A few years ago, I read about a professor’s brilliant and intriguing idea of keeping a “CV of failures”. Far from a space to vent about the adventures and misadventures of academic life, such a CV represents an opportunity for reflection, revisiting projects and priorities, and even laughing at goals that at some point made sense but no longer apply, considering our current career stage.
For introverted individuals, it can also fuel hours of non-pragmatic daydreaming. “What direction would my career have taken if I had gotten that grant or that coveted academic position?”
I never had the chance (or the time) to write my own CV of failures. Nonetheless, as I was cleaning up my computer in preparation for the New Year, I ran across something, if not similar, almost as intriguing: the “On-Hold Projects” folder: a collection of partially or fully completed papers that never materialized into an actual publication.
Almost all faculty, I am sure, have a similar collection, even though they might not name it that way or even have them saved in a single, specific way. In my case, the folder in question included more than 10 writing pieces, some going as far back as 2008.
Some of them were projects headed by trainees under my supervision and were never completed once the respective students graduated. Others were failed attempts to convert abstracts presented in scientific meetings into papers.
The Dream Papers
A third group consisted of “dream papers” about obscure, nearly impossible-to-fund projects that I started in moments of professional idealism and later abandoned once the pressures and demands of my academic career caught up. For example, it would be difficult to prioritize a paper on “The Psychopathology of Nostalgia” or about the putative “Neuroscientific Basis of Jungian’s Collective Unconscious” while having, around the corner, a tight deadline involving a grant application or a by-invitation paper or book chapter.
In addition, I found some pearls, such as this full original research paper, prepared by a trainee. The paper was rejected once by a journal and never resubmitted, as we concluded the issues pointed out by the reviewers were not addressable. Curiously, the trainee in question is now a celebrated faculty member in one of the top U.S. universities.
I was not the one responsible for the paper being rejected, but still, as I looked at that manuscript after all these years, I felt a little bit like one of the anecdotal editors who rejected the original “Harry Potter” manuscript. On the other hand, I also found a paper I was once invited to co-author by a visiting scholar. I spent considerable time editing the paper, making comments, and including some suggestions for improvement. I was later surprised to learn that the paper had been published, but I had not been included as a co-author.
Simply Put: It’s Never Too Late
Regardless of the reasons the papers ended up in the “On Hold Projects” Folder, it is never too late to reactivate them. As a matter of fact, in full brand-new 2026 spirit, I decided to turn this idea into an actual New Year’s resolution, and I suggest that all faculty members do the same.
Look back at your own on-hold projects and try to identify the ones that are potentially salvageable. Start with the ones that were close to being finalized, and try your best to give them some closure. Don’t be afraid to bug former trainees who were initially in charge of them and, in case they have already moved on and are no longer interested, consider reassigning the papers to new trainees. When appropriate, revisit papers that were rejected and consider resubmitting them, even if you need to modify and even downgrade them from a full paper to a research letter or a commentary piece.
Last, as I am finalizing this blog entry, I am happy it did not end up in my “On-Hold Projects” folder. That would have been paradoxical and would probably defeat the whole purpose of this text.
🎉 Happy 2026!! 🎉
Dr. Sanches currently serves as a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School and is also an Attending Psychiatrist and Associate Director for Research at the UTHealth Houston.