Hello Manuscript Workers!
I have a 30-second favor to ask: if you've read Make Your Manuscript Work, could you go give it a rating on Amazon right now? You don't even have to have purchased it on Amazon, but rating it there helps other people discover that the book exists and builds trust that it'll be worth their while (even if they don't purchase it on Amazon either). Thank you so much!!
One of the fun things about having a new book come out is getting to talk to lots of people about it. Sometimes those people ask you thoughtful questions about why you wrote the book, how you wrote it, and how you hope the book will serve readers who may not already be familiar with your work. It’s a great opportunity to reflect on what you want your book to do in the world and validate all the work you’ve put in so far.
I've been fortunate to participate in a number of these conversations over the past few months. If you’d like a little more insight into how I think about scholarly writing and publishing and how my new book Make Your Manuscript Work can help you as an academic writer, check out these podcast episodes:
- I talked with Christina Gessler of The Academic Life podcast about why your work isn't done when you finish writing the first draft, how to figure out your book's argument, and more.
- Hear me chat with my friend Jane Jones on the Academic Book Writing Simplified podcast. Jane is a fellow developmental editor who I've known for years, so we go deep on why developmental editing matters for academic writers and how my book can help even if you plan to hire a professional editor too.
- Helen Sword kindly invited me to participate in a WriteSPACE event that brought together me and two other authors of new books for writers (one of which has also been featured in this newsletter). Helen is a well-known author of books for writers; I recommend several of her titles, including Stylish Academic Writing.
- I also talked to Jo Van Every for her newsletter and podcast. Jo is a coach for academic writers, so our discussion leans toward how my book can help busy academics get writing done, even when you're short on time and resources.
- Leslie Wang's Your Words Unleashed is always a helpful listen. My new episode with her will be out soon, but in the meantime, you can hear us chat about finding the right publisher for your book in this episode from last year.
If you vibe with the style of any of these podcasts and hosts, I encourage you to subscribe to their feeds so you can learn about other resources they share for scholarly writers.
Thanks for listening!
If you have a podcast for academics or writers or academic writers and would like to have me on your show, I'd love to come! Just reply to this message and we'll get something on the schedule (and I'll tell you how to get a complimentary review copy of Make Your Manuscript Work from my publisher).
Keep scrolling this newsletter for more resources for scholarly writers...
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This newsletter is coming to you from Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD, professional developmental editor and publishing consultant. I help scholarly writers navigate the book publishing process with more ease and agency.
I hope you'll stick around for practical tips on writing and publishing your scholarly book, but if you'd like to adjust your subscription settings, you can do that at the bottom of this message.
More about Laura and Manuscript Works →
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Coming up at Manuscript Works
More resources for academic authors
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What belongs in a book proposal?
Download my free guide that spells out what's important and why.
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Additional support
Use my time-tested curriculum to bring structure and motivation to your book writing process. The Book Proposal Shortcut takes the guesswork out of writing an outstanding pitch for university presses and other academic publishers.
Enrollees in the Book Proposal Shortcut receive complimentary membership in the Manuscript Works Author Support community, a private hub for ongoing support in your scholarly book publishing journey. Inside this community you'll get honest advice about publishers, peer review, offers and contracts, as well as join live Q&A sessions with Laura Portwood-Stacer and your fellow Manuscript Works authors.
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See you soon,