Academic Book Writing Simplified with Jane Joann Jones
Does writing your academic book feel like a complete mystery? Wondering how other scholars find the time to write while juggling teaching, research, and service - when you have been looking at the same page for weeks?
Welcome to Academic Book Writing Simplified - the podcast for women and non-binary scholars who want to cut through the confusion of academic publishing so they can finally write their book with clarity and confidence.
If you’re ready to stop second-guessing and finally write the book that establishes your expertise, you’re in the right place.
I’m your host, Jane Joann Jones, PhD, former academic on tenure track turned developmental editor and book writing coach for women of color in academia. I’ve helped over 100 academics publish their book with leading presses including University of Chicago, Duke, Stanford, Rutgers, Oxford, Princeton and Stanford. I want to help you do the same.
This podcast will give you clear, practical answers to your biggest book-writing questions including:
- How do I start writing my academic book?
- How long does it *really* take to write an academic book?
- Can I just revise my dissertation and turn it into a book, or do I need to start from scratch?
- How can I write my book if I don’t feel like an expert?
Each episode busts common myths about academic book writing, exposes the hidden curriculum of scholarly publishing, and gives you actionable strategies so you can make steady progress — without waiting for the perfect time to start.
Ready to demystify the book writing process?
Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and share with a fellow academic who’s ready to navigate the path to publication with more ease and less overwhelm.
Learn more about how we can help you become an academic author: https://rightprose.co
Academic Book Writing Simplified with Jane Joann Jones
Episode #37: Embracing Your Inner Editor with Laura Portwood-Stacer
On today’s podcast, Jane welcomes Laura Portwood-Stacer to the podcast to discuss her new book, Make Your Manuscript Work: A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers. Laura is the founder of Manuscript Works, a writing consultancy with a mission to help scholars achieve clarity and confidence in their published work. She offers straightforward, empathetic feedback that takes the guesswork out of scholarly book publishing and makes her clients feel that they can get their books out into the world and feel proud of the results.
During the episode, Jane and Laura discuss why Laura decided to write this book, how the book can help scholarly writers with the hard work of revision, and what the book can do to help scholarly writers feel less anxiety about the writing process.
Highlights of their conversation include:
➡️ How romanticizing the book writing process can make writers eschew developing systems.
➡️ Why thinking of manuscript development as a cycle can limit discouragement about writing multiple drafts.
➡️ What you should be thinking about before you worry about accessibility.
From the three-stage manuscript developmental cycle, to the four pillars of scholarly writing, and finally the ten most common opportunities for development, Make Your Manuscript Work prevents a clear, actionable system for turning your rough draft into a publishable book.
You can learn more about Make Your Manuscript Work: A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers by visiting manuscriptworks.com/book
To learn more about Laura, visit manuscriptworks.com
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