From thesis to book: writing an effective first book proposal

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From thesis to book writing an effective first
book proposal

• Dr Gita Subrahmanyam
• 14 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 VERY UNLIKELY TO BE PUBLISHED IN
  THE FORM IT WAS WHEN YOU PASSED YOUR PHD VIVA
• Dont assume that even an award-winning thesis is
  already a book its probably not!

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Thesis vs Book

• Insecure document CYB
• Audience small viva panel
• Academic requirement establishing expertise
• Length 80k-100k words
• Didnt know where you were going when you started
• Often not an integrated whole
• Generally contains weak/boring chapters frequent
  references to other authors work as evidence of
  knowledge of the field
• Numerous examples designed to back up ideas
• Few long or many short chapters, often
  self-standing

• Confident piece of work
• Audience targeted wider public
• Communication tool establishing storyline
• Length up to 80k words
• Need to know exactly where youre going from the
  start
• Must be an integrated whole
• Contains only strong/thesis-building chapters
  highlighting your argument others quoted where
  necessary/compelling
• Well-chosen examples designed to move the story
  forward
• Several chapters of readable length, clearly
  linked

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Optional routes for your thesis

• Do not resuscitate (it was nice to do the PhD but
  its not 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 1 not 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 of
  value to a broader readership and to YOU
• Cut out any boring sections you wrote to show how
  well you know your subject
• Assess the usefulness of all the different
  examples you use to apply your theory/theories
• Take the interesting material you wrote and shape
  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
See larger issues
THESIS
Rethink
Rewrite
Write more
Rethink more
Reshape
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
  relying too 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 saleable book they can find
• They want to make a profit or at least not
  incur a loss in the process of publishing
• They expect a book to be clear in 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 to spelling, grammar and sentence
  structure.
• It avoids scientific or technical terminology
  unfamiliar to the layperson. It is easy to read.
• The author is a professional in the field about
  which he/she is writing, and is considered an
  expert on the subject or has done extensive
  research on it.
• The material is well-organized.
• The presentation is attractive, appealing and
  professional-looking.
• It has been diligently promoted and marketed.

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Book title and table of contents

• The first things an editor looks at and what
  you look at in choosing a book for purchase - are
  a books title and table of contents
• Title should be intriguing but best if its not
  too general, or terminological, or long, or cute
• Ensure that there are no colons in your chapter
  headings and no repetition of whats in the title
• Different publishers have different ideas about
  what is appropriate in terms of titles and
  headings
• Think about what books you like best that are
  similar to your own project and copy their style.
  It is likely you will want your book published by
  the same 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 are
  using 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 scholar is not merely someone whose knowledge
  is extensive the knowledge must be of value to
  others. One would not call a man who knew the
  Manhattan Telephone Directory by heart a scholar,
  because one cannot imagine circumstances in which
  he would acquire a pupil. (W.H. Auden)

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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 requiring
  more 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 is
  already a book
• Dont assume that a publisher or a reviewer will
  treat a first book as a practice exercise it
  will be judged against other similar books
• Dont submit a manuscript to more than one
  publisher without telling them youre doing so
• Dont conceal arrangements youve already made to
  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 it Published A
  Guide for Serious Scholars (University of Chicago
  Press)
• Eleanor Harman, et al (eds) (2003) The Thesis and
  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'