Graduate students and early-stage scholars may be wondering how they can cultivate more productive scholarly habits and frames of mind that will serve them well in their academic careers. From discussing the problem with various scholars, I’ve compiled a short list of critical habits that seem to undergird academic success, which can be defined as […]

TRANSCRIPT: Eric Hermann [EH]: Welcome to Publish Not Perish: Rules of the Road for Academic Writers. I’m happy to be joined today by Lisa Munro. Lisa is a writer and the founder of Merida Collective Writing Project, which provides academic editing, coaching, and online writing classes. Merida also holds writer retreats in exotic locations—more about […]

Robert Lintott is a musicologist living in the Washington D.C. area. Over the years, he’s presented at numerous academic conferences—and won awards for his outstanding conference papers. In this interview, I peek under the hood and ask Robert about his process and approach to crafting conference papers that work. How many conference papers have you […]

TRANSCRIPT: Eric Hermann [EH]: My guest today is Professor Paul Covey, a musicologist who teaches in the Washington D.C. area. Paul has a breadth of experience in academic publishing — he has published articles, been an assistant editor at an academic publisher, and taught graduate courses on research methods — which makes him an ideal […]

When submitting an academic journal article for publication, the abstract can sometimes be an afterthought. As experienced academic writers and editors know, however, the abstract is crucial to an academic paper’s success—whether in the hard sciences, social sciences, or humanities. The abstract is the first step in getting a journal article published, since editors rely […]

How can I get my work published in a peer-reviewed journal? By following a core set of principles, you will greatly increase your chances of getting published—whether you’re working in STEM, social sciences, or the humanities. The five principles, adapted from Wendy Belcher’s book Writing your Journal Article in 12 Weeks, are the following: 1) Make […]

Not everyone has an important dissertation topic, such as “Carbon Nanotubes: The Fight Against Cancer”–or “Egyptian Artifacts in Israel: New Interpretations of Passover”–or “Wagner’s Operas and the Rise of Nazism.” Some topics are more pedantic and of interest mainly to specialists. For instance, “Parisian Keyboard Sonatinas from the 1630s”–or “Two Studies on the Effect of Internal […]

There are many great reasons to buck up and finish your dissertation. Here are a few…