In Episode 260, Christine Tulley, President and Executive Writing Coach at Defend, Publish & Lead, emphasizes the importance of celebrating writing wins as the holiday season approaches, arguing that CVs often function more as stress-inducing evaluation documents than celebratory records of accomplishments.
She demonstrates her approach using Penzu (a free digital writing journal that she loves but is not a sponsor), walking through how she reviews her Fall 2025 Semester Writing Project Mix to assess what she actually completed—discovering she finished 3 out of 4 planned projects, including two chapters of her sabbatical book and presentation slides, while her "yucky writing project" remained incomplete. She highlights unexpected wins like her Inside Higher Ed article on who owns faculty writing (co-written with Jennifer Ahern-Dodson) that she had forgotten about from her Summer 2025 plans, reframes the 3 out of 4 completion rate as a success focused on movement and completion rather than perfection, and encourages listeners to celebrate broader wins beyond publications (such as consistently hitting 8 hours of writing per week) while using this reflection to inform planning for 2026.
She concludes by mentioning her coaching services and the resources available through podcast sponsor Textbook and Academic Authors Association.
Resource Mentioned:
- "Make Faculty Writing Support Easier to Find" (Inside Higher Ed)
DPL Resources
- HOLIDAY COACHING HOURS - All hours at lowest prices for the year
- Tuesday Toolbox - contact [email protected] for subscription information
- Set your writing goals with us! Try us out in a free consultation.
- Check out our current and past workshops at Eventbrite for writing support content. A FREE webinar is posted each month. Missed a workshop? Request a workshop or webinar recording from [email protected]
- Don't forget about the wonderful resources at Textbook and Academic Authors Association. The organization can be found at: https://www.taaonline.net
- New to TAA? Join for just $25 using discount code DP25! You will also receive a copy of the eBook, Guide to Making Time to Write: 100+ Time & Productivity Management Tips for Textbook and Academic Authors.