A new start...and a free workshop on Tuesday

Hi there,

Welcome to the very first edition of my new newsletter. It’s something I’ve been meaning to start for a while now, and in the spirit of “progress over perfect,” I decided to just begin.

For those who don't remember me: Hi, I'm Melanie Sindelar, and I'm a professional writing and career coach for academics in the social sciences and humanities. 

I’ve recently moved all my systems over to Kajabi, and with that, I’ve also shifted how I want to stay in touch.

This newsletter won’t be a marketing campaign and it won’t land in your inbox five times a week. 

It will be a short, honest note from me packed with advice for busy academics just like you. We'll talk about what is happening in academia in Europe/US, real talk on writing strategies, publications, careers, and more.

I’ll try to send it regularly (we’ll see how that goes), but more importantly: I want it to feel like a space for connection. A reminder that you’re not alone in whatever you’re facing. So please, if anything resonates with you, feel free to reach out!

And speaking of that:

This Tuesday, I’m running a free workshop called
Progress over Perfect: Breaking the Cycle of Perfectionism.
🗓 February 3rd, 11:00 CET (Berlin/Vienna)
📍Inside the EMERGE Café (my free online space for researchers)

In my coaching and writing groups, perfectionism is one of the most common struggles I see across all career stages. It’s not just about wanting things to be polished. Often, it’s about anxiety and fear.

Fear of rejection.
Fear of looking unprofessional.
Fear of being criticized for work that’s not “ready.”

Recently, someone told me they were considering not publishing a major part of their funded project because they received harsh feedback when presenting it. And I hear stories like this all the time.

Perfectionism goes deep. For many of us, it reaches back to school, to being the overachiever, to needing external validation to feel safe.

If that resonates, I’d love to see you at the workshop. We’ll explore the emotional roots of perfectionism, how it shows up in academic writing, and what you can do to break the cycle.
There’ll be space for questions, real-life examples, and some reflective coaching if you’d like it.

You can join the EMERGE Café for free and sign up for the workshop here:
👉 Join now 

Thank you for being here, and for reading this far. I’m really glad we’re connected.

Warmly,
Melanie

P.s. If you don't want to get this newsletter, no hard feelings. Hit unsubscribe below or just stay on and see what goodies it will bring in the future, like free advice and workshops :)

P.p.s. As this is my first newsletter, I hope there are no technical glitches. If you notice something, please be so kind and notify me!