The Serial Maker eBook 📘

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This week, I've been kicking around the idea of writing a book about my process as a serial maker. And since I'm on a Jamstack kick lately, what better format than an eBook built on the Jamstack? On top of that, I'll be documenting my process in this newsletter. This is getting pretty meta.

Follow me as I venture out on my journey to build the Serial Maker eBook 📘

The big idea 💭

Everything starts with an idea. The really great ideas are the ones you just can't stop thinking about. You have to build it, or you'll go crazy. This week, one of those ideas crept into my brain and I can't let it go.

I'm going to write a book about making.
 

Then, imposter syndrome 😟

Immediately after deciding to move forward with this, in comes the familiar imposter syndrome. What qualifies me to write a book about making? I'm not an influencer. I haven't made anything that's a household name. Maybe the way I make isn't even the best way.

This is a pretty typical thought process any time I'm about to build or launch something. There's really no way around it, other than taking a detached step back, thinking about the objective value in my head I believe I can share with others, and committing to do it even if it fails.

If no one reads this, or worse: reads it and hates it, I still want to get this process organized and codified for my own purposes. And at worst, I'll have learned a few techniques along the way. I will be building on the Jamstack after all.
 

Planning 📝

So now that I've committed to making this, it's time to plan. I open up my journal and start outlining the content of the book. I'll likely simplify and reorganize this, but this is the general structure I'll be using:
 

What is a serial maker? Finding the time The workspace The sketchbook The big idea Decision paralysis The proof of concept Building in public The plan The design The prototype The feedback loop The build The last 10% The beta test The launch Monetizing Automating Marketing Scaling The next big idea

Research 🧐

I've got my rough idea pretty fleshed out. Next up is researching how to actually execute this. Since it's a book, writing in Markdown seems like a viable approach. And since it's an eBook, I'd like to have a bit of cool interactivity as well, so a React front-end makes sense.

Based on my initial research, Gatsby.js is looking really solid as a potential starting point. It's built with React components but also supports Markdown pages.

Yay, we have a direction!
 

Next week 📅

I'll be building a proof of concept next week. I want to make sure I'm going down a viable tech stack path with Gatsby.js before I get in too deep. Come back next week for the results!

Keep making, and thanks for reading! 🙌

Hit reply to tell me what you're making. I'm looking for anyone interested in talking about their own side-projects and maker journey, so speak up if you'd like to appear in Serial Maker. I'd also love to know what you thought of this issue, and what you want to hear about in the future. And don't forget to continue the conversation on Discord!

Until next week,

Craig