A step-by-step guide on how to publish your books after completing a PhD programme
A step-by-step guide on how to publish your books after completing a PhD programme
In the process of receiving your PhD, you have more than likely gained significant experience writing academic papers and submitting grant proposals. However, graduate programmes offer little advice on the process of publishing academic books despite it being substantially different from submitting research papers. Considering the importance of securing a book contract for a young scholar’s career, it becomes important to gain an understanding of how to navigate the landscape of academic book publishing. This article provides an overview of the steps required to publish your own books after completing a PhD programme.
Step 1. Determining the book’s objectives and audience
Can’t you simply turn your PhD thesis into a book? This is a common question of first-time authors of academic books. The answer requires establishing the objectives and the intended audience of your text, and this constitutes the first step of the book publishing process. The key difference between a dissertation and a book is their purpose. A doctoral thesis is a requirement for receiving a PhD degree. It is likely to be read by a handful of people in order to determine whether the author meets the necessary academic criteria. In contrast, a book has a direct and relevant message to a definite audience. Furthermore, the audience should be sufficiently broad so that it publishing the book would have a merit for the publisher. In general, an academic book differs from a dissertation both in its objectives and its audience.
Another issue with using dissertations as a basis for a book is the difference in style and structure. Academic books are less reliant on the rigid dissertation style of writing such as repetitiously stating your intent (‘In the following section I will show that…’) or overdependence on referencing. A dissertation may contain lengthy introduction and literature review sections with the purpose of demonstrating that you are knowledgeable about existing research. However, the audience of your book would be more interested in your own arguments. Thus, you will need to take a critical distance from your original PhD thesis to turn it into a book that would appeal to a wider audience. A commonly recommended text that can provide more insight on how to move from your dissertation to a book manuscript is William Germano’s ‘From Dissertation to Book’.
Dissertation vs. Book: Checklist. Source: Germano, W. (2013). From Dissertation to Book. Second Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, p.157.
You should use the topic of your PhD thesis to determine the areas that could be interesting for your book’s audience and visualise the reach of your text. Having established the intended target audience, you may get a better feel for the nature of the book that others would like to read. How do you expect your book would impact the target audience? For instance, could others use it as a textbook or a supplementary text for an academic course? It can be useful to reflect on the scope of your book as well as on the established market to decide what type of book you would like to publish. Your book could take a variety of forms including a textbook, a popular science text, and an edited collection of published papers. As a part of determining the book’s objectives and audience, you should research existing books on the market and what problems they solve. This step is essential as identifying the advantage of your book over other texts will make it easier to convince publishers that your book concept is worth considering.
Step 2. Finding a publisher
Once you have figured out the objectives and the audience of your book, the next step is finding a publisher. Books are products, and it is important to think of publishing in terms of markets and investment appeal. By this point you should clearly understand what would make your book useful and relevant, and to whom. This understanding is crucial for you to be able to explain to editors why others would want to buy your book – and therefore why would the publisher want to invest into your book concept.
Some publishers may have several books on topics that are related to your field of expertise. It can be recommended to look for such publishers as they might know the market better. Don’t forget to align your publisher choice with your goals and the objectives of your book. For example, if you intend to sell books for course adoption, you should prioritise publishers that are more likely to have existing networks to market academic books to your audience. If you want your book to be displayed at conferences, you should check the publisher’s track record with regards to conference presence in your field. At the same time, if you are only interested in tenure, it may be better to pick an academic press that has less stringent requirements. You may use publishers’ official websites to gather information about submission requirements, text categories, and editors’ contacts. It’s a good idea to send an e-mail to a commissioning editor about the suitability of your book concept. The e-mail could cover some introductory information about yourself as a scholar, a short summary of the book (topic, argument, methods, evidence, value), and the name of the publisher’s series that you think would fit your text. Your colleagues may also be knowledgeable about relevant book series in the field and how publishers differ in terms of quality and editorial process. Another option for you is to seek publishers at conferences, as conferences provide a great opportunity to meet publishers and inquire whether your work would fit their series.
Degree of field specialisation of a book publisher (‘Concentration Index’) vs. its citation impact (Field Normalized Citation Score), according to the Book Citation Index for 2005-2012. Source: Torres-Salinas, D., Robinson-Garcia, N., Campanario, J. M., and López-Cózar, E. D. (2014). Coverage, field specialisation and the impact of scientific publishers indexed in the Book Citation Index. Online Information Review, 38(1), p.35.
Step 3. Writing and submitting a proposal
The desired output of Step 2 is to have an editor interested enough in your book to ask you to submit a proposal. You will likely be provided a proposal form or able to find one on the publisher’s website. If the publisher has a specific form or structure for the proposal, it’s better not to deviate from it! Nevertheless, here are some general tips on what to include in a proposal.
