Emily Cunningham

My first research paper of my postdoc? Never got written. I had no idea how to go about it, no experience from my PhD. It was a super interesting project. I spend hours writing and making nice figures. Never saw the light of day. It wasn't the only one ... 12/

But the second paper did get written, thanks to a freak virtual meeting, one of the most important of my life: a skype with someone who is still one of my most important influences and colleagues: @TimmonsRoberts . He gave me encouragement, writing advice, asked questions ... 13/

was impatient with me to get this paper written. So it got written. Thanks to his advice, I also was able to write my 3rd paper. But then, things got weird. Paper 2 was rejected 6 (SIX!!!) times over a period of 2.5 years. Nobody but Timmons would have stood by me for that. 14/

The rejections went from the flatly political "the HDI is an indicator from the UN designed to make the US look bad" (whut?) to the strange "because of climate change, CO2 emissions will go to zero overnight so your projections are invalid" (would be nice, hon). 15/

but "although the topic is one of my core interests, I can't see the purpose of this particular paper." I was so crushed I didn't even look at it for 6 months, despite the pleas of my co-authors. Then I re-read it, decided it was fine, submitted it & it sailed through review. 17/

Anyway, I'm putting this out there because academia can be horrible, unfair, crushing, time-wasting, especially for younger people. And without incredible luck & support of a few amazing colleagues, I don't know how anyone can make it. I'm happy to have been lucky. 19/