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Academic leadership often comes with a job description that says “professor” but a reality that says “manager, mentor, conflict resolver, and people leader.” The problem? Most academics receive very little training for that second job.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Jen Heemstra, Chair and Professor of Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis and author of Lab Work to Leadership: A Concise Guide to Thriving in the Science Job You Weren’t Trained For. We discuss what leadership really means in academia, why it’s about more than having a formal title, and how academics can develop the skills they need to lead themselves and others.

Jen shares her journey from doubting she could become a professor to leading a research group and writing a book about academic leadership. She talks about a difficult tenure vote that ultimately freed her from trying to fit into academic culture and helped her focus on her values and the needs of her team.

We explore practical strategies for self-leadership, including time management, meaningful goal-setting, redefining success, and being more intentional about where you direct your energy. Jen also shares advice for navigating difficult conversations and resolving conflict by using the same skills academics use in research.

If you've ever found yourself in a leadership role wondering, “Why didn't anyone train me for this?”, this conversation offers practical strategies and reassurance that you’re not the only one figuring it out as you go.

Support the show

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

The three ways Leslie can help you with coaching & developmental editing:

#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 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! If you're interested, shoot me an email at ...

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Writing a conclusion can feel surprisingly difficult. By the time you reach the end of a book, you just want to be finished! But a conclusion is more than the final chapter—it's your opportunity to help readers understand what your work adds up to and why it matters.

In this episode, I talk with developmental editor Dr. Katherine Wiley about what makes a strong conclusion and why so many scholars struggle to write one. We discuss the difference between summarizing and synthesizing, how to think about scholarly and real-world implications, and why authors shouldn't leave readers to connect the dots on their own. 

Katherine also shares practical strategies for writing stronger conclusions, common mistakes she sees as an editor, and how developmental editors can help authors see the bigger picture in their work.

Rather than treating the conclusion as the finish line, Katherine encourages us to see it as the place where the larger purpose of a book comes into focus.

Connect with Katherine Wiley

Website: https://goldenrodeditorial.com

LinkedIn: Katherine Wiley

Join Scholarly Writing Groups

Support the show

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

The three ways Leslie can help you with coaching & developmental editing:

#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 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! If you're interested, shoot me an email at ...

Send us Fan Mail

Feeling the weight of the upcoming semester? You’re not alone. In this listener's choice episode, I explore why so many academics head into fall already exhausted—and how you can change that. 

I share a simple but powerful three-step approach to reduce your teaching load without sacrificing student learning. You’ll hear why it’s essential to put your own priorities at the center of your semester planning and how a few intentional choices now can save you from burnout later. 

Whether you’re facing large classes, heavy grading, or endless course prep, these strategies will help you reclaim time for your own well-being. If you’ve ever wished you could teach less but still feel good about it, this conversation will show you that it’s not only possible—it’s necessary.

Support the show

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

The three ways Leslie can help you with coaching & developmental editing:

#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 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! If you're interested, shoot me an email at ...

Send us Fan Mail

Academic writing often asks us to keep ourselves out of the story. Memoir asks us to do the opposite.

In this episode, I talk with sociologist and intersex scholar-activist Georgiann Davis about her new book, Five Star White Trash, a research-driven memoir that weaves together personal narrative and sociological analysis. We discuss what it means to write about deeply personal experiences as an academic, how memoir can help readers understand larger social issues, and why storytelling can be a powerful form of scholarship.

Georgiann shares her journey from middle school dropout to professor, the challenges of writing openly about family trauma and identity, and how sociological concepts helped her make sense of her own experiences. We also discuss audience, accessibility, and the possibilities that emerge when scholars move beyond traditional academic genres.

If you've ever wondered what memoir can offer that other forms of academic writing cannot, this conversation provides a thoughtful exploration of the connections between lived experience, research, and public scholarship.

Support the show

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

The three ways Leslie can help you with coaching & developmental editing:

#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 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! If you're interested, shoot me an email at ...

Send us Fan Mail

Many academics postpone thinking seriously about money until they have a "real job." But the habits and systems you build long before that point can have a significant impact on the choices available to you later.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Emily Roberts, founder of Personal Finance for PhDs, about the financial challenges that graduate students and postdocs often face. We discuss scarcity mindset in academia, the relationship between money and personal values, and why financial literacy is about much more than budgeting. Emily also shares practical strategies for building financial awareness, preparing for career transitions, and creating structures that support long-term goals.

