Academic Writing Amplified

How do you keep your writing going during times of upheaval and uncertainty? It’s possible to keep making progress, but you do need to have some tools to draw on.   Uncertainty is a norm in our lives. Some times are rife with upheaval on a large scale, like our current moment in 2020: unknowns and extra stressors due to Covid-19, unrest and striving for change due to a long overdue racial reckoning...it’s an uncertain moment in history. But even in our “normal” lives, uncertainty is a factor. Someone might get sick, you might have a loss in the family or a change in circumstances.    When life takes unpredictable turns, how do you make progress on your writing projects? In a word: systems. You need to have a variety of tools to pull from, that you can apply in different ways at different times, in order to roll with the punches life throws. Here are some of the tools and skills we teach in our programs to help you maintain a practice no matter what is happening in your circumstances.  Parts of a Writing System   Regular Writing Sessions and/or Co-Writing Times   First let me say that a word count goal every day is not what I’m talking about here; that won’t help you when your calendar gets crazy. But planning writing times during your most focused, high energy times and taking time to find accountability through co-writing will.      Writing Sprints   I define writing springs as concentrated, dedicated time devoted to a single project; usually around two weeks. During that time, you buckle down and put all your planned out writing sessions toward one thing. This is a great way to jump back into writing if you’ve had to take a break.      Writing Retreats   If you’re feeling behind, looking ahead and putting a block of time on the calendar can be very helpful. If you can’t go to a professional retreat for whatever reason (hello Covid-19), you can consider renting an AirBnB for a few days, or even doing a retreat at your home. Wherever you are, make sure you create boundaries around your time and space, and put all your effort into writing.      Rewards, Goal-Setting, and Creating Positive Feedback Loops   There are lots of little things you can add to your systems bag of tricks to help you keep your writing on track. In our programs we teach you how to create and implement appropriate rewards, set goals that work for you, and most importantly, how to create a good relationship with your writing through positive feedback loops.    “You don’t have to keep your writing going regardless of what’s going on around you... you don’t have to.” The Importance of Support Getting support is essential during times of uncertainty and upheaval. One of the best ways to do this is by finding communities of like-minded academics who share your goals and values.  I am extremely proud of our online Facebook Group community, where we share the common values of changing academic culture to be equitable, ethical, and open to all kinds of people. Wherever you find your people, make sure you have adequate support in place during challenging times.    “What we really want to do is change the culture of academia to be more equitable, and ethical, and open to all kinds of people.”  Our Programs  If you are looking for deep support, guidance and peer community, consider applying for our year long Amplify program. In this program you’ll be part of a cohort of academic womxn who are learning to center their writing while building the careers they want. Apply for Amplify here.   If you just need a little more accountability and some peer connection, consider our monthly Momentum program: coach-led co-writing and dedicated online community.  Learn more here.    With all of our programs you will have access to clients-only trainings and content, and community support. Join us in Amplify  or Momentum  today! Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page   This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode46.

Have you ever looked at your writing projects through the lens of economics? I’m showing you how, and why you should on this episode of The Academic Womxn Amplified. I love listening to podcasts; they’re one of my favorite ways to give my brain a little break and think about something other than academics for awhile. This summer I stumbled on a great one that I not only found fascinating, but realized could be applied to our writing project management, so I had to share it with you all! The podcast is called Planet Money, and in their summer session they aired an episode about decision-making that might just help you decide where to put your writing resources.    On this episode of The Academic Womxn Amplified, I’m explaining how to apply these economic principles to your project decision-making process. If you’re interested, you can check out the Planet Money podcast here.  Opportunity Costs Any time you decide to do something there is something else you're not doing. The true cost of doing anything is the next best alternative you've got to give up to do it. What could you do in place of this thing you're choosing? That's the opportunity cost.   When choosing to work on one project from the (most likely many) options you have in your pipeline, you're giving up the other projects--making them all take longer, or not get done at all.   AND when you work on email during your tiger time, you're giving up the writing project that you could be moving forward. What's the opportunity cost of working on writing projects that are low-pay off or not aligned with your mission? You're giving up the opportunity to work on the on-mission, high-impact projects.   “Any time you decide to do something, there is something else that you’re not doing. The Cost-Benefit Principle Which of your writing projects has benefits that outweigh the costs? That is the project you should focus on. When doing your cost-benefit analysis, be sure you consider ALL the things that might be beneficial for you:  Getting a job Career advancement Building your academic brand Improving your skill or knowledge  Boosting career satisfaction Giving you joy in your work    The point is, consider all the things that are benefits for you, and weigh them against the costs (including those opportunity costs we talked about).   Sunk Costs Sunk costs are costs that cannot be reversed. When you work on a project, you can't get your time and energy back. Economists tell us not to consider sunk costs when making decisions. Sticking with something that is not working, won’t get your time back, but it will suck up even more of your precious time and resources. So, let those projects that don’t meet your cost-benefit analysis go--even if you've spent hours and hours on the project. You can never get those hours back, but you can save all the time needed to complete it.    This is why we talk about aligning projects with your mission statement and letting go of out-of-alignment projects in our programs. Be aware of those sunk costs! Applications for our Amplify program are now open. You’ll get help implementing these economics principles for your own writing decision-making process, along with a whole host of other benefits, including one-on-one coaching, support from a cohort of like-minded womxn, education and resources.    Don’t miss out on your opportunity to join a cohort; apply for Amplify here.  Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode45.

