First up: I have not finished my Ph.D. yet … but the good news is that I am still working on it. With this blog post, I want to share my thoughts on two books with you that helped me to keep on going, thus far: Writing your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day by Joan Bolker and Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks by Wendy Laura Belcher. Both authors provide more than one helpful thought and exercise on how to start and finish your piece of writing. They accompanied me in very different stages of my Ph.D. and both had a substantial impact on my decisions and achievements. Both were recommended to me by a dear friend who is not only one of the smartest women I know but also one of the most promising researchers in German law by now, Dr. Kristina Peters.
I read Writing your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day during my undergraduate studies. Before even having started my Bachelor thesis, and therefore quite naively, I decided that I wanted to do this: write a dissertation. The book provides one of the best pieces of advice that cannot be repeated often enough. Best you pin it to your mirror, on your fridge, your toothbrush, and the door to your room (inside and out): keep on going, step by step! That sounds boring and self-explanatory, so why do we need a book to understand it? Because Bolker tells you what keep on going entails, she helps you envision your success and is completely honest with you on what you need to bring to the table to reach your goals. For example: do not get a puppy! Of course, I did … probably one of the reasons for the first sentence. But, Bolker also shows you that writing and especially completing your writing is within your reach if you keep on going. She transfers her love and her passion, explains all the good and the bad stuff about writing, and why you will be able to manage it all. To sum up, she inspires and I for one took the bait.
You don’t resolve desires by entirely suppressing them.
Belcher, 2019, p. 27
Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks is more of a hands-on guide. This book enabled me to turn a first draft into a first article. I handed it in at one journal where it was accepted after one round of revision – thank you, Wendy! Of course, the whole process still took a year, but that is another story. Belcher’s guide takes you by the hand as soon as you have a draft. It accompanies you while revising, emphasizing the importance of the process. On a side note, it gives great advice on how to organize yourself and plan your time more efficiently, as well as more in line with your needs: “You don’t resolve desires by entirely suppressing them” (p. 27). Belcher describes the strength and beauty of a convincing argument, helps you to find a suitable journal to publish, and provides tips on revising your writing style from body to paragraph and sentence structure, making it easier to read and understand, step by step. One tiny critique: the title of the book could be misleading because this guide has only one (the last) chapter on how to come up with a first draft, but rather concentrates on how to make your writing publishable.
My conclusion: use both books! Bolker’s book is a perfect read if you are still uncertain whether writing a dissertation is something you would want to be going for. If you have already made up your mind, but are still sitting in front of a blank page, the book can also help you get started, and sooner rather than later, you will come up with a first draft. I believe in you! If you are already in the middle of it all, entangled in drafts but still unsure on whether you are ready to publish or being rejected by journals repeatedly, try Belcher’s book. She will help you structure your thoughts, marking a convincing argument so that your audience and yourself can see the beauty of it all. Enjoy the read!
Sources:
Belcher, Wendy Laura (2019). Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success (2nd edition). University of Chicago Press: Chicago. ISBN: 978-0226499918.
Bolker, Joan (1998). Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis. Macmillon: New York. ISBN: 978-0-8050-4891-9.