For a little over a year now, I’ve been tracking questions that prospective authors ask me. I’ve got a spreadsheet of about 400 Qs so far—not all unique, so I can track what comes up most frequently
One of the most asked questions is how to revise a diss into a book that publishers will want. There are helpful books on this whole topic, so I point ppl there first. Luey’s REVISING YOUR DISSERTATION. Germano’s FROM DISSERTATION TO BOOK. Harman et al’s THE THESIS AND THE BOOK
It’s ok if you didn’t “write your diss as a book” b/c a diss doesn’t have to fulfill the same needs for readers. Having worked w/ a bunch of academic writers on first books, I have my own list of 6 things a book really ought to have that a dissertation may or may not have.
1️⃣ A scholarly book needs one core argument that drives every piece of content in it. Gotta sustain that arg over the whole length of the book. Gotta support it fully with evidence & illustrative examples. Gotta cut stuff that doesn’t point back to the arg.
2️⃣ The book’s core arg or takeaway has to matter to a lot of ppl. Ideally it has applications beyond yr specific object of research, to enlarge the audience beyond people who happen to care abt yr topic. You might need time to figure out the broader appeal. Talking to ppl helps
3️⃣ Your book has to make clear who’s supposed to be reading it. You have to talk to that reader in a way that will reach them. Write as if you yourself find the material interesting & you’re confident in what you have to say abt it. Don’t dwell on minutiae they won’t care abt
4️⃣ A book needs a strong sense of cohesion on every page. In a diss you can get away w/ throwing in random stuff you studied or quotes from the lit even if you haven’t made all the connections yet. In the book, include background info + literature only as it becomes relevant
5️⃣ The book needs a structure that pulls readers thru it (b/c no one is making them stick w/ you, unlike yr diss committee). The organization has to be logical so readers can hold things in their heads as they process & ideally find specific info later when they want to cite you
5️⃣ continued: making your book’s organization reader-friendly begins with the table of contents, chapter order + titles. But also think abt sections & section headings within chapters and topic sentences for your paragraphs. Reverse outlining helps everything
6️⃣ Lastly, in order to capture readers, the physical (and digital) object of your book has to entice them to spend time & money. This isn’t something you can control when writing—it’s all abt finding the right publisher with a track record of making books ppl want to read/buy
Someday (when childcare is a thing again) I’ll write all this up in a longer newsletter post or something. Hope this thread helps some people in the meantime!
