10 issues that will end your academic writing career

Happy June. Thank you again for subscribing to my Writing Newsletter. Once a month, I am sending you this email with writing tips and updates from the world of my writing course. The following tips will take only a couple of minutes to read.

1. Escape distractions

Academic writers love distractions. Laundry becomes an important chore all of a sudden. So, does chatting with lab mates about your research results. Avoid putting yourself into a situation that lets you get away with not writing.

2. Under-edit your first draft

Academics love a good debate about finding the most appropriate term for something to be crystal clear about their topic. This takes some time though and prevents you from getting words on paper. So, forget about syntax and grammar and just throw up some words on a page. Done. Edit in detail later.

3. Avoid over-iterating the manuscript

You've been there. It's called thesis hell. You keep editing and finding mistakes in your writing. The reality is, though, that you will probably never be completely happy with a manuscript. At some point, make the call and submit. This is why CHI writers love the CHI deadline. It gives them a reason to finish. When submitting to a journal, set yourself a deadline with a colleague that holds you accountable to achieve the same results and actually submit.

4. Prevent procrastination

Yes, sometimes it is not just distractions that keep you from writing your paper. Sometimes, you just keep putting off getting that first manuscript done. You keep wading through data but no words are hitting the paper. The secret here is to just create a daily writing habit. Put yourself in a chair and do not allow yourself to get up until you have 500 words ready. Quality doesn't matter. Get words on paper. 

5. Build your confidence

At the beginning of every academic writing journey is a lack of self-confidence. You don't really know what you are doing or whether you are doing things right. Fun fact, most academics are making the process up as they go. You become more confident over time. Reframe your mindset: confidence is built by writing regularly. Your writing skills will improve as a result.

6. Face the fear of scooping

Yes, some academics get scooped. This is a thing in research. However, it's usually not the end of the world and often it just requires a reframing of your initial idea. I constantly see graduate students afraid of someone having already done what they are doing. The thing is, when you find very closely related work, it allows you to steer the ship of your research away from that tide. The best way to overcome this is to always work on being highly specific about your research question and results. This makes it less susceptible to being scooped.

7. Overcome impostor syndrome

You constantly ask yourself why anyone would believe you with your research results, specifically when you are just starting out as a grad student. However, even the most accomplished academics suffer from impostor syndrome. There is always someone higher up in the food chain who has done more. The goal is not to climb to the top of the mountain but to stay in the village and socialize. Be vulnerable about your fears and you will find an army of supporting academics around the world who are going through the same challenges.

8. Be a consistent writer

If you want to set yourself apart from anyone else doing research, really the only criterion that matters over time is to consistently work on manuscripts. Manage the scope to keep your work-life balance in check, but definitely consider academic collaborations to allow you to stay consistent in your writing even if you have not run your own study for one year.

9. Strategize for publication venues

You are obviously, as part of this newsletter, interested in publishing at the CHI conference, but there are (a) other subcommunities in CHI with their excellent conferences, like CHI PLAY, CSCW, UbiComp, and others, and (b) journals with equally interesting articles but a more forgiving revision process for manuscript submissions. Settle on 1 to 2 venues per year and focus your efforts on those. Being specific is good for your research visibility. No need to submit to every conference out there.

10. Create a time and space for your writing work

I am highly creative at night when everyone is asleep and I have large writing spaces in the house to myself to take my laptop to and write away. This is not everyone's jam. Some people love writing first thing in the morning or in the afternoon. Whatever it is for you, it is important to schedule this as a regular thing in your calendar and turn off everything else on your computer, so you can focus on writing itself. That, more than anything, will get your paper accepted at some point.

Don't worry. A lot of writers are struggling with these issues and it's common to face these challenges as an academic writer.

I wish you good luck on your journey and hope this tip was valuable to you.

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