next »

[ph_free]

biblio- good to hear. I have good material, if I do say so myself. Maybe all the worry is for nothing. I just finished having lunch with a colleague and friend of mine who alerted me that I would never be able to publish as an IS-- then she proceeded to encourage me to find independent scholar status somewhere...More stories?

[missemily]

Question about finding grants to apply for

I'm in a humanities field and now working as an independent scholar. I am presently working on a project by e-mail with a scholar in another country. I would like to find a grant to buy her more time to work on our project (in other words, enable her to reduce her teaching load). She is looking for grants in her country. Meanwhile, I want to look here. I could use some money, but it's really more crucial for her. Any ideas? She is not a U.S. citizen.

[graemeuk]

I'm an "independent scholar" in the UK. I do some university lecturing (on a teaching only contract), I edit an academic monograph series (23 vols and counting), as well as editing a university's linguistics journal, and I do my own research, which is solid (plus what should be a significant book publishing in June). I've also done some overseas university developmental work, most recently with Iraq.

What would be useful for me is some form of honorary (ie unpaid) professorial attachment to a US university. I can't get this in the UK because I'm British and a UK university would be required by law to pay me a salary (and with the endemic cuts that's a long shot). I don't understand enough about the US system to know whether such could be possible in the US. What I have in mind is a situation where a US university can associate itself with my research (and perhaps benefit from grant funding or similar) while I can benefit from an association with that university.

Is anything like this possible in the US? Is there anything as simple as an application process? Who would have the seniority in a US university to make an honorary appointment?

[sikora]

So where do we independent scholars find colleagues to read draft manuscripts?  Or do we coldly submit a manuscript to a journal and hope that the reviewers will help us out?

[womanofproperty]

I belong to a local independent scholars organization, a small nonprofit, and I've been asked to serve on the board.  I of course said yes.

Can't you ask some of your fellow organization members for comments?  Even if they are not in the same field, they can read for coherence & clarity. 

If you can't get any readers, I'd just make sure the ms is as organized & well written as possible, and send it out.

[bibliothecula]

So where do we independent scholars find colleagues to read draft manuscripts?  Or do we coldly submit a manuscript to a journal and hope that the reviewers will help us out?

Can't you ask some of your fellow organization members for comments?  Even if they are not in the same field, they can read for coherence & clarity. 

If you can't get any readers, I'd just make sure the ms is as organized & well written as possible, and send it out.

The Nat'l Coalition of Independent Scholars has organized folks into groups by discipline so that members can ask for others to read and comment. I haven't used it myself, but I'd imagine it'd be helpful. Personally, I ask colleagues from grad school, people I meet at conferences and get to know, etc. But I also send stuff out "cold" and that seems to work well for me too.

[sikora]

I belong to a local independent scholars organization, a small nonprofit, and I've been asked to serve on the board.  I of course said yes.

Can't you ask some of your fellow organization members for comments?  Even if they are not in the same field, they can read for coherence & clarity. 

If you can't get any readers, I'd just make sure the ms is as organized & well written as possible, and send it out.

I love my local independent scholars group, but very few are familiar with academic writing conventions.  In fact, I am the most "disciplined," in the academic sense, of any of the leadership, which is why I've been drafted into a junior leadership position. I am also the youngest (48) person on the board, which gives a clue about the nature of the group.

I'll  try the NCIS. 

[robd_writes]

Hello everyone,

I too would fall into the category of an "independent scholar" right now looking to go back into academia for a full time job teaching and doing research. One way I felt would improve my chances for entry into a Ph.D program (political science) was to begin creating a small collection of publications in academic journals.  I've been successful so far with one article that was published and two more that are now being "reviewed."  My question to anyone out there is, does a longer length of time in review help, hurt, or make no difference as to whether they are successfully published or not?  Since i was not immediately rejected, I was thinking that the longer it takes to review, the more attention they are receiving, and therefore, greater or more favorable care is taking place for my manuscripts.   Or is this nothing more than part of the long process?  As many of you know, things are being done by impersonal electronic submission now.  I did contact by email to inquire but received no response yet.       

