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From thesis to book: writing an

effective first book proposal

Dr Gita Subrahmanyam14 May 2009

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Structure of todays workshop

Where are you in your publishing cycle?

Thesis versus book

Optional publishing routes for your thesis Moving from thesis to book

What publishers want (that is, what makes a

nonfiction book successful) Key elements of a book proposal

One authors journey: Dr Kirsten Haack

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If you leave this workshop with only

one clear message, it should be this:

YOUR THESIS IS VERYUNLIKELY TO BE PUBLISHEDIN THE FORM IT WAS WHEN

YOU PASSED YOUR PHD VIVA

Dont assume that even an award-winningthesis is already a bookits probably not!

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Thesis vs Book

Insecure documentCYB Audience: small viva panel

Academic requirementestablishing expertise

Length: 80k-100k words

Didnt know where you weregoing when you started

Often not an integrated whole

Generally contains weak/boringchapters; frequent references toother authors work as evidenceof knowledge of the field

Numerous examples designedto back up ideas

Few long or many shortchapters, often self-standing

Confident piece of work Audience: targeted wider public

Communication toolestablishing storyline

Length: up to 80k words

Need to know exactly whereyoure going from the start

Must be an integrated whole

Contains only strong/thesis-building chapters highlightingyour argument; others quotedwhere necessary/compelling

Well-chosen examples designedto move the story forward

Several chapters of readablelength, clearly linked

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Optional routes for your thesis

Do not resuscitate(it was nice to do the PhD but itsnot interesting enough to spend more time on it)

Publish the one strong chapter as an article

Publish two or three chapters as articles Send the thesis off as is and hope it gets published(see Slide 1not recommended!)

Revise the thesis lightly (if it was written as a book,

rather than a thesis, from the start) Revise the thesis thoroughly to clarify main argument

Cleave the thesis to separate out and develop self-standing arguments, which may result in two books

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Moving from thesis to book

Identify what parts within the thesis are ofvalue to a broader readership and to YOU

Cut out any boring sections you wrote to showhow well you know your subject

Assess the usefulness of all the differentexamples you use to apply your theory/theories

Take the interesting material you wrote andshape it into a compelling story

This may result in previously unseen insights!

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The steps you must take in

revising your thesis

THESIS Rethink Rewrite See larger

issues

ReshapeWrite moreRethink more

Rewrite

further

Repeat the

entire

process as

necessary

BOOK

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Questions you should ask yourself

Audience: Who will want to read this book?

Length: Is it the right length, or too long?

Shape: Are the chapters of even, readable length? Do I

have enough examples, or too many?

Narrative line: Does the book tell a coherent and

compelling story?

Voice: Am I the one telling the story, or am I relyingtoo much on others works to forward my proposition?

Density: Is the research up-to-date? Does it show that I

know the long intellectual history of my subject?

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What publishers want

The best, most saleablebook they can find

They want to make a profitor at least not

incur a lossin the process of publishing

They expect a book to be clearin writing

style, in purpose and in argumentation

They expect a good story - how you write

matters as much as what you have to say

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What makes a nonfiction book successful?

The subject is timely, unique, interesting and appeals to

a wide audience. The title is descriptive, invites inquiry, shocks or

soothes, or in some way attracts attention.

It is well-written and carefully edited, with attention tospelling, grammar and sentence structure.

It avoids scientific or technical terminology unfamiliarto the layperson. It is easy to read.

The author is a professional in the field about whichhe/she is writing, and is considered an expert on thesubject or has done extensive research on it.

The material is well-organized.

The presentation is attractive, appealing andprofessional-looking.

It has been diligently promoted and marketed.

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Book title and table of contents

The first things an editor looks atand what youlook at in choosing a book for purchase - are abooks title and table of contents

Title should be intriguingbut best if its not toogeneral, or terminological, or long, or cute

Ensure that there are no colons in your chapterheadings and no repetition of whats in the title

Different publishers have different ideas aboutwhat is appropriate in terms of titles and headings

Think about what books you like best that aresimilar to your own project and copy their style. Itis likely you will want your book published by thesame publishing house

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Illustrations, tables, graphs

These add to the length/cost of the book so should

be used sparingly

This is especially true if colour is required

There is also the issue of permissions if you areusing others photos/illustrations

Look at books which are similar to yours and see

how many graphs, tables and illustrations they use Make sure that all graphs/tables are accurate and

correctly labelled with source material cited

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Readership and market

A scholarly book, like an other book, has to

be written with an audience in mind

Your publisher wants to know the audience

is large enough to warrant publication

Whomever your audience (strictly academic

or wider base), get an estimate of how many

people there are through marketing data

firms (MDR), professional bodies, etc.

Be realistic: monograph audiences est. 400

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Intended completion date

Do not allow revisions to take more than a year

Even a deep revision can be finished in less than

twelve months

Estimate one month for each chapter requiringmore homework prior to revision

One month for each chapter than must be rewritten

in light of new research

One month to revise introduction and prepare

conclusion

One to three months for cosmetic revision

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Things not to do

Dont assume that even an award-winning thesis isalready a book

Dont assume that a publisher or a reviewer will

treat a first book as a practice exercise; it will bejudged against other similar books

Dont submit a manuscript to more than onepublisher without telling them youre doing so

Dont conceal arrangements youve already madeto publish chapters in journals or edited volumes

Dont send a manuscript to a publisher unless asked

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Further reading

William Germano (2005)From Dissertation

to Book(University of Chicago Press)

William Germano (2001) Getting itPublished: A Guide for Serious Scholars

(University of Chicago Press)

Eleanor Harman, et al (eds) (2003) The Thesisand the Book: A Guide for First-Time Authors

(University of Toronto Press)

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One authors journey

Author: Dr Kirsten Haack

Publisher: Manchester UP

Book title: UN Visions of Democracy

Based on thesis titled:

Democracy by Stealth: From idea to

United Nations agenda'