Helping Senior Academics Engage with General Audiences
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Does any of this sound like you?
You’re a full professor. You’ve reached the pinnacle of your career. You’ve written a bunch of books that have been well-received by your peers. Maybe you even have an endowed chair. In short, you’ve accomplished almost everything there is to accomplish as a scholar.
But the one thing you still want to do is write THAT book. You know – the one that gets you on the radio and TV, and takes your career to the next level. The book that lets you share your ideas and passion with a much broader audience than ever before.
I can help you do that.
I have a proven, 20-year track record of turning serious, scholarly ideas into commercially successful book projects – the kind that fetch six-figure advances from major international publishing houses.
I get what it means to be a respected academic. But I also get what it means to be a commercially successful author in the public sphere. I understand the difference. And I know how to get you from Point A to Point B – in a reasonable amount of time, without an enormous investment of time and money.
Here’s how I can help you
I’m not just going to take your money, and offer you some kind of nebulous, generic “writing coaching” that you don’t need and can’t use. There are hundreds of people out there who will do that, and you’re welcome to try them out. Instead, I work on a selective basis. Which means I will take you on as a client ONLY if you are an established, serious scholar, and ONLY if I sense that there is some genuine potential for you to write that “big book” – the one that fundamentally transforms your career
If I don’t sense that, I’m not going to waste your time
Here’s how I work. You come to me with a concept. If I think it has potential, I walk you through everything you need to do to turn that concept into a viable non-fiction book proposal that will grab the attention of a reputable literary agent in New York – one who can then sell your proposal to a major commercial publisher
I will help you understand what agents and publishers are looking for in the commercial arena, and how this is different from everything you’ve ever done up to now. I help you understand the importance of cultivating your own voice, creating unforgettable characters, crafting a narrative arc, building dramatic tension, playing with language registers – all the things that are neglected (sometimes even frowned upon) in academia. I help you find the heart and soul in your story, not just its intellectual merits. I help you see your work as a story you must tell – not just a work of scholarship you must “produce”
Look, here’s the big secret. Publishing a commercially successful book is not actually rocket science. It consists of three basic steps: (1) getting a serious, reputable literary agent to agree to take you on; (2) selling your idea to a major commercial publisher; and (3) working with that publisher to write and market your book. That’s it. That’s literally all there is. But if you’re accustomed to the world of university presses, peer review and expensive, footnote-laden monographs, this world is going to feel new and confusing to you, and I guarantee that you will make a lot of easily avoidable mistakes.
This is where I come in. I have been through this process more than once, and I can guide you through each of these three steps, in a way that won’t feel overwhelming or stressful.
PLUS – I offer a special bonus. At the end of our time together, IF I feel that you are where you need to be, I will introduce you to one of a handful of New York agents whom I know personally. There is no guarantee that one of these agents will take you on. And even if they do, there is no guarantee they will get you that big book deal. BUT THIS MUCH I CAN GUARANTEE: I will save you an enormous amount of time and hassle
WHY? Because agents usually take 2-3 months to respond to cold queries, and they insist that you only show your proposal to one agent at a time, exclusively. This means authors often spend months if not years just trying to land an agent. I can help you do an end run around this process. (This alone, in my opinion, is worth the investment)
In short, I take you from concept to agent-ready proposal. And I do this in a series of easy-to-understand steps – helping you save time, energy and money that you would be wasting needlessly if you tried to do this on your own
Why work with me?
One simple reason. I have done this before and I get how it works
I have a PhD in History from one of the world’s best-known universities. But I never pursued the tenure-track life. Instead, I went into journalism, and worked for publications like Newsweek, The Nation, etc. But I always kept one foot in academia. And over the course of 20 years, I cultivated a successful career as an academically trained historian who knows how to write for general audiences
Over the past 20 years, I have:
-- published two books with major commercial presses
-- received a six-figure advance from Knopf / PenguinRandomHouse
-- had multiple publishers making offers on my book proposal (all in the six-figure range)
-- been interviewed dozens of times on BBC, CNN, NPR, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, etc
-- received full-page book reviews in the New York Times, Washington Post, Economist, etc
-- been named by the New York Times as one of “100 Notable Books of 2021”
-- given lectures in places like the Smithsonian, the United Nations, the Pentagon, etc – often to auditoriums packed with hundreds of people
-- all while maintaining the seriousness and integrity of my scholarship (i.e., not “dumbing it down” to the point where it loses value)
But I haven’t just proved I can do this. I’ve also proved I can teach it. I have mentored hundreds students on the process of writing – helping them not only with the mechanics of writing, but also showing them the joy of discovering their own voices as writers. And I’ve advised dozens of academic colleagues on how to make the transition into commercial publishing
This is what you get when you work with me. Someone who shares your passion for ideas, wants to see you get them in front of the largest possible audience – and will show you exactly how to do this
A quick word of warning. Here’s what I don’t do.
