Write to the Top!: How to Become a Prolific Academic

by W. Brad Johnson, Carol A. Mullen

This concise guide to writing is designed to help any academic become not only productive but truly prolific. It is a pithy, no-nonsense, no-excuses guide to maximizing the quality and quantity of scholarly output. Johnson and Mullen" "offer an accessible overview of the art of writing efficiently and effectively, provide a one-stop source for the nuts and bolts of success in getting things written and into print, and advise academics on how to navigate the turbulent waters of professional stress along the way. This is the first book that explicitly summarizes the key elements of prolific productivity in academic settings.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Research, Academia

200 pages, ebook

First published June 12, 2007

About the author

W. Brad Johnson is Professor of psychology in the Department of Leadership, Ethics and Law at the United States Naval Academy, and a Faculty Associate in the Graduate School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. A clinical psychologist and former commissioned officer in the Navy’s Medical Service Corps, Dr. Johnson served at Bethesda Naval Hospital and the Medical Clinic at Pearl Harbor where he was the division head for psychology. He is a recipient of the Johns Hopkins University Teaching Excellence Award, and has received distinguished mentor awards from the National Institutes of Health and the American Psychological Association. Dr. Johnson is the author of numerous publications including 14 books, in the areas of gender in the workplace, mentoring, cross-gender allyship, professional ethics, and counseling. His most recent books include: Good Guys: How Men Can Become Better Allies for Women in the Workplace (Harvard Business Review, 2020, with David Smith), Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women (Harvard Business Review, 2016, with David Smith), The Elements of Mentoring (3rd edition, St. Martin;s Press, with Charles Ridley), and On Being a Mentor (2nd edition, Routledge Press).
wbradjohnson.com
workplaceallies.com

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a complete and uplifting step-by-step look at how to approach not only writing, but also life as an academic. A lot of it is basic goal-setting, time management and mindset advice and how to get published, but I love the way they also take a bigger look at work-life balance. It has many positive messages. Time to go write!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this book does not deal with the substance (i.e., content) of writing, it contains a lot of good insights into the emotions, psychology, and routines associated with writing. It also does an especially good job of catering such advice to faculty members who presumably have other responsibilities and have already had some experiences with writing success and publication.

[Kandachamy Vijayakumaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book meant for researchers and academics. However, the general principles can be applied to all those engaged in writing.

[Marta · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not really helpful for me.

First of, I'm not an American, so the academe system is not really the same as the one spoken of in the "Write to the Top!". Of course, basic, fundamental things are the same, sure, but still.

I truly believe that even though I'd be living and working in the States, this book won't really be helpful.

In a way, you could read any writer's guide of how to be productive, creative and actually do the deed. Nothing really makes this book academic in a way I understand the term.

All the credibility as an academic guide was lost for me when the author duo referenced Wikipedia, which, at least in my European University is considered a very crude, un-academic thing to do.

Sure, I suppose, the authors believe the target group is aware of different methodologies there are in different fields of studies, do know how to make references, create table of contents and actually acquire study data. So, supposedly, all that is actually discussed here is how to sit and write. You just sit there and do it. The only academic thing about that is - one is sitting in one's faculty.

In comparison, Umberto Eco's guide of how to write a thesis paper was way more helpful... Sure, it was more oriented towards the students. Although this book, too, was supposedly meant not only for professors of all kinds, but also for students. Still, rather useless for me.

Also, one could sum up the whole book in the most used words through-out the book:
foci
prolific
idiosyncrasy
synergy
academe and variations of academic
writing.

And that's it.

[Chris Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to read more like a self-help book rather than a text on writing. While there are some good nuggets of information I found it took nearly 100 pages to come across any, and they were often hidden within a mound of superfluous information. This book would be more suitable for a final year undergrad or a masters student, who is preparing for a career in academia. If you are already an academic then I would advise you look elsewhere.

[Beverly]

Not as funny as the other academic writing books. Same old thing: make time to write and stick to it.

[Charles Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful pep talk and useful advice.