4th
Jeff Atwood reminds us of Microsoft’s 3 programming personas: Mort the last minute code monkey, Elvis the pragmatist, and Einstein with his head in the codes.
Most programming / tech book authors are Einsteins or Elvises. For a book to get really popular, it needs to appeal to Mort.
Mort wants to learn things with an immediate pay off. “Best practice” is a turn off for him because it means “work harder now for some vague benefit in the distant future”.
Elvis will work a bit harder now in exchange for an easier life in a year. “Best practices” are interesting — as long as he can see the future benefits clearly.
Einstein will always follow best practices because they’re, like, the best way.
How can you make sure your book appeals to all three personas?
How can you write a “cross over” book that makes Mort see the benefits of good practice? One of my authors sells version control to Mort like this: “version control is like a big undo button”. Darn tootin’.