It’s our one year anniversary at the Academic Womxn Amplified podcast! This calls for a giveaway.   This month the Academic Womxn Amplified podcast is having it’s one year anniversary! Our fans rave about our podcast, which is chock-full of juicy writing advice for academic womxn. We currently have 80,000 lifetime downloads… but that’s not good enough!   To reach more academic womxn who need our message we want to get to 100,000 downloads by September 30th. Sounds like the perfect opportunity for a giveaway!    Enter Cathy’s Podcast to 100K Giveaway, and you could win $500 in prizes.    Our winner will receive: A one-year membership in Momentum ~$297 (Including but not limited to: daily co-writing opportunities, a private and active on-line community, invites to all of our client-only events) My five favorite books for academic writers ~$100 A mystery gift box full of goodies for putting on your own writing retreat at home ~$100   I want to continue to spread my message about changing academic culture and giving academic womxn the tools they need to find success on their terms; you can help.    To enter the giveaway, click here, then get more chances to win by sharing on social and subscribing to the podcast. The giveaway starts on Monday, Sept 7 and entries close Friday, September 11 at midnight.   Thank you for taking this journey with me, and for being the awesome academic womxn that you are!   Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page

Are you believing any of these 5 myths about the tenure prep process? You could be setting yourself up for unneeded stress and worry, so let’s bust those myths.   Now that you’ve landed that tenure track job, it’s essential to cut through the clutter of what you think you have to do, kick guilt and overwhelm to the curb, and create a process that works without the burnout. Consider this my permission to stop believing these 5 myths, and stop acting as if they’re true.   Myth #1: You have to be quiet. Don’t believe the myth that you can’t speak your mind during your tenure process and need to keep your ideas to yourself to avoid retribution or not being thought of as a team player. At a healthy institution, your committee wants to know more about you: your views, your ideas, your style. So speak up!   “There’s this myth that you have to lay low or fly under the radar until you have tenure…”    Myth # 2: You have to work a 60+ hour work week. This myth isn’t relegated to the tenure-track process; many academics believe this one about their careers. It’s not true! To bust this myth, you need to learn project management, put systems in place, get clear on your academic mission, and put writing at the center. In my programs, we teach you all these skills to enable you to fit your work into a 40 hour workweek.    “You can get more done than you think.”   Myth #3: You should say yes to all publication opportunities. This myth stems from the fear based scarcity mentality that is all too common in academia. Many institutions are vague at best about how many publications you need to secure tenure, so it’s tempting to jump at every possible opportunity. But not all publications are created equal! Clogging up your pipeline slows down all your projects, including the ones that really matter. Ignore this myth, and choose wisely.   Myth #4: Everyone has it figured out except for you. Everybody loses when you play the comparison game. Our experiences are all different, and we can’t know what someone else’s experiences and circumstances are really like. Trust me when I say, no one starts out the pre-tenure process with everything figured out.   “The work of pre-tenure is the process of figuring it out.”   Myth #5: It has to suck. We’re programmed to believe that the pre-tenure process has to be a grueling slog, and that we should just put our heads down, accept the overwork mentality, and struggle through. That mindset leads to burnout and collapse, so don’t accept it! In my Navigate and Amplify programs we teach the skills and systems to make pre-tenure manageable, and surround you with like-minded women who aren’t willing to let the process grind them down.    Don’t miss out on Amplify! Don’t let these 5 myths get you down; there’s a different way to approach the pre-tenure process, and we’d love to show you how inside our Amplify program! Find out how to navigate it on your terms, click here to learn more.   Included with the Amplify program: Our whole Navigate: the Writing Roadmap program Mastermind calls with a cohort of 8-10 womxn who complete the year-long program together One-on-one coaching on whatever you need Peer review, using a system created by one of our wonderful coaches Live trainings and a library of resources Writing retreats (virtual, for now) A community of like-minded womxn to support and encourage you!   As of this writing, we have 12 spaces available in 3 cohorts, but we want them filled by 9/30/20, so don’t wait! Click here to apply for Amplify: Faculty Writing Accelerator.  Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode44.

