Steve Tippins explains why turning a dissertation into a trade book requires a complete rewrite, not editing. Strip the citations, cut the literature review and methodology chapter, then rewrite for actual readers instead of committees. A dissertation is written for five people; a book is written for thousands.
Turning your dissertation into a book is not a copy-paste job. It's a starting-over job. We call it de-academicifying, and it's harder than writing a dissertation was. Strip out every in-text reference. Cut out the repetitive lit review. Delete the methodology chapter no one outside of academia wanted to read. Then write for a real reader, not a committee. A person who bought your book at an airport because they had a problem to solve. Think about the last book that you actually read. Did it open with a conceptual framework? Did it cite 47 sources in chapter 1? No, books are written for markets, dissertations are written for committees. Comment "help" and we will send you the link to our free dissertation help community. You've got this.
