Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links; I may receive compensation if you purchase the book from the different links provided in this post. Disclaimer This review is about Writing for Developers by Piotr Sarna and Cynthia Dunlop from Manning. Writing for Developers I started my blog as a hobby seventeen years ago, in April 2008. At the time, I had no clue about technical writing. I'm pretty sure it was not even a thing back then: the only content aimed at developers was technical documentation. Since then, the landscape has changed a lot, to the point that companies hire for technical writer positions. my blog I was curious to compare what I learned by doing to the structured approach of a book. I ordered the book last year when it was still being written. It was published only early this year, and I was already reading (and reviewing!) DuckDB in action. I put it on the top of my reading pile list; I finally finished it: here's my review. DuckDB in action Facts 17 chapters, divided into four parts
2 appendices
345 pages
$39.99 (eBook) 17 chapters, divided into four parts 2 appendices 345 pages $39.99 (eBook) Chapters Part 1 - Fundamentals Why write
What to write
Captivating readers Why write What to write Captivating readers Part 2 - Nailing the writing process Creating your working draft
Optimizing your draft
Getting feedback
Ship it Creating your working draft Optimizing your draft Getting feedback Ship it Part 3 - Applying the blog post pattern The "Bug Hunt" pattern
The "Rewrote It in X" pattern
The "How We Built It" pattern
The "Lessons Learned" pattern
The "Thoughts on Trends" pattern
The "Non-markety Product Perspectives" pattern
The "Benchmarks and Test Results" pattern The "Bug Hunt" pattern The "Rewrote It in X" pattern The "How We Built It" pattern The "Lessons Learned" pattern The "Thoughts on Trends" pattern The "Non-markety Product Perspectives" pattern The "Benchmarks and Test Results" pattern Part 4 - Promotion, adaptation, and expansion Getting attention
From blog post to conference talk
So you want to write a book Getting attention From blog post to conference talk So you want to write a book Pros and cons In the first chapter, the authors list the most common reasons developers mention not to write posts. I have heard many of these reasons and can confirm their existence. Then, the authors address each of them and provide multiple counter-arguments.


Part three is dedicated to blog post patterns; each chapter describes a pattern in detail. Reading this made me realize that most blog posts fall into a specific and easily identifiable category. The authors structured each pattern-chapter into the following sections:

Purpose: what's the idea (or ideas) behind the pattern
Audience: who does the pattern target
Examples: a couple of existing blog posts that embody the pattern
Characteristics: common traits found among the posts of this type
Dos and don'ts

I do love typologies, and I found this breakdown very useful.


I found part four less relevant, especially since cross-posting has been part of my workflow for ages, and I reuse writing content for conference talks. If you never considered these options, you'll benefit from these chapters.


The only con I found is that the authors remind us that you should ask your company before you reveal trade secrets. I understand that you would like to warn people, but when it's repeated several times throughout the book, I got the feeling they're writing to dummies–not something I'm fond of. In the first chapter, the authors list the most common reasons developers mention not to write posts. I have heard many of these reasons and can confirm their existence. Then, the authors address each of them and provide multiple counter-arguments. In the first chapter, the authors list the most common reasons developers mention not to write posts. I have heard many of these reasons and can confirm their existence. Then, the authors address each of them and provide multiple counter-arguments. Part three is dedicated to blog post patterns; each chapter describes a pattern in detail. Reading this made me realize that most blog posts fall into a specific and easily identifiable category. The authors structured each pattern-chapter into the following sections:

Purpose: what's the idea (or ideas) behind the pattern
Audience: who does the pattern target
Examples: a couple of existing blog posts that embody the pattern
Characteristics: common traits found among the posts of this type
Dos and don'ts

I do love typologies, and I found this breakdown very useful. Part three is dedicated to blog post patterns; each chapter describes a pattern in detail. Reading this made me realize that most blog posts fall into a specific and easily identifiable category. The authors structured each pattern-chapter into the following sections: patterns Purpose: what's the idea (or ideas) behind the pattern
Audience: who does the pattern target
Examples: a couple of existing blog posts that embody the pattern
Characteristics: common traits found among the posts of this type
Dos and don'ts Purpose: what's the idea (or ideas) behind the pattern Audience: who does the pattern target Examples: a couple of existing blog posts that embody the pattern Characteristics: common traits found among the posts of this type Dos and don'ts I do love typologies, and I found this breakdown very useful. I found part four less relevant, especially since cross-posting has been part of my workflow for ages, and I reuse writing content for conference talks. If you never considered these options, you'll benefit from these chapters. I found part four less relevant, especially since cross-posting has been part of my workflow for ages, and I reuse writing content for conference talks. If you never considered these options, you'll benefit from these chapters. The only con I found is that the authors remind us that you should ask your company before you reveal trade secrets. I understand that you would like to warn people, but when it's repeated several times throughout the book, I got the feeling they're writing to dummies–not something I'm fond of. The only con I found is that the authors remind us that you should ask your company before you reveal trade secrets. I understand that you would like to warn people, but when it's repeated several times throughout the book, I got the feeling they're writing to dummies–not something I'm fond of. Summary If you're a technical writer, a Developer Advocate tasked with technical writing, or a regular developer who wants to start a blog or contribute to a company blog, I recommend getting this book. The exhaustive description of common patterns is a huge asset for beginning writers and can help even seasoned ones. Originally published at A Java Geek on May 25th, 2025 Originally published at A Java Geek on May 25th, 2025 A Java Geek

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