Academic Book Writing Simplified: Write and Publish Your Academic Book

If you’re thinking about writing a nonfiction book, you might believe that there’s a lot of preparation involved. What should you be doing before you start to ensure that the writing process goes smoothly? How can you set yourself up for success? 

In today’s episode, Jane shares some tips for experts who aspire to start writing a nonfiction book sometime in the next year. You’ll learn what you can do right now, what can wait, and how to make sure that your preparation doesn’t become a form of procrastination. 

From the episode: 

Take It From Me: An Agent's Guide to Building a Nonfiction Career by Alia Hanna Habib

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Are you an expert who wants to share your knowledge with the world, but doesn't know how to communicate your expertise into a book, or even where you’d find the time to write it? If you’re ready to take what you know and become the successful author of a nonfiction book, this episode is for you. 

In today’s episode, Jane sits down with her coaching client Dr. Kemi Doll. Kemi Doll is the author of A Terrible Strength: The Hidden Crisis of the Black Womb and Your Survival Guide to Healing (Harmony Books). While she was working as a surgeon, physician, researcher, advocate, and coach, she decided that she also was going to write a book. How? 

What does it take to write a well-researched, science-based, evocative book that gets attention from news channels, experts, and the literary world in just one year? Once you listen to this episode, you’ll know exactly what Kemi did to bring this book into the world. 

We’ll cover: 

• How writing a book compared to writing successful grant proposals, op-eds, and journal articles in academic medicine. 

• Why learning how the publishing world works — and how it’s radically different from academic medicine — helped to relieve Kemi’s stress about the writing and publication process. 

• Why Kemi knew she would work with a coach, and why high-achieving Black women often hesitate to ask for help (it’s not for the reasons that you think).

• How we created time for writing in Kemi’s busy schedule and managed her cognitive capacity so she could complete a book in one year while finding joy in the process.  

• The one area where Jane struggled to effectively coach Kemi. 

More about Dr. Kemi Doll: 

Dr. Kemi Doll a physician, surgeon, researcher, advocate, and coach working at the intersection of health justice, reproductive equity, and personal empowerment. She is a Professor at the University of Washington Schools of Medicine and Public Health, a double board-certified Gynecologic Oncologist and OB/GYN, and the Founding Director of The Gynecologic Research and Cancer Equity (GRACE) Center. Her groundbreaking research on racial disparities in endometrial (uterine) cancer has been funded by the NIH, PCORI, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and featured in The New York Times, NPR, BET, and Good Morning America.

A sought-after speaker and public voice, Dr. Doll co-founded the national nonprofit Endometrial Cancer Action Network for African Americans (ECANA) and built KD Coach LLC, a coaching company that has supported over 200 women of color faculty in securing millions of dollars in grant funding while reclaiming joy in their careers. Her podcast, Your Unapologetic Career, has over 200,000 downloads and continues to uplift and challenge listeners through honest, witty, and actionable conversations. Dr. Doll lives, writes, and works with deep purpose—and is unwavering in her mission to create a more just and joyful world.

🩷 If you loved this episode, please leave a review! That’s how this powerful information will find its way to more listeners. 

To connect with Jane, you can follow her on Instagram @janejoannphd or visit rightprose.co

To learn more about Kemi, you can connect with her on Instagram @kemidoll

To learn more about Kemi’s book, A Terrible Strength: The Hidden Crisis of the Black Womb & Your Survival Guide to Healing, visit kemidoll.com/book 

In this episode, Jane breaks down the three systems that every scholar writing an academic book needs: a system to manage your writing process, a system to manage your planning, and a system to manage your mindset. 

A writing system will help you get ideas out of your head and onto the page in clearly-written, structured prose. 

A project management system fit or establishing your publication timeline, setting milestones to keep on track, and turning those milestones into daily tasks.

A mindset system is invaluable if you want to manage your fears and concerns about writing, including your self doubt that you're capable of writing a book, fear of negative feedback, and worries that you won't complete your book on time.

Tune in as Jane explains each of these systems and how you can incorporate each of them into your writing process

Further Listening: 

#33: The Three Pillars of Successful Book Planning

#22: How Academics Can Make a Summer Writing Plan That Actually Works

If you want to work with Jane to write your academic book, check out Book Brilliance: rightprose.co/book-brilliance

A postdoc can seem like a great opportunity to write an academic book. After all, you have so much uninterrupted time where you can do deep work on a long project. If you have to go back on the job market, however, you might be wondering if writing your academic book is the best strategic choice. Like everything else, it depends on your goals. 

In today's episode, Jane answers a question she was asked: "Should I devote my postdoc to working on my book?" She goes through what factors you should consider to determine what the pros and cons of focusing on your book might be. While the question here is specifically about postdocs, the advice will be relevant for anyone making a decision about the timing of their next writing project. 

📝 Ready to turn your dissertation into a publication-worthy scholarly book? Learn how you can join Book Brilliance by visiting rightprose.co/book-brilliance-live/

💗 Spread the inspiration. Know someone who would benefit from some guidance on their book-writing journey? Share this episode with them!

