Next session runs July 21 – August 18, 2025
You've drafted a manuscript you want to publish. You know it needs work. Now what?
In this new course from Laura Portwood-Stacer / Manuscript Works, learn how to apply the skills of developmental editing to your own scholarly writing. Enter with a manuscript draft that needs work, leave with a concrete plan to make it publishable.
Learn how to assess your text for argument, evidence, structure, and style.
In this course you'll learn to assess the four major aspects of any scholarly text—argument, evidence, structure, and style—that hold the keys to making a strong impression with publishers and readers.
Using a time-tested checklist of the most common areas where scholarly manuscripts need help, you'll evaluate what's working and what isn't in your own draft. Then you'll craft a concrete revision plan that you'll be able to implement on your own schedule after the course ends.
Before diving into assessing your text, you'll learn to see scholarly manuscripts as publishers and readers do, ensuring that your revision plans are headed in the right direction from the start.
You'll also gain clarity on your publishing goals, identify the readers you care most about reaching, and account for constraints on your time and attention during your revision process.
“This workshop has been so, so helpful to me for finishing a journal article that I’ve been struggling with for literally years. I was able to identify problems of structure, argument, and expression in my manuscript that I had not been able to get a hold on before, and I’m no longer stuck in an endless loop of moving and rewriting things. The tools from this workshop really transformed the process and made it possible for me to finish my article and submit it.”
who should take this course?
This workshop welcomes any scholarly writer who wants to learn a systematic method for improving their manuscripts in progress. Some advice in the course is aimed at navigating the publication process for books or journal articles, but the broader framework can be used by scholarly writers at all stages in all fields, including those working on papers and dissertations.
Scholarly book authors with a full or partial draft in hand
Scholarly book authors preparing a sample chapter for submission with a book proposal
Scholarly writers working on a journal article, book chapter, or conference paper in the humanities or qualitative social sciences
Recent PhDs who want to develop a thesis or thesis chapter for publication
Advanced career scholars looking to revive a languishing manuscript
Graduate students working on a seminar paper or dissertation (make sure it’s ok with your supervising faculty before enrolling)
Not a scholar? Not working on an argument-driven, research-based manuscript? Unfortunately, this workshop isn't for you.
“As a result of this incredibly helpful and thought-provoking workshop, I have learned so much about the process of editing and have also gained great insight into thinking synthetically and approaching my writing with a broader perspective. I know I have already made progress just by participating in the workshop and applying the tools of developmental editing to just one manuscript, and I can’t wait to practice applying them to other writing projects in the future. Thank you so much for your invaluable guidance!”
course curriculum
Welcome
Module 1: Clarifying Your Mission
Module 2: Assessing Your Text
Module 3: Planning Your Edits
Module 4: Next Steps to Edit Your Draft
Recordings and Resources
“When I enrolled in this course I had just had an article manuscript come back from a journal a second time with a request for significant revisions. I used the Manuscript Development Workshop to revise the piece, and one month later I received an acceptance with no additional revisions necessary. Before taking the course, I was feeling incredibly frustrated by the whole process, and it was extremely helpful to look at the piece from another perspective.”
time commitment & Schedule
This course has five live meetings where you will be introduced to the material and given time to make progress on the course modules. Meeting attendance is optional and all meetings are recorded to view at your convenience.
Meeting 1 / Module 1: July 21, 2025. 12–2pm Pacific (3–5pm Eastern, 7–9pm UTC)
Meeting 2 / Module 2: July 28, 2025. 12–2pm Pacific (3–5pm Eastern, 7–9pm UTC)
Meeting 3 / Catch-up Week: August 4, 2025. 12–2pm Pacific (3–5pm Eastern, 7–9pm UTC)
Meeting 4 / Module 3: August 11, 2025. 12–2pm Pacific (3–5pm Eastern, 7–9pm UTC)
Meeting 5 / Module 4: August 18, 2025. 12–2pm Pacific (3–5pm Eastern, 7–9pm UTC)
Writers working on chapter, article, or paper-length manuscripts should expect to spend about 5 hours per week completing the course exercises. Writers working on full books or dissertations may need 10–15 hours to complete the exercises for Modules 2 and 3.
