I’m writing a book about remote work!

I’ve been working on personal projects for most of my adult life, but I haven’t finished the huge majority of them. More often than not I become more interested in working on something else, and then I just shift gears. This is not a problem by itself. If you’re not motivated to work on your current project, it’s probably better to do something else. As long as you do it out of your own amusement, there’s no problem. But I’d be lying if I say I don’t hope to earn some money with my projects. Then not finishing them becomes an issue. Besides that, I don’t like the idea of starting a project and not finishing it. So in an attempt to break this cycle I’ve chosen carefully my next project: a book about remote work.

Working on a book is nothing new to me. I’ve already done it before more than once. You can even take a look at one of my unfinished books: 100 pages of Elixir. What will be new is finally finishing and publishing a book, but I believe I will do it this time. Actually, I’ve made this decision because I think it’s easier to finish a book than a software project. And it also helps with my goal of making money. Don’t worry, I’m not delusional, I don’t think it will sell many units. But for someone without an audience, it’s easier to sell a book than a SaaS subscription.

But of all topics I could write about, why remote work? I’ve decided to write a non-technical book because it can reach a wider audience than a book about a programming language or a web framework, for example. It’s also easier to finish it since I’m passionate about the subject and I know enough about it. I’ve been working remotely since 2018, so I have plenty of experience and tips to share.

But even though I’m announcing the book now, it’s almost on its half. I’m writing the 5th chapter, out of 9, and the goal is to have around 100 pages. However, I’m a slow writer, so I don’t think the book is close to the finish line. I expect to release it at the end of January. I still have 5 chapters to write, then I’ll need to review everything, and after that I’ll create a website to sell the book. So it’s going to be a while until you can give me your hard-earned money. But that doesn’t mean you must wait so long to judge me by my writing. You can download the first chapter right now.

And because I really believe in the open startup movement, I’ll try to share as much as I can about my book. Not only I’ll share whatever shameful amount of sales I’ll get, but I’m also sharing the Trello board I use for the book. I honestly don’t know if it’s useful, but here it is anyway.

And before finishing this post, it’s probably a good idea to share the name of the book: No Bullshit Guide to Remote Work. I don’t know if it will be the final title, but I don’t need to decide now. Now I need to go, I have a book to write.