Writing a Book from Your Dissertation: Seven Stages

To me, writing a book from your dissertation is a collaborative process that reaches beyond your research participants and dissertation committee to include your colleagues, prospective audience, and publisher. It is also a creative process that disengages you from the formal discourse of dissertating your research study to the interactive art of storytelling to encourage your readers’ imagination. Obstacles do occur along the way but the process is fulfilling and ultimately redefines your identity (Lee & Aitchison, 2011). In this essay, I provide seven stages for writing a book from your dissertation: relinquishing control of your dissertation; selecting and working with your publisher; defining and writing for your audience; revising and drafting your dissertation into a book; securing and using feedback; including front matter, back matter, and purpose; and submitting a final copy to your publisher.

Stage 1: Relinquishing Control of Your Dissertation

Relinquishing control of your dissertation as you knew it during your doctoral studies, surrounded by the accomplishment of defending it successfully, is the first stage of writing a book from your dissertation. The problem with relinquishing control of your dissertation is that it is hard to get out of what I call the dissertation mode. Since it took you so long to finish the dissertation, it seems almost sacrilegious to change it in any way once it's been approved by your institution. We become possessive of this thing we have created and do not want to give it up.

For example, almost immediately after my dissertation was published online at the university, I got an email from a publishing company who searches for higher level research projects, such as dissertations, to publish. These companies partner with universities, Amazon.com, and other entities that may buy higher level research books in bulk or sell them online. After searching the company's website and asking them many questions, I decided that they were a reputable company that could publish my dissertation. However, that was exactly what it meant. There was no internal review, my dissertation was published in book form with very few revisions. My sole task was to choose the book cover. I did learn how to format a document into the publisher's particular style requirements and read and sign a contract to complete the process. However, I realized after seeing it in print that my dissertation as a book had no front matter (e.g., foreword), no back matter (e.g., index), and no unique purpose. It was a good experience but I did not have to relinquish control of my dissertation and was still in dissertation mode.

From that point, my dissertation co–chair kept reminding me I should write a book from my dissertation. She recommended a reputable educational research publishing company. I looked their website over, sampled a few books that they had published from higher level research projects, and decided I would pursue publication with them. I thought at the time that I may have to actually change my dissertation (not knowing how yet), but I was okay with that now. Actually, I was excited at the prospect. Once you decide that your dissertation is not cut in stone and understand that it is a working document to make use of (through publications) after your defense (Germano, 2005), you are on your way to relinquishing control of it. Your dissertation will become the first draft of your book, a draft for future work with a new purpose. Publishing it will be your service to society so that the information you gained is shared. To share your work, a publisher must be selected.

Stage 2: Selecting and Working with Your Publisher

Selecting and working with your publisher involves a steep learning curve in which you will be determining the genre of your book, submitting a proposal, signing a contract, using the publisher's required style and formatting, communicating as needed with the publisher and co–author(s) or friendly readers, requesting additional time if necessary, and a myriad of things that were not part of the dissertation process or were taken care of with your dissertation committee's assistance. In my case, I had trouble developing the proposal and sample Table of Contents. First, I envisioned the book from my dissertation in the same format as the dissertation but shorter. So I reread my dissertation time and again, chapter by chapter, writing questions that queried how I went about conducting my dissertation research. In a sense, I was retelling the dissertation process and results. This was my way of trying to get to the root of my dissertation results and their implications to share with readers. However, I was not really letting go. My first draft of chapter titles was just a list of questions. These chapter titles made up the book's tentative Contents, which I submitted along with the book summary to a potential publisher. The publisher accepted my proposal, including the book summary and tentative Contents for publication. I signed a contract as sole author at that point. Selecting and working with my publisher was over, I thought. So I moved on to writing the dissertation over as a book with no concern about defining the audience or writing for that audience.

