Thread by @ShontaviaJEsq

In 2008, I took a $90,000 pay cut to enter academia. It was...a transition.

I realized early on that I wanted to be a public scholar and not live or die by teaching evals (they're racist, sexist & flawed) & research submission cycles.

Here's what I've learned.

🧵

Few old heads in the academy understand the public scholar route unless they've done it. If you find a pioneer, learn from them. If you can't, follow them online.

I've spent hours reaching @Wikipedia pages (more Black scholars should have them) & studying career trajectories.

On my YouTube channel, @KanikaTolver has talked about learning from "virtual mentors" by watching their movements online and IRL.

I used this approach to chart a path as a public scholar, because I didn't really know any.

(full episode: )

ALL of my virtual mentors in academia were talking about their scholarship in a more digestible way.

They had a public message.

The @COMPASSscicomm Message Box tool is a great resource for academics translating their research into a public message: comms.msu.edu/_assets/pdfs/C…

Writing for academic journals and writing for/speaking to the public is very different.

I originally didn't get this point very well. Two things helped me. Writing for @ConversationUS and consistent blogging @ shontavia.com.

An editor advised me early on to write at the level of a smart 10th grader.

Using this advice, here's the trajectory of my first 4 public articles (all originally written for
@ConversationUS):

Business Insider 3/2016
⬇️
Raw Story 4/2016
⬇️
TIME 8/2016
⬇️
WaPo 8/2016

I also began taking IP clients again. Mostly with trademark and copyright issues. To @DMConwayDean's point, this made my research and scholarship much better.

https://twitter.com/DMConwayDean/status/1376149207896223746?s=20

I basically stopped going to academic conferences after about 3 years, unless an invitation came from someone I liked. A LOT.

Many would consider this career suicide. I didn't care. I did not enjoy the posturing, the pontification or the bullying masquerading as *debate.*

Re. academic conferences, I also stopped going because it felt like slave labor. Not only do you have to do all of that work for free, you have to PAY to go to the conference.

The costs alone were making me go broke. Apparently it wasn't just me:
insidehighered.com/news/2017/07/2…

Today at 4 pm EST, @IPProfEvans and I (@shontaviajesq there) will be talking about academic entrepreneurship on @joinClubhouse.

If you can't make it but want the audio, register @ listentoblackwomen.com.

You'll get a bunch of free resources as a thank you from us!

Get the audio/transcript replay of this conversation (and a bunch of other resources for Black women wanting to start businesses) at: listentoblackwomen.com