The step-by-step guide you need to finish your dissertation and earn your doctorate- you can be PhDone!
In PhDone, you’ll also learn how to:
- Choose and construct your methodology.
- Develop research questions, conduct research, and obtain IRB approval.
- Properly analyze results and formulate conclusions.
- Maintain a schedule, establish a productive workspace, and cultivate work-life balance.
- Facilitate a functional advisor-advisee relationship, and navigate the dissertation committee.
- Master the process of revising, editing, and formatting.
- Nail your defense and earn final approval.
Our Wall Street Journal bestselling book, PhDone, has been endorsed by dozens of professors, deans, and dissertation advisors:
Dr. Fred Myers
New York University
PhDone is a friendly and thorough guide to living productively through the dissertation-writing process. Roda, Saunders and Anderson have cracked the sometimes mysterious pathways from start to finish of choosing topics, advisors, committees and what one can reasonably expect.
That writing a dissertation is “a job”, as they advise, is surely the key to completing and living through one of the most significant achievements one can imagine.
Our bestselling book, PhDone, includes a proven formula for research and dissertation writing success, based on decades of experience collaborating with PhD students across a wide range of academic fields, including the social sciences, humanities, sciences, and business.
Now available at
Our Editing Services
Demystify the Process
PhDone demystifies what a successful dissertation entails, from synthesizing literature and conducting research to mastering the editing process and acing your defense.
Real Anecdotes
Includes both illustrative anecdotes and cautionary tales from real doctoral candidates—learn from the hard-earned wisdom of those who have succeeded (and failed) in the dissertation writing process.
Achieve Your Goals
Elevate your career and life with the degree you’ve been working toward, all while maintaining your work-life balance, relationships, sanity, and passion for your field of research.
Everything you need to finally finish your doctorate
Based on decades of experience working with thousands of doctoral candidates at Dissertation Editor, Dr. Allen Roda and Dr. Lauren Saunders deliver a comprehensive yet accessible guide filled with practical advice, illuminating stories, and hard-earned wisdom that will empower you to complete your dissertation and earn your degree.
Wherever you are in your doctoral journey, Dr. Roda and Dr. Saunders offer you the tools you need to conquer academia’s biggest challenges, and get PhDone.
Wall Street Journal Best Selling Book and #1 Best Selling Book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the authors
Dr. Allen Roda
Dr. Lauren Saunders
Dr. Lauren Saunders is the Vice President of Editing and Research for Dissertation Editor, where she previously served as an editor and managing editor. She earned a BA in Dance and a BFA in Creative Writing, summa cum laude, from Chapman University, an M.Phil. in Irish Literature from Trinity College, Dublin, awarded with distinction, and a PhD in Literary Studies from the University of Denver, where she received the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Divisional Dissertation Fellowship.
In addition to a decade of experience in university writing centers, she designed and taught courses in the University of Denver writing program and English department. She lives in Colorado with her husband and daughter.
Kevin Anderson
Kevin Anderson is the founder of Dissertation Editor and co-founder of its UK counterpart, Thesis Editor. He is also the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Kevin Anderson & Associates, a book-writing, ghostwriting, editorial services, and publishing navigation firm with offices in NYC, Nashville, LA, and London, where he works with numerous bestselling and award-winning authors, literary agents, major publishers, and a variety of public figures, professionals, and aspiring authors. He’s edited over 50+ national bestsellers and is a contributing author to Publishers Weekly’s Book Publishing Almanac 2022: A Master Class in the Art of Bringing Books to Readers.
Kevin grew up on a small farm in a remote area of Northern Alberta, Canada. He completed his BA in history and philosophy magna cum laude at the University of Lethbridge, and his Master’s degree at Harvard University in 2007, with a concentration in literary theory and criticism.
Kevin currently lives in the Boston area and spends his free time enjoying the outdoors, performing music, and traveling abroad with his wife and four children.
Dr. Ian Bailey
The PhD experience is highly rewarding, and life changing, but obtaining your doctorate can also be arduous and frustrating! The credibility of your dissertation can be enhanced substantially by improving the quality of your writing, the coherency of your argument, and the formatting of your text
Reviews of PhDone
As one who has directed a Writing Center for years, I say with confidence that this book offers a great deal of essential advice. Presenting the whole graduate school experience as preparation for the project of the dissertation, PhDone will help many begin the process when they should, long before the writing itself is underway. Wise, savvy and extensive—a very valuable resource.
Dr. Brian Glaser
I wish I’d had this when I was working on my own dissertation! An invaluable guide to the ins and outs and do’s and don’ts of finishing your PhD thesis and getting your degree. I’m definitely going to share it with my own students.
Dr. Michael Beckerman
Writing a dissertation is daunting, even for the most accomplished students. PhDone includes excellent advice, and its many examples prove that no obstacle a student might confront is unique: from the difficulty of delineating a topic to political problems with a committee. PhDone is a charming and useful guide for anyone considering or working on a PhD.
Dr. Richard Ruppel
Everyone who has ever worked on a doctoral degree knows the ups, downs, concerns, and anxieties of completing the dissertation. Roda, Saunders, and Anderson offer an illuminating and fundamentally helpful guide toward PhD completion. Most every grad student I’ve ever known could have used this!
Dr. David Gilbert
PhDone is a thorough but approachable introduction to what you need to expect from the process of completing a dissertation. As I tell my students, you need to minimize unexpected hurdles. This book can help.
Dr. Darren Linville
Dr. Roda has been supporting doctoral students on their journeys for many years, and I am delighted to see this wisdom now encapsulated in a book to be more widely accessible.
Dr. Lindsay Stark
PhDone is now available at
