Publish & Flourish: Become a Prolific Scholar

Tara Gray, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and the founding director of the Teaching Academy at New Mexico State University (NMSU). She has published three books, including Publish & Flourish: Become a Prolific Scholar. Tara has been honored at NMSU and nationally with seven awards for teaching or service. She has presented her workshops to more than 5,000 scholars in more than 30 states, and in Guatemala, Mexico, Canada, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Many scholarly writers are educated at the School of Hard Knocks, but it’s not the only school, or even the best. Much is known about how to become a better, more prolific scholar—and any scholar can. Even when you can’t work harder, there are important ways to work smarter. Previous participants who took these steps increased productivity by a factor of three.

Every scholar can become more prolific and these steps will show you how:

• Write 15–30 minutes daily.
• Keep records of writing daily; share your records weekly.
• Write from the first day of your research project.
• Post your thesis on the wall and write to it.
• Organize around key or topic sentences.
• Use your key sentences as an after-the-fact outline.
• Solicit the right feedback from the right colleagues.
• Make efficient use of feedback.

Participants bring a rough draft of their own writing to the workshop and learn a technique for getting meaningful feedback from others. Writing teams are established so that participants can receive ongoing feedback.

Here's what participants had to say after attending a recent workshop by Tara Gray:

“Your methods changed my writing life. For the four years before the workshop, I wrote or revised 44 pages a year, but in the four years after, I wrote or revised 220 pages per year—five times as much!”

“I have adopted the 15 minute model along with other suggestions from Tara Gray. It has been about two weeks and I have hammered out a publication for submission and started the next one.”

“I decided to try these steps on a paper I had been trying to put together for five years. Four weeks later, the paper is out for review.”

“You ignited a passion and a fire under me. Ever since your workshop, I have been working furiously.”

“Awesome! If I put one-quarter of what you said to use, it will increase my productivity exponentially!”

“The best workshop I have attended in 24 years of university teaching. It will result in measurable and real-world change.”

“Your openness about your own struggles as a writer and how you solicit and use response is absolutely inspiring.”

“In all honesty, you probably have provided me with all the tools I need to get tenure and even a full professorship.”

back to top

Two Academic Writing Workshops

Dannelle D. Stevens is a Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Portland State University. Her research and writing interests lie in studying and writing about ways for all educators to be more effective and productive. She has written numerous articles and co-authored four books, including Journal Keeping: How to Use Reflective Writing for Learning, Teaching, Professional Insight and Positive Change and Introduction to Rubrics, An Assessment Tool To Save Grading Time, Convey Effective Feedback, and Promote Student Learning.

Choose from two new academic writing workshops presented by Dannelle D. Stevens, Ph.D., professor of curriculum and instruction at Portland State University, and author of three books, including Journal Keeping: How to Use Reflective Writing for Learning, Teaching, Professional Insight and Positive Change.

Demystify the Language of the ‘Academic Tribe’ and Join the Conversation

This workshop, “Demystify the Language of the ‘Academic Tribe’ and Join the Conversation”, will focus on three key strategies designed to translate the “language of the academic tribe”, such as analyzing text structures and using academic writing templates. Insights from these translations lead to establishing a satisfying writing practice and a prolific publication profile.

“Academic writing has its own set of tacit rules and hidden expectations,” said Stevens. “Faculty members are never taught these rules and yet understanding them is essential on the path to publication.”

Participants will learn the habits of successful academic writers, how to analyze the unique language of academic writing, and how to increase productivity and confidence through strategic action.

Jumpstart Academic Writing Through Reflection and Action

This workshop, “Jumpstart Academic Writing Through Reflection and Action”, will share three idea-generating strategies that can jumpstart your writing and build the fluency needed to be successful.

“Success in academic writing is illusive and undefined,” she said. “Reflection on yourself as a writer unlocks the hidden blocks in your work.”

back to top

Academic Writing From Research to Publication

This workshop offers hands-on practice of the major skills involved in moving research insights from your head to the page and then from the page to the publisher. It is accessible to scholars working on the tenure process, from the first publication to the tenure “clincher.” Specific skills will include finding and scheduling writing time, strategies for staying on schedule, the principles and practice of fast writing, how to efficiently use serial revisions to increase professional presentation, and how to use personal style sheets to identify and repair individual issues while sustaining joy and excitement.

Topics may include:

Workshops can be between three and six hours long, the design depending on the needs and preferences of the participants.

