Goldenrod Editorial & Consulting, LLC

Some good writing advice from my son's first grade teacher! Felix told me that he teacher told him that when you write a story, you need to think about watermelons. She explained that you shouldn't just drop the watermelon and let all of the seeds fall out. He said that would sound like this: "A story about camping would be like: First we went to our campsite. Then we set up the tent. Then we made a fire. Then we ate dinner." Even Felix could see that this wouldn't be the most interesting story. She suggests instead that the students pick one seed and explore that in more detail. Felix might talk about the challenges we faced in making the fire - wet wood, weird newspaper that didn't burn right, my temper in the face of such obstacles - and then narrate how this all played out. I love the idea of identifying the important seeds in our work, teasing them out, and bringing them to life for readers. Photo by 煜翔 肖 on Unsplash

I've been thinking a lot about book workshops lately. These can be wonderful ways to get feedback on your book manuscript, but they often can generate a lot of anxiety for scholars and an overwhelming amount of feedback. Some of this is inevitable, but putting careful thought into planning your workshop can help lead to a more positive experience. Think about your goals for the workshop; consider what timing would be best for you and your book; invite kind, supportive, critical readers; and shape the discussion in ways that will be the most helpful for you. I explore these ideas in my latest blog post: https://lnkd.in/epiC4jMM And I'd love to hear your thoughts on what made a book workshop work for you (or not!). #bookworkshops #academicwriting #facultylife

Are you trying to figure out how to make time for writing at the beginning of the semester? Are you looking for opportunities to connect with other scholars? Would you like some guidance and support from a developmental editor? Then consider joining one of my scholarly writing groups! They start next week (Friday, September 13) and will help you get writing done this semester in a supportive atmosphere. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eknmnRFf I believe that writing can be easier and more fun. Groups like these help that happen! https://lnkd.in/eReYgGwj Also, I still have two deeply discounted spots available for scholars for whom the cost would be a barrier to participation. Please spread the word and learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eknmnRFf #writinggroups #writingtips #academicwriters

Here are some of the things that I’d like to say to frustrated academic writers. I’m talking about the writers who are feeling anxious about their work, who worry that they will not be able to finish their books or question the value of their ideas. I’m talking about the writers who feel like imposters or who feel paralyzed about getting their work done. You can do it: You passed quals. You wrote a dissertation. You got your PhD. Those of you farther along in your careers have published articles and maybe even books. If you have done these things, you can write, you have valuable ideas, and they deserve to be out there in the world. Your writing is likely better than you think. Authors who I work with often tell me that the writing that they are sending me is garbage. It never is! All writing can be improved, but I’ve observed patterns in which academic writers tend to underestimate the strength of their writing and their ideas. You may be doing this too. It’s probably time to send it out. Don’t hold onto revise and resubmits or work on an article for years. It’s scary to send things out, but doing so is how you get writing out into the world. Making time for writing helps you do it. It doesn’t have to be a lot of time (maybe just two 30-minute writing sessions a week). You can get a lot written in a little bit of time. See my full blog post for some ideas on how to do this: https://lnkd.in/eC8RrGbs Surround yourself with people who value you and your writing. As much as you can, try to avoid the people in academia who undermine you or your work or who don’t make you feel seen and appreciated. Seek out those who you enjoy spending time with and who are supportive of your work. Your writing matters in the world and don’t be afraid to say why. Many of the authors who I work with avoid stating the significance of their pieces (I did too!). Try not to do this. Confidently stating the value of your work helps ensure that readers don’t miss it and helps signal to other scholars how they can build upon your work. In the best cases, it helps change how we understand the world. Seek help. If you are feeling anxious, worried, or depressed about your writing, seek out support. This could come in the form of an academic editor or writing coach, but if you are concerned about how your feelings about academia and writing are affecting your mental health, consider therapy. It very much helped me navigate my academic anxiety. See my blog post for a fuller discussion of each of these topics, including strategies that you can employ to enact them. https://lnkd.in/eC8RrGbs And if you’d like some support in your writing as well as a chance to work with other like-minded scholars, consider joining one of my scholarly writing groups (starting in September!). https://lnkd.in/eknmnRFf #writingtips #writinganxiety #academicwriting #facultylife

Last day for EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT! ☀️ Are you anxious about finding time to write this semester? ☀️ Do you find that writing with others helps make writing enjoyable and inspiring? ☀️ Is there a project that you have been avoiding for way too long? ☀️ Would you like some contact and instruction from an experienced developmental editor? If you answered yes to any of these questions, consider joining one of my scholarly writing groups. They begin on September 13 and will help you start your semester's writing off right! See here for more details and to register: https://lnkd.in/eknmnRFf Through 8/20, enter LINKEDIN as the discount code when you register to get 10 percent off!

