To convert a dissertation into a monograph or book can entail a lot of work for a new PhD who wants to publish their cutting-edge research. Currently, academic publishers require their new PhD authors to convert their dissertation into a simplified book form. Of course, the dissertation format can be more complex and academic with elaborate explanations, citations, references, and footnote or notes compared to the monograph. But can there be some ways to reconcile the two formats? I understand books require a large market and dissertations do not. Dissertations only attract specialists. Publishers require a book proposal that summarizes the content of the proposed book and its market and competing works. But both are academic in nature, can't they not be reconciled? What do you think? Thanks in advance if you share your insights!
The two markets are reconcilable. Analyse both target markets. But what you need to do beforehand is plan to address both markets. So write the popular book blurb at the same time as your formal thesis citation etc. This makes for less work that in converting your thesis-book into a "best seller".
Writing the "best-seller" is not just about dropping footnotes and references from the thesis-book and then re-paginating. It is a rewrite.
A popular book will also benefit from a glossary and an alphabetic list of contents. It will benefit from more diagrams and photographs. It needs a glossy cover. So plan that picture now.
Oh, yes, and the two formats will need different style sheets!
Thanks Monyer for the recommendation and Ian for your insight ! Yes, they can be reconcilable. I suggest that universities should have 2 templates for dissertations depending on the discipline and content. Those research dissertations that require elaborate theorizing, method, and referencing and highly specialized must use the current format, but those theses with popular content, less technical, especially those in the humanities or maybe social sciences, should use a format similar to monographs or books. Cheers!
I think both formats should be there. The research dissertations are consulted for in-depth understanding of not only the outcome but also for methodology of research. The researcher has liberty to share his personal experience , other's reaction, comments etc.in his dissertation. We are talking of saving labour of the researcher. A book needs a publisher and authors some times have to run after the publishers. All topics of research may not end in a marketable book. A book is more a tailored piece than a thesis. Second, same topic of research can be cast into different books as per standard of the readers. For example topics like market, impact of displacement due to major projects, interstellar journey etc. are good subjects for research but not same to the readers at large. And lastly speaking, making a book out of own acknowledged research must be adding cream to the cake.
My experience working with both publishers and university librarians is that, beyond the content and arrangements of dissertations, librarians pay closer attention to format interoperability. Librarians are concern about having fonts, paragraphs, numbering, and alike that can easily transit from one format to another. Let´s say to move from .doc to .docx, from an open format to .pdf, and so on. And these formats should be easy to transit in mass, this is, making the changes in format for a number of files at once. This assures management of files though the years (archiving), as well as use of them through different institutions disregarding the specific technology/format they are using through time (accessibility). Instead, generally speaking, publishers do not care that much about transitioning their material over the time. My two cents.
Thanks, Alberto for sharing your insight. You are quite familiar with how publishers and librarians view formatting and management of files! In my experience there is great difference between dissertations and academic books. The former is purely concerned with scholarly content and formatting, while the latter is concerned with both cutting-edge content plus its marketability in order that publishers can earn money. Cheers!.
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