Miss Brightside

Hello! I wondered how many fiction writers, novelists, poets etc. we're in this forum, and thought it would be useful to have a thread where we could post announcements of writing residencies, in unis or elsewhere.?

Presenting at a zoom conference tomorrow, have only written half of my presentation, am too bored and too burned out, and probably will pull an all-nighter but haven't freaked out just yet. I have no idea why I am this calm. Just wanted to share this.

In Europe it's very common through mutual agreements between unis and supervisors. There are also some specific Masters and Doctorate degrees that are hosted by more than one unis. There is also the Erasmus Mundus, although I don't know that much about it.

I have a MacBook Air 13' that I bought back in 2014. I have written two Masters theses in this beauty (you have to write two of them in French unis), a novel, dozens of articles/book chapters/conference presentations, and now I am finishing my PhD diss. I take good care of it, especially of its battery, and it never needed anything extra, except for a new charger and the Microsoft Office suite. It's also quite light, so I could walk to the library every day before the successive lockdowns without hurting my back. I highly recommend!

I'm really sorry for that. I've been there many times in the last few months; actually, I had ten rejections in just one year. At the same time, I kept pushing, and writing, and rewriting, and sending out abstracts, so I have managed to secure two publications in peer-reviewed journals. The first one was really hard but, through the process, I have come to realize many things about my writing style. I was desperately trying to include so much information in just one article, that I ended up losing track of what I wanted to say in the first place and, as a result, my work got rejected. I then remembered what my high school English teacher used to say about planning an essay: "Tell them what you're gonna tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you told them". I started applying her advice to every other article I sent out, and the reviewers' comments gradually got better, because my argumentation wasn't overshadowed by an overflow of (not necessarily relevant) information. During my Masters I had picked up the habit of confidently analyzing my arguments in many, many pages since there is no word or page limit in French universities. As a result, the 7.000 word limit set by most journals stressed me out, and I had this strange idea that I needed to present more info, more bibliographical sources, more of everything, in order for my article to be valid. Turns out, I just needed to learn to work in a slightly different way for publications. I am sharing this experience because, after that first rejection, I had the exact same thoughts you do. I kept thinking that I had to drop out and find something else to do. Rejections let everyone down, especially when you work in academia, in an environment that I find from time to time to be overly competitive and nerve-wracking. I hope you do what's best for you but, in any case, don't let a rejection get you down. They are part of life, and of our work. I hope many amazing publications are just down the road for you, and send you my most optimistic vibes.

Update: I still haven't defended, but have come a long way in just one year. In the months to come, I'll have two articles published in peer-reviewed journals, and I'm also working on two chapters for edited volumes. I had another two publications in conference proceedings, and will participate in five more conferences, via Zoom, in the following months. I also had at least ten rejections in just one year. I'm sharing this update because I was super stressed last year, so I want to remind everyone that things can and will get better.

Thank you, @Adelaide9216 ?

Depends. If you're applying to the US, you'll need a 3.5 plus. If you're applying to Europe, it depends. I have come to understand that some institutions in Europe value volunteering, work experience, or internships, although I do not want to generalize. It depends.

I started my PhD two and a half years ago and am expected to defend this Fall, I only have 3 publications so far (conference proceedings, one of them very prestigious). I was due to present part of my work to four conferences but they were cancelled due to COVID-19, if there isn't a second wave they will probably be held sometime in the Fall.

Congratulations on your offers! I would personally choose the second one because, knowing French masters, it will probably include an internship as part of your studies. And since you're interested in working for an international organisation, this will be great hands-on experience.

I'm currently writing my dissertation. Its structure is 3 parts, each consisting of 3 chapters. I started with chapter number 1, then moved on to chapter number 2, and then wrote another version of chapter 1 because I felt it didn't click. I'm now continuing writing one chapter after another. The Intro will be the last thing I'll write.

No, you do not need a PhD in order to publish a scientific book. In some fields, you don't even need a PhD in order to teach; one of my best friends studied at the LSE and many of their professors didn't have a PhD (they did have industry knowledge and expertise).

Story of my life. I did my MA in France and presenting in French scared me to death. I tried to overcome it by rehearsing my presentations in front of a mirror. And when I started speaking in front of the class, I tried to look confident and calm, like I had everything under control even though my accent wasn't very good. It worked for me. So, my advice: don't worry about mispronouncing a word or two, it's normal, it happens even to native speakers. If you don't understand a question, it's better to ask for clarification than try to provide an answer. It's okay. It's amazing enough that you're presenting in a language that's not your mother tongue, you're a polyglot, think about it and smile.?

I can understand your supervisor's take on the matter, but the way the academic job market is changing does not give much of a choice, really. In my opinion you should aim for two or three publications in quality journals. This will take some time, as others have already pointed but send out abstracts; many quality journals have an open-call-for-papers policy all year long.