Writing for Software Developers

Prologue: Why Write Technical Content
Chapter 0: You and Your Guide
	0.1 Intended Audience
	0.2 About This Handbook
Act 1: The Craft
Chapter 1: Finding and Validating Ideas
	1.1 The 9 Questions Process
		1.1.1 Questions
		1.1.2 Merging Answers
	1.2 Idea Validation
	1.3 Article Lifespan
	//TODO
	The 9 Questions Process Example
Chapter 2: Publishers
	2.1 Finding Publishers
	2.2 Pitching
		2.2.1 Finding and Pitching Your Second Publisher
	2.3 Working for an Agency
	//TODO
Chapter 3: Research
	3.1 Finding Sources
	3.2 Evaluating Sources
	3.3 Interviewing
		3.3.1 Finding the Right Interview Subject
		3.3.2 Synchronous Interviews
		3.3.3 Asynchronous Interviews
		3.3.4 What to Ask
	3.4 Citation and Rights
	//TODO
Chapter 4: Preparing to Write
	4.1 Outlines
		4.1.1 Audience
		4.1.2 Structure
		4.1.3 Contents
		4.1.4 Cancelling an Article
	4.2 Sample Code
	//TODO
Chapter 5: Writing for Software Developers
	5.1 The Actual Words
		5.1.1 Craft and Style
		5.1.2 Voice
		5.1.3 Your Writing Practice
		5.1.4 Markdown
	5.2 Graphics
	5.3 Overcoming Writer’s Block
	//TODO
Chapter 6: Editing
	6.1 Content
		6.1.1 Structural Principles
		6.1.2 Code
		6.1.3 Reading Aloud
	6.2 Style Guides
	6.3 Working with Editors
	6.4 Editing for Self-Publication
		6.4.1 Beta Readers
		6.4.2 Professional Proofreading and Copyediting
		6.4.3 Edits over Time
	//TODO
Chapter 7: Publishing
	7.1 Last Steps
		7.1.1 Skimmability
	7.2 Platforms
		7.2.1 Wordpress
		7.2.2 Ghost
		7.2.3 Static Site Generator
		7.2.4 Ebooks and PDFs
		7.2.5 Print
	//TODO
Act 2: The Process in Action
Chapter 8: Example Tutorial: Scraping and Generating Shakespearean Sonnets
	8.1 Reader’s Notes
		8.1.1 Tutorial Outline
		8.1.2 Writing Concepts
	8.2 Complete Tutorial
	Scraping and Generating Shakespearean Sonnets
		Setting Up
		English Class in under 200 Words
		First Stage: Scraping the Data
		Second Stage: Parsing Rhymes
		Third Stage: Building Sonnets
		In Conclusion
Chapter 9: Example Tutorial: Practicing JavaScript with a Shakespearean Sonnet Generator
	9.1 Reader’s Notes
		9.1.1 Tutorial Outline
		9.1.2 Writing Concepts
	9.2 Complete Tutorial
	Practicing JavaScript with a Shakespearean Sonnet Generator
		Setting Up
		Data Structure: Arrays in Arrays in Arrays
		Making Random Samples
		Building and Adding a String to the HTML
		Making a Sonnet on a Button Press
		In Conclusion
Chapter 10: Example Article: Computational Poetry
	10.1 Reader’s Notes
		10.1.1 Article Outline
		10.1.2 Writing Concepts
	10.2 Complete Article
	Computational Poetry
		Why Poetry?
		Considering Inputs
		Naive Selection
		Markov Chains
		Neural Networks
		In Conclusion
		Further Reading
Act 3: The Business of Writing
Chapter 11: Pricing
	11.1 Per Article
	11.2 Per Word
	11.3 Per Hour
	11.4 Free
	//TODO
Chapter 12: Contracts and Invoicing
	12.1 Common Clauses in Contracts
	12.2 Writing Your Own Letters of Agreement
	12.3 Invoicing
		12.3.1 Payment Processors
		12.3.2 Payment Terms
	//TODO
Chapter 13: Intellectual Property and Publication Rights
	13.1 Publication Rights
		13.1.1 Work for Hire
		13.1.2 First Serial
		13.1.3 Second Serial and Anthology Rights
		13.1.4 Retaining Rights
		13.1.5 Online versus Print
	13.2 Software Licensing
	13.3 Attribution
	//TODO
Chapter 14: Content Monetization
	14.1 Advertising
		14.1.1 On the Death of Advertising
		14.1.2 Affiliate Links
	14.2 Sponsorships
	14.3 Sales and Subscriptions
	14.4 Content Marketing
		14.4.1 Indirect Monetization
	//TODO
Chapter 15: Promoting Your Work
	15.1 Platforms
		15.1.1 Hacker News
		15.1.2 Reddit
		15.1.3 LinkedIn
		15.1.4 Twitter
		15.1.5 Niche Platforms
	15.2 Email Lists
	15.3 In Person
	15.4 Metrics
	15.5 Search Engine Optimization
	//TODO
Chapter 16: Long-Term Engagements
	16.1 Books
		16.1.1 Working with Publishers
		16.1.2 Self-Publishing
	16.2 Series
		16.2.1 Columns
		16.2.2 Courses
	16.3 Alternate Formats
		16.3.1 Academic Papers
		16.3.2 Whitepapers and Case Studies
		16.3.3 Videos
		16.3.4 Speaking
	16.4 Jobs
	//TODO
Appendices
Appendix A: Complete Interview Transcripts
	Courtland Allen
	Jeff Atwood
	Chris on Code
	Peter Cooper
	Angel Guarisma
	Matt Levine
	Mark McGranaghan
	Patrick McKenzie
	Tracy Osborn
	Daniel Vassallo
	Cassidy Williams
Appendix B: The 9 Questions Worksheet
Appendix C: Sources
Acknowledgements
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