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The first thing that came to my mind was the #1 rule of emergency situation (as I've learned a decade ago): You need to take care of yourself first, because if you're not safe, you cannot help anyone.

I subscribed because I feel I wasted my first 25 years of professional life (in the sense of being isolated and not being part of developer communities), and I like how your Thinkies challenge mines. They open up a more personal universe in the realms of tech. Thanks.

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by Kent Beck

Almost everyone I know who has written a book (or even several books) says that you don't make a living from royalties :)

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Am familiar. XP Explained was a big hit & paid for one college tuition. Happily, Substack amplifies the economic effects.

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I have just read this article and enjoyed it and have too agree on Kent’s comment here

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I am not a fan of this model, but maybe it is just most sustainable and can get you to your goal: some books are written to be a teaser for the later corporate course. The book probably does not make a crazy amount of money, but the corporate course is the gift that keeps on giving (I don’t know this for a fact, just guessing).

Some examples of such books that come to mind are “The Culture Map” and “The five dysfunctions of a team” (+ all of the sequels) and of course “Scrum” books (and associated certifications).

While it feels dishonest to me to choose not to share the data in the book (like The Culture Map did) in order to get you to sign up for their website, but maybe there is a cleaner way to use the book as a ramp into consulting or something similar.

(Last thought, if some variation of the model above is required for you to achieve your dream, would you do it?)

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I plan on experimenting with an on-line workshop this year. We'll see how that does. I'll also be writing book 2 this year, which will provide a small boost.

I think one of the barriers to growth is that there isn't a clear "invest in this/here's how it will pay off" to TF?. Other newsletters tell you how to get hired or how to get promoted--those are clearly worth money to ICs. Even something like XP was clearly connected to revenue for executives. TF? is "just" a really cool skill.

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