Essential knowledge about scholarly book publishing that every author should have. Get weekly tips on writing and publishing your scholarly book from developmental editor and publishing consultant Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD.
A writer's shopping list for the semester ahead
Published 12 days ago • 4 min read
The Manuscript Works Newsletter
Essential knowledge on scholarly book publishing that every author should have
Hello Manuscript Workers!
As I’ve mentioned here before, my new book Make Your Manuscript Work is for scholarly writers who have a draft in hand and want to ensure that it will impress publishers and connect impactfully with readers. In the book, I teach you a type of editing called developmental editing, which involves sharpening the fundamentals of your text, or what I call the four pillars of scholarly writing: argument, evidence, structure, and style.
The scope of my book is quite clear; I don’t attempt to cover every stage of the writing and revision process. However, I do provide a comprehensive bibliography that includes external resources for the other stages of the process, such as conceptualization, producing a draft, polishing your text at the sentence level, and pitching your book project to publishers.
My bibliographic recommended reading list includes over 30 book titles plus additional resources, so if you’re interested in those, I encourage you to get your hands on Make Your Manuscript Work and flip back to page 235. In my newsletter today, I'm featuring just a handful of titles from that list for you to check out.
Anytime in your writing career, but especially if you find yourself stuck and experiencing what Boyd calls “emotional and psychological blocks.” I particularly appreciate Boyd’s diagnostic schema that categorizes writing challenges as “Inherent, Institutional, and Interpretive,” and further breaks down inherent challenges as being traceable to “the Head, the Hand, and the Heart.”
For a quick taste, check out Michelle Boyd’s guest post in the Manuscript Works newsletter.
This book is obviously meant to be helpful when you’re planning to convert your dissertation into a scholarly book, but I think it’s a must for any writer at the conceptualization stage who isn’t quite sure what they want the overall argument and themes of their book to be. If you like a practical, hands-on approach, you’ll appreciate that Knox and Van Deventer offer exercises on brainstorming potential organizing principles for your book and how to select the most appropriate one for your project based on the material you have.
For a quick taste, check out Katelyn Knox and Allison Van Deventer’s guest post in the Manuscript Works newsletter.
In grad school and any time after that. Personally, I used this book heavily when it was time to get my most recent manuscript into shape at the sentence level, i.e. during the line editing phase just before I submitted the final version for production.
While the title is pitched at grad students, the tips in this book will be valuable for any scholar who wants to level up their writing craft. In addition to the many craft tips, there's a chapter on “Developing Sustainable Writing Habits,” in which Cayley outlines five common challenges that academic writers face and offers target strategies for each one. I appreciate Cayley’s approach because she acknowledges that different strategies work for different temperaments and encourages experimentation.
For a quick taste, check out Rachael Cayley’s guest post in the Manuscript Works newsletter.
Whenever your thoughts turn to getting a book published, which may be before you've written a word or when you're just about ready to send off your manuscript to publishers or any point in between. While the book proposal document is the central focus, The Book Proposal Book will also help with conceptualization of your project and audience, communicating with acquiring editors, and the all-important step of responding to your peer reviews in a way that will persuade your publisher to offer you a contract.
Want to see a longer list of my recommended books for scholarly writers? Check it out at Bookshop.org. If you purchase any titles through my affiliate link, I'll receive a small commission (the price will be the same for you either way and it's is a great way to support this free newsletter). I also encourage you to seek out these books directly from their publishers and/or request that your library acquire them!
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.
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. Once you register for the Shortcut, you'll be eligible to join my next Book Proposal Sprint from September 8–12, a week of daily online coworking & live Q&A to help you make meaningful progress on getting your first (or next) book published.
Following the Sprint, you'll keep 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.
If you have a friend, colleague, or student who might enjoy the Manuscript Works Newsletter, could you forward it to them and let them know that they can read back-issues and subscribe at newsletter.manuscriptworks.com? Thank you for reading and sharing!
Essential knowledge about scholarly book publishing that every author should have. Get weekly tips on writing and publishing your scholarly book from developmental editor and publishing consultant Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD.