From Dissertation to Book (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing),   ISBN:9780226288468

Customer Rating: 

While offering some useful advice on revising a dissertation from a writing perspective, I found this book to be a bit limited in its scope. The target audience was a narrow one: young scholars (the author emphasizes the word young at every opportunity, it seems) set on an academic career, wishing to publish through an academic press on the path to tenure. With the growing diversity of dissertation writers, some of whom are mid-career professionals, a broader perspective would seem more appropriate - for example, he completely glosses over the difference between approaches for trade press publication versus academic press, and how revisions might differ between them. Given that he continuously stresses how hard it is to get published, casting a broader net of options like that would seem useful. It might also help reduce some of the repetitiveness of the text, which at time felt a bit preachy and condescending as well. That said, some of the specific advice about writing style was right on point, and very tactically useful in the revision process.

After buying a few similar reference books, I would recommend "Revising your dissertation" edited by Beth Huey before this book. It has overlapping content, but in many ways seems more focused and more respectful - written from a peer-to-peer perspective, rather than from a "wiser than thou" advisor.

Customer Rating: 

It's a slim volume, both in size and in ROI, but that's not to say it isn't a valuable read - Germano's insight into both academia and the publishing industry provides a strong dose of reality for the newly-minted Ph.D (or those of us who have written really hefty Master's theses and are figuring out what to do next). Germano not only talks about how the audience and required voice differ between dissertations and books, but also breaks down the possibilities based on the amount of time the would-be author is willing to spend on revisions to help guide the would-be author away from the trap of endless revisions and delays. One of Germano's best visual images is the 40-year-old ABD student huddled in the library over Just One More Book, indistinguishable from a bum... There but for the grace of God, etc.

Perhaps the biggest strike against this text (and a weak strike at that) is how the last third of the book goes into greater depth about how to focus on audience, voice and so on. This is solid, but also sort of a no-brainer for readers who have studied writing and publishing at all. Those of us who fall into that camp can happily skim through those last pages, but other academics new to the publishing game should find them a compelling read.

In the end, Germano's book should probably be handed out to newly-minted Ph.Ds along with their degrees. Those of us on a slightly different road, however, will still find it valuable but perhaps not quite so much of a pageturner.

Customer Rating: 

Having put off the process of converting my dissertation into a manuscript for over a year, this book was exactly what I needed to get my brain going in the right direction.

Even though I had excellent guidance and was encouraged to write my dissertation in an accessible writing style, this book was still very helpful. I highly recommend it!!

Customer Rating: 

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.

Customer Rating: 

I find this book immensely helpful and practical in the day to day work of converting a dissertation into a book. I thought I knew how to write a book, but I found many useful tips and suggestions, and a wonderful sense of humor and grace in the author's advice. I recommend it highly.