Academic Book Titles: How to Title Your Monograph, based on 188 Titles
Your book title is an editor’s first data point, and many authors (myself included!) draft terrible titles. Write a strong title with the actionable lessons in this post!
Finding the Right Academic Publisher #1: Seeing Your Book Through University Presses’ Eyes
You—the author—have the ultimate insider’s perspective when it comes to your book. You know everything about each object you analyze and how your ideas develop over the course of your chapters. Publishers come to your book through a very different perspective.
Can Your Academic Book Reach “A General Audience”?
You might know that your book will need to speak to scholars in your discipline(s) and have heard that it’s unwise to describe your book’s audience as “a general audience interested in [topic]” on your academic book proposal. But regardless of what your book proposal says, you might still hold out hope that your book …
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Dissertation-to-Book FAQ
Are you finally ready to start revising your dissertation into an academic book? Or, are you still working on your dissertation, but wondering what the book process ahead looks like? In this comprehensive guide, I answer all your questions about how to go from dissertation to book. What are the best first steps to revising …
Academic Book Proposals: All Your Questions, Answered
Writing and submitting an academic book proposal can seem like a daunting task. Below, I answer some of your most common questions and offer the best resources to consult to prepare your academic book proposal.
When Should You Submit Your Academic Book Proposal?
Nothing seems to stress authors of first books more than this question: when should I write and submit my academic book proposal to university presses? When I was writing my own first book, the resounding answer my mentors gave was: wait until the full manuscript is done. For a while, this seemed like good advice. …
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Acquisitions Editors vs Series Editors: Who they Are, What they Do, and How that Affects your Book
You know that you will eventually work with an “editor,” on your book’s path to publication. But did you know that, beyond developmental editors or copy editors (people you or the press hire to help revise and perfect the manuscript), you might also work with two very different types of editors at your university press? …
When Should You Write Your Academic Book Introduction?
The introduction to an academic book is critical, but it’s tricky to write. Authors sometimes assume that they must write the introduction first to help them distill the project’s priorities and sketch out a roadmap for the chapters. Others prefer to save the introduction for last so that it accurately reflects what their book actually …
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What It’s Like to Receive Peer Reviews of Your Book Manuscript: An Author Shares His Experience
What should you do now to prepare for the emotional rollercoaster of receiving peer reviews?
The “Competing Works” Section of an Academic Book Proposal
Of all the parts of an academic book proposal, the “competing works” (sometimes called “competing titles,” “competing books,” “market competition,” or simply “competition”) section is probably the most daunting and least understood by first-time academic book authors.We don’t usually tend to think of our work as “competing” with others, and the idea that we need …
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