BOOK BRILLIANCE

The program for women and non-binary scholars in academia that teaches you how to write a brilliant, publication-worthy book — without working twice as hard as your peers.

There’s a brilliant book inside of you, and it's up to you to write it.

The question is whether you want to write it with multiple shots of espresso, cortisol, and all-nighters as your support system, or the guidance of an academic book coach who has helped scholars just like you write books that are sitting on their bookshelf right now.

Here’s what I know about you: you’re a badass.

You’ve successfully written and defended a dissertation, landed a job that people have dreamed about, and are doing research that can change the way we think about the world.

Despite your achievements — or maybe because of them — your success has been challenged. Your intelligence has been questioned. You’ve been dismissed. While so much is being demanded from you, nothing is expected of you.

Now, you’re faced with a new challenge. A challenge you’re rising to despite the odds.

Writing the book that will earn you tenure.

Academic book writing looks something like this:

Hide in your office and write for months, or even years.

Work on anything but the book. You have seven articles in progress but you haven’t cracked open your completed dissertation since the day you defended.

Summon the courage to ask a mentor, editor, or member of your writing group for feedback.

Receive feedback that’s either marginally useful or suggests a complete overhaul (after you’ve done a TON of work).

Return to your marked up draft with little idea of how to implement that feedback.

In the meantime, you’re trying everything. You have a few “how to write an academic book” guides neatly arranged on your bookshelf. You attended the panel at your professional conference where an editor told you “everything you need to know about submitting a proposal.” The writing group you joined is great for accountability but they don’t have the time to give you the substantive feedback you need.

You have no clear idea how to write and plan a brilliant, publication-worthy book. And even if you did know, how on earth are you going to fit actually doing it into your jam-packed schedule?

The #1 mistake academic writers make is believing that your troubles mean you’re uniquely unqualified to write your book.

Nobody ever taught you how to write a book, yet everyone around you assumes you can just do it without any guidance or institutional support. That’s like asking a chef straight out of culinary school to prepare a Michelin-star caliber meal.

You’re beginning to resent your book. You don’t even care how it sounds anymore, you just want it off your desk.

You don’t need boilerplate guidance or superficial feedback.

Here’s what you really need:

Direct coaching from a seasoned expert on how to plan your brilliant book without stressing about deadlines or working twice as hard as your peers.

A supportive space where you can hone your writing skills.

A community where your brilliance is assumed instead of underestimated.

Consistent, reliable support at every stage of your book writing process is not a “nice to have.” It’s a necessity.

That’s precisely what you’ll get in Book Brilliance.

Book Brilliance

Book Brilliance is a 6-month program that teaches women and non-binary scholars how to plan and write a brilliant book — without working twice as hard as their peers.

It’s a curriculum-based coaching and editing program where you’ll transform your dissertation into a publication-worthy scholarly book using structured systems. It’s perfect for tenure-track academics or any Ph.D. holder writing a non-fiction academic book.

Here’s what the support in Book Brilliance looks like:

You’d learn the conventions and strategies for successful book writing, then you’d have guidance as you implemented those teachings. That way, you wouldn’t end up with 30 pages or 3 months’ worth of writing that you have to overhaul in just a few weeks.

When you have a new idea for your book you’re able to workshop that idea with a developmental editor in a matter of days.

Every month, you can submit portions of your writing for written editorial feedback, so you never get so far along that cleaning your bathroom with a toothbrush sounds more fun than revising your hard work.

Instead of struggling through your crisis of confidence alone, you have the support of a coach who knows what it’s like to work within a system that’s rigged to take incredibly bright, motivated, ambitious people and make you feel stupid, overstretched and unprepared.

A community of peers who share your goal and cheer you on as you create scholarship that challenges the conventions of your discipline.

You’re ready to write your book in a way that will light you up instead of burn you out.

You believe your scholarship can make a difference. Your book can spark new conversations in your field and give the underrepresented communities you study the attention they deserve.

You want the confidence of knowing when and how to write your book. The idea of sitting down with a reliable plan for writing your book sounds even more appealing than a fairy godmother to grade your students’ final papers.

Introducing...

BOOK BRILLIANCE

You'll Learn How To:

One of my favorite things about editorial hot seats is how Jane can take a lesson specific to one scholar’s writing and expand it to make a broader editorial lesson relevant for the rest of the group. It’s been useful to apply these lessons to any writing project.

— Assistant Professor, Urban Studies and Planning

What's Included in Book Brilliance?

Group Coaching Calls

On these calls, we come together as a group to tackle the pervasive issues academics face while writing their books. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and receive live coaching on the call.

Live Writing Workshops

In these workshops (formerly known as hotseats), you’ll present your work for live feedback from a developmental editor. You’ll talk through the major points and be able to ask questions about your specific piece of writing.This is an opportunity to share your work without the nuisance of someone who has “more of a comment than a question.”

Written Feedback From a Developmental Editor

You’ll also have the opportunity to submit up to 1500 words of writing for written feedback once a month.

