The Dissertation-to-Book Workbook

Want to Include Images or Copyrighted Material in Your Book? What You Need to Know.

Most authors of first books rightly spend their time focusing on preparing and perfecting their prose, assuming that obtaining image permissions will be relatively straightforward. It’s something you don’t need to deal with until the manuscript is finalized, right? Not so fast. Not only could including images in your book cost you more money than […]

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What Does “A Book” Mean for Tenure? Don’t Assume You Know!

Most humanities scholars at research-intensive institutions know that “a book,” published with a university press, is the centerpiece of a successful tenure and promotion research profile. But did you know that different departments–or even different faculty in the same department–can mean very different things when they say “a book”? In the context of (incredibly slow)

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Expenses You Might Be Responsible for When Publishing an Academic Book

You probably don’t expect to make much from royalties on the publication of your first academic book. But did you know that several hidden costs associated with your book are your responsibility (and not your press’s)? And, depending on your project’s parameters, these expenses can total in the thousands of dollars!

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Assembling Your Book Reviewers List: Everything You Need to Know

Some university presses ask hopeful book authors to list scholars who can serve as peer reviewers for their academic book proposal or full manuscript. In this post, I help you determine whom you should list as possible reviewers. Then, I answer other common questions authors of first academic books have about compiling this list of

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Will a University Press Give you an Advance Contract for Your First Academic Book?

Some of your colleagues might have told you that US-based university presses definitely “don’t offer advance contracts.” But you may have also met (or heard of) someone who received one. How can you know which presses offer advance contracts? In this post, I first outline the critical differences between “advance academic book contracts”–typically offered based

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Balancing Your Voice with Other Scholars in an Academic Book

How to Balance Your Voice With Others’ in Your First Book: Learning Best Practices

William Germano, author of From Dissertation to Book, asserts that books originating out of dissertations struggle to shake “dissertation style.” Beyond stylistic tendencies like passive voice, first book authors, he contends, are rarely able to foreground their voice while engaging with existing scholarship. All too often, their voice gets lost in the shuffle. I knew

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How to Choose Model Academic Books to Emulate for Your First Book

When you begin writing your first academic book–or, more likely, revising your dissertation into a book–it’s important to choose a few model books to help you understand your field’s norms. Deconstructing and emulating model books can also increase your confidence in your own first academic book. But not all books are created equal when it

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5 Myths about Academic Book Proposals

1. Your book proposal will only be read by academics in your field. Reality This is only partly true. Your proposal will be read by several audiences, only some of whom will be academics in your field. So, your book proposal needs to be legible to both specialists in your field and intelligent non-academics.

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How to Identify Your Academic Book’s Audience

Most academic book proposals ask you to address your book’s market or audience. With ever shrinking library budgets, you definitely want to be able to make the case that your book will reach a wide audience. But, you also need to be realistic about who you’re actually writing for, not only for the proposal, but

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Revising Before You Write: How to Save Time by Evaluating Your Project

Are you struggling to get a handle on your first scholarly book? To see clearly not just what you have, but where it’s ultimately going? Do you feel stuck in revisions—like you’re adding and changing text in your chapters, but there’s no end in sight? Or are you reluctant to sit down and write because

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