The Thesis and the Book: A Guide for First-Time Academic Authors

By Eleanor Harman

Book Overview

The academic caveat Publish or Perish is not a new one, and for over a quarter of a century, The Thesis and the Book has come to the aid of graduate students in their quest for publication. The doctoral dissertation, usually the first book-length study completed by a scholar, is, however, only rarely publishable as a book. Understanding the differences between the two forms is a crucial part of one's education as a scholar and is equally important in appreciating the endeavours of scholarly publishers. The Thesis and the Book: A Guide for First-Time Academic Authors, revised and expanded in this second edition, will continue to provide the best overview of the process of revising a dissertation for publication.

Drawing on the expertise of the contributors, all of whom are editors, publishers, and scholars themselves, the chapters present the rudimentary differences between a thesis and a book (including matters of purpose and audience), give guidance on the necessary stylistic, technical, and structural revisions to the dissertation, and offer advice to first-time authors who must not only revise their work to satisfy prospective publishers, but also learn a good deal of the ins and outs of scholarly publishing.

The Thesis and the Book will continue to be of great value to graduating doctoral students seeking publication and to the faculty members who supervise these students. It will also be of value to acquisitions editors at scholarly presses, who must contend with the submission of revised dissertations for publication.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802085881
• ISBN13: 9780802085887
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

7 articles of information about your first book

I'm at the stage now in my career as a historian. Rather than simply send in the dissertation to a publisher, which I feared might be poorly viewed in academia and not be my best work for future reference, I set it aside for about six months. Then I talked to my committee and got their input. The result was contact to a former editor in my field who recommended three books: "The Thesis and the Book" was one of these. By and large these seven essays offer good advice and solid examples I think I can follow. Basically I have to rethink how I was thinking about my subject and write what I would have originally wanted to write had it not be so incumbent on me to prove every stage of my research. I read this book slowly, letting each essay set in my mind and taking notes. I wanted to internalize the processes these authors were suggesting to make the revisions flow more smoothly.