Yesterday, I had a manuscript accepted that I’ve been working on for 9 years. It was accepted at the same journal that rejected it 8 years ago. For anyone who deeply cares about a topic, KEEP GOING. Some lessons I learned along the way: 1/n

A mentor told me to stop working on it. It hurt, and it forced me to think about why he’d say that. I didn’t let myself spiral. I used it as fuel. He also said I clearly had an itch to scratch, so I should figure out a way to do that. 2/

So I kept puzzling over it, all those years. I read a ton on the topic. I feel like I understand it on a cellular level. I was empowered by a feeling that previous conceptualizations of the topic were at best misguided and at worst taking the field in a dangerous direction. 3/

What will be published soon isn't my last stop. It's actually a pretty big departure from what I thought I would do 9 years ago (hugely pregnant with my son, who's now a whirling dervish of a boy). But it's a path forward toward what I truly care about. 4/

So when that next paper gets rejected, and it slays you, it's because you care. Keep going. Be humble. Consider a different angle. Read more. Do something different. Trust yourself AND take advice (with a grain of salt). 5/5