How to Publish a Dissertation or Thesis
You have probably spent months or maybe even years working on your most impressive academic feat – your thesis or dissertation. Now that you have finished defending your work to your committee, you may have trouble
finally letting it go. Publishing is a hard validation of your countless hours of effort. Below, find tips to on how to publish a dissertation and make the decisions as easy as possible.Deciding Whether to Publish
Most importantly, take an objective look at your own paper and how you feel towards it. If you have become burned out or have lost passion for this subject, you probably shouldn’t consider publishing your thesis or dissertation right away. While the initial writing phase takes massive amounts of your time and energy, the process of how to publish a dissertation may involve as much or even more of your time revisiting every aspect of your paper. Also, it might not be worth your time if you have decided not to pursue a career in the academic or research field. Finally, could you honestly see other peers in your field wanting to buy your paper? Take a look online to see what kind of interest other papers similar to yours are drawing from academics.
Book or Journal Publication?
By now, you have probably become very familiar with the difference between scholarly publications as presented in an entire book or periodical form. However, first you should talk to several peers who have experience on how to publish a dissertation of their own. Seek out those on your thesis or dissertation committee, currently or formerly published authors, and your professors about the pros and cons of pursuing a book deal or journal publication. In general, scientific and psychological articles are published in periodic journals, as new information in these fields can be important in the here and now for colleagues and therefore time sensitive. On the other hand, cultural and historic studies are better suited for book publications, as these kinds of fields are about fully informing the reader on the subject and would only interest those in a very specific field who would want to purchase the material. Lastly, consider the length of your work, as this can play a role in your decision.
Publisher Relations
Take some time to research the publishers out there and consider what companies are publishing works that are most similar to your own. Keep in mind that the most generic publishers don’t often delve into research, so stick to academic publishers. After you have sent out a brief synopsis of your work to several companies, wait four to six months before seriously considering signing with a specific company. Many of these publishers review thousands of aspiring writers’ papers every year, so be patient when waiting to hear back.
0 comments