The Manuscript Works Newsletter

Essential knowledge on scholarly book publishing that every author should have

What scholars need to know about writing a book for "general readers"

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 →​

Hello Reader,

In my role as a developmental editor and publishing consultant, I specialize in working with scholarly authors. Most of these authors hold PhDs and want to publish books based on their original research. For most of them, publishing with an explicitly scholarly press—such as a university press or other publisher who focuses on reaching scholarly readers—is the right path.

However, many scholarly authors are curious about trade publishing and what it might mean to write a book that reaches readers outside of academia. I’ve written a new blog post to answer the most common questions I get from authors and clear up some myths and misconceptions.

I’ve structured the post in terms of five overarching questions:

• What is a trade book and how does it differ from a traditional academic monograph?
• Who publishes trade books?
• Why would a scholar want to write a trade book?
• Is writing a trade book actually aligned with your goals as an author?
• What do you need to do if you want to publish a trade book?

The post is a bit too long to reproduce in full in this email, but you can read it here.

I hope that after reading the post you’ll have a better understanding of whether you actually want to write a trade book and how to go about doing that if so.

If you like these kinds of glimpses into the realities of the publishing industry, you might also appreciate my recent interview on the Personal Finance for PhDs podcast hosted by Dr. Emily Roberts. In the interview I answer many questions about the monetary aspects of publishing a scholarly book.

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You can find notes for the episode on the Personal Finance for PhDs website.

For more links, resources, and announcements of upcoming Manuscript Works programs, keep scrolling through this newsletter!

Relevant links

What do scholars need to know about pitching a trade book to publishers ​Read more →​

How royalty and advance payments are calculated and disbursed, plus key points for scholarly writers to consider when negotiating book contracts ​Read more →​

Coming up at Manuscript Works

Free resources

Worksheets for The Book Proposal Book ​Get worksheets and a checklist to support you as you use The Book Proposal Book →​

How to Publish a Book from Your Dissertation ​Get a webinar recording and revision checklist for your book manuscript in progress →​

Navigating Scholarly Publishing as a Racially Minoritized Author ​Get a panel discussion recording and summary→​

More support

Manuscript Works Author Support is 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. This community is open to alums of the Manuscript Works Book Proposal Accelerator and Book Proposal Shortcut for Busy Scholars. Find out more →

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 subscribe at newsletter.manuscriptworks.com? Thank you for reading and sharing!

See you next week,

Laura Portwood-Stacer ​Manuscript Works​

113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205
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