✉️ Want even MORE bookish advice, right in your inbox? Sign up for Shelf Help, the newsletter with actionable tips for scholarly writers. 

In today’s episode, Jane is joined by Dr. Allison Daminger, Assistant Professor of Sociology at University of Wisconsin. She is the author of the new book, What’s on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life. Allison is also an alumni of Jane’s book coaching program, Elevate (now known as Book Brilliance), where she worked on her book.

Tune in to learn: 

➡️ How coaching helped Allison bust the myths she was believing about how much time it takes to write a book. 

➡️ The three techniques she used to write a book that her “best friend from college” and other non-experts would find engaging. 

➡️  What was required to transform her dissertation into a book (hint: it’s more than what you think). 

To learn more about Allison, visit https://www.allisondaminger.com

To get her book, click below:

What’s on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life

Self-efficacy in academia isn't just about mindset—it's about recognizing structural barriers while reclaiming agency in your writing process. Jane interviews Kel Weinhold, co-owner of The Professor Is In, to explore how self-efficacy shapes your academic book project, why systemic constraints make it harder for some scholars (especially Black women and other minoritized academics), and practical strategies to build control over your writing despite institutional obstacles.

If you’re a junior scholar who is struggling to say no to requests or you feel as if you’re constantly overworking, this episode is for you. 

To learn more about Kel, visit theprofessorisin.com or send an email to [email protected]

Further Listening: 

Episode #6: “Boundaries are Values In Action”

💗 Spread the inspiration. Know someone who would benefit from some guidance on their book-writing journey? Share this episode with them!

✉️ Want even MORE bookish advice, right in your inbox? Sign up for Shelf Help, the newsletter with actionable tips for scholarly writers. 

Join Jane as she celebrates a year of podcasting and shares the lessons she’s learned while embarking on a brand-new, long-term project. Podcasting is similar to writing a book in important ways, and in this episode you’ll discover some key principles for thinking about long-term projects, staying consistent, and setting up systems for success. 

This podcast would not exist without YOU! Thank you for listening!

💗 Spread the inspiration. Know someone who would benefit from some guidance on their book-writing journey? Share this episode with them!

✉️ Want even MORE bookish advice, right in your inbox? Sign up for Shelf Help, the newsletter with actionable tips for scholarly writers. 

On today’s podcast, Jane welcomes Laura Portwood-Stacer to the podcast to discuss her new book, Make Your Manuscript Work: A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers. Laura is the founder of Manuscript Works, a writing consultancy with a mission to help scholars achieve clarity and confidence in their published work. She offers straightforward, empathetic feedback that takes the guesswork out of scholarly book publishing and makes her clients feel that they can get their books out into the world and feel proud of the results.

During the episode, Jane and Laura discuss why Laura decided to write this book, how the book can help scholarly writers with the hard work of revision, and what the book can do to help scholarly writers feel less anxiety about the writing process. 

Highlights of their conversation include: 

➡️ How romanticizing the book writing process can make writers eschew developing systems.

➡️ Why thinking of manuscript development as a cycle can limit discouragement about writing multiple drafts. 

➡️ What you should be thinking about before you worry about accessibility. 

From the three-stage manuscript developmental cycle, to the four pillars of scholarly writing, and finally the ten most common opportunities for development, Make Your Manuscript Work prevents a clear, actionable system for turning your rough draft into a publishable book. 

You can learn more about Make Your Manuscript Work: A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers by visiting manuscriptworks.com/book

To learn more about Laura, visit manuscriptworks.com 

💗 Spread the inspiration. Know someone who would benefit from some guidance on their book-writing journey? Share this episode with them!

✉️ Want even MORE bookish advice, right in your inbox? Sign up for Shelf Help, the newsletter with actionable tips for scholarly writers. 

In today’s episode, Jane discusses what scholarly writers are really looking for when they say they need accountability. While accountability is essential for strong communities, there can also be a risk in always relying on others to maintain writing momentum. 

➡️ The difference between fostering reciprocal accountability in a community and using accountability selfishly. 

➡️ Why constantly looking for accountability can erode your self-trust. 

➡️ How examining your reasons for looking for accountability can expose how you think about yourself as a writer. 

💗 Spread the inspiration. Know someone who would benefit from some guidance on their book-writing journey? Share this episode with them!

✉️ Want even MORE bookish advice, right in your inbox? Sign up for Shelf Help, the newsletter with actionable tips for scholarly writers. 

In this episode, Jane shares an exciting announcement about a new program called Fundamentals of Academic Book Writing. Learn everything you need to know about the program, including: 

➡️ Why Jane decided to create this program and offer it now

➡️ The features of the program

➡️ Who Fundamentals is for

➡️ What you’ll gain if you enroll

You’ll also get a behind-the-scenes look at how Jane coached herself to offer a course unlike anything she’s offered before. 

💗 Spread the inspiration. Know someone who would benefit from some guidance on their book-writing journey? Share this episode with them!

✉️Want even MORE bookish advice, right in your inbox? Sign up for Shelf Help, the newsletter with actionable tips for scholarly writers.