I don’t do “editing”. If you want someone to go through your entire book manuscript, line by line, and help you make it read better, there are tons of people out there you can hire – and I’m happy to refer you to some. But that’s not the value of my service. I’m here to help you cultivate your vision for this book. I’m here to help you tap into its potential, and look at it in a way you haven’t done before. I’m here to coach you, inspire you, advocate for you, hold you accountable and help you learn to write differently
I don’t offer “guarantees”. I’m not going to sit here and promise to make you a star, or offer to give you your money back if you don’t land that big lucrative book deal. No one can promise that. What I will do is help you avoid going about this all wrong, and becoming your own worst enemy – which I have seen countless talented, well-meaning scholars do over the years. Most important, I will help you avoid the two biggest pitfalls that academics fall into when they’re trying to make the transition to commercial publishing – wasted time and bungled opportunities. I have seen so many colleagues I respect and admire waste literally years of their lives trying to break into this world, only to do it all wrong – thus blowing their one shot with X or Y famous agent. I want to help you avoid all that.
I don’t work with just anyone. This is probably the most important thing that sets me apart from all the other writing coaches out there. I’m not interested in taking your money if I don’t see the potential. And I’ll tell you right away whether I see the potential or not, without charging you a penny. Yes, you read that correctly. Before we even talk about working together, I ask you to send me a writing sample, and a short description of your idea. If I don’t think it has the potential to be bought by a major commercial publisher, I will simply tell you then and there. This means you have literally nothing to lose by completing the application form!
OK, but why should I even do this?
You believe in “democratizing knowledge”. You believe in making expertise accessible and breaking down the walls of the ivory tower. But you’re not quite sure where to begin
Everyone at your university seems to pay lip service to the idea of “public engagement”. But in your 20, 30-year career in academia, none of your colleagues or mentors has ever actually shown you how to do this. No one has given you concrete tools, support, or roadmaps to help you succeed as a public scholar. (If anything, graduate school and the tenure process seem to have knocked this out of you)
You’re not trying to be some kind of celebrity – but you do believe, in your gut, that your work could be reaching more people than it currently is
You have some vague sense that “commercial publishing” and “trade presses” work very differently from the university presses you’re used to working with – but you’re unsure and mystified by the whole process. Maybe even slightly intimidated
You’ve been told the first step is to “get an agent” or “write a pitch” but you honestly have no idea how any of this works, or where to begin
You’re ready to take your career to the next level. You’re ready to be more than just a scholar. You’re ready to be a storyteller
FAQs
Will you take on graduate students or junior scholars? Yes, in rare cases. And if I do, I will do my best to help you work within your budget. But my service is designed primarily for established scholars, who are well past tenure and are ready to make their big impact
How much does all this cost? I wish I could offer a one-size-fits-all pricing structure. The reality is that every client is different and has varying needs, challenges, budget, etc. This is what the free consultation is for. Once I’ve determined that I’m willing to take you on, and once I’ve understood what your needs are and how I can help you best, I put together a proposal, along with a detailed work plan for us to follow
Do you accept departmental research funds? Yes, absolutely! If your department approves this as part of your professional development, I am happy to work with your business office and be paid directly by them
About me
John Ghazvinian is an author, historian and former journalist, specializing in the history of US-Iran relations. His latest book, America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present (Knopf, 2021), is a comprehensive survey of the bilateral relationship, based on years of archival research in both Iran and the United States. He is also author of Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil (Harcourt, 2007), as well as coeditor of American and Muslim Worlds before 1900 (Bloomsbury, 2020). He has written for such publications as Newsweek, The Nation, the Washington Post, the Sunday Times and the Huffington Post, and has taught modern Middle East history at a number of colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area. He earned his doctorate in history at Oxford University, and was the recipient of a “Public Scholar” fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2016-2017, as well as a fellowship from the Carnegie Corporation's special initiative on Islam in 2009-2010.
Ghazvinian is Executive Director of the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
The information contained in this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute any kind of guarantee.