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’ courses, workshops, and online programs 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.
How to work with Manuscript Works
Take a course
I offer self-paced and interactive courses on writing successful scholarly book proposals. I also offer courses on developmental editing for freelancers, in-house editors, and those who provide mentorship to scholarly writers.
Attend a webinar
I regularly offer public webinars and workshops on topics relevant to scholarly book publishing, such as How to Publish a Book from Your Dissertation, How to Work with a Developmental Editor, and Navigating Scholarly Publishing as a Racially Minoritized Author.
Bring me to your institution
I’m an experienced speaker and online workshop facilitator. I’ve presented to academic faculty around the world on how to write effective book proposals and how to get published with scholarly presses.
