding Formula training, which is usually reserved for Navigate clients only. Learn how to ask your institution for whatever you need, including letter template and tips. Be sure to use this link to get these great bonuses in addition to Maira's comprehensive qualitative research teaching. Pulled in a thousand directions and can't seem to carve out time to write? Download my 10 Ways to Make Time to Write cheat sheet for ideas to implement today! Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page Follow me on Clubhouse: @cathymazak This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode70.

Are you comparing where you are in your scholarly journey to where others are? Do you feel like your career isn't progressing the way you thought it would? I'm sharing part of my story that I hope will inspire you. If you've ever felt like you just can't get the hang of this writing and publishing thing, this episode is for you. I'm sharing a little bit about my (very long) qualitative research publishing journey to show you that developing as a scholar and as a writer is an ongoing process. I encourage you to see your own journey as a process of growth, and to think twice before you compare where you are on that journey to someone else. My Journey Begins I was a very lucky PhD candidate. I had a wonderful experience. I worked with talented and supportive advisors, I loved my research, and I was even awarded a grant to complete my dissertation. So as I got ready to submit for my first published work after receiving my Phd, I was feeling pretty confident. I pulled a chapter from my dissertation and got to work shaping it into an article. Submission and Rejection I assumed the article would be perfect for Anthropology and Education Quarterly (a top tier journal). As you can probably deduce at this point, the article was rejected. But, I consider myself incredibly lucky in this rejection, because the reviewers gave me some incredibly valuable feedback. They pointed out a lack of rigor in my qualitative research set up and my ability to articulate it. I hadn't realized how different the aims and expression of scholarly articles are to those of a dissertation. I had excellent training in qualitative research methods, but the way I was implementing and articulating those methods needed development. Choices and Growth I worked on revisions to the article for a year, then resubmitted. I got another rejection, with pretty much the same feedback! I still hadn't solved the problem of clearly expressing the rigor of the study design. At this point, I was 8 months pregnant, and I made a choice to set the article aside and move on to other things. First on the list: maternity leave! After I returned from maternity leave, I suffered a near breakdown from burnout and overwhelm, as I've shared about before. As the years passed, I followed new lines of research, secured large grants, and completed new studies; all informed by that feedback I had received from my first article submission. I published other articles, and grew as a scholar. When I did finally go back to that original article, I had a changed perspective. I revised it for a final time and decided that a mid-tier journal called Language Identity and Education was a better fit. It was accepted with very minor revisions, and finally published after it's long and winding journey! To round out the "happy ending", a colleague and I submitted a different article to Anthropology & Education Quarterly several years later which was accepted with minor revisions on the first go. That initial rejection and the invaluable feedback that came with it helped to shape me as a scholar. To give you a visual of my career narrative in terms of that first article, I'll share a timeline below. Don't give up, and try to view your rejections as places to learn and grow. "You're never done developing as a scholar." -Cathy Mazak Timeline: 2005: Awarded Spencer Foundation Grant and completed my dissertation 2006: Landed a tenure track job 2007: Submitted to Anthropology and Education Quarterly for the first time; received rejection and feedback 2008: Worked on revisions 2009: Resubmittal rejected; I chose to put the article in a drawer 2010: Maternity leave for 6 months; after return to work I suffered a near breakdown 2011: Revised again and submitted to a lower tier journal 2012: Article accepted with minor revisions In 2107, I submitted a co-authored article to Anthropology and Education Quarterly and it was accepted with minimal revisions. Friends, that was a very long journey for my dissertation article! But I was growing as a scholar, researcher, and writer the whole time. And the feedback I received from my first rejection was instrumental in my growth. It was all part of the process that brought me to where I am today. If you're feeling discouraged about some aspect of your career, I encourage you to step back, reflect on your journey without judgement, and look for places where setback could be contributing to your growth and development. "The process is the process." -Cathy Mazak Pulled in a thousand directions and can't seem to carve out time to write? Download my 10 Ways to Make Time to Write cheat sheet for ideas to implement today! Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page Follow me on Clubhouse: @cathymazak This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode69.

The calendar changing from 2020 to 2021 isn't what will make this year different. What will make this year different is YOU. 2020 is over! But sadly, there has not been much change in the world in 2021. Circumstances and world events are actually not that different...mutating strains of the virus, insurrection at the US capital...things are definitely still feeling rather "2020-ish" in 2021. So what is going to make a difference in 2021? You are. We just finished a virtual "mini-treat" that we put on for our Navigate program enrollees, and I felt so inspired by the energy and transformations that were happening there. The experience really drove home the idea that you will be the driving force for a different 2021...how you show up, how you view your own career, how you move forward. Here are some of the ways our Phoenix Cohort in the Navigate program illustrated this idea: Making Choices for Their Writing Practice Many of our participants shared their pride and surprise at being able to clear the decks to make this mini-treat happen. As we all know, clearing a whole day to invest in your writing isn't an easy thing. Making choices like this to support your writing practice and your career is a huge step, and it makes a difference! Incorporating Reflective Practices In the mini-treat I use guided co-writing and other reflective practices to help participants approach their careers differently, and see things that might be holding them back. Reflective practice is vital to understanding yourself, and what you really want from your life as an academic. "What are choices that you're making that are keeping things the same?" -Cathy Mazak Controlling the Narrative If 2020 taught us anything, it is that there are many (many) things that are out of our control. But when it comes to our careers, there are a lot of things that are in our control. How do you tell the story of your career? How do you think about it? You control your career narrative. You control what you make of the situations you're in. You control the development of your pipeline, reflective practices, prioritizing your writing. You determine what to focus on next, what steps to take, and how to incorporate everything you've learned up to now into your career trajectory. "You control your narrative." Thank you to all of our Phoenix Cohort attendees and our wonderful coaches for making this mini-treat such an inspiring experience! Pulled in a thousand directions and can't seem to carve out time to write? Download my 10 Ways to Make Time to Write cheat sheet for ideas to implement today! Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode68.