You hit full professor. You edited the top journal in your field. And somehow you still felt adrift.

In this episode, Kyle Rudick (professor, graduate program coordinator, and host of the Publishing Academic Research podcast) shares how he went from losing his advisor in his first year of hid PhD to building a podcast, a coaching practice, and a career that truly brings him joy.

We discuss:

🎙️ Why Kyle tells his students to build an identity anchor outside higher ed

🎙️ What it was like to navigate a PhD with no real mentorship and no plan B

🎙️ How journal editing gave him a front-row seat to what makes research publishable

🎙️ Why a podcast came first and clients came about eight months later

🎙️ Why he thinks professors should have at least a toe out the door

🎙️ What he'd say to colleagues who call side businesses "selling out"

If this hits home, subscribe to my channel so you don't miss the next conversation. And if you've ever wondered whether your skills could earn money outside your institution (spoiler: they can), you're in the right place.

Resources mentioned:

Publishing Academic Research podcast and coaching: publishingacademicresearch.com

Plan, Goal, Plan podcast, hosted by Kyle's colleague Danielle McGeough: https://www.plangoalplan.com/

Want to turn your skills into rewarding paid services? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/map

Timestamps

00:00 - Meet Kyle Ruddick, professor and podcaster

01:00 - From small-town Oklahoma to grad school

03:00 - Losing his advisor, finding no mentorship

06:00 - Why you need an identity outside academia

09:00 - No safety net: the pressure of no plan B

11:30 - Landing the job at Northern Iowa

14:00 - How he published 50+ articles

17:00 - Why PhD programs skip practical skills

20:00 - Becoming a journal editor

22:00 - Feeling adrift after making full professor

25:00 - Paulina's messy start in copy editing

27:00 - Keeping a toe out the door

30:00 - "Selling out" and the capitalist machine

33:00 - Building a top 5% podcast

35:30 - Audience tiers and a podcast course idea

37:30 - How to work with Kyle

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You have a great idea for a paid program, but it only works at a certain time of year, and that time of year is almost here. Do you scramble, or do you wait another 12 months and hope the idea is still good?

In this episode, I walk you through a "minimum viable playbook" for testing a program idea when you're short on time, have no audience yet, and are tempted to let perfectionism make the decision for you.

I cover:

⏱️ Why waiting a year costs you more than launching imperfectly (no data, no market language, no idea what your buyers care about)

⏱️ How to build a simple interest-list landing page, and why to leave the price off it

⏱️ Where to share it (hint: academic Facebook groups are a goldmine) and how to write posts that lead with your ideal client's struggles

⏱️ Which numbers to watch, including the conversion rate I use as a starting benchmark with academics ⏱️ How to tell whether your problem is the idea, the posts, or the landing page copy

⏱️ How to sell once people raise their hands, and what call to action to use at under $500, $500+, and $1,000+

Also, you may have noticed the new podcast name and cover art. We're now Leaving Academia: You Are Meant For More, because this community is bigger than editors. Welcome, I'm so glad to have you here!

Like this episode? Subscribe so you don't miss the next one, and visit AcadiaEditing.com/map to find out more.

Resources Mentioned:

Kit (email platform used in this episode for landing pages and email automations): https://partners.kit.com/koj113xbly45

Academic Entrepreneurs Studio (six-month group program for women+ academics growing and scaling an existing business): https://acadiaediting.com/studio

Becoming an Academic Editor or Coach (BAE): https://AcadiaEditing.com/map

Timestamps

00:00 - Podcast rebrand: you are meant for more

02:15 - Great idea, but the timing's tight

04:30 - Job market season example scenario

06:00 - What waiting a full year costs

08:00 - Choosing imperfect action over perfect timing

10:00 - Step one: build an interest landing page

13:00 - Setting up Kit with one email

15:30 - Step two: share it everywhere

19:00 - Step three: watch your conversion data

22:30 - Is it the idea or copy?

24:30 - Step four: sell the transformation, not logistics

27:00 - Calls to action by price point

29:00 - Recap and finding your weak points

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You've probably been told you have two choices: stay in academia and hope for flexibility, or leave for a 9-to-5 job in industry. There's a third one nobody talks about, and it's a lot more fun.

In this episode, I talk with Marie Gasper-Hulvat, a tenured art history professor at Kent State and the founder of Soulstar Attunement. She also created the Ivory Tower Inner Fire Summit, a free online event for academics who are disenchanted and want a livelihood that sustains them.

When Marie asked online whether anyone else felt caught between academia and the woo, hundreds of people answered. Then, 740 signed up for her first summit.

Now Marie is hosting a second round of the Summit, and this one is focused on the "vow of poverty" that faculty take, even if they don't realize it.

You'll hear us gab about:

🐦‍🔥 Why so many academics keep parts of themselves closeted and masked at work

🐦‍🔥 How Marie teaches a full course load and runs a business, and why finding a supportive co-working community changed everything

🐦‍🔥 Why "abundance" is almost heretical in faculty meetings, and how the scarcity stories in academia keep us small

🐦‍🔥 What's happening at the summit (Oct 9–11): 24 pre-recorded presentations, live Q&A panels, hot-seat coaching, and a fabulous community of people like you

🐦‍🔥 Why "nobody's going to pay me for that" is usually a story, not a fact

Register for and access the Ivory Tower Inner Fire Summit here: https://ivorytowerinnerfire.com/2-summit-registration?am_id=paulina2538

Resources Mentioned: Ivory Tower Inner Fire Summit, Oct 9–11 (free to attend, or get your VIP pass for extra goodies): https://ivorytowerinnerfire.com/2-summit-registration?am_id=paulina2538

Soulstar Attunement (Marie's business): https://soulstarattunement.com/

Flow Club (the online co-working space Marie mentions): https://in.flow.club/?inviteCode=marie698

Want to turn your academic skills into paying clients in 90 days? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/map

01:45 - Teaching art history 100% online

03:30 - Founding Soulstar Attunement and human design

06:45 - Are academics open to woo?

08:00 - The Venn diagram post that started it

09:45 - Academics with PhDs who read tarot

12:00 - Wanting a livelihood that sustains you

14:30 - Marie's group programs and offers

18:00 - Doing both: Flow Club co-working

20:15 - How the summit came together

23:00 - Who the summit is for

27:00 - Summit schedule, VIP pass, and gifts

29:30 - Changing the story you tell yourself

31:30 - The third option beyond academia or corporate

33:30 - Scarcity versus abundance in academia

35:15 - How to register (it's free)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.