What previous participants have said about the presenters:

"The presenters’ skills are excellent. They are attentive, insightful and approachable. I learned to use more efficient, methodical writing strategies, and the importance of sticking to a schedule."

back to top

Journal Writing and Tenure Binder Workshops

Choose from two different workshops designed to assist authors in their academic authoring efforts and in the process of obtaining tenure.

1) Writing and Publishing Your Scholarly Journal Article

This workshop will provide practical support for publishing in academic venues. Mensah will share her personal strategies, motivations and insights about academic writing, specifically for journal publication as both an author and serving on the editorial review board of three academic journals within the field of science education and as special guest reviewer for journals in the social sciences, including education. Participants will learn how to put a manuscript into "journal submission format" for publication. The presenter will also share with participants how to improve "bad drafts", respond to "reviewer comments", and review a "published work" as examples of the submission to print process.

2) Developing the Tenure Binder

This workshop targets junior faculty members in the preparation for tenure and promotion. The elusive "tenure binder" or "dossier" and the process of obtaining tenure will be explained and discussed. Though institutions differ in their process of appointing tenure and promotion, this workshop will provide participants with information that will assist them in asking the appropriate questions to faculty and department chair at their home institution. Participants will establish a foundation and timeline for tenure and promotion.

What previous participants have said about Felicia's workshops:

"This workshop was informative, practical, and motivational. It provided specific actionable steps to implement many of the tips she provided and demystified the publishing process."

"Her peaceful demeanor and Southern charm put us all at ease. She showed how she put her 'money where her mouth is' by living her own advice. Very applicable to my daily life as a new faculty member."

back to top

Book-worthy: How Smart Academics Write To Get Published

Rachel Toor, Associate Professor of Creative Writing in the MFA program at Eastern Washington University, is a former acquisitions editor at Oxford and Duke University Presses. A cum laude graduate of Yale University, with an MFA from the University of Montana, she is the author of three books, Admissions Confidential: An Insider’s Account of the Elite College Selection Process, The Pig and I, and Personal Record: A Love Affair with Running, and writes a monthly column on issues in writing and publishing for The Chronicle of Higher Education. Her work has appeared in Inside Higher Ed, Glamour, Reader’s Digest, Ploughshares, The LA Times, JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) Running Times, Marathon & Beyond, and Runner’s World.

This workshop is for people who understand that all writers, especially good ones, struggle to be better. Are you a careful writer? Do you care about your sentences? Do you know how to use a semi-colon? Do you sometimes slip into the passive voice and not realize why that can be a problem? Do you use paragraphs to give your reader a break? Do you know how to create a narrative arc? What are the bad habits of academic prose and how can you avoid them to write a book that is publishable?

This workshop will attempt to help you determine:

• If your topic is actually book-worthy (and adapt it if it's not)
• How to write (so that somebody other than your mother will be willing to read you)
• How to approach publishers and what to expect from the process
• What attitudes, behaviors and disciplines are required to write and publish a book

Most academic writers deliver content in a way that fails to keep the reader in mind. This workshop will address, in a way that should not be too painful, how to move through your infatuation—or desperation—to figure out what is worth writing about, how best to present your material, and how to get it published.

Toor’s focus will be on the craft of writing. Who are the good writers in your field? What makes reading their books a pleasure? What tricks and moves do they use that you can adapt for your own work? What are the practices and habits of successful writers?

Toor will also discuss the publishing process, including how to talk to editors at conferences (please do not try to give them copies of your manuscript), how to write query letters, how to respond to reader’s reports, what you need to know about contracts, and the sad fact that your work isn’t finished when you hand in a final manuscript.

What previous participants have said about Rachel's workshops:

“Ms. Toor's presentation was wonderful! Informative. Practical. Thoughtful. I will use her ideas in both my teaching and writing.”

"This was outstanding—love the conversational style and tips on writing lean and engaging our readers."

"This was great! I feel so much better about my writing and my writing style."

"The best parts are the brief 'rules' and examples."

back to top

Writing for Publication

Kenneth Henson a Fulbright Scholar and a National Science Foundation Scholar, has written and co-authored more than 300 national publications. His 50-plus books include five books on writing for publication and two Phi Delta Kappa fastbacks (monographs) on this topic. His biennial survey results have appeared in every other June issue of the Phi Delta Kappan for over 25 years. Henson has given this workshop on some 300 college campuses from coast to coast. Henson, the author of Grant Writing in Higher Education: A Step-by-Step Guide, also offers a workshop on “Writing Grant Proposals”. The 30-plus proposals he has written and contributed to have brought in more than $100 million. His technology proposal was the largest funded by AT&T in 1991. His series of grants with school districts won a top state award in Alabama and a national award in Indiana. Henson has been giving workshops on grant writing for more than 20 years. His latest book Successful Grant Writing for School Leaders (Allyn & Bacon) has just been released. Ken Henson's Writing Workshops Brochure (Grant Writing and Writing for Publication) Download PDF (7.6 mb)

This practical, hands-on workshop is designed to remove the fear that blocks writers. Get the nuts and bolts facts needed to succeed and enjoy writing for publication.

