I once read that people have more respect for someone who has published a book than someone with a Ph.D. I don’t understand why, but I agree that’s what many folks think.
In fact, I’ll go one step further and state that publishing aside, people have more respect for someone who has written a book than someone with a Ph.D.
As a person with two PhDs, this disheartens me.
It also makes no sense. One aspect of completing a Ph.D. is writing a dissertation, a book-length treatise. Plus, a dissertation is much more difficult to write than most other books because of the grueling research and the requirement to meet detailed expectations with painstaking precision. Even after all the research, writing, and revisions, simply following the tedious format and presentation requirements requires countless hours more.
Yet the reality remains that having your name on the front of a book means more to most people than having the letters Ph.D. after your name. Go figure.
So, if you’ve ever thought about earning a Ph.D. save yourself the time; you might be better off to publish a book instead.
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Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is a full-time, career author. He’s published scores of books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of blog posts, with experience as a publisher, editor, and commercial freelance writer. A passionate wordsmith, his goal is to change the world one word at a time. Learn more at PeterLyleDeHaan.com.
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