Writing It!
The Podcast About Academics & Writing
Displaying 1 item of Writing It! with the tag "author platforms".
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Episode 80: What It Means to Show That This Book Has Value to Readers with Laura Portwood-Stacer
July 13th, 2026 | 40 mins 32 secs
academic publishing, author platforms, book proposal, book publishing, development editor
We’re speaking with Laura Portwood-Stacer, Ph.D., publishing consultant, developmental editor, and author of The Book Proposal Book: A Guide for Scholarly Authors and Make Your Manuscript Work: A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers, both published by Princeton University Press. We talk about the importance of clarifying your argument as a way to show the value of your book. We also talk about the challenges of turning a dissertation into book; the many meanings of “platform” for authors, what a “comparable books” section of a book proposal can do for you; what your title signals to a potential press (even if it ends up changing); how to think about your conversation with a potential editor; why it’s so important to practice talking about your book; why being in marketing mode is really about figuring out how to connect with readers.