Writing a blurb for Staff Engineer.

Hello! If you’re here, then you’ve probably agreed to write a blurb for my upcoming book, Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track.

How will your blurb be used?

Your blurb will be used on up to four places: Gumroad page for Staff Engineer, Amazon page once it’s up (example, a “sales” page hosted on staffeng.com, and on the back cover of printed copies. Some blurbs may not be used in every place, particularly the printed copy, due to space limitations.

Timeline

If at all possible, please submit your blurb by January 10th, 2021. But if that’s too tight, it’s ok, I can always incorporate them as they come. I’m aiming to early release the digital book on January 31st, fully release the digital version in mid-to-late February, and release a print version in late March.

What is a blurb?

A blurb is two to three sentences saying something nice about a book, in this case, about Staff Engineer. You can read some example blurbs from An Elegant Puzzle to get a feel for the format.

Like any compliment, the best blurbs cite something specific that you find good (Work on What Matters has transformed how I think about my daily work), draw a comparison to something else good (this will go on my bookshelf next to Passionate Programmers), or tie into something personal (I’d been struggling to get promoted to Staff, but Staff Engineer helped me get there).

Getting early release copy of book

You can download the latest copy of the book here. I’d be grateful if you didn’t share the draft.

Submitting blurb

Please submit your blurb via this form!

Appreciation

As part of providing a blurb, you’ll recieve an early-release digital copy, and I’ll share a code for a free copy once the final version is available. I’ll also ship you a print copy once they are printed.

If I can ever return the favor to blurb or share your work, I’d be delighted to do so as well.

Questions?

Please email me at lethain@gmail.com with questions.