Credentials Question

You seem like you want permission to call yourself doctor. You also seem to know better. As a reader in your target market, that you're even raising the possibilty of doing something so dubious sends up a red flag to me, and would probably turn me away from your books.

Master's degrees are often terminal degrees for clinicians. Some of their books get published. I know the PhD is more common in your field, but "practicing clinician with x years of experience" seems like a selling point.

Don't beat yourself up over this one detail. Success in publishing has infinitely long odds. There probably isn't any one make-or-break factor.

If there is one factor that's make-or-break, given that you are/were a licensed clinician, it's your writing.

Write well; give good advice. Word-of-mouth sells these books--colleague to colleague, friend to friend. I don't pick books cold based on an author's PhD (or MS) on the cover.

You're not a Ph.D. You don't get to call yourself a Ph.D.

I'm not a J.D. I've had some thirty or more credit hours in law school coursework—but I'm not a J.D. Therefore, I don't call my self a J.D. or an attorney or a lawyer.

Write well. Include your degrees and schools in your cover blurb or bio, but no one who's clueful uses a degree on the cover. It's pretentious and obnoxious.

Have you actually checked into programs? Many PhD programs don't actually end up costing you, and even pay a stipend to students.

Have you checked out PsyD programs too? They can be cheaper, especially as they're usually much quicker, and can also have backing $$.

I think you could start by searching Amazon for books similar to the one you have in mind. See what the authors' credentials are, how they're presented, their sales rankings, and what type of press they're published by. Good luck.

Also, just a casual observation here so fwiw, having a snappy title seems especially important. (Men are from Mars, Women are From Venus; He's Just Not That Into You; Hot Monogamy, etc.)

ETA: To answer your question, yes, I would prefer such a book to have been written by a someone with a PhD in the subject. But that wouldn't be the only consideration. Also, if you don't have one and don't plan to get one, that ship seems to have sailed anyway, yes?

I recall seeing "Doctor of Education" listed on books where education wasn't the topic. It just confused me but it's possible many readers would be more impressed to know you had a higher level education in general, I dunno. As with the EdD, though, JD would just confuse me, personally. I would probably think the book included advice for getting a good deal in the divorce from the troubled spouse... Maybe the JD could be included in the bio, though.

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

I'm not your market. But that's a great title. Also, if I were in the market for such a book, I'd be more interested in clinical experience than degrees. Degrees without experience are no indication of genuine knowledge and knowhow in my experience.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal