I'm writing a book on career growth for developers, leadership as an individual contributor, and big-picture thinking skills for developers. Subscribe for thoughts on development, leadership, and writing. I'll be sharing updates on the book and excerpts of what I've written so far. I'm also an Art-o-mat artist, creating drawings of mysterious creatures, and I will share occasional glimpses of my art here. You can find out more about the book and the art at beyondwritingcode.com.
Getting started writing
Published about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Beyond Writing Code #1 (yes!)
20 May 2025
Getting started writing
When I stopped working at my job, I expected that I would settle down to write. Or at least I would work on the book proposal.
Writing: number one on the To Do list for a writer, no?
How most people write a first draft.
I'm an author now
Recently, I had several occasions to list my job title and employer. For example, I signed up for (and applied to speak at!) LeadDev StaffPlus in NYC.
What's my new job title? I put "Developer, Architect, Author" in a few places. It's close enough for now.
Employer, though? I'm not exactly not working. I'm working pretty close to 40 hours a week. I'm closer to self-employed.
That opened up more questions. Am I running a business? What should I call it? What is it as a legal entity? What are the ramifications of that?
Welcome, Beyond Writing Code
The working title for the book is Beyond Writing Code, which I like as a business name. After all, it described my work as an application architect, and it describes my work now.
I added Beyond Writing Code to LinkedIn with a logo:
It has followers on LinkedIn!
[When you think of tech books, do you think of blue or green on a black background, maybe with gratuitous binary, or with lines that look sort of like circuits? I do. I'm going for the polar opposite.]
If I'm claiming Beyond Writing Code as my company, does it need to be a... real... thing? Whatever that means?
I bought a book on starting a small business. I did some research online. A "sole proprietorship" sounded right. On Monday of last week, I walked to my town's city hall to register it.
I love that this is also called a "fictitious name," because it sure is. But, fictitious or not, it has the town clerk's approval.
And a tax identification number.
And a business bank account...
Leaf, are you maybe forgetting something...?
How about writing?
So, I've been reading this book--
I've started a lot of conversations with that. You can bet that one of the regular features of this newsletter will be what I've been reading.
Right now, that's The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries. I'm about halfway through. Have you read it? Drop me a note and let me know what you think.
One of my takeaways is the importance of running experiments. Try things out. See what works, see what flops. Make adjustments accordingly. Get real data on what people want.
Can you do that... with writing?
I'm a graduate of The Book Academy, a comprehensive book writing, publishing, and marketing course from New York Times bestselling author Luvvie Ajayi Jones.
And: Luvvie absolutely runs experiments with her writing. She even teaches it in the course.
"No wasted words," she would tell us. Blog posts? Social media posts? Newsletter posts, like this? Not only are they fair game for reuse in the book, they are an opportunity to test.
And that's where you come in.
Talk to me
Let's be clear: you're under no obligation here. If you read a little and skim (or skip) the rest, great. That's how I am with most of the newsletters I receive.
And if you want to reply and comment, that is welcome and encouraged. Let me know what you think about anything I've written. Send feedback on the content or the writing style. Share thoughts of your own. Offer recommendations I might consider.
I'm grateful for any thoughts you'd like to share.
How most people compose an email.
Or just reply and say hello. Tell me what you're up to. What you're reading, for example.
But Leaf... have you started writing the book??
I did. I spent a while writing deliberate text into the book document itself.
But every newsletter, every blog post, may or may not contain some writing that will eventually find its way into the book. You may be getting a sneak preview at any time.
No wasted words! Let's go!
Poll
I love a poll, whether for "real data" or just for fun.
If I put a poll at the end of a newsletter, would you respond?
I'm writing a book on career growth for developers, leadership as an individual contributor, and big-picture thinking skills for developers. Subscribe for thoughts on development, leadership, and writing. I'll be sharing updates on the book and excerpts of what I've written so far. I'm also an Art-o-mat artist, creating drawings of mysterious creatures, and I will share occasional glimpses of my art here. You can find out more about the book and the art at beyondwritingcode.com.