7 Hard-Earned Lessons from Launching Street-Smart Coding

16 Nov 2025 #books

Last month, I launched Street-Smart Coding, my most ambitious writing project so far.

I wrote the roadmap I wish I had at the start of my coding journey. I had written mini-books before, but this one was different. It pushed my writing and marketing skills, and my self-discipline.

Writing taught me lessons, but launching was a whole different game.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

#1. Set an artificial deadline. To keep yourself focused, set a launch day. Pick a day and mark it on your calendar. Also share it with everyone involved in your book: beta readers, designers, editors…

#2. Start with a promise, title, and outline. Before writing the actual content, start with the sales page or the Amazon description. It forces you to clarify your message. And to make the promotion phase easier, come up with a one-liner to explain your book.

#3. Focus on one big project at a time. While writing the book, I was:

• Engaging on LinkedIn
• Sending a weekly email
• Writing a daily blog post
• Coding for a contracting client

I could have finished in half the time by focusing on one commitment. I only started to see progress when I focused on my book and let all other projects suffer. It’s really easy to lose momentum with a book.

Make your book your priority.

#4. Start selling before your book is done. Write your intro and some chapters and go pre-sell it. You don’t even need a final cover. You can change it later.

I made 4 sales in the first two weeks: two preorders and two sales. That was enough to see some traction and keep going.

The other day, I read that we should start marketing the day we start a project. I read it about coding side projects, but it’s also true for books.

#5. Share every stage of your journey. Finished the first draft? Share it. Designed the cover? Share it. Choose a final title? Share it. Share every milestone on your social media, newsletter, or blog. And plug a pre-sale CTA on every piece of content.

For my title, I had three winning ideas. To pick one, I ran a poll on LinkedIn and let followers and readers vote. Their favorite became the final title.

#6. Focus on one task at a time. A book demands you to wear multiple hats:

• Writer
• Designer
• Marketer
• Copywriter
• Project manager

Of course, if you’re with a publisher, they will take care of some of those tasks. But when you’re self-publishing, you’re on your own. All those tasks might be daunting, but focus on the task at hand.

Being a fan of writing 10-idea lists, I used 10-idea lists for every step of the process:

• 10 title ideas
• 10 chapter ideas
• 10 possible beta readers
• 10 promotion ideas

Don’t overthink the next steps beforehand.

#7. Promote it everywhere. Once you write the last word of your first draft, you’re not a writer anymore. You’re a salesperson. Go out and sell your book!

Promote it everywhere: your email signature, social media, blog, newsletter, even WhatsApp. Do the work, then tell the world about it.

Launching and promoting a book has been a long but rewarding experience. Even after many revisions, the fear of typos didn’t easily go away. But I’ve loved the experience so much that I’m already working on the next. Every lesson makes the next one even better.