From Dissertation to Book

by William P. Germano

All new Phd's hope that their dissertations can become books. But a dissertation is written for a committee and a book for the larger world. William Germano's From Dissertation to Book is the essential guide for academic writers who want to revise a doctoral thesis for publication. The author of Getting It Published , Germano draws upon his extensive experience in academic publishing to provide writers with a state-of-the-art view of how to turn a dissertation into a manuscript that publishers will notice.

Acknowledging first that not all theses can become books, Germano shows how some dissertations might have a better life as one or more journal articles or as chapters in a newly conceived book. But even dissertations strong enough to be published as books first need to become book manuscripts, and at the heart of From Dissertation to Book is the idea that revising the dissertation is a fundamental process of adapting from one genre of writing to another.

Germano offers clear guidance on how to do just this. Writers will find advice on such topics as rethinking the table of contents, taming runaway footnotes, shaping chapter length, and confronting the limitations of jargon, alongside helpful timetables for light or heavy revision. With crisp directives, engaging examples, and a sympathetic eye for the foibles of academic writing, From Dissertation to Book reveals to recent PhD's the process of careful and thoughtful revision—a truly invaluable skill as they grow into their new roles as professional writers.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Academia, Reference, Academic, Research, Grad School

152 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 2005

About the author

William Germano is vice president and publishing director at Routledge. He has been editor in chief at Columbia University Press, where he also served as humanities editor.

Reviews

[Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revision, revision, revision. Germano states that the manuscript a writer submits to a publisher must be a significant revision of the dissertation. This book is very helpful in this regard. I really liked when Germano said in the beginning that the book would not provide you THE answer but will provide you with answers on what to do next with your dissertation. It has definitely given me answers on how to proceed. This is a book that should be read by all new PhDs after they defend their dissertations.

[sdw · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have finished your dissertation. You have taken the requisite 3-6 month break from the material. What do you do? Well, if you are like me you order every book on amazon that looks like it might provide guidance. I am surrounded by Germano’s Getting It Published , Emily Toth’s Impeccable Advice for Women in Academia , Beth Luey’s Revising Your Dissertation , The Academic Handbook , and this book, From Dissertation to Book .

This is the first guide I have made it all the way through, which says something about its length (concise!) and readability. It is a clear and inspiring revision guide. The first chapter of Revising Your Dissertation terrified me about the shrinking state of the academic publishing world, the increasing availability of electronic dissertations, and the need for marketability. It filled me with fear and panic. It made me feel that only those with realistic aspirations towards academic rock start status could expect to have their first book published.

In contrast, Germano’s From Dissertation to Book left me feeling that my dissertation could become a book, a good public. I felt ready to print out my manuscript and attack it with a red pen. “Reading with an Editor’s Eye” helped me think about my prose in a practical way. “Planning and Doing” helped me plot a realistic time-line for revisions and address the scope of revisions for which I’ll aim. “Getting Into Shape” included several pages addressing the creation of a strong Table of Contents not just for a superficial change but in gaining clarity about the narrative connections between parts. “Making Prose Speak” attacks the common refrain to remove the “dissertation speak” from the manuscript by outlining the steps to do so.

The book ends with three handy check-lists to review prior to sending out your manuscript. The first, Dissertation v. Book, deserves a place taped to the wall over my desk.

What this book doesn’t do: Tell you how to get your book published. I do not know how to write a query letter. I don’t know how to write a book proposal. I was looking for a book that would reinforce the advice I’d received from my advisors as to the steps in finding and securing a publisher. This book isn’t it. This book only focuses on the ins and outs of what your manuscript should look like. I have high hopes that Germano’s other book Getting It Published will address these other queries.

[Yusuf · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as l understand this is "the book" that people read when anyone wants to turn her dissertation into a book. This is also why l read it and l can confirm that it covers all issues regarding this transformation process. Obviously no one can give the formula, but this is the closest one you can get. It shows you the right direction, you still need to put the effort though.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The dissertation is the Ugly Duckling of the publishing world." So says Germano, compelling recent PhD grads to confront the limitations of their greatest work to date. But the point of the fairy tale is that the Ugly Duckling turns into a Beautiful Swan. Just how this transformation can be brought about is the substance of this book, whose author has one foot in the academic world and another in the publishing world—and who is thus perfectly situated to identify the challenges for budding academics and advise them on how to package their research in a way which will arrest the attention of editors and readers.