In this workshop you will learn how to:

• Find topics
• Select appropriate journals
• Develop an effective writing style
• Organize articles
• Write query and cover letters
• Design and use questionnaires
• Use journals as blueprints
• Base articles on dissertations and theses
• Avoid the errors that lead to rejection
• Hear the advice of 40 editors
• Increase your acceptance rate by 300 percent.

Here's what participants had to say after attending a recent workshop by Ken Henson:

"I am a seasoned author and did not expect to learn so much."

"I gained the confidence to write!"

"I enjoyed this presentation and feel inspired to go write ... and get published."

"I could listen to him for days. Very helpful. Information was evidence-based and very well presented. Lots of good information and advice that helps me know how to get my work published and how to write."

"Strong and passionate delivery. I learned both what to do and not to do when writing for publication."

"Excellent. A fountain of information! I got real information that can be applied immediately. I was encouraged to get beyond my block and start writing."

"This workshop was filled with excellent tips that would otherwise only be gained through experience and many failures. This was a great jump start."

back to top

Writing Grant Proposals

Kenneth Henson a Fulbright Scholar and a National Science Foundation Scholar, has written and co-authored more than 300 national publications. His 50-plus books include five books on writing for publication and two Phi Delta Kappa fastbacks (monographs) on this topic. His biennial survey results have appeared in every other June issue of the Phi Delta Kappan for over 25 years. Henson has given this workshop on some 300 college campuses from coast to coast. Henson, the author of Grant Writing in Higher Education: A Step-by-Step Guide, also offers a workshop on “Writing Grant Proposals”. The 30-plus proposals he has written and contributed to have brought in more than $100 million. His technology proposal was the largest funded by AT&T in 1991. His series of grants with school districts won a top state award in Alabama and a national award in Indiana. Henson has been giving workshops on grant writing for more than 20 years. His latest book Successful Grant Writing for School Leaders (Allyn & Bacon) has just been released. Ken Henson's Writing Workshops Brochure (Grant Writing and Writing for Publication) Download PDF (7.6 mb)

Learn how to get inside grant proposal evaluators’ heads from an experienced grant writer who has written a string of grants ranging from a few hundred dollars to more than a million dollars each. This workshop is all nuts and bolts: do this and expect these results.

This five- to six-hour workshop will give over 30 tips that can increase your acceptance rate.

You will examine successful proposals and will be shown the specific qualities that made these proposals more attractive than the competition. You will also learn how to:

• Design an irresistable budget.
  
  
• Give your proposals the same test that evaluators use to rank proposals
  
  
• Avoid the mistake that causes the most rejections
  
  
• Identify your own unique circumstances and use these to strengthen your proposals
  
  
• Turn limitations into strengths
  

Bring your ideas and drafts to the workshop for suggestions.

Here's what participants had to say after attending a recent workshop by Ken Henson:

“This workshop was filled with excellent tips that would otherwise only be gained through experience and many failures. This was a great jump start.”

"Superb! Timely information presented in a well-organized and relaxed way."

"Interesting, engaging, and useful!"

back to top

Destination Dissertation: Practical Strategies for Writing the Thesis or Dissertation

Designed for master's and doctoral students, this workshop, by Dr. Sonja Foss, a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado, and Dr. William Waters, an assistant professor of English at the University of Houston-Downtown, facilitates your progress on the journey that is the dissertation or thesis. In the workshop, writing a dissertation or thesis is presented as taking a trip—you are on vacation from normal routine for a fixed amount of time, you discover exciting things and develop new skills, and you know you'll be able to deal with whatever comes your way. The workshop focuses on those places where you tend to get delayed on your dissertation or thesis journey and provides practical and concrete processes for managing potential difficulties with ease. The topics covered in the workshop include:

• Preparing to go: Conceptualizing the dissertation as a trip and learning what qualities to pack to make the journey a more efficient and enjoyable one
• Planning the trip: Discovering the topic through a conceptual conversation that leads to the development of a pre-proposal
• Advice from other travelers: Learning how to manage all that literature and develop a conceptual schema for the literature review through efficient coding and categorizing
• Things to see and do: Coding data efficiently and developing an original and sophisticated explanatory schema from the data
• Useful phrases: Using fast writing and slow revising to make the writing and editing processes efficient and effective
• Avoiding delays and annoyances: Avoiding the incomplete-scholar roles that prevent progress on the thesis or dissertation—roles such as the housekeeper, model employee, patient, and proxy critic

The workshop can be either two or three hours long; the longer workshop allows for more of the topics to be covered.

