Thread by @DrPetra

Today's #ResearchTip answers a question I'm asked a lot by scholars: "How do I write a book?"
Here's a thread🧵explaining how to do it. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter #HigherEd #gradschool #PhDChat #MedEd #PhDHelp

If you're thinking about writing a book, the first thing to ask is 'why do I want to do this?' Some common reasons are:
- want to share ideas with others
- impact
- always been a dream/ambition
- prestige
- promotion/career progression
- money
#AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

Wanting to share ideas is a great reason for writing a book.
Before you go further, note what those ideas are - and who you want to reach? Is an academic book (or any kind of book) the best way to document your ideas and share them with others? #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

This relates to any impact you want. Say you're teaching about or researching a topic. You - and others - find it fascinating, timely, or useful. Meaning impact-wise you're expecting a much bigger audience to engage with and be inspired or helped by your work. #AcademicTwitter

All of us could write a book just for ourselves, that only us and a few close friends and our cat would read. But realistically if writing a book has always been your dream you need to be sure of your audience and what you want them to do having read your book. #AcademicTwitter

Even if being an author has always been your dream, there's little point writing a book if someone else has already got there first. So while you're thinking about *why* you want to write a book, note if similar ones exist #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

https://twitter.com/DrPetra/status/1588200954230640646?s=20&t=zMw4hTXVn83n5_O6qvXMBA

Prestige is another reason people want to write academic books. Understandably, since as soon as you start uni you're meeting scholars who've written books. While studying in libraries full of academic tomes. You want to be on those shelves too! #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

Something to note is the trade off between the work you put into a book and if your book's read, recommended, or used. The disconnect between your labour and effort and wider impact can be very big. Meaning authoring is not as prestigious as you may imagine. #AcademicTwitter

Of course it's a lovely feeling knowing you've written a book. A tangible thing to hold. With your name on. A huge achievement! That becomes bittersweet if, having written it, nobody knows about or reads it. Prestige can rapidly morph into pain. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

Whether you're wanting to write a book for love or ambition, or to help others, it's necessary to consider your career progression too. Not least because writing a book is a time commitment that will take you from other activities (or needs doing alongside them). #AcademicTwitter

Is writing a book going to benefit your career? In some academic disciplines, writing a book is highly prized. It's necessary to write one (or many) books to gain employment or secure promotion. You may need to write books whether you enjoy it or not! #AcademicChatter #HigherEd

In other fields (like mine) writing books wasn't valued at all. Instead the currency was peer reviewed publications in high impact journals. Does it mean you shouldn't write a book? No. But you'll likely do it on your own time without encouragement or recognition #AcademicTwitter

Sometimes you'll be bursting with ideas and *have* to write a book even if your career depends on other metrics. But you may want to be strategic and even ruthless and decide if writing a book's worth it if it won't benefit you (and could even count against you) #AcademicChatter

There's a myth that authors make a lot of money from book sales. In unis that's reinforced by the ludicrous prices of some academic texts. Students (and some staff) believe that authors get most of that cash. They don't. This won't make you rich. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

You'll hear some academics (usually ones who're in privileged positions with a comfortable financial buffer behind them) saying things like "I don't care if only one person reads my book! I'm not in it for the money". That's just ridiculous on so many levels. #AcademicChatter

If you want to write an academic book you need
TIME to research,write,revise,edit and promote
SPACE within your home/schedule to do the above
RESOURCES & BUDGETS for research,writing,indexing etc
SKILLS for the above
RESILIENCE to keep going and handle rejection
#AcademicTwitter

You'll pour months or years of expertise and experience into the process of writing, editing and promoting your book.
There's zero point doing all that for a trade off that only one person might read it and you don't care if it makes no money. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

So when you're thinking about how you write a book, it's not just considering what you want to write or your reasons for writing. It's about whether it's worth your time to write and realistically who is going to find, read, or use your book. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

These aren't easy questions and I'd encourage anyone who wants to write a book to speak to those at all stages of the writing process (from new authors to established ones) about their experiences - good and bad. And ask for honest answers #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

Maybe you were expecting me to give you #AcWriMo tips on writing strategies, getting an agent, or finding a publisher (I'll cover those in other threads this month). But I don't believe any of us can think about writing a book before exploring our motivation. #AcademicChatter

Exploring why we want to write a book and thinking about what we think we know about authorship allows us to note whether writing a book is the right path for us. Because, again, it's going to take a huge amount of effort from you. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter #gradschool

If your career is dependent on writing a book (or books) of course you have to write them.
If it's an optional extra (so something that would make you feel good, or is an outlet for other interests) then proceed with caution.
You may decide on other options too #AcademicChatter

Instead of thinking about publishing meaning 'books', switch your focus. Sharing ideas can be done via
- websites, blogs, vlogs, podcasts, films or cartoons
- outreach events (e.g. talks or demonstrations for charities, schools, festivals)
- social media
- downloadable resources

Instead of asking 'how can I write a book?' ask 'is writing a book right for me and those I want to reach or inspire?'
A book may be the best place to reach others. But the options in the tweet above (or many other ways to disseminate your work/ideas) could be better #AcWriMo

If you're going to be putting all your time, energy and expertise into something then you want to be certain it's going to
- reach as many of the right people
- at the right time
- in an efficient way
- with meaningful outcomes you can measure
#AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

Sometimes a book can do that. But sometimes it may be counterproductive to write a book if sales are low, publishers fail to market texts, or dissemination that you expected (e.g. being stocked in libraries) doesn't happen. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter #AcWriMo #gradschool

Throughout this #AcWriMo I'll focus on other things you'll need to know about if you want to write an academic book. Expanding on issues noted above (time, skills, resources, finding a publisher etc). But before we do that, spend time reflecting on this thread #AcademicChatter

Why is it important to consider all these issues and do your research about what other texts exist and what other academic authors have experienced? To ensure if you do proceed with a book it's the right choice for you and wider audiences. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

These are all questions I wish I'd been encouraged to ask when I wrote my first academic book. They are questions I've continued to ask when writing subsequent books and have also changed how I approach dissemination and consider impact. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

There's always a danger that the brutal experience of authorship makes you cynical and bitter so any #AcWriMo tips ignore the passion and idealism all academic authors have. I don't want to rob anyone of that. Or wrongly imply if we don't write books we can't share ideas anywhere

One of my favourite things is to write books. I absolutely love the process, particularly when collaborating with good editors, other writers, or illustrators. I've also found it heartbreaking at times - because I *didn't* focus on the questions posed in this thread enough.

If you're planning on writing a book I may have told you nothing new. But if I have raised questions or made you think about things you weren't aware of and anything isn't clear please do ask me so you can proceed, however you decide, with a clear goal #AcademicChatter #AcWriMo