This book offers an inside look at how to publish scholarly articles, book reviews, grants, magazine articles, and commercial and scholarly books.

A step-by-step guide to crafting a compelling scholarly book proposal—and seeing your book through to successful publication The scholarly book proposal may be academia’s most mysterious genre. You have to write one to get published, but most scholars receive no training on how to do so—and you may have never even seen a proposal before you’re expected to produce your own. The Book Proposal Book cuts through the mystery and guides prospective authors step by step through the process of crafting a compelling proposal and pitching it to university presses and other academic publishers. Laura Portwood-Stacer, an experienced developmental editor and publishing consultant for academic authors, shows how to select the right presses to target, identify audiences and competing titles, and write a project description that will grab the attention of editors—breaking the entire process into discrete, manageable tasks. The book features over fifty time-tested tips to make your proposal stand out; sample prospectuses, a letter of inquiry, and a response to reader reports from real authors; optional worksheets and checklists; answers to dozens of the most common questions about the scholarly publishing process; and much, much more. Whether you’re hoping to publish your first book or you’re a seasoned author with an unfinished proposal languishing on your hard drive, The Book Proposal Book provides honest, empathetic, and invaluable advice on how to overcome common sticking points and get your book published. It also shows why, far from being merely a hurdle to clear, a well-conceived proposal can help lead to an outstanding book.

How to transform a thesis into a publishable work that can engage audiences beyond the academic committee. When a dissertation crosses my desk, I usually want to grab it by its metaphorical lapels and give it a good shake. “You know something!” I would say if it could hear me. “Now tell it to us in language we can understand!” Since its publication in 2005, From Dissertation to Book has helped thousands of young academic authors get their books beyond the thesis committee and into the hands of interested publishers and general readers. Now revised and updated to reflect the evolution of scholarly publishing, this edition includes a new chapter arguing that the future of academic writing is in the hands of young scholars who must create work that meets the broader expectations of readers rather than the narrow requirements of academic committees. At the heart of From Dissertation to Book is the idea that revising the dissertation is fundamentally a process of shifting its focus from the concerns of a narrow audience—a committee or advisors—to those of a broader scholarly audience that wants writing to be both informative and engaging. William Germano offers clear guidance on how to do this, with advice on such topics as rethinking the table of contents, taming runaway footnotes, shaping chapter length, and confronting the limitations of jargon, alongside helpful timetables for light or heavy revision. Germano draws on his years of experience in both academia and publishing to show writers how to turn a dissertation into a book that an audience will actually enjoy, whether reading on a page or a screen. He also acknowledges that not all dissertations can or even should become books and explores other, often overlooked, options, such as turning them into journal articles or chapters in an edited work. With clear directions, engaging examples, and an eye for the idiosyncrasies of academic writing, he reveals to recent PhDs the secrets of careful and thoughtful revision—a skill that will be truly invaluable as they add “author” to their curriculum vitae.

This book provides you with all the tools you need to write an excellent academic article and get it published.

Academic Writing and Publishing will show academics (mainly in the social sciences) how to write and publish research articles. Its aim is to supply examples and brief discussions of recent work in all aspects of the area in short, sharp chapters. It should serve as a handbook for postgraduates and lecturers new to publishing. The book is written in a readable and lively personal style. The advice given is direct and based on up-to-date research that goes beyond that given in current textbooks. For example, the chapter on titles lists different kinds of titles and their purposes not discussed in other texts. The chapter on abstracts instructs the reader on writing structured abstracts from the start.

A practical guide to both writing and getting published, written by an expert in academic publishing.

This book offers systematic instruction and evidence-based guidance to academic authors. It demystifies scholarly writing and helps build both confidence and skill in aspiring and experienced authors. The first part of the book focuses on the author’s role, writing’s risks and rewards, practical strategies for improving writing, and ethical issues. Part Two focuses on the most common writing tasks: conference proposals, practical articles, research articles, and books. Each chapter is replete with specific examples, templates to generate a first draft, and checklists or rubrics for self-evaluation. The final section of the book counsels graduate students and professors on selecting the most promising projects; generating multiple related, yet distinctive, publications from the same body of work; and using writing as a tool for professional development. Written by a team that represents outstanding teaching, award-winning writing, and extensive editorial experience, the book leads teacher/scholar/authors to replace the old “publish or perish” dictum with a different, growth-seeking orientation: publish and flourish.