An academic who was used to navigating the halls of higher learning finds herself lost in the halls of higher expectations.

After years of publishing with academic presses ranging from the relatively obscure to the venerable, I brought out a book in 2007 with a major New York house. This year I published with the same company again—this time, to my delight, with the help of agents who had invited me to sign with them.

Certainly, from the outside, my publishing experience looks like a soaring trajectory. And in many ways, it’s been exhilarating. Five years ago, even my wildest dreams did not include being interviewed by Diane Rehm or profiled on the pages of Salon.com. In other ways, it’s been a startling lesson in how much sweat and skill it takes to code-switch successfully. Peeking out at the publishing world from ivied walls, I’ve often felt lost.