Creating a Satisfying Academic Career with Jo Van Every

Despite the ubiquity of the advice to "find a gap in the literature", I argue that this creates a lot of problems. Problems in your writing. Problems in your process. I propose an alternative more aligned with the values of being part of a community of scholars. For practical tips on dealing with the voices of your harshest critics (in your head), see: https://jovanevery.co.uk/stop-writi...

A short track reassuring you that when you are struggling you can probably shift something to make things easier. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/moving-your-own-goal-posts/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: jovanevery.co.uk/newsletterFollow me on Twitter: twitter.com/JoVanEveryFind my Facebook Page here: facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach Join the Academ...

What if you find it hard to stick with your writing for 2 hours? Or, you feel like devoting a whole day to it ends up with a lot of wasted time? In this track I talk about how to work with how you are to use to the time you have for writing well. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/writing-stamina/ For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/new...

This track is the audio version of the first section of the class Dealing With Reviewer Comments. It includes the chapter "What is Peer Review?" from Peer Review (A Short Guide). It should be followed by the Confidence Playlist. You can register for the class on the Academic Writing Studio website: AcademicWritingStudio.co.uk/dealing-with-reviewer-comments For more advice, support and pe...

It's one thing to be confident about presenting your work. It's another altogether to be able to handle the Q&A, especially if it is critical. In this track I talk about how to manage the whole situation to make the experience helpful. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/confidence-criticism/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: jovanevery.co.uk/news...

If you lack confidence, external validation doesn't help because you question the judgement of whoever compliments your work. In this track, I suggest ways of building your self-confidence and summoning it when needed. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/confidence-within/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: jovanevery.co.uk/newsletterFollow me on Twitter: t...

Part of a short series addressing the issue of long review times, this track focuses on the role of the peer reviewer in the time it takes from submission to decision. Others in this series include "The frustrations of peer review: Why is it taking so long?" and "The role of journal editors in long review times". I returned to the issues raised in "Making Decisions: Peer R...

Part of a short series addressing the issue of long review times, this track focuses on the role of the journal editor in the time it takes from submission to decision. I connect long review times to general issues of workload management. Since first publishing this post, the scope of control journal editors have has changed considerably. Authors still look to you to control this process but I hig...

Part of a short series addressing the issue of long review times, this track discusses reasonable expectations, how and when to ask about what's going on, and what to do if it's taking too long. Other tracks in this series include "The frustrations of peer review: Why is it taking so long?" and "The role of journal editors in long review times". Read the post here: ht...

This track addresses the frustration of dealing with reviewer comments post-peer review. It expands on the conversation with Katherine Firth to propose that we should consider being edited a normal part of the writing process. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/revision-following-peer-review-normal/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter...

My response to the report "Untangling Academic Publishing", written shortly after it was published in 2017. I summarize key points about the history of academic publishing, and propose things to ask yourself as you navigate the politics and ethics of scholarly publishing in the current context. The report itself is open access and available here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.546100 The...

Originally written for my newsletter in conjunction with the launch of Peer Review (A Short Guide), this track explains my position that the editorial function of peer review is its main function. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/peer-review-supports-academic-writing/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: jovanevery.co.uk/newsletterFollow me on Twitter: twitter....

This track (originally published on my website in 2014) focuses on the role of peer review in decision making in academia. It is a companion to "How can reviewer comments improve your work?"Read the post here: For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: jovanevery.co.uk/newsletterFollow me on Twitter: twitter.com/JoVanEveryFind my Facebook Page here: facebook.com/JoVEA...

A companion to "The role of peer review", originally published on my website in 2014, this track focuses on the editorial function of peer review in academic publishing. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/reviewer-comments-improve-your-work/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: jovanevery.co.uk/newsletterFollow me on Twitter: twitter.com/JoVanEveryFind...

A companion to "Managing Manuscript Edits", in this track I discuss how and what to communicate with the editor when you resubmit your manuscript. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/communicating-manuscript-edits/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: jovanevery.co.uk/newsletterFollow me on Twitter: twitter.com/JoVanEveryFind my Facebook Page here: faceb...

My approach to peer review has been influenced by Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process™. In this track I explain one of the key principles, which is about asking questions before offering opinions. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/questions-useful-feedback/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: jovanevery.co.uk/newsletterFollow me on Twitter: twitter.com/...

When you receive feedback on your manuscript, it is important not to get pulled into the reviewer's ideas about what your paper is about. This track talks about the importance of your own vision for the paper, and how to keep that centred as you respond to comments. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/vision-guides-writing/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter...

One of the ways you can question the value of your research in times of crisis or uncertainty is about who you communicate with. Is scholarly publishing valuable right now? In this track I tease out the relationship between your scholarly research and the wider use that might be made of it to help you make decisions about your publishing priorities. This track started as a Twitter thread in respon...

A follow up to "How Scholarship is Evaluated" this post addresses the question of why peer review in processes like hiring, promotion, and funding uses journal or press reputation rather than making their own evaluations of the work you've published. Originally published on my website in 2011.Read the post here: For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: jovaneve...

A companion to "Journals and monographs in academic evaluation processes", this track was originally published in 2011 in response to conversations about the value of academic blogging. In it, I discuss the relationship between the indicators used in evaluation processes (e.g. peer reviewed publications, citations, etc) and the abstract concepts that they are meant to measure. Read the p...

Bringing together posts I've published on my website since 2011 on the topic of peer review, this track is an introduction to the playlist. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/spotlight-on-peer-review/For more content like this, sign up to the monthly newsletter: jovanevery.co.uk/newsletterFollow me on Twitter: twitter.com/JoVanEveryFind my Facebook Page here: facebook.com/JoVEAcadem...

In this track I offer one academics process for managing the reviewer comments with some ideas about modifications you might make, in the spirit of offering an option so you can begin to figure out what might work for you. Click through to the post on my website for links to other posts in which people share their processes. Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/managing-manuscript-edits/Fo...

Recorded in October 2019, A conversation between Jo VanEvery & Katherine Firth on the occasion of the publication of Jo's 4th Short Guide. Learn more about the Short Guides here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/books Katherine blogs at Research Degree Insiders researchinsiders.blog Other things we referred to in this conversation include:  How to Fix Your Academic Writing Trouble: A Practical Gu...

There is a crisis in peer review. That crisis is a symptom of the wider crisis in higher education. In this track I discuss why peer review is worth saving, and making time for. I propose some principles to guide your decisions about this work. The quotation from Eugenia Zaroski is from “Holding Patterns: On Academic Knowledge and Labor" (medium.com/@zugenia/holding-patterns-on-academic-knowl...

The pressures of work, parenting, and whatever else is going on in your life are tough. We're all devoting a certain amount of cognitive and emotional energy to just managing the general state of the world right now. So how do you cope? This track suggests 2 questions that can guide you. Related: If someone's crying, something's got to change jovanevery.co.uk/something-needs-to-chan...