Stage 3: Defining and Writing for Your Audience

Defining your audience should be purposeful. You should think about who they are, what they want to know, how they spend their time, when and why they will read your book. Instead, I spent time formatting the book with the publisher's required style settings, inputting chapter titles as the tentative Contents dictated. Then, I went through my dissertation pulling out and inserting sections that went with each book chapter. I reduced and revised wording, revised tables and figures, and set it aside satisfied with the look of my book. Although the book still followed the same basic order of my dissertation chapters, it took many months to revise, format the style, add page numbers, add the index, add appendices, and add the references. Finally, I submitted the book to the publisher for internal review—I thought. The publishers returned it saying that the format style was perfect and it would be submitted for publication. What? This was a reputable publishing company for educational research books, and I had expected an internal review similar to those from journal editors (Brookfield, 2011). I mistakenly thought all editors edited and that editors were my audience. I was still unaware of how to define and write for my true audience.

I had learned from my dissertation co–chair that no writing was worthy of publication without going through an internal review process. Therefore, I felt uncomfortable having this real book published without an internal review. I asked the Editors about the lack of internal review. The Editors answered that they did not do internal review, but one of them looked it over again and suggested that this book seemed like two or three books and that I should get my colleagues to review it for me. Voila—collaboration! My dissertation co–chair, the guru mentor of her students through the dissertation group peer review process, was a collaborative writing for publication scholar (Courtenay, Cervero, & Dirkx, 2011). I would ask her to collaborate with me on creating this book. It was time to revise and draft my dissertation into a book before releasing it to the world for review.

Stage 4: Revising and Drafting Your Dissertation into a Book

Revising and drafting your dissertation into sections, chapters, and headings, developing ideas you want to cover in your book for your audience, and dreaming constantly about this work prepares you for storytelling. It does not occur in a vacuum. I sat down with my dissertation co–chair around the kitchen table. She started reading the tentative Content titles aloud with me and we talked about my thoughts on each. She already knew my work fully as my co–chair and from the dissertation group peer review process she facilitated so this conversation was reflective and fruitful. We reworded the titles away from questions. She said to me, “You know something. You must share what you know in this book. You are the expert.” I wanted to believe her but I had not internalized that notion in my life yet. My gut reaction remaining from my doctoral studies was to be careful of what I said, wrote, and expounded on. Even though I had the longest dissertation in Florida International University's history, I had recently heard from a faculty member there, I was at a loss of what to say or do with it. For you, it may be taking the other route, having a very short dissertation and wondering how to elaborate on it for a book. In my case, I began revising the real book with new titles and organization from this kitchen table conversation. We asked the Editors for a one–year extension, which I thought was exorbitant but which was approved. As a new PhD, this was my first encounter with colleagues who collaborated and understood that writing is a process that takes time. So with true revising and drafting of my dissertation came my new identity. I was ready to get down to work growing this book through obstacles and all, mistakes and all, with more confidence securing and using feedback from my new colleagues.

Stage 5: Securing and Using Feedback

Securing and using feedback means carving out time to focus on the task at hand, ask colleagues and other experts what they think, read their work on the questions you have, and revise what you are doing daily, continually getting closer to what you think it should look like. In my case, I continually honed the meat of the chapters, trying to get to the point that my audience could relate to as they read. As time went on, the book grew into something I believed in, understood, and could justify when I talked about it to my dissertation co–chair reviewer and now co–author. But we needed more time. We asked for another extension. The Editors said “Yes, and good luck with your project.” With the support of my co–author, I was becoming an expert in this book from the dissertation that I had once defended. Chapter titles changed, sections got revised and moved, and my story was becoming clearer. Just when I thought we were almost done, my co–author said it was time to get more feedback from an outside reviewer. We asked a colleague from my dissertation peer group, and she accepted.

I was excited to hear our outside reviewer's suggestions. We arranged to meet for lunch at a beach nearby. In the easygoing atmosphere, the three of us sat with the water in the background sitting in the open air of the sunny blue skies. After a period of casual catching up, she got out her notepad. I really believed that it would be short and sweet with some positive and negative suggestions at best. However, I was wrong. She began by saying that she understood the point I was trying to make. That's good, I thought. She reiterated that this book draft—yes draft—made an essential point about the process teachers should learn during teacher education and professional development (Pane & Rocco, 2014). She shared that this was an important notion which no one else had yet coined to her knowledge. She could see the importance of putting on workshops for teachers about how to discern, interpret, and transform their dominant ideology and practices (the point of the book) when working with Black males and other students of color who were unsuccessful in school. She agreed that teachers need to know how to do this because without knowing how, teachers inadvertently maintain the school–to–prison pipeline.

