I'm a Moroccan-American who loves studying Moroccan history but I couldn't help but notice that the best Moroccan history books are in French with dozens of books detailing every aspect of Moroccan history while in English there are maybe a handful at best that are good.
I was wondering if it would be possible for someone like me, a person without a history degree or studied the topic (in my case, Moroccan history) in university, to publish a history book. I mean, I have a university degree but it is a French one that can best be translated as "English Civilization".
I read some posts related to my question here like this thread here which says historical books should contribte something new. I do believe I would be contributing something new. A comprehensive history of Morocco but in English rather than Arabic or French.
So if I was to write such a book and it was good, is it something that could be useful to academics and any person curious about Morocco or would it just be thrown in the trash?
Hi, there! While I don't write history books specifically, I am a writer and have some experience with the process of writing a book.
Your question specifically asks if a person can write a history book. The answer to that is yes, anyone can write anything they want. I see in the body of your post though that you are actually wondering if a person could successfully publish a history book without a related degree. This answer is a bit more complicated.
When it comes to publishing a book, there are a few ways to do it. One of those ways is self-publishing. This is relatively easy and basically anyone can do it with their work. However, with self-publishing, you're on your own for every single part of the process such as editing, cover art, illustration if needed, and marketing. If you think you're up for the challenge, great! Go for it!
Alternatively, there is also traditional publishing. You write your book and then pitch it to publishing houses in the hopes that they will accept it. The thing to remember is that ultimately these publishing houses are businesses and their goal is to make money by selling books. This is where a degree in a related field would very much come in handy. Having a degree in the subject your book is on signals to publishers that you know what you're talking about and that the information in your book is reliable and accurate. This would then translate to more sales as people who pick up your book on a shelf would see that the author has credentials and can be trusted on the topic. As I'm sure you and everyone else reading this comment knows, a degree is not the only indicator of knowledge and intelligence and I have no doubt in my mind that you're knowledgeable enough about your topic to write about it, OP! But as far as most publishing houses are concerned, the degree is what will sell the books. Does this mean you have no chance of getting traditionally published without a degree in the field you're writing about? No. There's absolutely a chance that a publisher will like your book enough to take a chance on you. But it is less likely.
So to sum up my long winded response, the answer to whether someone can write a history book without having a degree on the topic is...yes but it will be more difficult.
I don't think that not having a degree in Moroccan history means that you couldn't produce a comprehensive synthesis on the history of Morocco that draws on recent work in French and Arabic, if you're a good writer and you're well-informed about the scholarship you're going to be dealing with. Of course, it's much easier to get well-informed about the scholarship at university, but there are other ways to do it too. A history like this could be really useful for undergraduates, for academics who aren't specialists in Morocco or the region, or for members of the general public who are interested in Morocco. But any English-speaking academic who studies Morocco or North Africa is going to speak (or at least read) French and Arabic, so it's probably not going to contribute something new for them.