Write to the Top!: How to Become a Prolific Academic

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Write to the Top!: How to Become a Prolific Academic
W. Brad Johnson,Carol A. Mullen | 2007-06-15 00:00:00 | Palgrave Macmillan | 224 | Vocational Guidance

This concise guide to writing is designed to help any academic become not only productive but truly prolific. It is a pithy, no-nonsense, no-excuses guide to maximizing the quality and quantity of scholarly output. Johnson and Mullen offer an accessible overview of the art of writing efficiently and effectively, provide a one-stop source for the nuts and bolts of success in getting things written and into print, and advise academics on how to navigate the turbulent waters of professional stress along the way. This is the first book that explicitly summarizes the key elements of prolific productivity in academic settings.

Reviews
This gem of a book is a real career builder (or saver). I encourage all my best graduate students to read it. If anyone takes it in an unbalanced way, that is their own lookout, because the authors are crystal-clear. They should write a sequel on teaching and advising!
Reviews
While well-intentioned, this book is condescending to its audience. From page 1 they make the statement that if you want to be an academic you have to write and if you don't like to write perhaps you shouldn't be an academic. There are many other jobs you can find which might suit your anti-writing nature, after all. And if you are an academic who does not write, you are depriving the world of your essential duties. You get the idea.



Obviously, it's not that simple. Robert Boice spent decades looking at which attributes makes faculty productive and he found that while writing regularly is obviously critical, the reasons why many academics do not write regularly are not so simple as not being suited for academia or not really "wanting" badly enough to be an academic. Academics make themselves impatient and hold themselves up to perfectionist ideals and rush rush rush, and books like this one that try to psych up the reader only encourage that rushing and perfectionism and pushing.
Reviews
I did not like this book at all. It had lots of tips, many of which would turn you into a total workaholic. Bringing writing on vacation? If you have a non-academic spouse and kids, I am pretty sure they would not appreciate this. Much much better is "How to Write a Lot" by Paul Silvia. This book has much of the same tips, but encourages work/life balance. This book pretends to, but then tells you to work constantly (after your kids are in bed for instance). Get "How to Write a Lot".
Reviews
I wish this book had been writen 25 years ago when I began my academic career at midlife. The practical recommendations on how to become a journal article powerhouse producer are on the money. However, more significantly are the suggestions on how to set goals and to accomplish then in order to become a "University Professor" are even more important in the long run. A top ranked university expects excellence in teaching, research, and service. But the ONLY activity that really counts for tenure and promotion are research articles. Excellent teaching counts for little (teach well enough that your students do not want to run you out of the classroom). Service is less than nothing unless it develops your national and international reputation as a scholar in you field. Faculty mentors will certainly benefit from reading the content more than once.

I also strongly suggest that all chairpersons and Deans should read this book also. The book tells how to nuture the new scholars in order that they actually achieve success in academics. I hope to create a study group around this extrodinary book in order that that all of young faculty members can achieve success both professionally and personally.

William Bailey, University of Arkansas

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