A proposal usually covers four key areas. Firstly, it should contain a statement of aims. This may take the form of 3-4 paragraphs that outline the rationale behind the book. What is your book about? What are the book’s objectives and main themes? What are the advantages of your book over existing texts? You have already answered these questions at Step 1, and now you simply need to summarise your thoughts to convince the editor.
Secondly, the proposal should include a detailed synopsis of the book. In addition to providing headings and descriptions for each chapter, include one or two sample chapters or a draft manuscript if available. You should address the length of the book and provide information on the approximate word count (with and without references/footnotes) as well as the number of tables and illustrations. Some indication of schedule is appropriate here, so make sure to discuss when you are able to deliver a finished manuscript.
Next, you should describe the intended audience of your book. Explain who would buy and read your text. Is your book a research monograph that will be mainly sold to academic libraries? Can it be used in courses? Is it primarily aimed at undergraduate students or postgraduate audience? Don’t forget to discuss how broad the target market is, and address whether the subject area is commonly taught or has an international appeal.
Finally, compile a list of major books that would compete with your text to demonstrate that you are familiar with competition in the market. What are their advantages and disadvantages compared to your book?
While you want to consider multiple publishers to have options if your proposal doesn’t go through, it is generally not recommended to submit a proposal to several publishers at the same time. Editors likely won’t appreciate you sending proposals to other publishers. Moreover, getting rejected may provide you with knowledge that you can use to improve your next proposal submission. However, this doesn’t mean that you should hold out for the most prestigious publisher if it means that it will take you years to receive a book contract. A first-time author is less likely to land a contract with a top-ranking university press, and it may better to have a contract with a less prestigious academic press than to not have one at all!
Step 4. Receiving a book contract
The next step in publishing an academic book is receiving a book contract from the publisher. Assuming the commissioning editor liked your proposal, they will forward it to a relevant committee. In turn, the committee will review your proposal and the manuscript and may send them out to referees. Depending on the research field, it is possible that you will be asked to nominate such referees yourself. If the referees are favourable to your text, the book will be likely deemed acceptable for publication. However, there are a few points you should keep in mind when chasing after a book contract.
It is likely that referees will provide some feedback on your manuscript, and the editor will send you readers’ reports. If the referees recommend publication after a revision, you will be required to provide a formal response. You should reflect on the readers’ reports and address their points by discussing how exactly you will revise the manuscript to allay their concerns. Your formal response, along with the readers’ reports, your proposal, and your manuscript, will then be presented by the editor to the editorial board. If the board votes in favour, you will be given a contract.
Study the contract carefully. It is a good idea to seek advice from colleagues when it comes to negotiating contracts and such items as royalties, number of free copies of the book you get, or how much time you will be given to prepare the index. In particular, don’t promise deliveries with deadlines that you can’t keep! One thing to note is copyright: will you be allowed to freely distribute electronic copies of your book? The ability to provide free copies may greatly help the visibility of your book and your ability to promote it at conferences or online. Speaking of copyright, make sure that there are no copyright issues if you intend to reuse papers that you have published previously. Re-read the copyright transfer agreements that you signed with the journals to know whether you can republish parts of your work without their permission.
Step 5. Writing and submitting the full manuscript
The final step of publishing your academic book is completing the manuscript and submitting it to the editor. Expect this stage to be the longest, and follow regular deadlines to ensure that you keep up with the schedule. After each submission, you may be asked to revise your manuscript to address feedback from the reviewers. Depending on your book’s audience and objectives, avoid the rigid academic style of writing if needed. Mastering the ‘book style’ may take time, and reading some literature on the best practices in academic writing may help (such as ‘The Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities’ by Eric Hayot, or ‘Stylish Academic Writing’ by Helen Sword).
Percentage of advanced academic style guides that allow/encourage or prohibit/discourage twelve specific techniques associated with stylish writing (n = 100). Source: Sword, H. (2012). Stylish Academic Writing. London: Harvard University Press, p.26.
Expect to answer a lot of copyediting queries and check each set of proofs. You will also be asked to decide who will index your book. You can hire a professional (usually recommended by the editor) to compile the index, or you can do it yourself. You might also be required to provide the cover image and the back-cover description for your book. Do research on book prizes and journals which may review your book, as the publisher could ask you to provide information that would help market your publication.
What to do once the book is published?
You can expect a professional publisher to support you with marketing, but this doesn’t mean you cannot promote your book yourself. Spread the word about it online, talk about your book at conferences, and recommend it to your university. You can always use this guide along with your publishing experience to further expand your bibliography!