------------

Other workshops offered by Foss and Waters:

Sharing Results: Crafting an Article

A workshop for professors who want to learn strategies for effectively crafting articles. This workshop provides you with an understanding of concrete, practical steps that produce a high-quality article efficiently. Both new and seasoned scholars will benefit from the innovative strategies presented. The topics covered in the workshop include:

• Conceptualizing a project
• Locating possible journals to target
• Analyzing and "measuring" a target journal
• Coding literature and developing a conceptual schema for the literature review
• Coding data and developing an original schema or theory
• Fast writing and slow revising
• Writing collaboratively
• Common errors to avoid
• Revising and resubmitting
• Enacting the scholar role instead of incomplete-scholar roles

The workshop can be either two or three hours long. The longer workshop allows for more of the topics to be covered.

------------

Individual Coaching to Facilitate Writing Progress

Individual coaching sessions offer you the opportunity for personalized, individual time with two highly effective scholars and coaches. In individual conferences, Dr. Foss and Dr. Waters work individually with graduate students or faculty members to facilitate your progress on your writing project. These sessions take the form of intensive conversations about your project in which you will feel both supported and challenged as you talk through whatever aspect of your thesis, dissertation, book, or article is preventing you from completing your project. Participants discover that our friendly and supportive questions lead to profound insights that transfer into realistic expectations, clear goals, and useful strategies. The coaching sessions help you solve whatever your particular problem is, but typical topics that are covered in the coaching sessions are:

• Conceptualizing a project
• Assessing a project to be sure you have a doable research design
• Coding literature so you can manage massive amounts of literature efficiently
• Developing an original and sophisticated theory from your data
• Overcoming writing blocks
• Managing your time effectively
• Developing strategies for writing regularly

Foss and Waters also offer one or multiple days of coaching sessions to faculty or graduate students. The individual sessions can be 60, 90, or 120 minutes each.

------------

Here's what participants had to say after learning the strategies offered in workshops by Dr. Foss and Dr. Waters:

"This workshop is so well thought out and executed....I felt like the speakers were basically brilliant. I was able to look at my work with new eyes and let go of what was not working. I had not been able to accomplish this on my own."

"The presenter's skills are excellent. They are attentive, insightful and approachable. I learned to use more efficient, methodical writing strategies, and the importance of sticking to a schedule."

"This workshop should be required for all students completing their dissertations. It really could be a class or a 30-day retreat! Both presenters were extremely knowledgeable about the mechanics of writing, writing techniques and analysis. The best feature of the workshop was the supervised writing with step-by-step guides and explanations on the 'how to'. I learned more about how to write than I ever learned in graduate school. Workshops like this one that actually help authors -- real assistance that can be done with skills to walk away with! This was the best use of my time and money -- invaluable!"

"I had never encountered anyone in my academic career that has the breadth of skills and articulation that these two have. They understood my research questions and analysis better than I did. I learned how to code step-by-step, how to write my results section, how to organize a literature review, methods and introduction; basically, how to write a dissertation."

"Sonja and William have thought of everything from what's needed on a day-to-day basis and everything necessary to complete our writing goals. The best features of this workshop are the writing/research techniques and tools. These coupled with the one-on-one guidance were wonderful! I learned how to focus on my writing, organize data, develop a scheme, sketch write so the details can be filled in later. My project is much stronger because of Sonja and William. I would recommend Destination Dissertation to anyone working towards an MA or PhD degree."

"Both Sonja and William are very skillful in their ability to understand, mentor, advise, and communicate! I learned to have a complete/comprehensive picture/outline of my project, an explanatory schema, and the confidence to continue moving forward."

"I stand in awe of Sonja and William's talents and knowledge. They do an outstanding job of breaking down large tasks into manageable chunks. They are also a joy to be around. The process that Sonja and William offer is both accessible and useful. I learned the steps to follow for making sense of my scholarship. Moreover, I learned that I do have something to contribute to my discipline. I AM a scholar!"

back to top