Imagine that you sit down at your desk and turn on your computer. You pick up where you left off without constantly copy editing and move your work forward. You can enjoy the process of creating your argument and inserting the evidence that supports it. You don’t get bogged down with what doesn’t work and you move through your chapter/article enjoying what you’re doing . . . you could even see yourself as happy. When it’s time to submit your work, you do it with confidence and know at the same time that your work is starting the process of publication, no matter their response. And you rest easy knowing this.

I’ve worked with hundreds of academics on their path to tenure and publication and I’ve honed this process down to simple steps that ensure you can get published, you can get tenure, all while having time to enjoy your family, your free time, and have thriving health! 

You are invited to . . .

It will be the weekend of October 17 - 19, 2025.

I will be teaching you my Published and Recognized Scholar System. 

Step 1: Learn how to write articles that don’t get desk rejections if submitted to the right journals

Step 2: Learn how to write easefully

Step 3: Discover how to submit your work to journals and presses confidently

Step 4: How to keep going on this process, regardless of the responses 

Step 5: How to stay confident during the tenure pathway, because you are doing what is required 

I built this system from working with lots of academics, and using my EFT and healing background to work on the working side as well as the emotional side. 

Each morning will start with you having time to write and connect with other scholars. 

Each afternoon, I will dive into the steps of becoming published and recognized with my system. 

You will leave not only having had time to write and get Shit done, but also a full understanding of what it takes to get published in multiple journals, and receive the recognition you need to become tenured. 

This is unlike any ordinary writing retreat. 

Because writing alone might get you no-where.  With the rejections and time it takes to submit - what’s most important is that you understand the process of how to write, and how to submit to become the published and recognized scholar that you DESERVE. 

Retreat Writing Planning Session

Because it can be difficult to know what to work on at a writing retreat, if you sign up by September 15, 2025, I will include one planning session with me so you have a roadmap to knowing exactly what to work on during the retreat so that you can hit the ground running at the retreat. 

You’ll waste no time trying to figure it out, get yourself organized or self-sabotage once you and I come together to create your writing plan session. 

What would it cost you to lose your job because you didn’t meet the publication requirements?

• The shame of not making tenure or promotion

• The disappointment after all of these years

• The need to look for a new job in this insane market

What would it cost you to keep submitting articles that get rejected? 

• Your self esteem

• What you say to yourself when you don’t meet your standards

• That mean, critical voice 

What is it costing you to keep procrastinating on getting your writing done and then feeling the guilt during your precious time with friends and family? 

• Never feeling like you can rest because there’s always work 

• Thinking about work when you should be enjoying a Saturday at the park 

• Missing precious family time because you are working on a Sunday afternoon (after having procrastinated during the week)

In comparison to what all of this is costing, this writing retreat is a steal. 

$500. Full stop. This includes:

• A full weekend to learn how to revise your work systematically;

• The comfort of your own home;

• Colleagues who are in it with you who will encourage you when you hit the wall;

• Reflections about what you need to do to write with joy . . . being happy while you write that you can use after the retreat to earn tenure or promotion to full.

Who is Your Guide?

Dr. Michelle Thompson, Esq. has worked with scholars for 10 years to write for tenure and promotion. Many of her clients over the last years have published numerous books and articles for their tenure and promotion. 

Michelle has an edited volume and an article published in academia and knows how challenging it can be to publish in this industry, yet has had success doing so.

Using the rubric that Wendy Laura Belcher developed, she has worked with academics to successfully publish. Further, she makes sure that she supports scholars with the emotional part of writing. 

This combination creates happy writers.

• If you’re a scholar who needs to publish for tenure and promotion.

• If you’re a scholar who needs to publish for full.

• You want to publish with a system that you can replicate for publication.

• You want to avoid desk rejections of your work.

• You want guidance to create your system.

• You want to write happily after the retreat ends.

• You’re procrastinating.

• You’ve received too many rejections.

Then The Published and Recognized Scholar Retreat is perfect for you.

Once we finish our call discussing the appropriateness of this retreat for you, if you sign up within 24 hours of that call or during that call, we will include one retreat strategy session with Michelle so you know what you’re doing while at The Worthy Scholar Retreat daily. You will hit the ground running once you arrive.

But this is within 24 hours of discussing the retreat with Michelle.

You’ve Got Questions, We’ve Got Answers . . . 

• I’m not sure I can pull off a weekend in the middle of the semester. It’s true, if you have mid-semester assignments for your class, you may be more inclined to stay home and grade. The centrifugal force of grading is strong. But you don’t earn tenure by earning teaching awards. You earn it with publication. There’s nothing like a writing retreat that can make sure that you’re prioritizing your writing work.

• Things are really lean right now . . . I don’t think I can afford this. You are right . . . and we’ll make this much easier for you to do. Payment plans are available. Sometimes your college/university will pay for you to do this out of professional development funds outside of the ones they give you. We can discuss these options and how to make them happen if you would like.

• I’ve done other writing retreats and they didn’t work very well. There are many reasons for this. However, did any of them present to you a system for writing? That the first thing you do is . . . then the next thing? Systems are what makes writing effective, and walking away with one will be really valuable.

• I hate sharing my incomplete writing with others. This is really hard, especially when the feedback we’ve received over time has been with our dissertation committees that were unduly harsh. However, the most successful scholars regularly share their work with others, even when they’re in early states. We will make sure that you are calm enough to do so and that all feedback is nothing but kind.

• I don’t think I need a writing retreat, I just need to be more disciplined. We are so harsh on ourselves as scholars. Yes, discipline is important. And I think what we call discipline is being unsure about the next step, so we sit down to write and the cursor blinks at us rudely. This retreat will help you create the steps you need so you know what to do when you’re sitting down to write and you will be disciplined because your happy and focused while writing. 

• Yeah, but what will I walk away with? A solid piece of writing and a clear path to what to do with it when you go home. That’s the sort of progress that makes it much easier to write regularly.

• What if I have other questions? You are guaranteed to have a call with Michelle to learn more about the retreat and whether this is an appropriate fit for you. We guarantee that any questions you have will be answered during this call. And of course if you have questions afterwards, Michelle will answer them as well.

The Worthy Scholar Writing Retreat will give you the tools you need to move along your writing projects for tenure and promotion, or promotion to full, if that’s what you want. By the end of the weekend, you will have a solid piece of writing connected to your journal article and/or book chapter. You will also have a system for making sure you can go back to this work for 15 minutes at a time, or hours at a time.

You will have a clear path to publication.

Publishing for tenure and promotion is really difficult. We appreciate this. When we’re working on our dissertations, we’re not taught to write to publish, we’re taught to write to please our committees and we have a new skill to learn once we step onto the tenure track. We seek to open the path to happy, worthy writing for you so that you can publish your way to tenure. 

We want you to sit down at your desk pleased about what you have accomplished and will accomplish.

We want you to sit down at your desk and have a clear path forward to publishing. 

We want you tenured. Even in these difficult times.

Go ahead and sign up for a call because we want to make sure that you have the support you need to do some of the most important writing you will do in your life.

Join us for The Worthy Scholar Writing Retreat. You won’t regret it.