[bibliothecula]

Hi robd_writes--

The length of time a journal takes to review really has nothing to do with the consideration they give it or your chances of having it accepted. Some journals just take longer to find readers, give them more time, etc., If it's been more than three months, you may want to drop the editor of the journal a note and ask when you might expect to hear back.

Good luck!

[dellaroux]

So where do we independent scholars find colleagues to read draft manuscripts?  Or do we coldly submit a manuscript to a journal and hope that the reviewers will help us out?

I was just discussing this on another thread.

I had someone agree to help with an article who has petered out on me, and since I really have no leverage to get them to continue, I'm scouting around for another casual/pre-reader before I submit the thing.

I do have a couple of other ideas, just have to follow up...but that's an issue that arises in many different contexts, not just for independent folk.

[yaquix]

I, too, am delighted that this thread was started.  I have been an IS since graduating in 2005.  Though I have held a postdoc, adjunct-ed, and, until the economy took a dive and cancelled my position, held a 1 TT position (which I hated), I have initiated and completed my best writing and research while unemployed.  I did hold a nonacademic $8.00/hr job once where, at the same time, I began writing three books which would eventually be published by the time I got the TT job.  I can use the library facilities of major research universities when needed.  I simply show my ID and tell the librarian to "Google me."  After doing so, I am given full privileges.  Granted, it can be difficult to be an IS because I do not often have ready access to other scholars to ask for advice and to read my work before sending it off to publishers.  But I make do.  I'm now on my 4th book ms and have plans for others.  I should mention that I am disabled and that teaching aggravates my disability.  Thus, I have no interest in teaching...never have had any interest!

[dellaroux]

I decided I did have a bit of leverage, after all--I'm re-editing my article and will send it to the person who's stalled out on looking at it with a note saying something like, "If you're already finished, that's fine, I'll just incorporate what you've done, but if you want to see the newest version..." or something like that (more tactfully put, of course.)

I've also contracted with someone I know from the editors' network I'm on to function as a monthly "accountability partner."  We meet for an hour and a half at a restaurant half-way between our two locations, I pay 60.00 for their time and cover lunch, and I send a mid-month update (just did that yesterday) with the projects coded and summarized briefly.

I also set up a very rudimentary Excel file with each project numbered and described, and ongoing daily cells for me to either "x" or enter notes on what I've done, or fill with yellow if I haven't done anything.

Since I just got two more projects confirmed (one at the end of the month, one three-part-er that will start in October) and may have the chance to turn one of last June's presentations into an article (and am weighing the possibility of submitting an abstract for the annual May meat-market conference upcoming as well) I hope all this gets things moving along and working.

I'm still spending too much time reading Michael Connelly mysteries and checking my emails, but at least it's getting better!

[frenchdoctor]

Come to think of it... Secretweapon, the OP, isn't an independant scholar anymore. I thereby declare her traitor to the cause. Since no trial is obviously needed, let's directly decide a chastisement.

[dellaroux]

Tie a knot in the thread and put parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme in it...no chastisement, maybe just some good wishes!!!

[dellaroux]

Re-Booting to include an interesting (to me, anyway) follow up on the post a couple of numbers above:

My "outside" friend/reader appeared as if by magic at a recent local conference, we talked, and I've forwarded the (newly re-edited) materials with a plan to get together.

I had also made headway on doing the reconstructed performance of the materials I found, and was able to include that as well.

When asked where I thought of submitting it, I told them without gulping about the "higher press" that had sort of invited the piece, and they sounded as if that was a reasonable place to aim for. I felt as if it merited their attention more if I'd waffled or said I wasn't sure.

It would seem to me, as a general rule (based on contacts with this individual and about four others) that one wants to have everything in very good shape, show continued work and interest, not bog the person down with extraneous issues (they're doing this as a favor, they're not your mentor) and be serious enough about the work so as to be able to "aim high" and make a reasonable contribution that they will feel like is worth their time.

I plan to thank the person in the first-footnote-notes, but am also wondering if there's some kind of "authorship" credit that might be appropriate as well (IF--so as not to be too megalomanic--they want their name associated with it at all, which may or may not be the case.)

P'tit pas, p'tit pas....(baby steps, baby steps)