Good ideas and the jewels of research that are buried in a study described with dry-sounding titles/headings will not get past an editor’s first glance (if they get that far), nor will these gems shine to best advantage in sleep-inducing prose. So how does one go about reworking their dissertation, which, after all was good enough for the examining committee? What needs to be adjusted?Germano sets out straightforward, practical strategies for rethinking/restructuring the manuscript—some of which will have occurred doctoral candidates with an eye to future publication, but some of which will not have—and he is particularly insightful on how to revise the thesis at different levels in order to i)generate greater reader interest and target a wider readership (crucial, as editors need to be confident of a return for the expenses of production) and to ii) project a forward thrust through the presentation so as to draw the reader along by making them feel they are heading somewhere. Even a scholarly audience, with a determination to read, prefers a compelling ride to a hard slog.

In addition, Germano takes a critical look at academic prose, exposing the pitfalls. There are several, but they are overlooked by recent grads (I plead guilty - oh all those passives for which I now blush!) as they tend to be overlooked by dissertation supervisors and examiners who are concerned less with style than with research strength and rigour of analysis. The good news is that these pitfalls are easily avoided, and there are ready ways to cultivate an engaging style.

Short and highly readable, this book not only instructs but also inspires. Its advice is concrete and can be put into practice readily, helping to build confidence in aspiring writers, few of whom feel like ‘natural writers’ but all of whom have the potential to be successful writers. Highly recommended.

[Brenton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though it is desperately in need of updating and a little basic in a lot of areas--particularly writing skills--I was surprised at how helpful this was in giving me a little mental sandbox time for thinking about my PhD thesis and how it might become a book. I was not able to come out with a plan, but I came out with energy, some tips, and a first step.

[Alex Jonker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some things I liked and didn’t like about this one. I felt like the first few chapters were pretty redundant, focusing on if you should even turn your dissertation into a book in the first place. I was also hoping for a bit more of a structure guideline for working through revisions, and maybe even a bit more info on what the entire process is like for us new scholars, new professional writers.

That being said, it did get the gears start turning and making me think about writing again. While reading I had several ideas about revisions I wanted to make to my dissertation. So I guess overall, it did the job, but I think could have added just a bit more info in some spots?

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief but informative book guiding the thesis or dissertation writer in how to begin revising that project into a potentially publishable book. There is good practical information, but it is primarily about how to think differently when approaching your work as a book than you have grown accustomed while producing a thesis for the eyes of your adviser and examiners. My only criticism is that the author's use of extended metaphors tend to obscure rather than clarify.

[Jeremy]

Read the second edition instead?

[Mat Chiappe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most useful books I have ever read. It has a single and specific purpose, but it is also extremely clear, to the point, and down to earth. Also, the last chapter is quite touching.

[Mark Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't let the title fool (or scare) you: I'm not planning to turn my own dissertation into a book—in large part because of Germano's advice. From long experience as an editor and an academician (whose own dissertation is sitting safely on a shelf, unpublished), Germano knows that not all dissertations will make good books.

In fact, very few will without major revision. Germano has persuaded me that another of his suggested options is better for my particular work: evisceration. Take the few chapters that really say something and turn them into journal articles or perhaps another book.

Germano provides a great deal of practical advice, including pre-eminently Checklist 1 in the back of the book, a simple run-down of the differences between the audience, voice, structure, and length of a dissertation and of a book, respectively.

Germano writes with a noticeably smooth and engaging voice himself. I thoroughly enjoyed and profited from this book. It's hard to imagine anyone writing from a better perspective.

[Elisa Goudriaan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Germano uses a lot of words to say what he wants to say, but the things he wants to make clear are rather useful.

[Margot Note]

Read on a flight to Austin, TX.

"Revising your dissertation isn't 'getting to yes,' it's 'getting to more'--more clarity in the writing, more clearly defined purpose in the structure, more potential readers" (8).

