Make Your Manuscript Work
eBook - ePub

Make Your Manuscript Work

A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Make Your Manuscript Work

A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers

About this book

From the bestselling author of The Book Proposal Book, a practical, step-by-step approach to mastering the four pillars of scholarly writing for authors, editors, and publishing professionals

Developmental editing holds the power to make a manuscript connect with publishers and readers, yet few scholarly writers have the training to do it well. Make Your Manuscript Work offers a practical method for assessing and refining the features of their texts that matter most—argument, evidence, structure, and style. This guide shows scholarly writers how to identify what’s been holding their writing back and fix it so they can accomplish their publication goals.

Laura Portwood-Stacer, a writer, editor, and consultant for academic authors, explains how manuscripts move through the publication process and identifies the key stages for authors to improve their texts. She helps writers better understand who they are writing for and why, enabling them to determine what their drafts need most to move forward. Drawing on a decade of experience as a developmental editor of scholarly manuscripts, Portwood-Stacer details the most common opportunities for development she’s encountered and shares practical tips for implementing needed edits. The book also includes a checklist of assessment questions, examples from real scholarly manuscripts, tips on seeking additional help, and advice on offering developmental editing assistance to other writers.

Written with candor, empathy, and a deep awareness of the challenges faced by academic writers who want to publish, Make Your Manuscript Work is an indispensable how-to guide for scholars at all career stages.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Make Your Manuscript Work by Laura Portwood-Stacer in PDF and/or ePUB format. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Endorsements Make Your Manuscript Work
  3. Skills for Scholars
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright Page
  6. Dedication
  7. Contents
  8. Introduction: How to Develop a Scholarly Manuscript
  9. Phase I: Clarify Your Mission
  10. Phase II: Assess Your Text
  11. Phase III: Plan and Execute Your Edits
  12. Conclusion: Let Your Manuscript Do Its Work
  13. Acknowledgments
  14. Appendix A. Checklist of Opportunities and Assessment Questions
  15. Appendix B. Sample Editorial Materials
  16. Appendix C. Supportive Readers in Manuscript Development
  17. Appendix D. Using This Book’s Method to Support Other Writers
  18. Notes
  19. Bibliography
  20. Index