The First Book Complex Decisions for Emerging Scholars

Publishing Options Journal Articles Edited volumes Monographs Publishing the Dissertation without revision Blogs, performances, collaborative and creative work, other scholarly work. Bottom line: Quickly learn what your field values. Also learn what the Executive Committee considers at tenure time. Think strategically as well as creatively.

Journals What are the respected journals in your field? What are the chances of getting into them? What are the journals that best suit the work you do? Are these respected by your colleagues? If not, why? How will you sell their worth, particularly if you are crossing disciplinary boundaries? Bottom Line: Do not put all your eggs in one basket. Do not bank on the prestigious journals, but do not rely only on more obscure titles. Aim for a good mix.

The Dissertation Your dissertation is an exercise that is designed to prove your competency in certain areas. It is not a book. If you are not prepared to gut it and rewrite it significantly publishing it as is might be an option. How does your field consider this practice? If it is not well regarded, don’t do it.

The Dissertation Other uses to which this information can be put, if you are not ready/able to revise it. Can particular chapters be reworked/revised as journal articles? Can particular chapters be reworked/revised as chapters in edited collections? Can you write a condensed version of the salient points as a free-standing chapter/article? Bottom Line: this is a good way to get material out fast, but be careful not to publish too many parts of it as articles/chapters.

Dissertation fatigue? You can’t bear to look at it ever again (you think). What do you do? Other areas of research? Do you have a side project you can develop for a break? What have you been presenting at conferences? Expand, revise conference presentations as journal articles. Bottom Line: When you go through tenure, the committee wants to see that you have life beyond your dissertation research.

The Book A book is a very different animal than a dissertation. To shape your dissertation into a book you will need to: Be prepared to eliminate many facts you to which may be emotionally attached. Think in terms of readability and telling a good story, as well as making academic points. Be prepared to cut many, many pages. Getting to this takes time. If you begin beating your head against a wall doing revision, walk away and do something else for awhile.

Look for models What academic books have you enjoyed reading recently? Look at these with technical eyes. How are they shaped? How is the narrative constructed? Can you develop a similar approach to your work? What academic books have you read and really hated? Look at these with technical eyes. What were the problems? How might you fix them? What do you wish they had done with all of those tasty facts? Can you do that?

Your ms is done. Now what? Cultivate relationships with a publisher early. A good editor is invaluable. Place your work carefully within pre-existing lists. What publisher is most represented on your bookshelves. That might be a good place to begin. Follow submission guidelines. Do not imagine you know what you are doing; you don’t. Don’t get defensive when asked to do more work/revisions/whatever. There will ALWAYS be more revisions.

Final Thoughts on the book Things always take longer than you think they will. If you have all of your ducks in a row (copyrights cleared, subventions applied for, ms clean and details checked) it helps, but expect delays. Once you have a contract, your book is no longer entirely yours. It is now a collaborative work between you and the publisher. Do not fight them unless the changes they ask for will fundamentally change the meaning of your work. They have to sell it.

General Final Thoughts Writing is a skill that takes practice. Make time to do it as regularly as you can and develop a disciplined approach to it. Do whatever works best for you. Outline? Write chunks and rearrange? Writing group for motivation? There is no one right way to do this. Don’t make it into torture. Be prepared to put projects aside to rest and work on something else if you can.

Good luck! I know this sounds daunting, but it is do-able. Be smart, be strategic, keep working and be as pleasant as you can be to as many people as you can be (no matter what you may be thinking). Very often your critics mean well, and if they don’t, being pleasant to them is the best revenge possible. Remember, it was the thrill of learning and discovering that got you into this. Now go tell the stories that get you excited!