Many scholars want to publish books, whether to fulfill career expectations or personal goals.
Yet the academy provides little training or support to help you achieve the results you want.
Manuscript Works, run by Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD, has a mission to guide academic authors through the publishing process with honesty and empathy to produce books you can feel proud to share with the world.
Like most aspects of academia, scholarly publishing is full of norms that require social and cultural capital—or years of trial and error—to master.
Manuscript Works’ books, courses, online resources, and institutional workshops cut through the mystery and give you straight answers to questions you may not have known to ask.
You’ve poured years of life and labor into your scholarship. You know it’s time to get it out there, but you’re unsure about the next steps you need to take.
Imagine submitting your book proposal or finished manuscript, certain that it will impress publishers and peer reviewers and demonstrate your project’s value for readers. Manuscript Works will give you the support you need to do just that, with the confidence that you’re on the right track every step of the way.
My books on scholarly writing and publishing
how manuscript works can support your scholarly writing projects
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The Book Proposal Book and Make Your Manuscript Work demystify the writing and publishing process for scholars at all career stages. Learn more →
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My Book Proposal Accelerator and Manuscript Development Workshop are offered each year. They offer practical curriculum and expert guidance to efficiently lead participants to tangible results.
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I offer a number of online courses and recorded workshops that can be accessed at any time and completed at your own pace. These courses help enrollees achieve specific outcomes by following time-tested methods and clear step-by-step guidance. Learn more about my online courses and workshops →
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I offer free public webinars, downloadable workbooks, and other resources to demystify the world of scholarly publishing for academic authors. These are shared in my weekly newsletter. You can also check out my free Publishing Unpacked workshop series →
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I’m an experienced public speaker and workshop facilitator who has presented at universities and academic organizations around the world. I can bring my expertise to your faculty and graduate students through both online (Zoom) and in-person workshops. See topics and further details →
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Fill out my editor referral request form to get a curated list of editors and coaches who might be right for your project. Stay tuned to my newsletter for opportunities to work with me one-on-one in the future.
Subscribe to the Manuscript Works Newsletter for weekly publishing tips and announcements of upcoming programs
About Laura Portwood-Stacer and Manuscript Works
Hi, I’m Laura Portwood-Stacer. I launched Manuscript Works in 2015 with a mission to help scholars achieve clarity and confidence in their published work. I offer straightforward, empathetic feedback that takes the guesswork out of scholarly book publishing and makes my clients feel that they can get their books out into the world and feel proud of the results.
I’ve worked with hundreds of scholarly writers across the humanities and social sciences to develop compelling book proposals and book manuscripts. My clients have landed contracts with competitive publishers such as Duke University Press, Princeton University Press, University of California Press, Harvard University Press, Yale University Press, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, MIT Press, Columbia University Press, University of Minnesota Press, Stanford University Press, University of Illinois Press, New York University Press, Rutgers University Press, University of North Carolina Press, University Press of Mississippi, and more.
I’m the author of The Book Proposal Book: A Guide for Scholarly Authors, available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook from Princeton University Press. This book demystifies the academic publishing process and includes templates and sample book proposals to help scholarly authors pitch their books and achieve their professional goals. My following book, Make Your Manuscript Work: A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers, was published by Princeton UP in 2025.
I also partner with Princeton University Press as a coach in their Supporting Diverse Voices: Book Proposal Development Grants program and as a private workshop facilitator through PUP Speaks.
I’ve offered training courses for professional editors through the Editorial Freelancers Association and through my own course platform.
I hold a PhD in communication (with a certificate in gender studies) from the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California. My first book, Lifestyle Politics and Radical Activism, was based on my dissertation and was published by Bloomsbury in 2013. I’ve also authored scholarly articles appearing in publications such as New Media & Society, Journal of Consumer Culture, Feminist Theory, Sexualities, and Flow. From 2013 to 2018, I served as associate editor of the journal Feminist Media Studies, where I co-edited book reviews and the "Commentary & Criticism" section of the journal. Before starting Manuscript Works, I taught for three years at New York University in the department of Media, Culture, and Communication.
Outside of my professional life, I’m a two-time Jeopardy! champion and a knitter for over twenty years. I grew up and attended college in Michigan, went to grad school in California, and after that spent nine years in New York (Brooklyn and Long Island). I currently live and work in Los Angeles.
Coming up at manuscript works
New free workshops every month in 2025
Enrollment now open. Join in time for the next Book Proposal Sprint, September 8-12, 2025.