“This workshop gave me tangible tactics for creatively engaging with my manuscript. I had a draft of a journal article from a year and a half ago that I really didn’t like but wanted to do something with at some point. Going through this process has drastically changed my orientation to the manuscript, and now I feel there’s much more of a there there. I’m newly excited about what I think is going to be possible with this article. ”
What this course offers
(and doesn't offer)
Most academic writing guides and courses focus on 1) getting writing done or 2) polishing drafts at the level of words and sentences. This course is different. It focuses on the mysterious middle of the revision process—after you've got your ideas solidified but before you're certain the big-picture aspects of your text are working as they should.
By teaching you to refine your manuscript's argument, evidence, structure, and overall style, this course will help you meaningfully advance your text toward publication, instead of getting prematurely distracted or demoralized by lower-level issues.
While this course offers detailed advice on solving the most common developmental problems in scholarly manuscripts, you won't receive instructor feedback on your draft. Instead, you'll gain the tools to approach your own text like a developmental editor would so you can improve your manuscript yourself.
By joining a cohort of other writers going through the course at the same time, you'll get structure and motivation to make a revision plan for a current manuscript in progress.
You'll receive lifetime access to the course curriculum, meaning that you can apply it to any future manuscripts you may need to develop.
You'll also get access to supplemental materials such as author questionnaires, assessment checklists, and worksheets to assist you in completing a workable revision plan.
During the course dates, you'll be able to ask questions as you work through the course materials and receive expert advice on the scholarly publishing process.
After the course ends, you'll get complimentary membership in the Manuscript Works Author Support community.
This course does not cover line editing (polishing words and sentences), copyediting (correcting grammar and mechanics), or proofreading. We will focus on big-picture matters that make the biggest difference in your manuscript's success.
You will not leave this course with a fully edited draft. You will have a revision plan that you can implement on your own schedule after the course ends. If you have a submission deadline coming up, make sure to allow ample time to implement your revision plan after completing the course.
“The book chapter I’ve been working on was so disorganized that I didn’t even know how to enter into revising it. The tips in this workshop helped me get the distance from my manuscript that a developmental editor would have, which helped me figure out what the structure of the chapter should actually be. I feel loads better and my stress level has drastically reduced.”
when should you take this course?
You must have a fully drafted (or at least fully outlined) manuscript in hand. But you may be at various points in the publishing process, all of which are appropriate times to take this course:
Preparing for initial submission to publishers
Revising after receiving feedback from publishers or peer reviewers
After acceptance by a publisher but before submitting your final manuscript for production
Still conceptualizing your project or figuring out what you want to write about? This won't be a helpful course for you right now
how to enroll
The enrollment fee for the July-August 2025 session of this course is $750. This price is intended for scholars who have the institutional or personal funds to support enrollment at that rate. If you are precariously employed or otherwise lacking in funds, you may enroll at the unfunded rate of $500.
Checkout can be completed with a credit or debit card. You may use an institutional credit card if you have access to one. Your department administrator can also enroll you directly.
All payments are nonrefundable and once enrolled you cannot transfer your enrollment to a later session. If scheduling conflicts arise for you, rest assured that you will have full access to the curriculum and meeting recordings to be viewed at your convenience.
Questions about enrollment?
Email support@manuscriptworks.com
your guide
Hi, I'm Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD, creator of the Manuscript Development Workshop. I'm a professional developmental editor and publishing consultant and the author of The Book Proposal Book: A Guide for Scholarly Authors (Princeton University Press, 2021) and Make Your Manuscript Work: A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers (Princeton UP, 2025).
I've helped hundreds of academic writers navigate the proposal writing and book publishing processes, with clients landing contracts at competitive university presses such as Duke, California, Chicago, Minnesota, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, and many more.
As an author of three academic books myself, I know how difficult the writing and publishing process can be, on both practical and emotional levels. I aim to bring empathy and honesty to demystifying the norms of scholarly publishing so that everyone who goes through my programs leaves feeling energized and empowered to make their publishing goals happen.
To learn more about me and the other programs I offer, check out ManuscriptWorks.com.
Questions?
On the fence about whether this course is right for you at your current stage?
Please feel free to reach out to Manuscript Works' client support specialist Rebecca at support@manuscriptworks.com with any questions you may have, including those related to payment and registration.
If you’d like to get a sense of my instructional style before making an enrollment decision, check out any of my free workshop recordings. If you find them helpful and engaging, this course is probably a good fit for you.