"If your Byronic persona depends on your not letting anyone know how hard you work, keep it a secret. But in the silence of your locked room, be as tough on your writing as you can. Remember that the very idea of revision--that something flimsy can be bettered, or that the good can be made great--acts out one optimistic idea of human progress. Revision is a job for optimists" (22).

"The first step in revising a dissertation is knowing what isn't worth revising" (28).

"It isn't a coincidence that certain scholars have their essays and reviews published with greater frequency than do others. It's not just a matter of critical acumen and stylish prose. One of the things that makes these writers attractive to a publisher is that they can meet delivery dates, revise quickly, and read proofs overnight if need be. Living with deadlines is one of those things that makes professionals professional" (67).

"If he hadn't said them, Goethe's final words--"More light! More light!--could have been provided for him by a Hollywood scriptwriter. Revision is the act of bringing light, and more of it, into one's writing, and so into one's thought and its representation on the page. Books that are well written enjoy the imitation of immortality we call being read. Revising is the way we move the sentence, the paragraph, the page along, more clearly, more strongly, so we can go back to the first creation--the writing--of yet one more sentence, one more paragraph, one more page. As you revise your dissertation you will turn it into something stronger, clearer, and perhaps along the way into something smarter. This is what writing scholars so. Writing and revising, systole and diastole, are the paired beats of a scholar's life" (129).

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t speak for all academic disciplines, but as someone who works in humanities publishing I can say every doctoral graduation ought to include this book. I’m glad to confess that I only learned about it when I joined the publishing world. Nobody in academia was talking about it. This little book is a very insightful guide—almost a Bible to acquisitions editors—on how to take a dissertation (which is not a book) and to make it into one. It is necessary reading.

Academics tend to be pretty narrowly focused. They often think the job of academic publishers is to take whatever’s sent to them and publish it. Germano knows what all academics should know; publishing is a business. Poorly written books on obscure subjects have very small readerships. I won’t cause any despair by revealing just how small here, but I know from my own work experience that the “book” your doctoral committee praised was being lauded by people who don’t understand what publishing is. Do yourself a favor—read this book.

The crux of the issue is that a dissertation is written to convince a committee that you know what you’re talking about. A book is written to convey useful information to people not on that committee. The wider the group of people the better. As I explain elsewhere (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World), like Germano I have been both a professor and an editor. If you’re a grad student and want some free advice, read this book. I wish I had, years ago.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I picked up this book, I was expecting some more along the lines of Wendy Laura Belcher's "Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks", which I absolutely loved and still find useful. Germano's book is much less a practical guide with concrete steps and tasks and much more a look inside the mind of a book editor. I found a lot of it to be repetitive and would have liked less metaphorical illustrations and more concrete advise. (NOTE: I'm not a STEM person here--I'm an ethnographer, so I have a pretty high tolerance for storytelling and the like--that's just not what I was looking for from this book). People who received little advice or feedback specifically on scholarly writing in grad school will probably gain more from this book than I did (I was fortunate to have an advisor who was a former editor and put me through my paces). I thought the useful bits made up maybe 30 pages out of the 160 pages of prose here. Luckily, "From Dissertation to Book" is a pretty quick read.

Nonetheless, I will say that the book did get me pumped up to go back to my diss and do something with it after having set it aside for almost two years (writing a dissertation is traumatic). I thought the final chapter ("What Happens Next") also did a fine job of explaining and affirming the role of writing in the scholar's life.

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some really good advice in this book, but it's buried in a lot of florid prose that really doesn't help point an aspiring dissertation reviser in any concrete direction Germano is clearly passionate about this topic, and much of the book is certainly admirable for its dedication to dispelling myths and encouraging good habits amidst newly graduated PhD's. But a lot of the advice the book doles out felt, to me, very general in its orientation and lacking in specificity regarding the revision process, the submission process, and related elements of the scholarly writing life. There are certainly some useful takeaways, but they feel buried. You could even say the book is predominantly negative in telling you what not to do rather than emphasizing more specifically what ought to be done. I'm sure plenty have gotten good things out of this book, and I did get some. But all in all I thought that a book that comes so highly recommended would have a bit more to say in order to be useful. Alas.

