As promised, I am starting a new series of blog posts on academic writing. The first in this series is what to consider when choosing how to publish your thesis. Almost everyone faces the question of turning their PhD thesis into a book or a series of journal articles. As a PhD student, you might get asked what is your plan for publishing your PhD thesis. It is an important decision to make. If you consider a few options for publishing your thesis while you are still writing it, it might be easier to convert it into something publishable later. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Question 1: What is your writing style like? Many postgraduate students feel like they do not have time to analyse their writing style and publishing goals while trying to finish their thesis against all the deadlines. But try to take a moment and see how you naturally write – is it factual? Flowery? Do you like to be methodical or go with the flow? If you prefer the “dry”, factual, academic style of writing then your thesis might be already better suited to become a series of articles. If you find the academic writing style boring and limiting and are more interested in telling a story, you might want to consider publishing your thesis as a book. While this is not a clear-cut decision-making process (you can publish your thesis as a book if you enjoy academic writing too!) it helps to think about your natural writing preferences. Aligning your publishing goals with your writing style will help to cut down the time and effort spent on editing.
Question 2: How is your thesis structured? Some dissertations lend themselves towards being published as books, but some clearly would be better suited as journal articles. How to know the difference? Look at your thesis structure. Do you have separate chapters for methodology, finding, and discussion? It might be easier to turn a thesis like that into a book because the structure of it is already similar to that of a book. Is your PhD thesis structured to discuss case studies and each chapter tells a story? You might find it easier to publish those as journal articles as they would need minimal editing to present a complete set of ideas. If you are reading this blog post while you are still writing your PhD or Master thesis, think about how you would like to publish it in advance and try to choose a structure of writing that would help you do that later with minimal effort.
Question 3: What are your career aspirations? Not all institutions and career paths put the same weight on publishing books and journal articles. Consider discussing this question with a senior scholar you trust, your PhD supervisor, or a mentor. Some employers, such as universities, will value journal articles published in Q1 journals more than a book, due to its relevance to the REF (in the UK). Some others, such as think tanks and international organisations, might be more interested in seeing a book as a way to increase your impact as a scholar. Carefully think about your preferred job options and evaluate all opportunities to help you maximise your employability in the future.
To sum up, publishing your PhD thesis as a book or journal article should not be a daunting task if you strategically analyse your writing, career aspirations, and the job market’s demands. Do not be put off by the perceived difficulty of this choice or imposter syndrome – no one feels 100% certain about their work and experiencing doubt is so very normal! A realistic publishing plan for your PhD thesis would make your life less stressful and help maximise the potential of your PhD thesis.