My guest on this episode is Adrianna Santos, passionate advocate for equity for women, immigrants, and marginalized communities. She shares about many mentors and inspirational figures in her life who led her to Latinx and Chicanx studies, processing trauma through performance and embodiment exercises, having babies during dissertation, and coming full circle to teach in her hometown. Yet another example of womxn walking “non-traditional” paths, she is training to become a doula, and is following her desires to learn more about her ancestral history.  Key points discussed: Adrianna’s childhood as a shy, bookworm only child in a large extended family [4:30] Discovering trauma processing through performance and spoken word [8:30] Inspirational figures and the importance of mentors in coming to Chicanx and Latinx studies [14:00] Attending an institution with the first PhD program in her area of study and getting to help shape that department [18:00] Dissertation writing while doing healing work and having her first baby [23:00] Getting back to creativity in writing when it is often about producing a ‘product’ in academia [26:00] Navigating the job market with a toddler and infant twins [30:00] Study surrounding inequities around birth and becoming a certified doula [40:00] Grief, loss and transition in our society [42:00] “Spiritual activism” and what that means to Adrianna [45:00] Key Quotes: “I had an amazing team of…’femtors’, feminist mentors.” -Adrianna Santos “You’re proving that you have all this knowledge, then it doesn’t necessarily translate once you leave the academy.” -Adrianna Santos “It was a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be, but it was a lot more fulfilling than I thought it would be too.” -Adrianna Santos “I feel really lucky, really grateful, to be at a place where I can kind of shape the institution.” -Adrianna Santos “There isn’t a space in society for us to talk about loss…” -Adrianna Santos “I’m really feeling inspired toward transformation and healing.” -Adrianna Santos  Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode43.

When my guest on this episode was young, she was a curious and confident learner. She started higher education in her native Peru, but had to start over in high school when she and her family moved to the United States. Dr. Rocío Caballero Gill shares her story of learning English, following her love of the sciences, and most importantly, keeping her family at the center. We talk about her setbacks and successes, and what she’s doing now with GeoLatinas, a member-driven organization whose mission is to embrace, empower, and inspire Latinas to pursue and thrive in careers in Earth and Planetary Sciences. ​ Key points discussed: Rocío’s childhood in Peru as a curious leader and learner [3:30] Beginning higher education in Peru; choosing from limited options [6:00] Moving to the U.S. after one semester, having to go back to high school and learn English [9:30] Going to community college to stay close to family [14:00] Following each step and connection along her path; getting connected with the USGS [17:00] Feeling like a first generation college student because of language and culture barriers [18:00] Making decisions based on core values, and what she wants most from life and career [24:00] Being diagnosed with a chronic disorder and navigating what that meant for her career [28:00] Doing her dissertation and post-doc work in another state, and while pregnant [34:00] Finding GeoLatinas, and growing it as an organization to give other Latinas female mentors in their fields that she was never able to really find [41:00] Key Quotes: “I’m going to be a learner for life.” -Rocío Caballero Gill “Why do we have to wait? Why don’t we just do it at the same time?” -Rocío Caballero Gill “I had to be intentional.” -Rocío Caballero Gill “What things do I really want? What things can I let go?” -Rocío Caballero Gill “The support system I had was really important.” -Rocío Caballero Gill “Where do I want my energy to go?” -Rocío Caballero Gill “I know what I want in the future, and the question is, how do I make it happen without the fear of not knowing all there is to know…”  -Rocío Caballero Gill   Connect with Dr. Rocío Caballero Gill: Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Website   Connect with GeoLatinas: Website Twitter Instagram  Facebook LinkedIn Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode42.