[Cameron Coombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has got me very excited and inspired for going back to my dissertation and attempting to turn it into a book. The chapters appeared before me as I was reading through it, though I can't promise that will happen for everyone. My only complaint was Germano's criticism of the passive voice (couched between some very valid criticisms of the plural first-person pronoun and semi-colon overuse). That section is somewhat deceptive as Germano's main example of an unneeded passive is a passive that reads perfectly fine. His alternatives are not better but worse in my opinion, harsher on the ears. The deception is in all the other minor examples in that same section that are truly awkward and cacophonous, bolstering his argument against the allegedly overused (but in reality perfectly consonant) passive.

[Allan Olley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a solid discussion of some of the challenges and goals one may have in turning a dissertation particularly a humanities or social science dissertation into a book. The emphasis is on the rewiring to create a cohesive whole that will be of interest to an audience and be marketable at least to an academic audience. There is little about the logistics of academic publishing and formal requirements etc., but it does touch on some of these and general expectations.

The writing style is friendly and lively with lots of detailed examples. The writer seems experienced as an academic editor and capable as a writer.

The kindle edition of this book worked fine.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the first book a scholar should read after finishing their dissertation, especially if that scholar is on the fence about what to do next with the dissertation. I wanted more structured help in how to plan revisions, but Germano's more invested in getting the reader to move from a dissertation-writing attitude to a book-writing mindset - in other words, transitioning the reader from student writer to professional writer. So, it's a great read if you're just starting the process! Just not so much if you're already deep in it and need a more step-by-step manual.

[Bookshark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although in some ways intensely practical, what's really wonderful about this book is that it provides a series of alternative metaphors for thinking about one's writing and scholarship. The purpose of the book is as much to shift your thinking about genre and style as to provide instructions for revising your dissertation. It's also beautifully written, as I suppose any book about writing ought to be.

[mantareads · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an unexpected pleasure, to have enjoyed a writing guide so much; then again, why not? This book promised to teach me to pay better attention to my language, and it did. It articulated the pride and joy of being a scholar and a professional writer.

What a joy, to read prose (even on such a seemingly mundane topic!) moulded and crafted by someone who pays attention to the sound and pace and rhythm of their diction.

[Eric Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are books you read because you want to and books you read because you have to. This is definitely a “have to” book.

I read the second edition.

If Germano is correct, the need for this book is ample; however, the need for this book to be this length and this repetitive is not demonstrated within its pages.

[Kai · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of the book’s advice is either intuitive or overly broad, and I can’t say I had a mind blowing revelation about the process. Still, more than almost anything, this book put me in the writing and revising mindset for actually writing a book. That’s as much about confidence and approach as knowledge. I wish it would have included a bit more detail about the proposal/prospectus.

[Aya Nassar]

I wanted "to grab it by its metaphorical lapels and give it a good shake. 'You know something!' I would say if it could hear me." Too many metaphors, examples and ramblings that cloud the useful advice, like others I was comparing it to the article in 12 weeks, or Backer's awesome texts, so that might have not been fair.

[Shir · Rating 4 out of 5]

The drawback to a general book that tries to appeal to broader audience is that not all of it is applicable to my work/discipline of study. It's not to say that this book isn't useful, because it is, but rather that I found some parts of this book more helpful than other parts (I found Chapter 9 to be the most cogent and precise in helping me frame my own work).

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pithy, encouraging, step-by-step guide while also sailing to lofty heights of inspiration. I wish I'd finished it five years ago, but it gave me the kick in the pants to revise and submit my manuscript. Cheers to William Germano!

[Elissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In terms of practical advice, this book has very little of it. That said, it did help me get into the headspace to go back to my dissertation to think about how to transform it into something else after having been away from it for several years.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful advice.

[Camilo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and helpful read for anyone interested in turning PhD work into a publishable manuscript. It was easy and quick to read and has some sensible advice!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read several books of this genre as I went through this process myself and this one is the best. I read it twice, at different stages of the process.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for a scholarly book editor.