Over the past few months, I’ve noticed several people fretting over on Twitter about not knowing what to do with themselves after finishing their dissertations. A few of those people have been wondering if they should just launch into revising the diss into a book. I hate to see people stressing out when I have advice that might help them (which is basically the entire reason this newsletter exists), so I tried to come up with my best tips for coping with that “omg I need to do the next thing NOW” energy that can so easily pop up after completing such a monumental project. I really wanted to publish the tips in this newsletter immediately, but I exercised some self-control and pitched a piece to Inside Higher Ed instead. Thankfully, they liked it, and last week it was published!

Here it is. I hope it reduces some stress for someone out there.

In other news, I have an exciting announcement to make about this fall’s session of the Manuscript Works book proposal accelerator. Two of the speakers who joined us for virtual office hours in the summer session—Andrew Berzanskis and Cameron Ludwick—have generously donated the honoraria I offered them back to the accelerator to be used as a “scholarship fund” for future participants. That’s enough to cover one entire enrollment, but I’m going to match their donations and make two spots in this fall’s cohort available at no charge.

I would like these spots to go to scholars who are working on book proposals and genuinely unable to afford the $295 enrollment fee for the accelerator. If that’s you, please send an email with the subject line “Accelerator Scholarship” to laura@manuscriptworks.com with a brief description of your book project by Saturday, August 24, 2019. If I get more than two applicants, I will prioritize scholars of color and the precariously (un)employed, so please indicate if you identify with either or both of those groups.

If you’d like to enroll in the fall session of the book proposal accelerator sans scholarship, you can fill out this form. And if you have some extra money you’d like to donate to make even more free spots available to scholars who need them, please let me know!