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Today’s podcast episode is inspired by a workshop I recently ran for mid-career faculty at Rutgers University. The topic was the challenges of writing your second book.

They asked me to run this because most book writing advice—and let’s admit, job advice in general—is geared towards helping junior faculty.

This makes sense in a lot of ways because junior scholars have the most to learn about the rules, both written and unwritten, of publishing and of their institutions that will move their careers forward.

But by the time you get tenure, there’s an assumption that you have it all figured out and the mentorship often stops or at least gets pared back significantly.

And if you’ve managed to publish a book during that time, the expectation is that you will definitely be able to do it again. Why wouldn’t you?

Today, I’m going to talk about the reasons why that’s not necessarily the case.

I’ll also give you a reflective exercise to think through ways to make the process of writing your second book more manageable.

And for those of you who are working on your first book and think that this topic might not apply to you, you’ll still get value from taking a sneak peak into what’s in store for you in the future!

For step-by-step support for your writing projects apply for Leslie's Your Words Unleashed Six-Month Program.

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Check out Leslie's website at www.YourWordsUnleashed.com!

The three ways Leslie can help you in 2025:

#1: Six-month Your Words Unleashed signature book writing coaching program. Through 8 hour-long sessions tailored to your own needs and goals, we will pinpoint what’s keeping you stuck. We’ll figure out personalized solutions and strategies so you can create direction and lasting momentum with your book writing. I’ll also provide detailed feedback on your writing throughout

#2: Four-month Career Reset Program for Overwhelmed Academics who want to reconnect with purpose. Over the course of 6 hour-long sessions, we’ll clarify your personal career vision, create space for what matters, overcome internal obstacles to change, and define what success means on your own terms so you can work less and live more.

#3: Group Zoom Workshops that balance personal well-being with writing productivity. Topics include transforming your dissertation into a book; connecting to the deeper purpose of your work; as well as boundary setting.

Check everything out on my website and if you are interested in any of these, please shoot me an email at ...