Small yellow flower in the dark earth.

Spring has finally arrived in Upstate New York. The confidence. The audacity. The miracle. Every year.

The Reader's vs the Writer's Needs Welcome to TEA Delivered, the newsletter of The Editorial Ally (TEA)!

The information the reader needs to *understand* an argument differs from what the author needs to *generate* an argument.
Maybe you did a deep dive into farming to generate the argument, but the reader only needs a fraction of that info to understand the argument.
open.substack.com/pub/theedito...

Scrabble tiles that spell TRUST with dried flowers on a white background.

If something is *unique*, then it's fair to assume it's *notable*. Consider instead a more direct phrasing that trusts the reader to understand your point.
For example: Kasey's case is a *unique* one. (2/2)
#AcademicSky #academia #writing #amediting #developmentalediting #lineediting

🧵Confident writers trust the reader.
At the sentence level, "trusting the reader" means removing redundancies designed to direct the reader's interpretation of your ideas.
For example: It is *notable* that Kasey's case is a *unique* one.
Here the writer gives the same information twice. (1/2)

what the stakes of your argument are in that field. And then you need to express those stakes to the reader. (2/2)
#AcademicSky

Many authors worry when their research intersects with a field that they don't know as well as their primary area of study.
1. You don't need to conduct orals-level reading in the new topic.
2. You do need to read enough in the other discipline to understand (1/2)

A writing mentor once called this the "primordial muck" introduction, as in "ever since life crawled out of the primordial muck..."

Vulnerability in Academic Writing Welcome to TEA Delivered, the newsletter of The Editorial Ally (TEA)!

Although scholars rarely talk about vulnerability in academic writing, it is real for many of us.
I can't offer any silver bullets, but I can offer some tools that have helped me, and the comfort of knowing you are not alone, in today's TEA Delivered. #AcademicSky

open.substack.com/pub/theedito...

Archivists are my heroes. Last week I emailed an archive I was at years ago and told them that I wanted to use a still from a film they had in their collection for my book but couldn't remember where in the film it was, so I just described it. They found it, digitized it, and sent it to me.

Katherine sits reading a book.

I was delighted last week when a client's book arrived in the mail. In this case, I edited an early draft of the author's chapter for an edited volume.

For most authors there will be a point (many points?)
when a finished book feels impossible. Keep going! Books do get published!

#AcademicSky

Robin bird sitting on a branch.

Authors often tell me that they don't know what to write in the conclusion; they've already said what they want to say & a summary feels redundant.

Try the format "because THIS (what you have demonstrated in the chapter, article, or book), then THAT (a larger take-away or so what)."

#AcademicSky

We are in the midst of a snow squall. Betsy and Igor just finished lap two. Onward.

I sometimes feel like I Iive three days each day: the get the kids out the door day, my work day, the kids evening activities/dinner/homework day. I have no answers, but I see you!

When to Line Edit: Before or After Peer Review Welcome to TEA Delivered, the newsletter of The Editorial Ally (TEA)!

A meticulous line edit is time consuming (if the author does it) & expensive in money or goodwill (if a professional or friend does it).
Authors often ask me if the manuscript needs to be thoroughly line edited before peer review. Learn more in this TEA Delivered.
open.substack.com/pub/theedito...

It's raining steadily here. Betsy and Igor are on lap three so far this morning. One foot in front of the other, friends.

to Betsy at her driveway and walks himself home. Sleet, rain, snow, or heat they never miss. They remind me that the first step toward success is showing up--consistently--and doing the thing. Writers know what I'm talking about, but wow this idea applies to a lot of life. #AcademicSky #PhDSky (2/2)

Every day at 9:55 am, Betsy--petite and white haired--walks slowly and determinedly past my office window to Igor's house, where he waits, cane in hand at the end of his driveway. For the next hour, they walk the block together before reversing the process: Igor bids farewell (1/2)

75 times... or more 🤪

Lined notebook paper with the words: You don't have to like your research or like your writing today to do "good work" or be a "good scholar." Keep going. The Editorial Ally.

Some days are meh. It's okay. Keep writing. Keep going.

#AcademicSky #PhDSky #academia #writing #amediting

Jim Crow in the Asylum | Emory Center for Digital Scholarship - Manifold Scholarship <h3>Untangling the relationship between race and psychiatry in the American South</h3> There is a complicated history of racism and psychiatric healthcare in the Deep South states of Georgia, Alabama...

I don’t know whether you know this but my book is Open Access and you can read it for free on your kindle via Amazon (where it is the number one health policy download!). Also totally open access with extra resources online at jimcrowintheasylum.com

This morning my friend gave her little girl a 'mobile phone'.
Her little girl (later to me): I've got an app on my phone! It's really good.
Me: You have?
Little girl: Yes. I put maths in and it tells me the answer.
She shows me her phone. It is a calculator.

I want to read that memoir!

History and Medicine - Associate Professor or Professor with Tenure - McMaster University This role is designed for an exceptional scholar whose work bridges humanities-based historical inquiry and contemporary infectious diseases scholarship, with particular emphasis on the history of pla...

Cool opportunity to work at the intersections of climate/environmental history and history of medicine!

History and Medicine – Associate Professor or Professor with Tenure – McMaster University

Apply by March 31st

niche-canada.org/2026/03/05/h...

#envhist #histmed #climhist #cdnhist

Just Say It Welcome to TEA Delivered, the newsletter of The Editorial Ally (TEA)!

Authors often assume that the narrative arc--the twists & turns that the argument takes--should be self-evident to the reader. Spoiler: it's only self-evident to the reader if the author clearly explains it!

Learn more in today's TEA Delivered #AcademicSky #PhDSky

open.substack.com/pub/theedito...

Great post by @goldenrod-ed.bsky.social. I often get asked what to do if you need extra time to submit your manuscript to the acquisitions editor. I also encourage authors to reach out soon, be transparent, and set a mutually agreeable and realistic new deadline.

#AcademicSky

The Ruthless Benevolence of a Great Editor Ann Godoff, who died this week, cared passionately about her writers—and much less about her own ego.

"The essence of editing is ethics; it’s the act of caring for the expression of the thoughts of another as if they were your own."

Book Proposals: A Tool for the Author s3://substack-content/post/187556104/2026-02-24T19-19-33-817Z/137496838/a1a3c7dc392834b847f84639dcf147d3eb7c9fe8

"Writing book proposals may not be *fun* for authors, but recognizing proposals as a tool for the author may make the project feel less like a hurdle to complete & more like a step toward conceptualizing the book."

Learn more in today's TEA Delivered! #AcademicSky

open.substack.com/pub/theedito...

Bench with inscription: "we will support each other during this difficult time."

I'm holding space for everyone who is researching, writing, & teaching even as they are being told (by some) that their work is not valuable.

Perhaps today we each reach out to a person whose work is being actively discouraged & give them a word of encouragement. #Academicsky #amediting #writing

Greetings on this Monday in February, folks. There's a lot going on to make us scared, sad and overwhelmed. It's important to know what's going on of course. It's also important to look after our mental health. Did anyone notice anything silly, interesting, joyful, lovely or simply mundane today? 🙏❤️

It’s impossible to predict these things!!