Now your doctoral thesis can be published online as a book, in high-quality paperback, eBook, or hardcover, with worldwide distribution via one of the leading international book publishing companies. This blog discusses the steps to self-publishing a book for your Ph.D. thesis.
Completing a Ph.D. thesis takes years and years of research, hard work, and sleepless nights. The research conducted as part of a Ph.D. is valuable. Its value doubles when decision-makers qualify the researched work for Ph.D. gradation.
Which makes a Ph.D. dissertation a valuable academic textbook to a broader set of audiences, including teachers, scholars, and students. So, if you want to know whether you can publish your doctoral thesis as a book? The answer is yes. And what’s more? There is a wide range of options for publishing Ph.D. research. And quite a few of them are affordable and profitable.
Ways to Publish a Ph.D. Thesis
Today the scope of publishing has grown. With free self-publishing and online book publishing options, there are a ton of resources and tools available that you can use to get your researched thesis out into the hands of millions of interested people.
Convert and Publish Your Entire Thesis into a Book: If your thesis includes a topic that interests a large audience of students and professionals, answers questions, and communicates its importance, including evolution, impact, and probable solution, you can publish your entire thesis as a book.
Use Parts of the Ph.D. Dissertation in a Book: You can include parts of your collaborative, ongoing, or past research studies in your book (written or co-authored by you).
Use an Element of the Ph.D. Thesis in an Edited Book: If a book with a subject that fits with your research theme is being edited or upgraded with new content, you can collaborate with the writer, share your studies, and contribute your expertise with other contributors.
Rewrite Your Ph.D. Thesis into a Book Before Publishing
A thesis is not a book – its language, content, style, and format – everything is created for an academic audience and examiners. On the other hand, a book is easily digestible and understandable, created to inform, educate, intrigue, provoke, and engage readers. A thesis starts with a question, but a book begins with an answer.
Therefore, it is crucial to ensure your Ph.D. dissertation connects with your readers so that they actually read it. Thesis can get boring; examiners do not mind, but readers will. Hence, you will have to rewrite a major chunk of your thesis for non-specialist readers.
Before publishing, follow the steps below to convert your thesis into a proper book or manuscript.
- Develop the Plot of the Book Interestingly
A thesis has sections, sub-sections, strict rules, guidelines, bibliography, references, abstract, literary review, scientific approach, interpretation, result, and conclusion. But a book needs to have a story.
Even with a serious subject, you must create a background story in your introduction, establish context, environment, objective, and strike emotions. You should talk to your audience with examples, quotes, and personal stories and unfold layers slowly. Help readers discover each layer and new things with each chapter instead of revealing everything together.
- Reorganize the Content Based on Reader’s Psychology
Write for the general reader – introduce the most unusual aspects of the work immediately. Start from the heart of the matter, then move to theory, and finally to general stuff. The most interesting things should come first, followed by the necessary background and interpretation. Also, change the narrative from third-person to first-person – passive to active and interactive.
- Remove all Academic References
Remove everything in the thesis that comes in the reader’s way – anything repetitive, obscure, and takes up unnecessary space, including Abstract, Introduction, Summary, Sections, Sub-Sections, Historical Backgrounds, Surveys, Conclusions, Arguments, and other peripheral material. Get straight to the point and delete the rest.
- Add-Additional Content and Broaden the Scope
Adding multiple layers to the book can keep the reader hooked to your book. Without meandering from the theme, try adding extra content, ideas, and multiple narratives that relate to the main topic so that readers do not wander off in between.
- Rewrite the Book by Keeping ‘Engagement and Storytelling’ in Mind
- Steer clear from impersonal and abstract tone. Use a friendly, conversational, and straightforward tone. Express more, command less. Impress less, inform more.
- Use plain English. Introduce scientific concepts and academic jargon in layman’s language with examples. Use a lot of examples and references.
- For engagement, use historical, cultural, art, literature, and mythological references.
- Choose different ways to prove your point.
- Sentences should be short, simple, direct, and shouldn’t contain more than two ideas.
- Paragraphs should be between 3 to 10 lines, and avoid repeating abstracts. Be creative.
- Use active voice and concrete nouns. (Avoid abstract nouns and passive voice)
- Write in first-person (I think you should learn, etc.)
- Write like talking to an intelligent friend (but with another educational background) in a café or pub.
- Include human references, case studies, people’s stories, and personal experiences.
- Add “Bibliography,” not “References,” at the end of the book.
- Most Important Tip
After rewriting your book, wait a week to ten days before editing. Hold yourself back for a few days, clear your mind, think about the target audience, and edit with a fresh perspective.
How to Publish Your Ph.D. Thesis and Earn Money
Publishing your Ph.D. dissertation into a full-length book has its own perks – you can start your career as an author, open your doors to academic book writing opportunities, and most importantly, earn a good profit from the book sales.
Going through Book Publishing Companies
Approach book publishing companies or a publishing house, write your proposal stating why they should publish your thesis, submit your manuscript for review, and wait for the approval. An editor will read your manuscript to determine whether your book is worth publishing.
If the publishing company accepts your manuscript and decides to publish your book, they will buy the copyrights from you and pay you an advance against future royalty, based on the current market rate. They will then take care of the book formatting, publishing, ISBN allocation, distribution, and marketing.
This process generally takes 2 to 18 months. You will be offered 10% to 15% royalty or 5% to 10% of the net sales profits once or twice a year. This process is known as traditional book publishing.
Self-Publishing A Book
Self-publishing is a DIY solution that allows writers to publish their own books without losing creative and copyright control. Choose a leading self-publishing company that offers free publishing options, like Writat, and create an account. Most self-publishing companies provide mobile-enabled, online publishing solutions.
Self-publishing is the most profitable, trending, and easiest way to publish a Ph.D. thesis. All you have to do is download a suitable template for your thesis book and copy-paste your manuscript, and convert into a PDF. Choose a suitable cover design from the library or upload any image of your choice, select the book copy option (Paperback, Hardcover, or eBook), and submit your book for processing.
Once the manuscript is submitted, the self-publishing platform will evaluate the quality (formatting and alignment), approve the cover design, and assign an ISBN. Your book will be published in less than 30 minutes and distributed in 40,000 distribution channels worldwide for greater audience reach.
Best self-publishing companies offer 70% to 90% of the net profits and other added benefits, like assisted publishing and customized solutions (editing, cover designing, and marketing) at a minimal cost.\
Click here to publish your Ph.D. thesis as a book.
Read the Difference Between Writat and Other Book Publishing Companies.
