Are you a student or early career faculty worried about a low publication record? This thread contains my advice for increasing your writing efficiency. I invite anyone to add to it to make it a useful crowd-sourced resource for anyone just starting out! Here goes! 1/x
About me: I had to turn around a slow start w writing productivity. My first pub hit 3 years post grad school in 2003. Yikes. I am now a tenured professor w 191 papers and NIH funding, so this slow start didn't mean I was doomed. You are not doomed either! 2/x
The problem for me wasn't that I didn't have projects to work on. It was 1) I did not have adequate training in manuscript writing and 2) papers were getting stuck in log jams. I will address both. 3/x
In terms of inadequate training, 2 things helped. 1) A peer worked closely with me on manuscript structure, 2) I found studies with similar design and methods in the target journal to use as models--I always start with a model paper. 4/x
I have since composed a manuscript writing guide for my students so they don't feel as lost as I did. Feel free to use it: documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri… 5/x
In terms of log jams, I identified the people and scenarios that caused log jams and got involved in projects that were not held up by those people and scenarios. This way even if some stuff is held up, other stuff is still moving forward. Also... 6/x
I made a list of papers from closest to furthest from readiness to submit. Then I focused on one paper at a time. The alternative is moving multiple papers simultaneously forward by small increments. This slows progress on all of them. 7/x
Another way to prioritize papers is in order of which you have the most control over. If a paper is dependent on multiple busy people it’s likely to move slower. 8/x
If papers get stuck on a mentor's desk, pin them down to a specific time to review it. Even if it’s a month away, this is good info for planning purposes. If your mentor can't read the paper until end of Sept, maybe shift attention in Sept to one that is moving faster. 9/x
If a mentor’s desk is a black hole (ughhhh), find additional writing opportunities outside of him/her. Junior faculty, post docs, and senior grad students are less likely to be black holes (yay!), offer to collaborate on their projects. 10/x
Keep in mind, senior people may prioritize papers differently. For ex, they may need to table all papers that have nothing to do with their next grant application because they need to focus on data that will help make the case for that grant. 11/x
I then found a few eager peers and created a writing group. It worked such that each member took the lead on a writing project with all members assisting on all projects. The result is 5 members=5 papers for everybody in the time it takes one person to write one paper. 12/x
Our writing group met weekly to discuss progress and troubleshoot each paper. It’s ideal if the group has a wide range skills and expertise. @DrKrisSchneider @DrMattWhited were 2 of my awesome writing group members! 13/x
Also: Bring students junior to you into the process to help. Delegate tasks like putting together shell tables, lit review, references, etc to them. This is a great training experience. 14/x
Also: don't be a first author hog. I hit a point where I was the one holding up papers because I wanted to lead more than I could handle. By relinquishing the lead, those papers got out, thankfully. 15/x
Finally, don’t write a paper just to write a paper. Each should grow your research program. Random projects won’t advance your career but could instead make you appear unfocused. The #1 reason to get your work pub'ed in a timely manner is to advance the science. 16/x
Have to credit @DrMollyWaring for adding her brilliance to the manuscript writing guide as well.
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