The route to tenure shouldn't feel like a grueling outdoors challenge with no support.

I can help you find your own Points North: the clear, sustainable path to your finished manuscript and more time for what matters most to you.

You spent years in graduate school preparing for a tenure track job, only to find yourself constantly stressed.

Image

Does this sound familiar?

You spend 20 hours a week on prep for classes you've taught for two years or more because of pressure to be perfect.

Your "writing day" is constantly swallowed by "quick" student emails.

Your the "go-to" mentor for every student crisis, leaving your own brain empty by 5:00 PM.

You feel like you can't say no to committees and service work feel even when they are taking over your life.

You spend more time creating assignments and giving feedback than the students spend completing them.

You promise yourself "I'll write this summer" while the manuscript sits untouched in February. Meanwhile, the thought of your article or book manuscript feel like a weight you’re carrying rather than a project you love.

Master the Classroom. Finish Your Article or Book.

A high teaching load and endless service often obscures the path to publication, making the route to tenure in the Humanities feel like an endurance challenge more grueling than a 4,800 mile through-hike on the North Country Trail.

I help you find your Points North: the clear, sustainable path through the pedagogical and institutional thicket toward your finished manuscript and tenure.

Your Path to Publication Starts in the Classroom.

Finding your Points North isn’t about "finding more willpower." It’s about building the systems that protect your scholarship from the burnout of the semester.

Image

1. Pedagogical Systems (The Time-Giver)

I know you are busy with teaching and service because you care about your students and your colleagues. To reclaim your time, we look at the source of the "time-theft."

The Goal: Streamline your prep, design strategic assessments, and set boundaries that protect your research hours and time with your family.

The Result: We implment strategies to minimize your "maintenance" time, reclaiming the mental energy you need to actually think.

Image

2. Writing Support and Developmental Editing (The Momentum-Builder)

Once we’ve cleared the path, we focus on the work itself. Whether it’s a dissertation-to-monograph transition or a "stuck" journal article, I provide writing support in a variety of forms to move it forward.

The Goal: Structural feedback, archival strategy, and a concrete roadmap to a finished manuscript.

The Result: Your book moves from a "someday" project to a "submitted" project.

Feeling stressed in academia?

I can help.

Image

I'm Emily Macgillivray, PhD, and I know what you are going through. I lived it.

I earned my PhD at the University of Michigan and moved straight into a tenure-track role at Northland College: a teaching-intensive, resource-strained institution. I spent seven years in the trenches: navigating a high teaching load in the interdisciplinary Humanities with new preps, mentoring students through crises, and managing the heavy emotional labor of service, all while maintaining a commitment to my own research and successfully reaching tenure.

I’ve walked the miles, managed the burnout, and reached the summit. Now, I help you find your own Points North, providing the systems and support you need to navigate the slog and finally finish your publications.

Not ready to book? Read my reflections on history, the outdoors, and leaving academia on Substack.

Let’s connect on LinkedIn for more tips on navigating the tenure track.

Points North Strategic Coaching & Editing

Helping Early Career Scholars in the Humanities Find Their Own Points North

© 2026 Points North Strategy