Creating a Satisfying Academic Career with Jo Van Every

An interview with Laura Portwood-Stacer about her new book, Make Your Manuscript work. 

In March 2025 I wrote about the difficulty of writing a “shitty first draft”  (JoVanEvery.co.uk/perfectionism-vs-impatience/) and concluded "If you *accept* that multiple rounds of revision will be required, and even have a process for moving through them, it’s easier to allow yourself to be messy when drafting."

I hope this interview helps you understand something about developing your manuscript from draft to publishable version, and you’ll try out the method Laura teaches in her book.

Read the full interview transcript here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/make-your-manuscript-work/

For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter 

To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ 

Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  

Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  

I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social 

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Another yoga analogy. Sometimes the advanced practice is knowing that what your writing project needs is for you to go for a long walk and think about it...

Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/an-advanced-writing-practice/

For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter 

To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ 

Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  

Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  

I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social 

Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  

Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

The first writing session working on a project you haven't worked on in a while is tough. 

In this track I talk about what kind of work might be involved in that session and how it can overcome the inertia.

Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/coming-back-neglected-project/

For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter 

To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ 

Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  

Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  

I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social 

Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  

Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

• Do you have several writing projects, in various states of completion, that you *could* be working on? 
• Are you overwhelmed by choice? 
• Are you not working on any of them because you're not sure what you *should* do next?

This post is for you.

Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/what-should-you-do-next/

For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter 

To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ 

Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  

Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  

I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social 

Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  

Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

Research and writing are creative processes. There is real value in just embracing the process and trusting that it will lead to something that is good enough to share with others. 

Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/embrace-research-process/

For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter 

To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ 

Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  

Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  

I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social 

Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  

Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

• Have you stopped writing? 
• Would you like writing to be a thing you do again? 

15-minute sessions can be particularly helpful for finding your way back to a practice you have lost. 

Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/back-to-writing/

For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter 

To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ 

Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  

Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  

I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social 

Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  

Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

An excerpt from my Short Guide: Finding Time for your Scholarly Writing, in which I talk about how 15 minutes a day can complement your longer sessions. 

15 minute sessions may not feel satisfying in and of themselves but using them can make your longer sessions more satisfying.

Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/the-power-of-15-mins-a-day/

For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter 

To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ 

Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  

Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  

I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social 

Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  

Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

Another track in which I apply something I learned in yoga class to your writing practice. There can be real benefits to working on small things in small amounts of time.

Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/the-benefits-of-working-small/

For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter 

To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ 

Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  

Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  

I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social 

Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  

Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

If setting goals leads to feeling like a failure, you will be gratified to know that you don't need to set goals to achieve things. 

I propose an alternative in this track.

Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/i-hate-goals/

For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter 

To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ 

Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  

Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  

I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social 

Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  

Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach  

Another track about what 'counts' as writing. Although it doesn't look much like work, doing the intellectual work of figuring out what you are going to write definitely counts. Even if you are sitting in a comfy chair with a cup of tea while you do it. 

Read the post here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/permission-to-think-big-thoughts/

For more advice, support and perspectives like this, sign up to my free monthly newsletter: https://jovanevery.co.uk/newsletter 

To find out how short chunks of time can revolutionise your writing, take the FREE 15 Minute Writing Challenge course: https://jovanevery.co.uk/15-min-writing-challenge/ 

Or join the Academic Writing Studio community: https://academicwritingstudio.co.uk  

Support me on KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/jovanevery  

I'm no longer on Twitter, but I'm on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jovanevery.bsky.social 

Find me on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovanevery/  

Or follow along on Facebook here: https://facebook.com/JoVEAcademicCareerCoach