Each year about this time, a new set of graduates with fresh, new academic degrees embarks on post-academic life. Especially among those who majored in a humanities field, or who earned advanced degrees in creative writing or literature, the road to graduation was likely paved with plenty of course papers and presentations. I’m not sure how many new graduates (or, for that matter, those with degrees earned in years past) realize that this work needn’t simply gather dust – literal or virtual. Sometimes, it can be transformed for publication and payment.

I’ve had good luck converting coursework (and the occasional academic or professional conference paper) into an article or essay for another audience. My earliest such success came more than a decade ago, when, with an editor’s help, I adapted a paper that I’d written for a literature class some years earlier for publication by an online magazine. (Neither the magazine nor even the adjective “online” had existed back when I took the class.)

As an MFA student, I knew I was on to something with a short seminar paper I’d written; a print publication bought an expanded version. Then, I received acceptance letters and paychecks for two articles that originated as academic conference presentations. Most recently, an editor has offered to purchase and publish the text of remarks that I delivered at a writing conference in Boston in early May. That piece should be out later this summer.

So before you relegate the fruits of your academic labor to the past, consider polishing a piece or two. If you’ve written with style as well as substance, with vitality and voice notwithstanding “academic” writing’s unfortunate reputation for deadly dullness, the work may well serve a new – and profitable – purpose.

Since 2004, Erika Dreifus has published THE PRACTICING WRITER, a free monthly newsletter for poets, fictionists, and writers of creative nonfiction. Venues that have published and paid for her “converted coursework” and conference papers include JBOOKS.COM, QUEEN’S QUARTERLY, TEACHERS & WRITERS, and THE WILLAMETTE WRITER. Visit Erika online at www.erikadreifus.com and follow her on Twitter, where she tweets on “matters bookish and/or Jewish,” @ErikaDreifus.

7.625 STRATEGIES IN EVERY BEST-SELLER - Revised and Expanded Edition

At this moment, thousands of would-be authors are slaving away on their keyboards, dreaming of literary success. But their efforts won’t count for much. Of all those manuscripts, trade book editors will sign up only a slim fraction.

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Acquisition Editor Tam Mossman shares seven essentials every book needs to stay in print, and sell!

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BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K - $100K Publishing Contracts - by Angela Hoy

Peek over the shoulders of highly successful, published authors to see how they landed publishing contracts worth $10,000 to $100,000! An enticing yet professional book proposal is the key!

BONUS! Successful ghostwriter, Anton Marco, shares his secret for landing ghostwriting clients. Don’t miss Anton’s real ghostwriting contract at the end of this book! It provides an example of what he charges and the payment terms he requires from each client.