Hi all -

Looking for some book publishing advice if anyone has any to offer. I completed my PhD last November and worked up a book proposal in late spring. My supervisor lined up an interested publisher (top academic publishing house) and assisted with my proposal. Sent it off, they liked it a lot, asked for some revisions (not many), which I bowed to. Reworked the proposal as per their advice and sent it back. Another minor question followed shortly after, with the acquiring editor saying he was happy with it and was just waiting for the editorial... still waiting... and waiting...

I originally sent in my proposal late June - does it really take this long to make a decision? I'm gagging to get on with it/ announce it/ start calling myself "Dr. Joe Schmo, author of the forthcoming blah blah blah..." I'm also worried that if, after these long 3 months, they turn it down, I'm back to square 1 and will have to look elsewhere having wasted months...

Experiences please!

Status on Egap has been updated to 'assessed', but decision is still pending... anyone else waiting to hear?

Anyone got an application in? Heard anything?

I used Bookends throughout my PhD and it was brilliant.

Sorry, just realised it was stressed who posted the original comment re. BA's.

Pjlu: Oh I knooowww what you mean about complaining UG's. I've been lecturing as well whilst doing my PhD and the "I'm tired" moaning - not to mention claims for 'extensions' and 'mitigating circumstances' - is unbelievable. I fell pregnant half way through my MA degree. I submitted a piece of work 2 days before I gave birth and then submitted my thesis 5 days after my baby was born. I then did the final project and finished with a First - didn't claim for one extension. I just thought I was bowling along doing my own thing at the time and certainly wasn't out to prove anything (except to myself that I could do it). But now, listening to some of the many excuses for not meeting deadlines, I'm afraid I don't have a great deal of sympathy unless it's life-or-death.

Thank you everyone. Bak - great to hear your viva is set for Oct 1st. With regards to holidays: my supervisor is away until last week of August, I believe the external has been chosen and I also think he's probably away too. The internal - I know who it is but have no idea about holiday situaiton. I just hope everyone will be back by 1st week in Sept and that the viva can be late Sept/ early Oct at the latest.

Yes, trying to enjoy time off (I cleaned my house today for the first time in months) but will keep up the pressure - don't want it dragging on and if I've got revisions, I'd rather be getting on with them sooner rather than later!

Thanks all.

Hi Pandora.

I empathise. Completely. I've just submitted (yesterday) and my son is 4. I started the PhD when he was 1 - insane, but my choice. Others who've posted replies are right - you'll get these ridiculous comments whether you've got a child or not. But I understand how much tougher it is when you have a child.

I went to quite a bit of research training and would laugh when other students would say 'ohhh, I'm so tired, I don't think I can do any work for the next couple of days' or other such remarks. I never told anyone I had a child, but would think...'try getting up at 6am every day and looking after a baby all day, then once 7.30pm comes around, put in 6 hours PhD work, then see how 'tired' you are' Nobody, but nobody could ever understand the PhD/ child juggle unless they've been through it.

Have finally completed the proof reading hell and submitted the bloody thing. Feel flat as a pancake.

Want to get the viva out the way asap - has anyone else submitted in August and if so, when was the viva? I'm hoping for end of September, before all the UG's descend and teaching begins...am I being unrealistic?

As I proof read this mammoth effort, I'm one minute feeling like I've produced THE single best thesis ever. The next, I read a couple of paragraphs and think, 'this is just sh*t. Absolute waffle.'

Is this normal?

I just think Bilbo, that if I did include all these Latin words, made the grammer 100% perfect and edited every sentence so that it was concise with lots of intellectual words in it, it would strip away every bit of character in my writing. Also, it would then read as if someone else wrote it.

My writing is what it is. Although I'm trying hard to make as many of these little corrections as possible, you are right to advise not to stress too much. My supervisor has told me to submit. He would never, ever have said that if he thought for a moment my thesis wouldn't pass.

Hi all,

Thank you for your responses. I'm in music and scholars in my discipline use "I" a lot. I'm doing the proof read now and it's a graft having to go through literally every last sentence of it, but I am aiming for 'no revisions' (ambitious, I know)

I've included a few more Latin words, but really they are irrelevant to my subject area. I think my tutor was a pedant to say the least, but I was pretty taken aback when she said "...highly entertaining, but lacking in academic register..." I am fortunate that my supervisor is also one of the biggest "names" in the discipline, so I think I'm going to stick with his advice over the proof reader's.

Thanks!

Having a PGCE is a good thing. I did my UG degree, then PGCE, then a MA and then a PhD. At the time of my PGCE, I was teaching in a college. As time went by, I decided I wanted to move to HE teaching and research, hence the MA and PhD. To be honest, in my experience, there is such a massive gap between UG and PhD, that I'd advise anyone to bridge it with a MA, MSc, MMUS or whatever. I knocked my PhD over in 3 years, whereas I've seen people with no Masters degree struggle with the transition.

Thanks Bilbo. I'm thinking along those lines...

Can anyone else advise?

Ok here goes. Handed in first draft (which I tried to get as close, as close as poss to final draft) to my supervisor a month ago. He got back last week. All great, apart from one or two very minor points (ie write another sentence/ justify one argument a little more) However, he also highlighted many tiny grammatical corrections.

I got in touch with a proof reader who couldn't turn it round it time, but offered to help me with the main issues so as I could do the proof read myself. Anyway, things came up and now I'm worried. "Too much 'first person' commentary" (use of 'I'), "highly entertaining, but needs work on academic register" :-/ All sorts of other things. Not enough "latin" words, too many overly-long sentences blah blah blah. My supervisor has never commented on my use of "I" - in fact, I went through a few books earlier and it appears many scholars in my subject area use "I" a lot.

I wanted to submit on Friday. I was so confident after I got the draft back from my supervisor, because there's obviously no issues with the research/ thesis/ content. Now I'm worried I'll fall down for not being intellectual enough...

Help!