It’s true. I’m in the process of writing a book. It’s generated a lot of questions!
What’s the book about?
Imagine you’re a developer looking at what seems to be the top rung of your career ladder. You’d like to keep progressing in your career, but you’re not so sure you want to be a people manager.
What do you do? What are your options? What should you learn?
I’ve been a developer for 20 years, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.
Do you have a plan, or…?
I sometimes answer this question before someone gets the chance to ask. “Uh, Leaf, you’re a developer… do you have any idea what you’re doing?”
Yes, yes I do.
I was a writer as a kid, and I was an English major in college. Writing feels like coming home. I don’t struggle to put words on the page.
Right about now, if you were a colleague of mine in the past 20+ years, you may be thinking of several hundred pages of documentation that you’ve seen me turn out. Okay… no problem with the “writing” part.
A book, though? That’s a different story from a bunch of web pages, isn’t it?
The sheer amount of writing that’s in front of me isn’t a problem. I did National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) years ago, while I was still employed. I know the volume isn’t a problem.
Organization isn’t a problem. I have been organizing big stuff professionally and academically for years. It’s just another large project. Nothing new here.
What about knowledge of the publishing industry? Until a few months ago, I didn’t know anything about book publishing. But now I’m a graduate of The Book Academy, a book writing and publishing intensive offered by 4x New York Times best-selling author, Luvvie Ajayi Jones.
What an incredible course! Everything I could want to know about book publishing. A clear path for how to get there, step by step. Access to resources and contacts. A whole community of fellow authors for support and coworking sessions. I have no doubt that with the tools from this course I can do this.
Am I going to be in the book?
My favorite question so far! My coworkers asked: “have you chosen aliases for us all yet?”
And the answer is… maybe 😉
I’ve learned a ton from the people I’ve worked with along the way. Whether they were peers, supervisors, mentors… I’ve been fortunate to work with some smart, talented, and wise people. I’m sure I’ll be naming names if you’ve been an inspiration.
Well. If you’ve been a positive inspiration. If you’ve been a nuisance… and there have been a few… I won’t name those names 🙂
Can I be an early reader?
I would love to have feedback from others. I only have my own experiences and my own research. I’d love to see how my stories and recommendations land for you. Keep in touch.
Let’s do this!
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