While a thesis and a book may have some similarities with each other, we all know very well that a thesis is not a book! The process of publishing a thesis as a book is completely different from beginning to end. A thesis is often created with the goal of targeting a specific audience, but it differs from a book in several ways. Although your thesis topic is relevant to your field of study, it may be of interest to a wider audience. In such a case, it is possible to convert the thesis into a book.
In this DoNotEdit article, we explain the possible methods of publishing a 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 research and is therefore published as an article in journals. However, in some cases, a thesis may be published as a book for a wider readership. While writing both thesis and book requires effort and time and they are longer versions of documents, they differ in several ways.
First Difference: Thesis Starts with a Question or Hypothesis
A thesis always begins with a question or hypothesis. On the other hand, a book begins with a series of reflections and thoughts to grab the reader’s attention. To a certain extent, it could be said that while the thesis begins with a question, the book begins with an answer.
Second Difference: Different Target Audiences
Another major difference between the two is their audiences. The audience for the content of a thesis, as well as its format and language, is the academic community. However, since the book is written with the aim of reaching a wider audience, the language and format are more colloquial for non-academic readers to understand more easily.
However, since the book is written with an intent to reach a wider audience, the language and format are simpler for easy comprehension by non-academic readers as well.
Third Difference between Thesis and Book
In addition, the thesis is about documenting or reporting your research activities during your doctorate, whereas a book can be considered a narrative medium to capture readers’ attention to your research and its impact on society.
How to Turn a Thesis into a Book?
It is not difficult to turn a thesis into a book. Just stay with us for the rest of this article.
The structure of your thesis will not necessarily be the same as the structure of your book. This structural difference is primarily because the readership is different and the approach depends on both the audience and the purpose of your book. If the book is intended as a primary reference for a course, take the course syllabus into account to determine the topics to be covered. Your thesis may already cover most of the topics, but you need to fill in the gaps with the existing literature.
Additionally, you may want your book to be a complementary reference not just only for one course, but for several courses with different focuses; in this case, you should consider the different interests of your audience.
What the Layout of Most Thesis Involves
The layout of most thesis involves cross-references, footnotes, and an extensive final bibliography. When publishing a dissertation as a book, remove too much academic jargon and reduce the bibliography to reference books for an ordinary reader.
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
9 Steps to Successfully Publish Your Thesis as a Book!
With all of this in mind, here are 9 steps to successfully turn your thesis into a book.
1. Establish Your Target Audience
Based on the topic of your thesis, determine the areas that may potentially appeal to your book’s audience. Once you’ve determined your target audience, figure out the nature of the book they’d like to read.
2. Determine the Purpose of Your Book
Think about the scope of your book and the impact it would have on your target audience. Perhaps it can be used as a textbook or supplementary for one or more courses. Visualize what the reach of your book could be; if your book is created for use at your institution, you can use it for other similar institutions as well. Check if your book can have a national or even international scope.
3. Identify the Competitors of Your Book
Find out which books with a similar topic to yours are currently on the market. Find out what topics these books cover, what problems they solve, and so on. Furthermore, ask yourself what the advantages of your book would be over those that already exist.
4. Define the Structure of Your Book
If the book is written as part of a curriculum, use that program to define its structure. If the book covers multiple programs, list the topics to focus on individually and arrange them in order based on the educational criteria or interest of the potential reader.
5. Identify Potential Publishers
Find the publishers in your country through the Internet and categorize them according to the type of books they publish to see if they are interested in publishing the book you want to publish. Additionally, if you already have a captive audience interested in your work, you can also consider self-publishing or publishing-on-demand options.
6. Plan a Schedule
Based on the structure of your book, schedule your progress and create a work plan. Consider that if many topics are already written in your thesis, you only have to rewrite them and do not have to do the research from scratch. Plan your day in such a way that you get enough time to fill in technical or generic gaps if they exist.
7. Follow a Writing Style
The writing style depends on the type of book and your target audience. While the academic writing style is preferred in thesis writing, books can be written in simpler ways for easy comprehension. If you have already spoken to an interested publisher, they can help in determining the writing style to follow. If you’re self-publishing, refer to some competitor books to determine the most popular style of writing and follow it.
8. Use Visual Aids
Depending on the topic of your book, there may be different types of visual and graphic aids to highlight your writing, which may prove lucrative. Give proper credit to images, charts, diagrams, graphics, etc. to avoid copyright infringement. Furthermore, make sure that the presentation style of visual aids is consistent throughout the book.
9. Review Your Draft
Your supervisor and advisory council review and refine your thesis draft. However, a book should preferably be proofread by someone with a constructive perspective. You can also use a professional editing service or just check your draft grammar with a great grammar tool to avoid the hassle.
Are you planning to publish your thesis as a book? Have you already converted a thesis into a book and published it? Share your experience with us in the comments!