Our reviewer went on. She summarized the book draft eloquently, clearly stated the purpose of each chapter, what was missing, what was good, how it could be made better. Then, she suggested revisions, additions, reorganizations, and chapter and chapter title changes to retain the overall focus of the book from beginning to end. During the meeting, we talked about how to make this book usable. This was my reminder to bring in the audience again—to create a purpose for the book. Something clicked in my brain—the connection I needed to hear. This book could be a working book used to speak out on how to transform the school–to–prison pipeline beginning in the classroom, which was basically the title of the book. Right there in front of me all the time, but in my tunnel vision, I missed the point of writing a book from my dissertation—to make it usable for others outside myself. This book could be used as a textbook in teacher education classes, as talking points on blogs, in live chat formats, as workshop material, and so on. I could and should actually be an expert for people who questioned these things in their daily professional lives. It should not take you long, she said, to make these revisions. I took voluminous notes, thank goodness, because when I got home I needed them.

Stage 6: Including Front Matter, Back Matter, and Purpose

Including front matter (e.g., foreword), back matter (e.g., glossary, references), and purpose (e.g., charts, tables, visuals) does not take long comparatively speaking. Most of these items bring your book to life, provide clarity, organize words, define key concepts, and provide relevant works and practices for your audience. We had asked an expert in the field of urban education to write the Foreword. It further clarified what the book said, who it served, and its ultimate purpose. Listening to your colleagues’ perspective of your writing is essential and rewarding. It brings transparency to your purpose as author of a book from your dissertation. Writing this book was fulfilling because I finally discovered and fully realized (with the help of colleagues) the purpose of my, and I believe each, dissertation.

I had first written it to find out something I personally needed to know. I had not realized until writing the entire book that the purpose of a dissertation was to serve others in society who, in my case, may need similar questions answered that I had always wrestled with in the classroom and that this book addressed. For example, how can I engage students who are disproportionately caught in the school–to–prison pipeline? And more specifically, how can I discern, interpret, and transform my dominant way of thinking, classroom practices, and ultimately academic and social outcomes for my students who are disproportionately oppressed in our schools? Upon completion of this future textbook (one of this book's useful purposes), it should be worthy of society's review and (hopefully) acceptance and be useable and useful for teachers in their daily professional lives (Ax & Ponte, 2008).

When your dissertation turned book is ready to be published, you will probably harbor a restless hope that the book actually accomplishes its purpose of serving society at large (Freire, 2000). Reflecting back on the entire process of writing a book from a dissertation, questions remain and new questions arise. Did I find my voice? Did I make the point I wanted to make that will result in transformative purposes? Did I release the book to a new life with a send–off to a large majority of the potential readers and users? Did I pursue my expertise in socially just ways beyond my comfort zone? Did I find out something new that I will become a new project to pursue? How will I interpret my new mission? Will I use this interpretation for transformative purposes, to serve society at large? Did I mentor others who want to write a book from their dissertation?

Stage 7: Submitting a Final Copy to Your Publisher

Submitting a final copy to your publisher is exhilarating. Once this is done, you can reflect on things you learned while waiting for the book to be printed. This reflective period will be useful in your next project. Learn from your mistakes. In no particular order, I learned to expect feedback and editing; if not given, I learned to ask for more time from editors and get more feedback from colleagues. Revise as much as needed; resubmit the final copy if necessary; remind yourself to find a publisher for your next book that provides editing. And more. Once you have received your personal book copies in print, celebrate, then look forward to using marketing suggestions and tools available from your publisher to spread the word about your book. Keep in contact with your publisher as you market the book and for future projects. They want your book to succeed and are ready to communicate with you about success strategies.

Does it sound like writing a book from your dissertation is a never–ending process? Yes, you're right, it is. I hope this essay has provided some insights into the process, given you encouragement to embark on this journey of writing a book from your dissertation, and the motivation to start. Remember someone else has the same questions that you once had when you pursued your dissertation research. It is up to you to share your dissertation findings and knowledge with society at large and professionals that can use the knowledge to improve practice.