Dr. Sandra Soto Santiago has come full circle in her career, finding passion and purpose in helping others with similar backgrounds to access higher education. She talks about being a first generation college student and the first in her family to earn graduate degrees. She also shares her personal story, being raised by a single mother who worked hard and emphasized education for a better life for her family; moving from Puerto Rico to the US then back to Puerto Rico; the challenges she faced and people who helped her along the way. We discuss how vital mentors are to youth who come from impoverished and underprivileged backgrounds, and the ways Sandra is now actively engaged in this valuable work. Key points discussed: Growing up as the child of a single mom who struggled to provide for her family and emphasized the need for her kids to get an education [5:00] Moving to the US and the shift from being  top of the class to struggling with English and getting poor grades [8:00] The importance of mentors encouraging her to take AP classes, SATs, and apply for college [10:00] Moving back to Puerto Rico, scraping together money for entrance exams, and going to college a year late [14:00] Realizing she was different; not a lot of other first generation college students who had come from her kind of experiences [21:00] Seeing herself and her story in her research participants [28:00] Mentoring and its importance to first generation college students [32:00] Getting a tenure track teaching job at her alma mater [42:00] Increasing poverty in Puerto Rico and disparities in college access [46:00] The CUA (University Center for Access) program [50:00] Key Quotes: “Being a college professor would give me power, in a good way, to do other things in the classroom.” -Sandra Soto Santiago “When I was...doing the interviews with the return migrants, I kept listening to my story.” -Sandra Soto Santiago “You have to know what you’re worth.” -Sandra Soto Santiago “You should be able to make choices that work for you.” -Sandra Soto Santiago “There are parts of my career that I've decided not to focus on as much.” -Sandra Soto Santiago “The reality is that when you really have to choose between eating and paying for books or paying for tuition, it’s not accessible, it’s not fair.” -Sandra Soto Santiago “I think if there’s one thing you should do, it’s surround yourself with the right people.” -Sandra Soto Santiago   Connect with Sandra Soto Santiago: Facebook The CUA (University Center for Access) Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode41.

Dr. Jane Jones has had the “golden ticket” job, and she will be the first to tell you: it’s not for everyone. She may have landed a tenure track job her first year on the market, but after 3 years she knew it was not for her. Racial inequity, lack of creative freedom and the constraints of academia led her away from the professor life she had always wanted, and toward her own entrepreneurial venture.  As an editor and academic writing coach she is still in the world of academia, but is navigating it solely on her own terms. She exemplifies the truth that academic womxn don’t have to follow a “traditional” path, and is helping to break down barriers around what academics ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ do.  Key points discussed: Jane’s “nerdy” childhood full of books and learning interests led to college and grad school to debate and talk about ideas [4:00] Getting a tenure track job immediately, and discovering it was not for her [10:00] Culture shock of leaving big city culture to teach at a small college that did not adequately address failings in racial equity [13:00] Taking a fellowship with a non-profit organization as a way to ease out of her situation and avoid some of the shock at leaving the academic community [19:30 Deciding to leave academia altogether and starting her own business [21:00] Growing an editing business through hustle and networking [22:30] How academia on the inside differs from what it looks like on the outside [27:00] The lack of creative freedom that can come with the academic life [35:00] The differences in perception between changing careers inside and outside of academia [37:30] Differences between editing and coaching for academic writers [44:00] Realistic timelines for writing an academic book [53:00] Key Quotes: “I didn’t have a lot of mentorship around [things] like what’s the best program… who do you want to work with.” -Jane Jones “...as a sociologist who studies race, I’m even more concerned about this.” -Jane Jones “That was one of the points where I was like, ‘This is not it. This is not what I signed up for…’” -Jane Jones “If I could go somewhere, where would it be?” -Jane Jones “I knew that if I wanted to be an academic I had to go on the job market immediately, because ‘that’s what you do’”. -Jane Jones This idea that… if I do ‘x’ then ‘y’ will never happen is so ingrained in academic culture.” -Cathy Mazak “I don’t want to keep giving my power to other people… If I’m gonna mess things up, I’m going to mess them up.” -Jane Jones “You think you have a lot of freedom, and you don’t.” -Jane Jones “There is a narrative that if you leave academia you must be a failure or a punk in some way.” -Jane Jones “No one teaches you how to do any of this.” -Jane Jones   Connect with Jane Jones: Website Elevate Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode40.

