Tips for Publishing Thesis as a Book
While they may look alike, a thesis is not a book! The process of publishing thesis as a book is different right from its conception to completion. Created with an intent to target a specific audience, a thesis differs from a book in multiple aspects. Although your thesis topic would surely be relevant to your field of study, it perhaps, can be of interest to a wider audience. In such a case, your thesis can be turned into a book.
In this article, we will shed some light on the possible ways of publishing your thesis as a book.
What is the Difference Between a Thesis and a Book?
Researchers spend years working on their thesis. A thesis focuses on the research conducted, and is thus published as journal articles. However, in some cases, it may also be published as a book for a wider readership. While both thesis and book writing require effort, time, and are equally longer versions of documents, they are different in several ways.
- A thesis always begins with a question or hypothesis. On the other hand, a book begins with a series of reflections to grab the reader’s attention. To a certain extent, it could be said that while the thesis starts with a question, the book starts with an answer.
- Another major difference between the two is their audience. The content of a thesis, as well as its format and language is aimed at the academic community. However, since the book is written with an intent to reach out to wider audience, the language and format is simpler for easy comprehension by non-academic readers as well.
- Furthermore, thesis is about documenting or reporting your research activities during doctorate; whereas, a book can be considered as a narrative medium to capture the reader’s attention toward your research and its impact on the society.
How to Turn a Thesis into a Book?
The structure of your thesis will not necessarily be similar to the structure of your book. This is primarily because the readership is different and the approach depends on both the audience as well as the purpose of your book. If the book is intended as a primary reference for a course, take the course syllabus into account to establish the topics to be covered. Perhaps your thesis already covers most of the topics, but you will have to fill in the gaps with existing literature.
Additionally, it may be so that you want your book to be a complementary reference not only for one course, but for several courses with different focuses; in this case, you must consider different interests of your audience.
Key Factors to Consider While Publishing Your Thesis as a Book
- Purpose of the book and the problems it intends to solve
- A proposed title
- The need for your proposed book
- Existing and potential competition
- Index of contents
- Overview of the book
- Summary of each book chapter
- Timeline for completing the book
- Brief description of the audience and the courses it would cover
Source: https://www.enago.com/academy/9-effective-tips-for-publishing-thesis-as-a-book/
