Make Your Manuscript Work: An Interview with Laura Portwood-Stacer Artwork

Creating a Satisfying Academic Career with Jo Van Every

I help academics build their confidence to do the work they find meaningful and find the time to do it.

This podcast includes a whole range of topics: strategies for protecting your time, writing and editing advice, thoughts on careers and the wider context, preventing overwork and burnout, etc.

Pursuing a scholarly career is tough these days. I firmly believe that your academic career has the potential for joy as well as success.

I also believe that you can pursue your scholarly work in whatever situation you find yourself in, even if it's not ideal. You don't have to, but if it's important to you, you don't have to wait for someone else to create the ideal conditions.

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JoVE

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Creating a Satisfying Academic Career with Jo Van Every

Make Your Manuscript Work: An Interview with Laura Portwood-Stacer

September 12, 2025 • Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide

0:00 | 1:05:35

An interview with Laura Portwood-Stacer about her new book, Make Your Manuscript work.

In March 2025 I wrote about the difficulty of writing a “shitty first draft” (JoVanEvery.co.uk/perfectionism-vs-impatience/) and concluded "If you *accept* that multiple rounds of revision will be required, and even have a process for moving through them, it’s easier to allow yourself to be messy when drafting."

I hope this interview helps you understand something about developing your manuscript from draft to publishable version, and you’ll try out the method Laura teaches in her book.

Read the full interview transcript here: https://jovanevery.co.uk/make-your-manuscript-work/

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