This could be a portion of a chapter, an outline, or one of the writing exercises we assign you.The feedback will identify the strengths of the writing and opportunities for revision, with clear-cut suggestions on how to do the revising. Expert eyes on your work at this cadence guarantees that you won’t be thirty pages into a chapter only to realize there’s no throughline.

Video Masterclass Library

Book Brilliance includes a library series of video lessons on writing techniques, project management, and mindset. The lessons cover topics such as writing for your intended audience, developing a book overview, creating and sustaining writing systems, managing negative feedback, and cultivating your authority.

Private Online Community

In our private community (that’s not on Facebook), you can ask questions of the coaches and interact with your fellow Book Brilliance members. There are daily accountability check-ins so that you can create focus and motivation for the day’s work. This space is the antidote to the loneliness that academic writers face.

Access to Jumpstart

Jumpstart is our DIY project management course for book writers. You get immediate access to this program when you enroll in Book Brilliance. It will help you develop your book writing timeline, incorporate your book writing into your greater publication pipeline, and manage your mind about your writing so you can create compassionate and sustainable habits.

Jumpstart helped me acquire a realistic sense of the critical and multiple time frames I had to consider in completing a book manuscript, not only from proposal submission to book production, but also the demands of the academic calendar and the tenure clock. The worksheets and tools provided were all useful and helpful. Above all, through Jumpstart I felt more knowledgeable in my interactions with the (acquisitions) editor. I knew what the critical questions were and where I could — and should — negotiate. Totally worth it!

— Assistant Professor, Humanities

Meet Your Coach

Hi, I'm Jane Jones, PHD

I know what it’s like to live in that stressed-out space between hysterical laughter and uncontrollable crying.

Proud New Yorker, weekend bourbon drinker, and former tenure-track professor of sociology.

I was once an overworked academic like you.

During my first year as an assistant professor, I was under such intense stress that I developed a lactose intolerance. Eventually, after becoming disillusioned with the structural inequalities and what felt like outright-hostile working conditions of my university, I left academia to found my company Right Prose.

In my ten years as a developmental editor, I’ve worked with writers who have published books with presses including University of Chicago, Oxford, Princeton University Press, New York University Press, Rutgers University Press, UNC Press, Stanford Press, Duke University Press, and Bloomsbury.

What can you achieve in six months?

Within the first fourteen days of Book Brilliance, you’ll write your book overview. This is a one-page document that serves as the intellectual agenda for your book. That means you will nail the key components of what your book is about, why it matters, and who should read it. With this done, you’ll have the big picture view of your book which will allow you to clearly explain what your book is about to anyone who asks (in less than fifteen minutes!).

Now the fun part...

Once you’ve done all of that, you still have four months to work on your book. In Book Brilliance, you have the choice of how you want to use that time: you can write up to two chapter drafts and a book proposal, or some other combination of projects based on your personal weekly writing time.

With our coaching, you will choose the path that works best for your tenure and promotion timeline. Because you’ve already developed your clear and efficient plan, you’ll hit the ground running – better yet, you’ll hit the ground writing.

BONUS

Book Breakthrough Call:

The first five enrollees will receive a one-hour 1:1 strategizing session with Jane. During this call we will discuss high-level issues including selecting a publisher, creating a publication plan, and/or structuring your book’s argument.

I think it’s really hard to quantify the value of the program. I got so much out of it, and as I continue to work my way through Jumpstart, it becomes still more worth it. The coaching definitely helped me feel more empowered in my process. I can see a path forward, I can see all the ways in which it is MINE, and I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this level of ownership or confidence in my ideas. I feel equipped.

— Assistant Professor, Art History

Elevate is “an affirming ‘academic’ space that is not harmful or violent like the actual academy.

— Assistant Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and African American and African Studies

FAQ

Is there a guarantee?

Yes. Our guarantee is that if you put in the work, Book Brilliance will be successful for you. That’s because we only enroll you if you’re motivated and committed. We’re confident that you have the ability to be successful, and with the right structure and support, you will be!

Will you be offering this again 3 months from now, in the summer, or when I feel “ready” to write my book?

Book Brilliance will be offered again. Our enrollment calendar is similar to the traditional semester schedule. What I ask, however, is that you consider what it would take for you to feel “ready.” In my experience, “ready” is not a prerequisite for succeeding in the program. That’s because you won’t feel ready to write your book until you know how to write the book!

Should I just work one-on-one with a developmental editor?

There are many amazing developmental editors you can work with. The issue with post-production editing (or editing after you’ve completed a manuscript) is that if that editor identifies an issue in need of serious revision, it can be too late to make those revisions. In Book Brilliance, you receive feedback as you’re writing, and instruction that ensures you start strong. That way, you don’t end up in the position of laboring over a chapter or entire book for months or even years then feeling like you have to start from scratch…again.

I don’t understand what an editorial workshop is. Can you explain it again?

For the editorial workshop, you submit a short writing sample (up to 1500 words) a few days before we come together as a group. That gives the Book Brilliance editors time to review your work. When we come together as a group, the editor shares your work on the screen and you have a conversation about the writing (essentially, we’re having a writing workshop). In this format, you have the opportunity to see other Book Brilliance members’ work and hear editorial feedback. This can give you loads of insight into your own writing.

