In other words, you are not too busy to write, you are busy because you do not write. Busy-ness is what you do to explain your not writing.

“Nothing will contribute to the quality of your work more than your sense of its worth and your commitment to it” (Booth, Colomb, and Williams 1995, 36).

An article abstract is a report on what you did do, not what you hope to do.

Those who write in regular, unemotional sessions of moderate length completed more pages, enjoyed more editorial acceptance, were less depressed and more creative than those authors who wrote in emotionally charged binges. (Boice 1997, 435)

If you write, you will be rejected. This is unavoidable. The important thing is not to let it stop you.

Ask colleagues what they think is new about your article if you can’t remember.

Indeed, a willingness to acknowledge arguments against your position shows confidence and scholarly rigor.

The challenge for most, however, is that you must both shorten and lengthen the chapter. You must shorten because chapters are often twice the length of journal articles; but you must lengthen because the article must stand alone, unlike the chapter, and needs additional information.

Writing just thirty minutes a day can make you one of those unusual writers who publishes several journal articles a year.