Cara Gormally joins me on this interview episode of the Academic Womxn Amplified podcast to share her journey from someone who hated math and science, to an academic with a passion for science and science education. She talks about the importance of finding joy in our academic pursuits, her interests in how identity impacts learning and her drive for changing the way we do science education.    Cara shares about teaching at the country’s only deaf and hard of hearing college, and how she came through the tenure process while learning the language she teaches in. We also discuss how a change in the basic science knowledge in our society could impact how we approach things like pandemics, and making science concepts more accessible and widely useful by viewing them through a social justice lens. Key point discussed: Cara’s childhood as a bookworm, middle class kid; learning flexibility from moving around a lot [5:30] Discovering a love for science after being required to take philosophy of science courses at her small college [7:00] Finding a perfect match, getting into a great lab, and a positive grad school experience [12:00] Funding as a TA leading her to another area of research: biology education [14:15] Passions for teaching others how to teach and a drive to do research [16:15] Coming to teach at a deaf and hard of hearing college; learning ASL along the way [18:00] Navigating the pre-tenure process in a second language [22:00] The “now what?” period of reflection after receiving tenure [24:00] Scaling back and focusing in when her son was born and beyond [25:00] Collaborations and the importance of who you work with [28:30] The exhaustion of applying for things, and whether it’s worth it [29:30] Transitioning to “Covid learning” [33:00] What she is doing in our current moment to make science and science education more impactful [37:30] Creating a brand new curriculum: science through the lens of social justice [40:00] Finding the parts of academia that work for an individual; choosing service work that is meaningful and useful, finding the sweet spots in an academic career [41:00]   Key Quotes: “It should be about joy.” -Cara Gormally “When you’re not tenure track, you get trampled.” -Cara Gormally “I got really intentional about my research projects.” -Cara Gormally “Applying to things is not always that fruitful.” -Cara Gormally “All of a sudden, we had half the time to do our jobs.” -Cara Gormally “We could be collectively trying to re-imagine and make something much better.” -Cara Gormally “How can we also showcase diverse scientists?” -Cara Gormally “I can’t teach what I’m teaching anymore...we have to do something different.” -Cara Gormally “Academia should be joyful.” -Cathy Mazak Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode39.

Sarah Dobson’s journey has exemplified the idea that it is not our “container” (the university or institution we work for) that matters in impacting the world, but rather our interests, passions, and drive.   In this interview episode of The Academic Womxn Amplified, Sarah shares about her academic path, and how serious illness during her graduate studies pushed her away from pursuing a PhD, and into a variety of arenas where she has been able to have a huge impact in her field of public health. She talks about co-founding and running a non-profit, doing research as a ‘non-academic’, academic adjacent career paths, and entrepreneurship. We also talk about our current moment and the definitive links between systemic racism and poor health outcomes.  Key point discussed: Sarah’s beginnings, searching for the right program and finding her community [4:30] Taking a detour to law school [7:30] Relief and lessons learned from quitting law school [8:30] Differentiating between excelling for the sake of it and excelling at something personally important [10:30] Taking graduate classes in her second language [14:45] Getting extremely sick and taking extended time off during graduate study [15:00] Over-achieving, insecurity, and the need to prove herself [18:30] Her need for stability and a steady job outweighing a desire for her PhD [20:00] Working at a center for educating health professionals and doing research outside of academia [21:00] Ground-breaking contributions and impact in health education throughout Canada and the world [22:00] Co-founding and directing a non-profit [25:30] Building her own company in an ‘academic adjacent’ field [29:30] Consulting on grant-writing and how she helps early career scholars make their grant ideas meaningful to others [32:00] Systemic racism, racist patriarchy in academia, and how to make an impact individually and systemically [34:00] Sarah’s advice for self-reflection and finding your own way to make an impact [41:30]   Key Quotes: “In the end it was such a relief...to recognize that this was not the path for me.” -Sarah Dobson “Not going straight through is a valid path for academia.” -Cathy Mazak “I just needed to take a breath.” -Sarah Dobson “Writing is an act of empathy.” -Sarah Dobson “There are lots of different opportunities to do what you love and to make a difference.” -Sarah Dobson   Links & Resources:   Sarah Dobson's website Free grant-writing workbook to help you work out and pace your next grant application Sarah on Twitter Sarah on Facebook Cite Black Women Connect with me: Website Facebook Group Facebook Page This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode38.