What disciplines do you work with?

We work with all disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. In Book Brilliance, we’ve worked with scholars in disciplines including African American Studies, American Studies, Anthropology, Archaeology, Art History, Asian Studies, Classics, Education, English, Film Studies, Gender Studies, Geography, History, Labor Studies, Latinx Studies, Literature, Media and Communication, Political Science, Sociology, Urban Studies, and Religious Studies. Many of our students are writing across disciplines.

Where have Book Brilliance students published their books?

They have published or secured contracts for works in progress with presses including Stanford, Chicago, Princeton, Duke, University of North Carolina, Rutgers, NYU, Oxford, and California.

Would Book Brilliance be good for me if I only have a completed dissertation?

Yes. We have a specific success path for authors who are just starting so that they can identify their main argument then start their book overview and outline. As long as you have all of your research complete, you’ll be able to work with us.

I’m writing my second book. Can I still join?

Of course! Some of the book-writing instruction may feel familiar to you, but that just means you’ll be able to double down on your existing strengths and transform the processes you have that you might not love. The editing and coaching offered in Book Brilliance is an asset for any scholarly book writer.

I don’t live in the US. Will the calls be offered at a time I can attend?

We’re based in the Eastern Standard Time zone, so you might be able to make it! We can discuss the particularities for international enrollees on our consultation call.

How do I join Book Brilliance?

First, you fill out an application. If we think you’re a good fit and that we can help you, we’ll invite you to complete a self-assessment. Then, you’ll schedule a personalized consultation call with Jane. This is to make sure that Book Brilliance is the next best step for you. If we determine that it isn’t the next best step, Jane will help you decide what to do instead.

Apply Now

Price: $6,750 or 7 payments of $965

(please note we charge a $300 admin fee if you pay with university funding)

You could wait to write your book, but how has waiting served you so far? If you’re an academic writing a book, then I bet you are facing one or both of these concerns: your tenure clock is ticking, or (more importantly, in our humble opinion) you have a book that’s going to spark a transformation in your field and you know it deserves to be published sooner than later. Why wait?

Jane Jones and her team are just what I needed to re-energize my book project. I came needing to find a new entryway to engage my work. I’d spent about two years looking at my dissertation trying to reconfigure it into my first book, and I was left disenchanted that I’d ever be able to get out of my head and actually start writing again. The Elevate program was just what I needed to get out of my head and set up an affirming practice that fits in with my life.

— Assistant Professor, Archaeology

BOOK BRILLIANCE

Includes...

Price: $6,750 or 7 payments of $965

(please note we charge a $300 administrative fee for institutional payments)

Here’s the truth:

A successful book is one of the cornerstones of an academic’s career. Yet, for all the importance academia places on “the book,” there is scant guidance on how to actually write one. You could fill a lecture hall with guides on how to write fiction, but when it comes to academic writing — and books in particular — you’d be lucky to find enough useful instruction to fill a conference tote bag.

Writing a book does not have to be an intimidating, solitary experience. If you’re an academic writer who wants the expertise of an editor, the support of a coach, and a community of peers who know what it’s like, to be writing a scholarly book, then Book Brilliance is for you.

I came across Elevate at a point when I was rapidly losing faith that I was ever going to complete my long-overdue book project. Looking initially for a developmental editor, I joined Elevate primarily because the timing was right and despite slight misgivings about the group approach. From the word go I nevertheless found the community aspect of the program to be a crucial component, helping me feel supported and understood by a highly diverse (and often hilarious) group of colleagues all committed to a similar goal. The mix of general coaching on writing as a professional practice and focused feedback on my own writing turned out to be exactly what I needed to re-boot my book project and restore faith in my own abilities as an academic writer. The program’s extremely clear-cut approach to the practicalities of writing – including planning, realistic goal-setting, and managing feedback – has helped me form more productive habits and set more manageable goals for my writing. Perhaps more than anything, Elevate has helped me call out the toxic obsession with productivity in academia that sets so many of us up to fail because we measure ourselves against unrealistic standards. I would recommend it to any academic who finds that they want to feel better about writing, not just get better at it.

— Assistant Professor, Visual Culture

The best thing I did for my sanity during my post-doc year was work with Jane. She has a gift for breaking down seemingly onerous projects into bite size, manageable pieces while providing a contagious encouragement and enthusiasm for the tasks at hand. Her expertise as a sociologist and woman of color scholar provided such an incredible sounding board for my ideas that other developmental book editors I vetted were not equipped to do. She also worked with me to bring my vision for my work into the light, rather than imposing her thoughts about what she felt was most interesting couched in the language of academic rigor; this is a difficult balance to strike, and Jane navigated that terrain with dexterity. My book proposal unquestionably benefited from her professional and intellectual perspective, and I fully intend to work with her in the years to come. I would recommend the full gamut of Jane’s editing and professional development services with total enthusiasm!

— Assistant Professor, Sociology and Criminology