This conversation is especially useful if you're trying to make career decisions while navigating the uncertainty of academia today.

Support the show

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

The three ways Leslie can help you with coaching & developmental editing:

#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 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! If you're interested, shoot me an email at ...

Send us Fan Mail

Many academics reach a point where they start wondering whether they can continue doing this work in the same way for the rest of their career. But even when those questions start surfacing, leaving academia can still feel almost impossible to imagine.

In this episode, I talk with my friend Dr. Saher Selod about her transition from tenured professor and department chair to Director of Research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU). We discuss the emotional reality of leaving academia and the fear and uncertainty that often comes with it. We also talk about how burnout, institutional change, and shifting priorities shape one's decision to explore something different.

We also talk about how academic skills translate into policy and nonprofit work, what it means to make research more accessible and publicly impactful, and why many academics underestimate the value of the work they already know how to do. This is a conversation about career transitions, but also about identity and rethinking what meaningful work can look like beyond the academy.

Support the show

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

The three ways Leslie can help you with coaching & developmental editing:

#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 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! If you're interested, shoot me an email at ...

Send us Fan Mail

What helps some academic authors finish their books while others remain stuck for years? In this solo episode, Leslie explores the question she has been pondering throughout her coaching career: what truly creates writing success? 

Drawing on her experience working with hundreds of scholarly authors, she challenges common assumptions about productivity, motivation, and time management. 

Leslie shares a practical framework for understanding why writing progress often stalls and what allows authors to keep moving forward despite busy schedules, competing demands, and inevitable setbacks. If you're working on a book manuscript, this episode offers deep insight and a fresh perspective.

Support the show

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

The three ways Leslie can help you with coaching & developmental editing:

#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 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! If you're interested, shoot me an email at ...

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, I’m joined by Sarah Russo, founder of Page One Media, to talk through how these campaigns work and how they differ from what presses are able to do on their own. We discuss what publicity actually involves, how it connects to marketing and sales, and why the timeline and goals for a campaign matter so much.

We also talk about how to think about platforms in a more expansive way, what authors can do to keep momentum going after publication, and how to approach publicity as part of a longer-term investment in your work.

If you’re navigating book publicity and not sure what to expect or what’s worth investing in, this episode may help you think through those decisions.

Support the show

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

The three ways Leslie can help you with coaching & developmental editing:

#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 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! If you're interested, shoot me an email at ...

Send us Fan Mail

A lot of graduate students—especially those who are first-generation or come from underrepresented backgrounds—enter academia without really knowing how it works behind the scenes. So many expectations are unspoken and timelines can feel fuzzy. A lot of what shapes success is never clearly explained.

In this episode, I’m talking with Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu, the founder of Grad School Femtoring, about how to navigate grad school with more clarity and support. She shares her own journey through academia and how it led her to support first-gen, BIPOC, and non-traditional students in the work she does today.

We talk about:

-the “hidden curriculum” of graduate school

-why so many students struggle with all the ambiguity

-and what faculty and institutions can do differently to better support them.

Yvette also speaks to the importance of values, community, and sustainable ways of working—and how confidence often grows when expectations are clearer and you can actually see your own progress.

So whether you work with graduate students or are in grad school yourself, this conversation will give you a new way to think about support, structure, and what sustainable progress can look like.

Support the show

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

The three ways Leslie can help you with coaching & developmental editing:

#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 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! If you're interested, shoot me an email at ...

Send us Fan Mail

Turning a published article into a book chapter can feel daunting—but it’s also one of the smartest ways to build momentum on your manuscript. In this episode, I walk you through how to repurpose your existing work without simply copying and pasting. You’ll learn how to rethink your article as part of a larger narrative, clarify its role in your book’s overall argument, and shift your writing to engage a broader audience beyond your subfield.

I also address common concerns about self-plagiarism and how much previously published material you can realistically include in a monograph. Finally, I share practical revision strategies—what to cut, what to expand, and how to reshape your structure—so your chapter feels cohesive, compelling, and purposeful.

If you’re ready to stop starting from scratch and make meaningful progress on your book, this episode will give you a clear path forward.

Support the show

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

The three ways Leslie can help you with coaching & developmental editing:

#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 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! If you're interested, shoot me an email at ...