❤️ What would it mean to love our scholarly writing? To enjoy our writing processes? To not get constantly tangled up in negative emotions surrounding writing? ❤️ In my most recent blog post, I think through how to cultivate some love for our writing. I’m not suggesting that you need to only love your writing. Anxiety, stress, and self-doubt are normal parts of most people’s writing processes (including mine!). But finding ways to emphasize the positive emotions surrounding writing can be powerful and help you have a better overall relationship with your work. I have some suggestions for freewriting prompts to help you dig into what you do like about writing as well as some suggestions about how to further bring out the positive aspects of writing for you. So read on! https://lnkd.in/eneZGC99 As a developmental editor and coach, I deeply believe that scholarly writing can be more pleasurable than it is for so many academic writers. It won’t always be joyful, but it can be happier and more balanced. And, if you’d like to work on nurturing these sorts of emotions with a group, consider enrolling in one of my scholarly writing groups! They start on September 13! Learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/eknmnRFf (Get 10% off with the discount code LINKEDIN!) #writingtips #writinggroups #academicwriting

⭐️ Studies show that writing groups decrease participants’ anxiety, improve their writing output, and help them build meaningful relationships. They also demonstrate that scholarly writers benefit from working in collaborative, non-competitive environments. https://lnkd.in/eReYgGwj ⭐️ Does this sound good to you? Then consider participating in one of my upcoming scholarly writing groups (https://lnkd.in/eknmnRFf)! These six-week long sessions begin on Friday, September 13, and are a great way to center writing at the start of your semester. These groups are premised around the idea that creating in community is powerful and can help writers develop writing strategies and practices that improve their relationships to writing into the future. I very much believe that scholarly writing doesn’t have to be, and shouldn’t be, as hard or anxiety-producing as it often is. These groups help with that. Each session will run for two hours and will consist of introductory discussion and exercises to help you better understand key elements of academic writing, two forty- to forty-five-minute blocks of quiet writing time, and a closing discussion. Activities will include goal setting as well as exercises to help you think through issues of argument, audience, and significance in your project. You’ll also have access to me, an experienced developmental editor, in the chat to help provide guidance and feedback on your work. You can learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/eknmnRFf ⭐️ And register by August 20 and get 10 percent off with the discount code LINKEDIN! ⭐️ #writinggroups #writingsupport #anxietyfreewriting

Faculty writers! I need some help! I'm working to schedule my next round of scholarly writing groups, which will start in mid-September. These groups meet weekly for six weeks and are designed for faculty members or PhDs who are working on some kind of writing. Sessions are two hours and are comprised of quiet writing time as well as discussion and writing-oriented activities. My Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. slot always fills, but I'm having trouble figuring out the best time for the second group. Scholarly writers, would you consider filling out this 2-minute survey (https://lnkd.in/eCbJSBQA) to help me determine what times might work? To thank you for your time, I'll randomly select the name of two of the respondents and send them a book on scholarly writing (of their choice, with my editorial input)! You can fill out the survey here: https://lnkd.in/eCbJSBQA Note that filling out this form in no way commits you to participating in one of these groups! You're just helping me get a sense of faculty availability. Thank you so much for your help! And learn more about these writing groups here: https://lnkd.in/eknmnRFf

How long should your book chapter be? I’ve heard this question from authors a lot in the past month, I think because so many scholarly writers are working hard on their summer writing. Here are some factors to keep in mind as you work to determine chapter length! A chapter should be long enough that it fully develops the argument, supports that argument with evidence and analysis, and helps readers understand how the chapter advances the book’s argument as a whole. Ok, but what about the numbers? A rule of thumb is that readers should be able to read a chapter in one sitting. Otherwise they will risk losing the thread of your argument or not finish the chapter. Most book chapters I work with are between 9,000 and 15,000 words, although 15,000 words is probably getting a bit long for the reading in one sitting rule. I have also read much shorter and much longer book chapters, but this range represents the norm. How quickly readers can get through your chapter also depends on the contents. Is it highly descriptive with engaging examples? That means it can probably be a bit longer. Is it densely theoretical? This likely leads to slower reading so shorter might be better. When figuring out your chapter length, also think about the total word count for your book. Publishers often want books (especially first books) to be under 100,000 words to make them cheaper to sell and more likely to be adopted for teaching. So once you have a sense of how many chapters your book will have you can calculate how long they can be (keeping in mind that introductions and conclusions are generally shorter). Substantive chapters should be roughly equal in length to give them equal weight in the book. I share more expansive discussion of these tips in this blog post! https://lnkd.in/e5hZ8qqA And I’d love to hear other thoughts you have about chapter length or about how you went about determining the length of your book chapters! How long is the chapter you're working on? #writingtips #academicwriting #scholarlywriting

I enjoyed this article by Nathalie Schriefer about the merits of hiring a generalist academic editor. She notes, "generalists can make particularly effective editors. Why? Because they’re not familiar with the content they edit and can easily see what’s missing. That could include a vague abstract, missing context in a literature review or methodology that needs further explanation." There are pros and cons to hiring an editor who is familiar with your subject matter. But it is true that knowing too much can make editors overlook areas that might be unclear for readers who don't have such specific knowledge. When you are deciding whether to work with an editor who overlaps with your subject matter (perhaps having a PhD and conducting research in a similar area) or someone who is less closely related to your work, think about your goals for your book. If you are trying to reach multiple audiences, including students, someone who is a bit more of a generalist could be a good match as they may be more easily able to put on the hat of readers who are less familiar with the topic. That said, specialist editors can often do this too. The trick when hiring editors is to ask them about their background and approaches to editing. And be sure to share your goals for your manuscript and talk about how they can support them. And whether you work with an editor or not, it's great to have multiple readers for your manuscripts. These likely will include specialists whose subject-matter knowledge overlaps with yours, but also invite readers from other disciplines or groups to engage with your work. They will likely have different, but equally valued, insights to more specialist readers. Happy writing and thinking! #academicwriting #academicediting #scholarlyediting