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A big divider when writing technical books is how much "opinions" the author should put into it. Some readers want straight information (reference book). Some want as much opinions as possible, so it becomes a work of "the author's best programming ideas". There's probably a balance.

11/6/26, 3:28 pm1 repost9 likes

Nika

@annika-d.bsky.social

11 June

I think pleasing both audiences at the same time is impossible. While less words are requited for a "reference", more explanation is required for the "idea book". I personally would either split the book in half, or publish 2 books.

Karl Zylinski

@zylinski.se

11 June

Yes but if you go hardcore in either direction it becomes a strange book. It almost always needs a bit of both. For my odin book I tried to have lots of know-how in there while tying to also provide a fairly complete intro to the language