Product Details
From Dissertation to Book (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

From Dissertation to Book (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)
By William Germano

List Price: $16.00
Price: $8.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com

45 new or used available from $8.95

Average customer review:

Product Description

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.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #58514 in Books
  • Published on: 2005-04-08
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 152 pages

Features

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Every economically selected word in this book will help all to understand professional authorship for today's academic world. " -- Sander L. Gilman, Weidenfeld Professor of European Comparative Literature, St. Anne's College Oxford

"This book should be handed to the candidate at the conclusion of all doctoral defenses." -- Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History, Columbia University

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.

Customer Reviews

The Place to Start for New PhDs4
I was on the fence between which Germano book to buy, this one or "Getting it Published." I ended up getting both. Between the two, though, this is the one to start with. Not only did it demystify the process of revising the dissertation into a book, it actually has made me feel much better about my dissertation itself. It seems that most all dissertations have telltale problems and limitations; Germano is a former book editor at a scholarly press and has seen enough of them to describe them frankly and helpfully. He pegs perfectly the fundamental flaw of graduate education: what you are asked to produce for your committee is not what publishers want. I have often compared my dissertation to the books that I read and felt that it pales in comparison; Germano explains why this is though and maps out useful strategies--planning, conceptualizing, re-writing--for taking your work to the next level. After reading this, I am actually really excited to get into the revising process.

Encouraging Yet Realistic Advice5
This book spoke directly to me, a person finishing her dissertation who saw the potential for publishing but didn't know how to get started. The author works for a publishing company and once wrote a dissertation, so his advice is trustworthy. I also felt that the ideas he shared were practical and doable. Having read this book gave me a clear sense of direction as I began my own book manuscript, and I kept the author's advice clearly in mind as I wrote. One downside: The book is wordy and leans toward a scholarly tone. While it isn't exactly an enjoyable read, it is high interest if the reader is thinking about publishing all or parts of her dissertation, and certainly those of us who have written dissertations can get through scholarly text! I recommend this book. It is one of a kind on the market right now.

From Dissertation to Dissertation5
As a graduate student just beginning to write my dissertation, this book was very, very helpful. Eric Foner's blurb on the back cover suggests putting it into the hands of PhD candidates at the conclusion of their doctoral defenses. I would suggest doing so at the conclusion of their general exams, when the typical dissertation errors Germano describes can still be avoided. Reading this book before writing a considerable portion of my dissertation has given me a clear set of questions to keep in mind as I move forward. It is an excellent complement to Bolker's WRITING YOUR DISSERTATION IN 15 MINUTES A DAY, which offers encouragement and writing tips unhinged from the (reasonable) obsession with turning a dissertation into a book.